"Where have you been?!" I questioned Natalie the moment I finally found her.

"Hiding. What does it look like I'm doing?!" she whispered-shouted from behind a potted plant in the corner of a very crowded living room, considering the party her sorority was throwing was currently in full swing.

"Here of all places, Nat? Come on, you can do better than that," I playfully taunted, earning me an unamused glare.

In her defense, it was a big plant and she was a tiny person.

"Shut it, Baker, before I throw you to the wolves," she threatened, pointing to a group of very clingy girls I just managed to escape.

Crap! I didn't think she saw that!

"You wouldn't!" I challenged.

Tilting her head to the side, she raised a brow, daring me to challenge her. Mmhm, that's when I backed off. Those girls were like hyenas, and I wasn't interested in joining the pack.

"Woah! Just take it easy, man!" I impersonated, raising my hands in surrender.

All expressions left Natalie's face as she blankly stared at me...before cracking one of her stellar smiles and saying, "Did you just quote Drake & Josh to me?"

Grinning, I nodded my head and we both cracked up, laughing like it was just us. But, then I remembered my best friend was hiding behind a house plant.

"Uhhhhh, so, why are you hiding, exactly?"

Sighing, she grabbed me by my arm and pulled me outside without uttering a word until we were in a somewhat quiet section of the backyard—y'know, if you didn't pay attention to the drunken idiots trying to straddle the fence just a few feet away.

"Okay," she began, facing me now with a cute pout on her lips.

"Go ahead. Tell Mr. Baker what's bothering you," I egged on, making her roll her eyes at me, trying to hide an amused smirk.

"I love my sisters here, Riley. I swear, I do."

"But," I chimed in.

"But," she repeated, shaking her head. "For some reason, they think throwing every decent looking guy they see here my way is gonna make me feel better about the breakup. And it's not."

Nodding my head in understanding, I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, looks like instead of hiding, you should have stuck with me." Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, I started leading us back inside. "You need a buffer, and I need a wingman. The obvious solution is, I pretend to be your date if someone tries to approach you, while you help me find the person I'm looking for."

Leaning into my side, the short brunette looked up at me with an interested expression. "And who might this mystery person be?"

"That's the problem. I don't know her name. All I know is that she's got long blonde hair, blue-green eyes, and is in your sorority."

"Okay, that's not much to go off of-"

"Oh! And she's a great kisser," I added in with a smug grin that earned me a light slap on my arm.

"And how exactly would you know that, Riley?" Natalie questioned with feigned disapproval. "Are you locking lips with my sister!?"

"Shut up," I laughed, pulling her closer as we walked through the back door, making our way to the living room.

About an hour had passed and so far I managed to send five guys away, each one drunker than the last coming with some of the worst pickup lines I have ever heard in my life. At the same time, Natalie helped eliminate some of the possibilities from her long list of blonde hair, blue-eyed sorority sisters.

"Wait!" she called out, grabbing my arm to get my attention. She had that look on her face that said she just realized something.

"What is it?" I voiced, thinking she had an epiphany and suddenly knew who I was looking for.

Turning to me with wide hazel eyes, she asked, "Was she a natural blonde? Because this whole time I've just been including all of them, but there's actually not that many natural..."

Are you serious?

Mentally facepalming, I grabbed Nat by the shoulders to stop her thought process.

"Natalie," I began with a serious tone, getting her to look me in the eye. "Listen to me very carefully, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, what?"

"I. Am. A. Guy." When her brows furrowed in confusion, I continued. "Guys. Don't. Pay. Attention. To. If. A. Girl. Is. A. Natural. Blonde. Or. Not. We. Only. Care. About. If. It-"

And that's when the 5'3" girl in front of me raised up onto the tip of her toes and covered my mouth with her hand with a deadpanned expression.

"Don't push it, Baker," she said, trying to be intimidating.

She failed.

"I'm gonna get something to drink!" I declared like a child the second she dropped her hand, causing her to laugh as I left. "Be back in a few, Nat!"

"Don't overdo it!" she yelled back. "You know how you get when you're drunk!"

"Okay, Mom!"

Maneuvering through the crowd, I couldn't help be acknowledge that she had a point. I was a sloppy drunk...but at least most girls found it cute. Still, I was also known to start confessing feelings I'd rather keep hidden when under the influence.

But, no worries! I had no secret love confessions to hold in this time around, so I was free to go damage my liver.

I successfully found the kitchen, along with a countertop decorated with dozens of different alcohol, but there was one problem. Where are all the cups?

There were none around that hadn't been used, and I wasn't interested in using any of the red Solo cups littered on the floor, so I started opening cabinets, looking for a mug or something to use.

