Asher is in his car alright.

He has his headphones plugged in and he looks up when I open the door.

"What are you doing here?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Where's my cousin?"

"She bailed out the last minute."

"What? Why?"

"Her aunt, who I assume is your mother, called her when she was dressing up. Savannah said she was going to a house party and your Mom freaked out. She commanded her to abort mission and to steer away from house parties."

"And she just obeyed?"

"Without a fuss. What do you think your mom would say if she found out that you are in a house party?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"She's making Savannah miss out on all the fun."

"She'll survive. So what are you doing here?"

"Smoking."

"That's not entirely true. People are smoking inside."

"Okay, I wanted to think. It's too noisy in there."

"It's a party, so it's meant to be noisy."

He doesn't reply. Instead, he rolls the car window open and tosses the cigarette butt outside.

He turns to face me fully and I hold back a shaky breath when he gently cups my cheek with his long fingers.

There's no hesitation whatsoever. We both lean it at the same times and our lips meet halfway.

It's just as I remember. His skilled lips skim over mine and his tongue seeks access into my mouth. He smells of mint and cigarettes and surprisingly, both are a big turn on for me.

I thread my fingers through his hair and I tug softly. His hands roam over my sensitized skin as our lips devour each other, and when I wrap my arms around his neck as I press my body into his hard one, he groans into my mouth. 

Blood pounds through my veins.

I only know two ways of dealing with life's shit; drinking and having random sex. I can't drink tonight so I guess I'm not exactly spoiled for choice. 

I moan when Asher slightly tilts his nose to deepen the kiss. His hands are cupping my breasts over my dress and I arch my back to grant him access.

His lips leave mine for a minute as he focuses on my neck. His kisses are hot and wet, and I have bite my lip to keep my moans at bay.

He half-reclines his seat and motions me to cross over the console. I do, and we are kissing again as soon I'm on his lap. His hands stray under my dress and I close my eyes when he gasps. I'm naked underneath the short dress; and i totally liked catching him by surprise.

One thing about Asher, he doesn't dirty talk during sex. He just focuses on what he is doing and before long, we both shatter in climaxes. My fingers are still threaded through his hair and I rest my head on his shoulder to catch my breath.

I only last a few seconds in that position before I pull back and scoot back into my seat. I hate cuddling. I don't like feeling that close to someone; especially men. And I sure as hell don't want to get attached to anyone.

"I need to find my friends." I inform Asher, trying to catch my breath. I'm fixing my hair with my fingers and I swat his hand away when he tries to help.

"What. I'm trying to smooth a tangle."

I shake my head at him.
"Don't do those little flirty things with me."

"Why not? Every girl likes that." He cocks an eyebrow at me. "Lemme guess, you're not like other girls."

I ignore the satire in his tone.
"Asher, I wish I was like other girls, okay?"

"Why are you weird."

"I just don't like to be touched."

"Well, for someone who doesn't like to be touched, you really seemed to like it when I touched you just minutes ago."

"You can touch me when we are having sex. Just don't do it afterwards."

"Whatever."

"I'm gonna go see my friends."

"No 'thank you Asher for the orgasms?'"

I frown at him.
"I'll see you around."

"Wait, how did you get my number?"

"Your brother."

"Reid talked to you?"

"That's his name? I love it."

He rolls his eyes.
"Not you too."

"What does that mean?"

"He's always stealing my spotlight. You met him once and you already like his name. I hate it when he gets all the girls."

"Aw, jealousy looks pathetic on you. Don't worry, though. I may be immoral but I can't screw brothers even in my wildest dreams. Reid told me that he was at the club last night."

"Didn't you see him? We sat with him."

"The guy in a black leather jacket who was taking water like a badass?"

"The very same."

"I only saw his back. It was a nice back, and now that I've seen his face, he has a nice back and a nice face."

"Reid and nice don't go together. He's a piece of work. And, I'm not going to sit here and listen to you gush about him."

"I wasn't gushing but okay. Tell me one thing, why wasn't he drinking last night."

"He's always our designated driver."

"He doesn't drink?"

Asher shakes his head.
"He tries to be a good boy to impress our parents. You'd think he's not a grown ass man."

"Isn't he like twenty?"

"He's twenty two, Riya. Now please, stop asking about him."

"You're literally green with jealousy. I'm gonna go find my friends."

"Call me when you have an itch that needs to be scratched and I'll be right there."

I roll my eyes before I walk away.

**

I find Mia twenty minutes later. She's seated alone, cheap liquor in her hand.

Her eyes light up when she seems me and she moves to create space for me.

"Where have you been? Did you find your cousin."

"Where is Kol?"

"I asked first."

