I'd never been to Value Village before, but we'd driven there hoping to find something to wear to our 1970s night at The Breeze. The four of us were becoming increasingly less of a foursome, but I'd convinced Jill to come with us on this shopping trip. I was already regretting it and not because of Jill.

Tricia held up a pair of floral pants. "How about these?" she asked.

Lark grimaced. "No. Those won't work."

Tossed over Lark's arm were the only pair of bell bottoms and the only psychedelic style shirt in the entire place. When she'd tried them on, the pants had been tight, like split your ass open tight, and we'd all tried to subtly tell her that maybe they were just a little too tight. But, she'd clung to them stubbornly. I was pretty sure they'd fit Tricia like a glove, but that was hard to say without Lark freaking out.

She'd been lording her outfit over our heads for the last thirty minutes as the rest of us scanned the racks for anything that might even pass as 1970s attire and didn't smell like mothballs or have a stain.

"What about a thrift shop?" Jill asked, picking up a patterned shirt that looked more cowboy than 1970s chic.

"Does anyone know where one is?" I asked, checking my watch for the millionth time. We still had to get back to our residence, get dressed, pre-drink and decorate the bar.

"There was a payphone outside. We can check the yellow pages." Tricia suggested, rifling through yet another dead end rack.

"We don't have time. You guys just need to pick something." Lark held up her outfit again, admiring it.

I went back over to the clothes rack that had my size and pulled out a patterned dress that seemed like it would fit. Nothing was quite right for the 1970s, but I just needed to pick something and get out of here.

I wanted to get back to our residence in good time so that I might catch Rob before Rachel latched on to him. He seemed to have taken to splitting his time between the two of us, and I knew he'd at least locked lips with her once. I wasn't sure where that put my chances, but I was starting to feel pretty frustrated. No kisses for me – just a lot of flirting and hanging out. My impersonation of a British accent was getting better, though – always a bright side.

Tricia grabbed a shirt and some pants off the rack and shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. I'm so done with this now."

Jill sorted through another three racks while we all stood by impatiently. When she went for a fourth rack, Lark bumped her shoulder aggressively and pulled out a dress that wasn't too far off the mark. She pushed it at Jill.

"Here. Just wear this. We need to go," Lark said.

Jill frowned and looked at Tricia. "Do you think this will work?"

In unison, Tricia and I said, "Yes."

We paid and I drove us all back to our residence. We ran up the middle stairs to avoid distractions and disappeared into our rooms. We'd had to sell tickets to this bar night as a fundraiser for our floor and I'd convinced most of the swim team to buy some. I was looking forward to the party, even if our 1970s theme choice ended up feeling pretty unfortunate.

I flew through my hair and makeup, hoping I'd get down to Rob's room before Rachel. I finished the last coat of my mascara and looked in the mirror. My eyes looked a little wild, and I turned to Tricia.

"Am I being ridiculous?"

"About what?" she asked as she widened her eyes and applied her own mascara.

"About Rob. He spends so much time with Rachel, and I even saw him kiss her. Like, right now, I'm rushing around so I can get to his room first. That's screwed up, right?"

Tricia applied a coat of lipstick and rubbed her lips together, making a popping sound. "I think the ridiculous one is Rob."

I crossed over to my bed and flopped back on it, staring up at my ceiling. "I didn't even want a boyfriend and now he's all I can think about." I sat back up and looked at Tricia. "You know?"

Her hip was against the vanity with the mirror and she picked at her nails. She raised her eyes to me. "You know when Lark and I were swimming in the bathtub?"

I frowned, wondering how our conversation was being derailed here. I needed some advice. "Yeah?" I asked, uncertain where this was headed.

"I kissed Josh."

"What?!" I jumped off the bed and went over to stand next to her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just wanted to forget I did it. It's dumb; I shouldn't have done it."

"Does Lark know?" I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah, the shots were her idea. And, I really wanted to talk to you, but you were at swim practice and then it just devolved into The Little Mermaid in the bathtub with peach schnapps."

I walked back over to my bed and sat down, looking at her. "And then you didn't tell me at all."

"I'm telling you now," she said, giving me a hopeful look. "Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad," I said, automatically. I wasn't mad; I wasn't sure what I felt, but it wasn't anger.

"Did he kiss you back?"

She raised her eyebrows at me. "What do you think?"

"I think he threw you down on the bed like a caveman and ravaged your body."

She picked up her makeup bag and threw it at my head.

I ducked and said, "Come on, he's totally the caveman type."

