Party

Loud music reverberates through the party. Outdoor bars, bikini-clad girls, and men in beach shorts have littered the place.

The blue motif seems to be the theme. The Coachella tickets were so freaking expensive Cathryn contemplated selling her kidneys. Good thing, she won something.

Hundreds of guests yell and bounce on the dance floor as crystal flutes are passed around on expensive trays. Guys have driven thousands of miles and flown in from around the world to be here. Girls have maxed out their credit cards to dress for this event. Cathryn heard from Alex that there were going to be a lot of celebrities here.

But since the party was held near the beach, anything more than a skimpy swimsuit or cover-up was overdressed. She thought being this covered up in a place full of scantily clad girls would keep the wackos away.

Not so.

Cathryn already had to fend off t butt-grabs and boob-cups, slapping them with her hands. She squeaked every time someone touched her.

Seriously, this was not how she usually spends her Sunday nights. Cathryn stayed at home with her Kindle or sketch pad or her laptop.

God, what was she doing here?

Cathryn's attention was drawn to the women with blue-glitters all over their chests: all shimmering bodies and exposed skin in their glow-in-the-dark bikinis. They were wiggling their perfect asses.

Her outfit and makeup are the tamest things here. Why did she spend hours getting ready?

Her heart was beating fast. Alex was here.

"Oooh! Look! There he is!" Someone behind her squealed.

Let's get Alex to the beach and invite him for a swim with us. We need to get those clothes off. I assure you, his dragon tats are hot and it will be the best thing you'll ever see." The whisper came from her right as a girl and her friend pushed past her and head the same way they were walking toward. To Alex.

Cathryn wondered why he was so popular.

What did he do to get this much attention?

She inhaled sharply and felt the frustration she always experienced when she looked at him. He's infuriating. He's annoying. He's cocky. Selfish. Self-centered. Cathryn didn't even know why she was still here.

He stood with a group of guys but Alex was the only one she saw. Beneath the flashing blue lights, his blond hair gleamed. His eyes are so light they appear golden, making her breathless.

Cathryn's stomach twisted up around her windpipe at the sight of him and that gorgeous mouth of his. She admitted he was a great kisser but on the attitude department, not so.

Don't get affected, Cat. She mused. He's just a pretty face.

The two stalkers who wanted to undress him approach, and he curled his arms around each of them. Just like that, he was standing with a woman in each arm and she felt a pang in my chest.

An awful pang of fear, the kind that strikes when someone was surrounded by hundreds of strangers, and they all keep dancing, and talking, and drinking and she was staring at the guy who's invited to a party she didn't belong and she didn't know what to do about it.

What to do about him.

Cathryn inhaled, trying to summon courage but failing, half turning back the way she came. Scowling and mad at herself for buying the damn tickets for him, she avoided looking at him when she spotted a guy staring at her.

He was short and looked harmless so she flashed him a small smile The guy grinned back at her invitation and started walking toward her.

"Hey."

Startled, she glanced into the stranger's kind brown eyes, and absently said, "Hey."

Cathryn broke their eye contact when she heard someone calling her name.

"Cat."

A guy in front of her shifts slightly, and she got a glimpse of Alex. He looked at her, his eyes sparkling with recognition, and then he looks to the guy standing next to her. He stared at him, then at Cathryn, and one of his brows rose in question.

Cathryn stood there, amped up and nervous. He stepped away from the girls and walked to her direction, radiating heat. His smile quirked and she saw amusement in his eyes at her speechlessness.

She struggled with what to do next. Greet him or something? Tell him that she wanted to go home? Oh god.

"Get over here." He muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"I said come here."

"No," Cathryn said, scowling.

Alex smiled and cocked his head back, tilting it to the side just a little. And then she wanted to forget she ever kissed him, and ever wanted to.

"What do you want?" Cathryn asked, her nerves making her shiver.

Alex stepped over, grabbed her by the waist, and said, "I'd like you to meet my friends." He lifted her over his shoulder like a sack of rice, carried her to the wet bar, and then looked past his shoulder and shoot her a grin. "They wanted to meet you."