I sigh.
"Savannah is not here."

"She didn't show up?"

I shake my head.
"My Mom stopped her from coming. She's still paranoid over house parties."

"As she should. You must be very relieved."

"You have no idea."

"Did you find Asher?"

"Yup."

"You left half of your lipstick on him."

My eyes widen.
"Do you have a mirror?"

She reaches into a bag and fishes out a small mirror. True to her words, I have very little lipstick smeared on my lips. I reapply the bright red lipstick before I hand the mirror back to her.

"So where is Kol?"

"Outside. He's talking to some guy."

"Where's Hazel and Nathan?"

"I don't know. The last time I saw her, she was dancing with him. She was doing that dance, you know? The 'I came in like a wrecking ball' kinda dance. I guess Nathan is getting lucky tonight."

"Do you guys even realize what we're doing? We are a group of friends that's hooking up with another group of friends. Is that a good thing?"

She carelessly raises her shoulders.
"I honestly don't care. Plus, I'm not hooking up with Kol."

"You kissed the hell out of him last night. It won't be long before you're rolling in his sheets."

"In the sheets defense, he is quite hot."

"That, he is."

Her eyes go wide as she focuses on someone or something behind me. I make to look over my shoulder but she takes my hand, perfectly stopping me.

"They're coming here."

"Who?"

"Kol and the guy he was talking to. He's... Fuck. They're here."

I feel a presence behind me then, and I take a deep breath when someone sits beside me. Kol just sat beside Mia so it has to be the other guy.

"Did you find Asher?" He asks quietly, and I frown when his warm breath on my cheek makes my skin tingle.

I already know who that is; and he is too close for comfort.

"Move!" I hiss.

He moved closer.

"Do you want me to move again?"

I turn around, very slowly, until our eyes hold. His eyes are dark poodles and they make him look strangely dangerous.

He has that reckless allure around him.

"I don't like people getting that close to me." I warn him, but he doesn't even blink nor attempt to move.

"You didn't seem to have any problems with having Asher getting really close to you last night."

"In my defense, I like Asher's face better."

"Said no one ever."

"Look here-"

He laughs, cutting me off.
"I'm just seated here. What's wrong with that?"

"If I can smell you, you're too close."

He smirks but he proceeds to create some space between us anyway.
"So, did you find Asher?"

"Yup. I'm, uh, going to get a drink."

I badly want to get away from him. The sense of familiarity is really bothering me. I don't know why deep down I feel like we've met before.

He grabs my hand when I make to move. I glance at Mia but she's busy talking to Kol.

"What." I demand with a frown when he keeps staring at me.

"We've met before, haven't we?" He asks, his brow creasing slightly.

I'm quick to shake my head.
"I don't think so."

"Then why do you look so awfully familiar?"

"Tell me when you find out. I really need to get a drink."

He pushes the party cup he is holding into my arms.
"You can have mine."

I sniff at it and I immediately choke, my eyes watering.
"I'm driving after the party, so I need a soft drink. And, by the way, I thought you had this teetotaler thing going on?"

"Teetotaler?"

"That's a term for someone who doesn't drink, genius."

He laughs.
"I just wanted you to explain it. You're like an angry puppy when you're trying to scare people away."

I get out of my seat and turn to leave.

"Riya?" His voice stops me in my tracks.

He knows my name?

I turn to look at him.
"You know my name?"

"I...uh..nevermind. Forget we had this conversation. I'm sure we haven't met."

I flash him a dry smile.
"That's what I thought."

I hastily walk to the kitchen, trying not to fall when I keep bumping into people. I open the fridge and I smile when I trace a box of mango juice.

I start to pick it but my phone's ringtone stops me. I guess Hazel is ready to finally leave Nathan's side.

A frown masks my entire face when I realize that it's a private number.

A private number?

That's weird.

I'm tempted to ignore it. I really am, but curiosity gets the better part of me.

I answer the call then I press the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I say quietly, carefully.

Whoever is on the other side chooses not to talk. There's heavy, continuous breathing for about ten seconds before the line goes dead.

Whoever that was got the wrong number, no doubt, so I quickly push the call out of my mind.

I pour some juice into a glass then I place the box back in the fridge. I take a small sip of the cold drink, and when my phone rings again, I hesitate before checking the caller ID.

Private number.

I grit my teeth before I answer the call. I'm going to give whoever that is a piece of my mind.

"Look here whoever you are-"

"Riya?" The mature, male voice cuts me off.

"Who is this?"

"Someone from your past."

What?!

"How can I help you?"

"I don't need your help but you need mine. Stay away from Reid. You're welcome."

"Wait! I-"

He hangs up on me.