I'm not sure why, but I reach out a grab her hand as we walk toward the door. She flinches but doesn't pull away completely.

Halfway up the sidewalk, I can hear everyone screaming and laughing inside.

"I thought you said it was only a small group?" She laughs at the commotion.

"It's usually six of us..." I bang on the door.

Courtney answers and she has a game card stuck to her forehead. "You're late! We're playing Heads Up but Lottie and I are about to win-" She stops when she notices Evangeline beside me. "Hi! I'm Courtney. Abbi, I didn't know you were bringing a guest, come in!"

"I'm Evangeline."

"It's so nice to meet you, officially. I saw you a few weeks ago...with the pizza..." she pulls the playing card off of her forehead. "We have two guests tonight!"

"Two?" I look into the living room where everyone is gathered and I almost groan. Preston is sitting with Sarah in his lap and beside them, her sister, Jen. Awesome. What the fuck is she doing here?

"Connor Abbott," Jen smirks and looks between Evie and I.

"Everyone, this is Evangeline," I shout over their loud laughter.

Preston and Sarah jump up immediately, excitedly introducing themselves to her.

"Do you want a beer?" I whisper before tucking into the kitchen.

"Please."

As I close the refrigerator I'm not at all surprised to see Jen standing there.

"Beer?" I offer her one and reach back in for another.

"Thanks. You're here with a date." Her know-it-all smirk is annoying but she's right so I can't fault her.

"Yes, I am," my voice is monotone as I follow her out into the living room.

"We're going to play trivia since we have four even teams!" Lottie pulls out a box.

Everyone starts to groan and complain. Lottie always wins when we play trivia.

"What's wrong with trivia?" Evie leans into me.

"Lottie always wins. I'm almost sure she reads the cards in advance. It's ridiculous how fast she gets the answers."

"Well, you're in luck. I happen to be the USC drunk trivia champion." She winks and I feel drunk already.

"Drunk trivia?" Preston overhears us.

"Yes, first three questions. Everyone who did answer drinks. After that everyone who guesses wrong, drinks. As everyone gets drunker, there are a lot of wrong answers being thrown around."

"That sounds fun," Sarah and Courtney seem more excited than they did a minute ago.

As we settle into our teams, crammed into the small living room, I can't help but notice how relaxed she is. She doesn't know anyone here but she fits perfectly. Everyone asks her questions about school and California. My eyes meet Jen's across the room and she smiles, not smirky, but a sincere smile.

"Ok," Lottie has already set up the game board and is pouring liquor into glasses. "We can all take a shot before we start, even the playing field." Her brows wiggle.

As the tray comes around, I take two shots, handing one to Evie.

Tapping our glasses together, we raise them to the rest of the room and knock them back. The spicy cinnamon flavor burns all the way down.

"Ok, Evie and Jen, you're guests tonight. Roll to see which team plays first," Lottie hands Jen the dice.

When Evie rolls a six, she squares her shoulders. A smile is still spread across her face, but she's more serious now.

"You had better have your shit together, Abbott," She mocks seriousness. "I will not be dethroned."

Preston laughs from across the room, "He's going to be dead-weight. Be prepared to carry him the whole game!"

Drawing up the first card of questions, Jen reads it aloud. "What does a funambulist walk on?

Biting into her lower lip, she turns to me, checking to see if I know the answer. I know she knows it. Her eyes are sparkling.

"Fuck if I know," I throw my hands up in the air.

"A tight rope," she giggles.

"Thats correct!" Jen shouts and everyone yells a chorus of disbeliving objections.

"How on earth do you know that?" I lean into her side.

"I don't even know. My brain is full of useless information," I feel the weight of her shoulder against mine. She's leaning on me slightly.

As the games goes on, everyone takes a few more shots. Our cheers get louder, our competitiveness grows and my cheeks hurt from smiling.

"Fuck you," Preston shouts, "I'm sure that the right answer!"

"You're wrong," Evie giggles holding the card against her chest. "It's a rabbit."

"No way!" He jumps up while Sarah and Evie burst into a fit of tipsy laughter.

"A Flemish giant is a rabbit!" She holds the card out to him.

"This game is bullshit! Why do we always play this?" He angily stomps to the kitchen for another beer.

Everyone starts whining and pretending to cry.

"This is the part of the evening where we make fun of Preston for being a crybaby." I explain to Evie and Jen as they watch confused.

By the time it gets to our turn again, we only have to get one question right to win the game.

"I've never been this close to a win before. Don't let me down, Evie." I take her hand in mine as she laughs.

"I'm ready," she turns to Jen.

"Who was the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain?"

"Margaret Thatcher!" We both scream at the same time.

The room erupts into drunken cheers and laughter. Game night has never been this fun. Winning is much better than losing, but then again, it might just be her. It's probably just her...

Over the next hour, we play and drink our way through pictionary and uno.

"I'm going to use the bathroom," she whispers as everyone is shuffling toward the door.

I'm only alone for a second before Jen corners me. "You seem happy."

"I am."

"I knew you had it in you," she looks smug.

Rolling my eyes, "I never said I didn't..."

"Don't lose that one. You fit together."

Smiling down at the ground, I hope she's right.

Walking down the darkened street, we laugh and stumble toward her apartment. The walk is much shorter than I would like. We've been together for hours, most of the day really, but it's not enough. I want more. When I met her it was just immediate attraction but now that I've gotten to know her, it's become something else. A different kind of lure.

"I had so much fun tonight," she smiles up at me as we reach the stairs the lead to her door.

"I did too. You should come to the next one."

We linger, standing at the bottom of the steps for just a moment longer than we should.

"I'll see you tomorrow? Well... later today I guess..." she looks at her watch.

"Yes," I respond overeagerly. "I can bring food?"

"Perfect..."

When she takes a slow step up, I grab her hand, spinning her around to face me.

When I press my lips to hers, it's as if I've never kissed anyone else. Our mouths fit together perfectly. Her lips are as soft as I imagined they would be. Feeling bold with her hands on my chest, I press my tongue forward, sliding against hers. She gently sucks it before breathlessly pulling back.

"Come up?" Her cheeks are pink and her lips swollen as she turns leaving me dizzy and breathless at the bottom of the steps.

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