She giggled and then covered her face. When she looked up again she said, "He is, isn't he?"

"Nothing's happened since?" I asked, almost afraid that she'd tell me that there was much more to the story.

"I've been avoiding him a little. I don't know. I like him – you know I like him. But, he's Josh, you know?" She shrugged. "Also, how weird will it be if we split up?"

"Any weirder than it is now?" I asked.

"I had a point here somewhere." She sighed. "If you like Rob, I think you should just make a move. The guy's not going to do it."

"What if I'm wrong, though? What if he doesn't like me and then I've made things super weird?"

"We just have one less exit door if there's a fire." Tricia grinned.

I picked up her makeup bag and threw it back at her, aiming for her head. "I hate you," I said, laughing.

"You love me," she said, laughing too as she picked up her makeup kit.

Just then, there was a knock on our door. I went over and opened it to find Faith and Paul on the other side. She was wearing a patterned headband, black bell bottom pants and a plaid crop top with a knot just under her breasts, exposing her toned stomach. She looked amazing. I felt a twinge of envy. I looked down at my terrible dress and sighed.

"Hey – where'd you guys get your clothes?" I asked, inviting them into the room.

"Thrift Shop on Bank Street. Paul's from Ottawa, so he knows where all the good finds are," Faith said, taking a seat on my bed.

While they sat drinking and talking, Tricia and I flew around the room grabbing all of our things for the night. We locked our door and then knocked on Lark and Jill's door before leaving. Jill came out first. The dress Lark had randomly selected actually fit her really well. She'd managed to accessorize with a headband, earrings and a necklace that looked enough like the 1970s for her outfit to be pretty good. Behind her, Lark waddled out. The pants were so tight and restrictive that Lark could barely walk.

I had to look away before I ended up laughing. Lark wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the night if I actually let on that her pants not only felt that tight but looked it, too. As I looked away, I caught Faith's and Tricia's eyes and I almost lost it. I bit my lip really hard to keep from laughing hysterically. There was a part of me that thought Lark was getting exactly what she deserved, but the other part of me worried we'd all pay at some point tonight for her folly.

We wandered over to The Breeze as a group, helped to finish with the decorations and then started drinking. Mark and a bunch of the other guys from the swim team showed up. Mark's girlfriend was oddly missing, but I hated bringing her up when he was so flirty.

When Rob finally walked in the door with Tom, Rachel and Rachel's roommate, Karen, I almost left. I was really fed up.

"I don't think he likes her," Jill said, leaning in close to me.

"Honestly Jill, at this point, I really don't care," I said, taking another swig from my drink. "Shots?"

Tricia perked up. "Did you say shots? Yes! Let's do this!"

We stood by the bar, getting round after round of various shots until I was starting to feel pretty buzzed. Guys from the swim and football teams kept pouring into The Breeze and I decided that I was just going to pick one and forget all about Rob. Who needed a guy with an accent, when I could get a guy with a hot body?

I grabbed my drink off the bar, turned with purpose and ran smack into Rob's chest. Shit.

"Oh, sorry," I said, trying to mop up the drink I spilled all over his shirt with my hand. It wasn't very effective; strangely my hand didn't absorb much more than the rock hard feel of his body. I looked up into his eyes. "Nice outfit," I said, wishing I was anywhere but here.

He smiled. "Thanks."

He was dressed in a vintage suit in a baby blue colour with a wide-collared white shirt underneath. He looked amazingly terrible.

"Where'd you get it?" I asked, not really caring, but having a hard time breaking free of his spell. Hot guys in Speedos. Hot guys in Speedos. I hoped my internal mantra might ease the fluttering in my stomach.

"Thrift Store on Bank Street. Rachel is from Ottawa and we all took the bus there today."

"Right," I said, hoping I wasn't turning an actual shade of green from jealousy. "Of course you did. I hope you have a good night." I stepped around him and headed to my swim team friends.

I spent most of the night drinking and laughing with the team, occasionally checking in with Tricia, Jill or Lark. I was starting to feel sorry for Lark. The drunker she got, the more apparent it was that she really could not walk in her pants. She definitely could not sit down. Tricia had to go to the bathroom with her every time to help her squeeze back into her pants. It was ridiculous.

I was deep in a flirty conversation with a fellow rookie swimmer named Tim about initiation night when he leaned down and kissed me. Normally, I wasn't a girl who kissed people randomly in a bar, but I was so pissed at Rob, that I leaned into him and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. When we broke apart, I laughed and then rose up on my toes and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll be right back," I said, turning for the bathroom.

