Reese was an utter mass of nerves as she sat in the centre of the back seat, squished between Harley and another of their roommates. She'd texted Nathan that he could come, but instead of going with them, he requested directions to meet them there since apparently something unavoidable at work had come up.

The wait was not making her less nervous.

But really, Reese wasn't just nervous about seeing Nathan again. The idea of even talking with him again actually sounded amazing, and getting another look into those green eyes seemed like a worthy life goal. She'd never been this excited to see anyone before, except maybe Santa Claus at the mall when she was little, or that one time she got a book signed by her favourite author.

But even more than seeing him again, she was nervous about all the things that could go wrong. Maybe she'd do something embarrassing, or he'd take one look at her again and wonder why he'd even spoken to her in the first place, or worse, maybe the whole unavoidable work thing was a lie so he could just stand her up. 

If he didn't show, she'd be left overdressed in a cute black skirt her mother had talked her into buying just in case she needed something better than her usual jeans and sweaters, and a slinky sparkly blue top she had been forced to borrow from Irene, the same roommate who was driving them following Siri's instructions.

If he didn't show, she didn't know how she'd cope with the disappointment.

Or then there was absolutely the most distressing thought of all, that he might take one look at Harley and realize just how much Reese paled in comparison. She was afraid she might cry if that happened.

It was silly to be so emotionally invested in someone she had just met, and not at all like her to care about something so clearly uncertain, but for some reason she just couldn't help herself.

Maybe she should have never agreed to come out to this party tonight. She should have stayed home and spent the night hibernating with Alpha Raiden. It would have been so much easier on her stress level.

But then she wouldn't see those intriguing eyes again, and she didn't want to miss out on that.

Her throat was horribly constricted by the time they pulled up at the house where the party was being held. It wasn't hugely extravagant, but the size was more than adequate for hosting a party of people who probably should have been studying instead of drinking and trying to get laid. The building did seem to be a bit big for something the average student would be able to afford, but from what Harley said, there were a few guys living there together including the one that had caught her attention, so Reese assumed that they were splitting the costs.

There was no way that he would be there yet, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding frantically just in case. As a group, they move towards the door, Irene bringing up the rear after having locked her car. It was immediately obvious that they were in the right place by the pounding music leaking from the house along with the chatter of multiple conversations.

At the door, they were met by the guy who had invited Harley, Chris. He was half a head taller than her friend, which meant something because Harley was quite tall herself, and he had brown eyes that softened when they landed on the her friend. As Reese had expected, he was cute, and from one look at Harley's uncharacteristically blushing face, she was as excited to see him as he was to see her. Normally Harley kept her cool around guys with a composure that Reese could only envy.

Reese shrugged. Well, if nothing else, she could be entertained by watching Harley act weirdly out of character.

Harley introduced the members of their group with an easy smile, and then Chris gave them a quick tour. The main floor would have appeared spacious if people weren't scattered around everywhere, moving to the beat or holding loud conversations over the music. The basement had a games room, which was as crowded as the main floor. The upstairs was more deserted. Reese held back a smile when Chris pseudo-casually mentioned which was his room to Harley.

Then Chris took them out into the backyard, the main highlight of it being a pool. Clusters of people were scattered around it, drinking and laughing.

"You didn't tell me you had a pool," Harley accused with teasing reproach.

Chris bent his arm back behind his head bashfully. "Well, I thought if I did you'd..."

Reese didn't hear his excuse, because that was when Irene decided that she needed a drink and it was somehow vital for Reese to go with her. She didn't argue, letting herself be dragged back inside to the kitchen, looking around to see if there was anyone she knew. She was absolutely not looking for a particular man who said he would be there late, because he wouldn't be there yet even if he did show up.

But still she looked. He shouldn't be that hard to spot. There were quite a few tall built men around, but not so many they would obscure him when he finally arrived.

Once both were armed with plastic cups of beer or coke for the designated driver, Reese and Irene made their way over to someone that Irene knew. Since Reese was having trouble hearing the conversation, she pasted a smile on her face and let her eyes wander around the room, comparing the party to scenes she had read in books. It wasn't the first time she had been to a party, but it was definitely the first one she had been since the summer after high school grad. It was also the first that had such a huge number of insanely attractive people. None of them quite reached the level of Nathan, but Harley fit the aesthetic really well.

It begged the question of what Reese was even doing there. She felt like the ugly duckling surrounded by swans. She shrugged off the thought. She only a few hours and then she'd be heading home and away from the situation, whether it turned out good or bad. What had she been thinking coming out tonight?

"Reese, is it?" She whirled away from pretending to listen to the conversation she couldn't hear at the sound of her name. She was disappointed to see a dark-haired guy who looked exactly like a linebacker rather than Nathan's blond hair and steely blue eyes.

Reese nodded, and looked up on him. Belatedly she pasted on a smile as she wondered how he knew who she was. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

He extended his hand. "Yeah, sorry. I'm Keith."

"Nice to meet you," Reese said, shaking his hand politely. "Or should I know you from somewhere?" She didn't think she had been introduced to him before, because he seemed to be the sort of person, kind of like Nathan, who would be hard to forget. He wasn't quite as hot as Nathan was, but holding everyone to that standard was unrealistic.

