Despite being the goal of maybe eighty percent of the women in attendance, I have no intention of getting sloppy-ass drunk and winding up in some strange asshole’s bed the next morning, not knowing how or why I wound up in it.
Besides, after the way my last relationship ended, a boyfriend is the last thing on my mind.
Just thinking about my ex, Zachery Haynes, makes my stomach tense with a mixture of anger and anxiety. We’d been high school sweethearts who thought we’d be spending the rest of our lives together. Our endgame goals were even aligned. College degrees. High-powered jobs. White picket fence. A full-sized family. The whole nine yards.
That dream shattered when I walked in on Zach getting a blowjob from my high school nemesis, Jenna Stout. Seeing her there on her knees, slurping my boyfriend’s dick felt like a spear piercing my heart.
Of course, being the egotistical, narcissistic asshole he was, Zachery tried to make it seem like HE was the victim. It was an accident, he claimed. He didn’t mean to do it. It was all Jenna’s fault for showing up on his doorstep looking hot as fuck in her cheerleader uniform.
She'd seduced him he said, she’d made his dick hard and made him take it out so she could slurp on it like a fucking cherry popsicle. The ridiculous explanation was more than I could take. I left him and Jenna right then and there to continue their oral session, and I never spoke to the bastard ever again.
I did suffer for it, though.
The whole trauma from Zach’s betrayal put me in a deep depression, causing my GPA to fall. And by mid-semester, I was close to failing several of my classes. Luckily, with the help of Katie and my father, I was able to pull myself out of my rut in time enough to get my grades back on track to allow me to qualify to go to one of the best universities in the nation.
It’s funny how things turn out.
There was one valuable lesson I learned from Zach’s betrayal, and that was you could never trust a man.
Fuck a boyfriend, I think to myself. I’ll only enter a relationship when I’m good and ready. And that won’t be for a very long time.
I don’t intend on dating until I’ve graduated and landed my dream job. Then, and only then, will I give the male species a second chance at regaining my trust. Besides, I certainly won’t find Mr. Right in a club full of horny guys just looking for the next girl to fuck.
“I must be blind then,” I say. “Or just plain stupid.”
Katie tears her eyes away from the object of her affection and scowls at me. I must say Miss Katie’s makeup is on point tonight, with false eyelashes that would make a drag queen jealous, rosy blush, glossy pink lipstick and dramatic eye shadow. Her hair isn’t too shabby, either, styled into a trendy shoulder-length side bob that shimmers under the street light. A tight red dress that hugs her pear-shaped frame completes her look. “You really need to lighten up, Maddy. We came here to have fun, remember?”
I hold Katie’s scowl for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh. “I know, I know, I’m just not looking forward to having a line of horny guys buying me drinks and reading me their lame pick-up lines in hopes that I’ll sleep with them.”
Katie looks at me like I’m crazy. “If you don’t want that, then why the hell did you agree to come in the first place?”
It’s a good question. If my goal is to relieve stress, there are a lot more relaxing things I could do rather than come to a rowdy nightclub… like enjoy a bubble bath with a chilled glass of wine, or cuddle up on the couch with a good romance book. I love wine now.
Last year, my twenty first, was all about hard liquor and beer. Simply because that’s was the go-to for everyone else. Katie got me hooked on wine. First a White Zin and then a smooth Cabernet. It’s easy to just have a glass and let the stress slip away. Especially when you’re in the habit of avoiding the things that upset you. That’s simply what I do, I steer clear of anything that could hurt me.
The truth is I’ve been avoiding the opposite sex since Zach’s betrayal. Maybe subconsciously I wanted to see what