I weaved in and out of the crowd, trying to take the straightest line with the least resistance to the toilet. Once I got there, I noticed the massive line. I wasn't sure my bladder could take waiting. I paused for a moment considering my options. There was a second bathroom, just outside The Breeze in the common area.

I checked with Anil, who was doing his door duty, that I could get back in, and then I disappeared into the hallway.

"Liz, can I have a word?"

I hadn't realized he'd followed me out, and I turned on my heel in the hallway, grinning at Rob. "Is the men's bathroom all lined up, too?" I was so buzzed that I didn't even care that Rob was standing in front of me, that he'd arrived with Rachel, that he'd spent all day with her.

He stopped in his tracks and seemed momentarily at a loss. "I, ah, followed you, actually." He walked closer to me, his swagger so familiar it was imprinted on my brain. I backed up so my spine was pressed into the cool cement wall, and I put my hands behind my lower back as a barrier to the cold and so I wouldn't reach out and do anything stupid.

"Really?" I asked. "Why's that?" I turned my head to the side, carefree, playful.

He stopped once he was standing between my feet, close enough that I only had to lean forward a little to press myself against him. Slowly, I pushed off the wall and closed the space between us. I looked up at him under my eyelashes and said, "Kiss the girl."

He reached up with one hand to the side of my face and brushed my cheek with the back of his fingers. He wound his hand into my hair and then slowly, he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. I rose up on my tiptoes, deepening the kiss, but still not wrapping my arms around him. His hand in my hair tugged me closer and then he slid his other arm around my waist locking me into the kiss. I released my hands from my back and slid them up around his neck, drawing him closer, deeper. My heart beat out an uneven rhythm in my chest. Each time we broke the kiss we'd take a breath and dive in for more. It felt like I had wanted this for weeks like I had been starving and was finally being given some sustenance. I didn't care if he'd kissed one hundred girls or just one other; in this moment, he was mine.

When we finally broke apart, he rested his forehead on mine. "I've tried to stay away," he said, sighing.

"Why?" I asked, my drunken brain more bewildered than my sober brain would ever be.

"I'm here for a year and I think you're just so brilliant. If you're still brilliant at the end of the year, then what?"

"I shine so bright that I cross an ocean?" I suggested.

He laughed. "If only." He leaned down and scooped my lips back up, pulling me tight to him again.

I wanted to ask about Rachel, but part of me wanted to bask in the fact that we'd finally kissed, that I hadn't been wrong.

"Liz!"

I broke away from his kiss and turned my head down the hallway. It was Tricia, and I was tempted to be very quiet to see if she'd go away. But, then, her voice grew louder, and she sounded worried.

I moved away from Rob reluctantly and called down the hall, "I'm here."

"Oh, thank God. I was worried," Tricia said, coming down the poorly lit hall and then slowing when she realized who was in the hall with me. She gave me a look, and my drunken brain tried to process what she was about to say, but I couldn't quite catch the thought. Tricia continued, "I saw you kissing that swim team guy, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

I couldn't look at Rob, but I bugged my eyes out at Tricia, wishing the light wasn't so dim. "No, no, I wasn't kissing Tim," I said trying to fluff it off. God, how must this look to Rob? I don't kiss a boy in months waiting for him to kiss me, and now I've kissed two boys within five minutes.

Rob reached forward and grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. I looked back at him, feeling drunk and uneasy. He pulled me back to him gently and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"We'll chat tomorrow, yeah?" he suggested.

"Yeah," I said, wishing Tricia hadn't appeared.

He dropped my hand and brushed past Tricia without a word.

Tricia covered the last little bit of the hallway until she was standing close enough to really see my face. "I screwed up, didn't I?" she asked.

"Well, you kinda made me look like an indecisive slut. But, I'm sure he's cool with that," I said, collapsing back against the wall.

"Well he's been one of those for weeks now, so he'd certainly recognize it." She crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall with me.

I laughed and hung my head. "Did you really come looking for me because you were worried?"

"No, not really. Lark split her pants wide open, and we need to cover her all the way back to Lanark. One of us walking in front, one of us behind. She was wearing a thong. It's not pretty."

We both started laughing so hard that tears streamed down our faces. I knew we had to get it together before facing Lark, no matter how drunk she might be, she was going to be pissed. It was going to be a pretty hilarious walk back to Second Lanark.

Author's Note:

What do you think will happen with Liz and Rob now? Do you think he's seeing Rachel, too? Will Tim now be an added complication?