He laughed. "No, nothing like that. I was curious who you were since you're a new face, and Chris told me your name." 

The unbelievable part was that two incredibly hot guys had paid attention to her in one day. She wondered what he truly wanted, but there was no good way for her to work that question into the conversation that she could think of. Just because she felt something was off didn't mean he deserved rudeness. Instead, she threw out the first thing that came to mind. "So, do you live here, too?"

"No, I just know some of the guys. And I'm Nathan's cousin."

"Nathan?" Well, this coincidence seemed to be getting bigger all the time, running into someone who knew Nathan at a random party. Weird.

"Yeah, he doesn't usually come to this sort of thing—he's too serious—but when he mentioned he was coming tonight since someone invited him, I admit I was very curious. Chris didn't know he was coming, I already chatted with your friends, but they didn't know exactly who or what I was talking about, so by method of elimination, that you leaves you as the mystery female."

"Ah. Well. That's nice."

"Now that I've met you, I can see how you lured him away from work."

The compliment left Reese somewhere between flattered and uncomfortable.

"So, what are you into, Reese?" he asked.

"Uh." Was he hitting on her? Surely not, if he was Nathan's cousin. He almost seemed friendly except there was something in his smirk that made her think that he didn't really like her. Unless she'd read the whole situation wrong. Reese looked around for an excuse to get away from the guy who was way too pushy for her comfort. Irene and the friend she was talking to were still deeply wrapped up in their conversation. "Oh! I see...Harley over there. She texted me that she needs me, so I really should go. Nice talking to you and all."

"You too, Reese. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other soon."

"Okay," she agreed, hoping it wouldn't be too soon as she hurried over to where Harley was still talking with Chris. On some instinctual level, Keith felt like a threat. But that was probably just her imagination acting up.

Harley was so absorbed in what they were talking about that she didn't even see Reese as she approached until she was right beside her.

"Oh, Reese! Are you having a good time?" Harley asked, smiling widely. Reese had never seen such an honest smile on her friend's face with a guy before. Maybe Chris was a keeper. Even more surprising, their hands were intertwined. Reese hid her surprise at that, since Harley really wasn't the hand holding type. This was serious. She must really, really like Chris.

"Not too bad," Reese agreed. So far, the night hadn't surpassed the pleasure of laying in bed reading a book, but it wasn't that bad. She might not be a huge fan of Keith, but he didn't actually do anything wrong. As long as she kept away from him, she'd be fine.

"Don't worry, Nathan will be here soon," Chris assured her.

She frowned. "Why does everyone think I'm just standing around here waiting for him to show up? I barely even know the guy, so how do you even know that I met him?" Reese asked.

Harley frowned. "Everyone?"

Reese shrugged. "Well, not everyone. But that Keith guy over there introduced himself and brought him up."

Chris frowned. "Just ignore Keith, he's an ass."

Harley looked towards Chris skeptically, for the first time her blissful smile since seeing him faded as her critical mind came into play. "Still, how did he know? How did you even know? I know I didn't even tell you anything over than Reese was inviting someone along and you didn't ask more than that."

Chris had a momentary deer in the headlights expression. "Oh, well, Keith mentioned Nathan was coming when he showed up tonight. And he asked who  Reese was. Should I not have told him?"

Reese got the distinct feeling Chris was hiding something thanks the cringe he didn't quite conceal. She wasn't alone, since Harley was still giving him a distinctly suspicious narrowed eyed glare and the huge guy seemed to be wilting under it. And under all the little observations, Reese's imagination wandered to werewolves and the way they so fiercely guarded their secrets, but she discarded the ridiculous idea as quickly as it had come. More likely he was just worried that Harley was going to tear a strip off of him—and he was right to be because from the look on her face it seemed she was going to kick his butt—or covering for Nathan over the fact that he had been running around talking about her.

That was the weirdest part, that he would mention some random girl he had just met. She wondered what he might have said, and a lot of her imaginings were far from flattering. She really should have just stayed home.

Harley pushed her hair out of her face, Chris's eyes following the movement as if it were the sexiest thing that he had ever seen. She gave Chris a dirty look. "It's strange that you're all talking about Reese when you don't even know her."

"I, uh, it's not like—" His face fell like a scolded puppy when she withdrew her hand from his.

"What does this Nathan want with her? The more I hear about him, the more this situation seems off. And that's not even taking into account this Keith rando bothering her. And if you think I'm going to leave my friend to have to deal with a bunch of sketchy losers you have another—"

"It's nothing bad, I swear!" Chris said, holding up his hands in surrender.

Harley folded her arms. Chris's panic visibly increased, sweat beading at the corner of his temples.

Reese watched the confrontation between Harley and Chris, feeling oddly detached even though she was the source of the conflict. Chris was feeling anything but detached, looking like he was about ready to crack.

"I swear Nathan's not a bad guy, I'm sure he just really likes her, okay? Oh shit he's going to kill me for saying that! I'm probably not supposed to say anything." Chris's head snapped towards Reese. "Please don't tell him."

Reese opened her mouth to assure Chris that she had no intention of causing more drama since this little spat had been more than enough, but Harley interrupted, linking her arm through Reese's. "I'll see you later, Chris," and she pulled Reese away.