I was crying and my stomach was aching as hell. Luke was sitting embarrassed infront of us. Abby was rolling in the floor and Matt was laughing against a pillow. "You guys are so mean", Luke sulked. It only made us laugh more. "I can't believe..", Abby trailed bursting out again. 

My phone pinged with a message from unknown number. It was Connor texted me a 'Hi'. I am going kill Lucas. 

Me: Hi, Connor

Connor: Just got your number. This is my number.

That was very difficult to figure out, you know. 

Connor: We are having a party this weekend. Would you like to join?

What's with them and parties every weekend. They just had a birthday party a few weeks back. 

Me: What's special?

Connor: It's my birthday. I will happy if you can come. Bring your friends too.

Not a birthday again. I wasn't that cruel to reject it right away. 

Me: Oh, great. I think you can count me in. Advance wishes btw.

Connor: Thanks Emily. I should've called but I thought it would be too much as soon as I got your number. 

You were right there.

Me: That's fine, Connor.

Strangely, I could imagine Connor smiling. I decided to be a bit more open minded. After all, he was sweet with me and even helped me. There was nothing against him. I filled in the details to everyone and went to my room. 

My knees had scab and the redness almost disappeared. I just had to make sure I didn't fall on my knees again. Laughter and work enervated me, I passed out the moment I hit the pillow

***

Connor's birthday party was less crowded than Axel's. People were drinking but no grinding. They were more cordial. Axel took us to the kitchen, it turns out he was the funniest in the group. He told jokes but were mostly sexual. Dustin soon joined us with the drinks and started flirting with Abby.

Abby was giving out giggles which was strange to me, pushing back the stranded hair behind her ear repeatedly. Every time we turned towards she was a inch closer to Dustin. I just hoped they didn't kiss in front of me. "Hey, Emily", Connor sat beside me on the couch. "Hey Connor. You look good and Happy birthday", I hugged him. That was awkward. I shouldn't have. Why did I do that?. Well Connor was beaming.

We all sat in a circle surrounding a table. Truth or dare was it. Everyone was choosing dare. Was kissing better than pouring some truth? Was it that much of a secret a person carries around? It was Luke's turn. He didn't have much secret yet he chose dare. Until then people were kissing each other of opposite sex but Luke was dared to kiss the red head guy sitting next to Axel.

He definitely gave signals. You should've seen the face of terror in Luke's face when he changed it into a truth. See that was easy. All they asked was 'Are you interested in some one? Have you seen someone naked?'. The extreme was ' Have you been touched?'. Mind in the gutter.

One of the room doors burst open and Ryder scurried out of the room followed by the half naked girl he bought home. I quickly shut my eyes with Luke's eyes, who was obviously enjoying the show. "Shit", I could hear Abby mutter to my right. "Baby", the high pitched voice followed Ryder out. That was a show.

Other than that little stunt everything was normal. We played for another hour and ate and played and ate again. I was becoming adaptive to the situation and it felt good. I realized that what people drink didn't define their personality. The most drunken guy in the room was the most innocent one. At one point, everyone seemed the same.

Crowd was thinning out. People were leaving or passed out. Dustin took Abby on a personal house tour while everyone knew what they would probably behind that door. They've been touring the room for half an hour. I mean, it wasn't a museum. Matt was the only one who was with me on the couch, half drunk.

"Emily", I turned around when Connor called. He gestured me to follow him. The room we went into had a inbuilt theatre with a side of wall with white screen and all other sides were red cushioned. He made me sit in one of the five chairs. "We'll watch movie", he said. Dude, he isn't even asking. 

Go easy on him this one time. It was his birthday anyway so I let him do it. The screen started play 'The kissing booth' . What a start ?, I thought but couldn't say it. At least he didn't play Notebook. The movie was fun until I noticed Connor leaning into me. My heart skipped a beat when I could feel his warm breathe on my ear. A turn and a step forward I would be introducing my lips to his.

Anxiety rolled over when he whispered my name. I was tense whether to turn or not. Eventually I turned missing his lips by a minuscule gap. I quickly moved my head back but Connor didn't stop here. He held my hands, looked straight in my unsteady eyes and moved closer and closer. I He closed his eyes when our nose touched.

My brain rewired from shock. I shook his hand off, pushed him and ran outside. Ryder entered the same moment, I rushed out of the room. He looked at me with uncertainty but never questioned anything. I took my purse and walked out of the house. I was fumbling with the key when Connor pulled me to him. This time I wasn't ready to spare him. My hand connected with his cheek. Both were shocked, "I am sorry Emily. I just acted out without thinking", he sounded genuine.

Okay, now I felt guilty. He came to apologize and I retreated very badly. "That's fine. I am sorry I acted in the moment". He kept rubbing his cheeks, "Well, I didn't know you can swing this well", he said with a smug. I smiled. Destiny decided to embarrass me when Abby, Matt, Dustin, Axel and even Ryder were standing in the hallway encountering the mini stunt I pulled. My eyes automatically went to Ryder who was smirking. I apologized to Connor for my action while he kept telling me he was the one at wrong. Well, I couldn't exactly deny that.