Out Of Line by Jen McLaughlin Read Free Book Online

folding table. “Which one do you want?”
    I eyed the choices skeptically, then reached for a pink drink with a picture of the beach on the label. “This one, I guess.”
    “Good choice.” Marie opened it for me and grabbed a beer from the table. After opening her own drink, she nodded to the room. “Next assignment is for you to find a cute guy and start talking to him. Think of this like a class. A class at how to party properly.”
    I rolled my eyes. “But—”
    I turned around and Marie was gone, already chatting up a guy I vaguely recognized. Great. Just freaking great. Now what? Everywhere I looked, people were already engrossed in conversations. I wasn’t the type of girl who just barged in and invaded other people’s conversations. Giving up on finding someone who wasn’t already busy, I scanned the room, looking for somewhere to sit. As I searched, I tilted my drink to my lips. It tasted sweet and a little bit like pink lemonade.
    Whoever came up with this type of alcohol was brilliant .
    Spying an empty spot by the door, I carefully made my way across the room in my heels and sat down on the step leading outside. I hadn’t left, but it gave me room to breathe. It was a win-win. No sooner had I sat down than a man was next to me, a beer in his hand and a sloppy grin on his face.
    “Hey, there,” he said, his voice slurred. “Haven’t seen you around here before.”
    How many drinks had he had? I got nervous around drunk people. They were too unpredictable. Dad had thrown a dinner party once and a man had gotten drunk and punched another guy for looking at his wife too long. He’d been perfectly fine, and even polite, before the drinking.
    Though my urge to run was strong, I forced myself to take a sip of my drink. I’d been running away enough. It was time to stand still. “Yeah, I’m new here.”
    “Freshman?”
    “Yep.” I took another sip. The drink was delicious. “You?”
    He scooted closer to me, pressing his body against mine. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, overwhelming and sickening. “I’m a junior.”
    I stiffened. Though Finn had done the same thing earlier, his body pressed to mine hadn’t made me want to gag. It hadn’t made me feel like a thousand worms squiggled under my skin. I scooted away from him. “Nice.”
    He reached out and played with my hair, leaning so close that his beer breath washed over me. “I like this color. Is it real?”
    “Uh, yeah.” I pulled my hair free and slid into the corner of the banister. “What’s your major?”
    “You are,” he said, following me.
    That had to be the corniest line I had ever heard or read. And I’d read a heck of a lot of books. I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Okay, that was funny.”
    “It’s only the beginning.”
    Without warning, his lips closed over mine. Instead of the electric whir I had felt when Finn kissed me, the itchy need to get closer to him…I couldn’t breathe. I tore free of this man’s smothering mouth, but he moved on to my neck without a second’s hesitation.
    “Get off me.” Shoving at his shoulders, I stood up and took a calming breath. After setting my half empty bottle on the step, I said, “I have a boyfriend.”
    “Oh. Why didn’t you tell me before you kissed me?” Beer Breath asked. He stumbled to his feet and adjusted his junk.
    So freaking attractive .
    “I didn’t—”
    “Get lost,” a hard voice that I recognized said from the shadows. “You’ll go back to your stupid little party and find another drunk girl to hit on.”
    “Says who?” Beer Breath asked, a cocky grin on his face.
    “Says me,” Finn said, stepping out of the shadows. He flexed his fists and stepped closer to me. “Go ahead. Give me a reason to punch your fucking face in, and I’ll gladly oblige.”
    Beer Breath paled and shuffled backward. “Dude. She kissed me.”
    “No, I didn’t.”
    “We wouldn’t expect you to know the difference, now would we?” Finn asked, his voice