"Can I help you find something?"

Turning to face the person speaking to me, I was face to face with a girl. Her bright blue hair was a surprise, but it looked cool on her, paired with dark eye makeup. I don't know how girls do it, and I honestly don't know why—most of the time all the eye stuff just makes them look like raccoons. This girl kinda resembled one, but it wasn't the worst case I've seen.

"I'm trying to get a drink," I answered. "But, I can't find any—"

"Cups?" she finished for me with a knowing smile. From the pink tint on her pale skin, I could tell she'd been drinking. Maybe not a lot, but it was more than I managed to drink, which was currently standing at zero. "That's because the idiot frat boys from Sigma Nu decided to try and build the biggest cup phone they could. They literally raided our rooms for yarn."

Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes before looking back at me with a charming smile. "I'm Louisa Day, but if you ever call me that, I'll chop your balls off." Okay, the smile was deceiving. She's not as charming as I thought. "Call me Lou. Not Louisa, not Lola, and never, ever call me LouLou. Just Lou. "

Then, she continued to grin at me, as if she didn't just go on a crazy rant. Her lids drooped slightly, but whether that was because of  the weight of her fake lashes or the alcohol, I'll never know. Still, she was looking at me, expectantly, waiting for a reply.

She's one of the hosts, Riley. Don't be rude...

"Ahemmmmm," she held out, her dark brown eyes challenging me to leave her hangning.

...plus, she seems like the type of drunk that get's angry easily. Better play it safe.

"Uh...nice to meet you, Lou," I lied, shaking her outstretched hand with a fake smile. "I'm Riley."

"Cool." Ending the handshake, she climbed onto the countertop and started throwing random bowls onto the ground...and not all of them were plastic.

"Hey!" A girl shrieked from behind us.

"Oh, calm down. It's just glass," Lou shrugged while I took a step away from her for safety measures. "Found it!"

In one swift motion, she slid off the counter with a ceramic bowl she got off the very top shelf. I was actually surprised at how coordinated she was, despite the now obvious amount of drinking she'd done.  "Here."

Handing it to me, I raised a confused eyebrow at her, to which she just nudged my arm with an amused grin.

"Make yourself some alcohol soup. Then, when you're buzzed enough, come find me." Shamelessly checking me out from head to toe, she added, "I have a friend, and you're just her type. Tall, blonde, and hot enough to eat."

With a teasing wink she walked away, disappearing into the crowd and leaving me there to laugh, wondering if she was also as high as a kite.

Chuckling, I made my way back to Natalie, noticing the quizzical look she gave me when she spotted the bowl I was slurping from.

"Ummm..."

"They ran out of cups," I explained, bringing the bowl back up to my lips.

"Oh, okay. I was gonna ask 'what took you so long' but I guess I have my answer," she smirked.

"Actually, this isn't what took me so long."

"No?" she questioned with an intrigued expression.

Shaking my head, I scanned through the crowd until I spotted a head of electric blue hair. Pointing in her direction, I said, "I met Lou."

Widening her eyes, Natalie busted out laughing. "Lou, as in, 'not Louisa' Lou?"

"That would be the one."

Hopping up to try and see her over the crowd, I placed a hand on Natalie's shoulder to stop her. Let's face it—she was never going to see over this sea of people at her height.

"Lou can get scary when she's drunk," Natalie shared, turning to face me. "What did she say to you?"

"That she wanted me to find her once I've successful drunk away my sobriety," I answered playfully.

"Really? But...she has a boyfriend," she replied with a disappointed look on her face.

"Not for her," I clarified, finding this next piece of information funny. "For her friend."

Everytime someone's tried to set me up with their friend at a party, it's ended in one of two ways. Either I don't find the girl attractive, or I do, but she's way to drunk for me to do anything with without feeling like a criminal. I wonder which one it'll be this time.

Looking back up at Lou, laughter was on the tip of my tongue, most likely because of the strong liquor loosening me up quickly. No, I am not a lightweight. I just...have a high metabolism. ANYWAY, the point is, that laughter? Yeah, it died pretty quickly when I saw who was standing next to the Lou.

"What are the odds?" I whispered underneath my breath.

Well, now I feel bad for making fun of Lou. She may be a somewhat aggressive drunk, but she had one thing going for her.

She was one hell of a wingwoman.

ANOTHER UPDATE?! AND IT DIDN'T TAKE ME TWO MONTHS TO DO?!

Whaaaaaaaat is going on!? 😱

Okay, Mac, chillll 😂. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought!

Did you like Louisa—errrr I mean, Lou? 😅

What do you think should happen next? 🤔

Until next time!