"How do I look?" my cheery best friend asks me as the upbeat music plays through her room. 

I analyze her outfit from her nude pink thick tanktop that's tucked into her white shorts to her all-white leather converse. Her hair was tied into a high pony and she had minimal makeup on. She looked really good. 

"Earth to Bri" my best friend snaps her fingers in front of me. 

"You look good Jour, but you knew that" I playfully joke and she smiles. 

"Good because I'm hoping to see Sebastian tonight," she says shyly and I shake my head. 

Sebastian is the typical guy next door type. His family is french, but Sebastian speaks excellent English. He's a really sweet guy from what I've gathered, and he's planning on attending Duke this coming fall with us.

"You naughty girl" I tease my best friend and she blushes. In the mirror, I focus on how I look as I analyze my appearance. 

I'm wearing a black lace spaghetti strap top tucked into a black leather skirt with short block heels that lace from my ankles to my calves. I decided to wear my curly hair in a high bun as my curls overflow out of it, and I have light makeup on. 

"Who all will be at this party?" I ask as I apply a clear gloss to my plump lips and my best friend looks at me through the mirror. 

"Mostly college students, but some of our grade will be there as well," she says while spraying herself with vanilla perfume, and I grab my strawberry coconut one mimicking her actions. 

"Our first technical college party" I breathe out before putting the lid on my perfume. 

"Look at us" I brag and my best friend smiles while clapping excitingly. 

"I can't believe it Bri," she says happily before opening her door and I follow her lead. 

We walk down her wide hallway before reaching her wide wooden stairs. As we descend my block heels click against the wood. We walk into the open concept kitchen that is intermixed with the living room. Journee's parents are sitting at the kitchen island drinking wine, engrossed in a conversation that seems serious but light. 

"You girls look beautiful," Journee's mom's attention redirects towards us. Her similar hazel eyes remind me of Jordy as she admires us. She rises from her chair with her wine glass in hand as a smile is spread across her face. "You know I'm so proud of you girls" she beams as she walks over to us and Journee smiles while shaking her head. 

"We had this conversation at least thirty times already, and that's not counting graduation" Journee jokes and her mom lets out an airy laugh before taking a sip of her wine. 

"You're right Jour, I just can't believe you're all grown up," she reminisces and Journee pulls her into a quick hug, and I mimic her actions after. Her mom walks back to her previous seat before sitting her glass down, and Journee's dad goes to speak. 

"Oh, Brielle have you met Jordy yet?" Journees dad questions as his dark eyes connect with mine. I nod automatically thinking back to our weird, but intense meeting earlier. 

"I'm just surprised none of you had mentioned me" her captivating voice fills the room, catching me off guard. 

She jokes, "Hurts just a little" as she enters the room, and I get a good look at her. 

She's wearing a loose graphic tee with the sleeves rolled, showing her tattoo partially, and white sweatshorts accompany her muscular legs. A pair of colorful Nike Airmax's grip her feet, while her wavy hair spills out of her white snapback that is faced backward. I notice her hazel eyes fixed on me as they trace my body from head to toe. Butterflies fill my stomach as I shift my weight from one foot to the other. 

"You going to the party tonight Jordy?" Journee questions her and Jordy nods in response. 

She leans over the kitchen counter making her arms flex slightly at the tension, and I quickly, but unintentionally cross my legs. Her eyes snap back to me as her gaze looks to my now crossed legs, and her plump lips upturn slightly. 

"Are you driving or would you rather carpool?" Journee asks earning Jordy's attention. 

"I'd rather drive," she answers, and Journee nods before looping our arms together. 

Of course, she'd rather drive, why would she want to be in a car with me? I scold my inner thoughts as we exit the large house to Journee's car.

The drive to the lake felt short when in reality the drive was over an hour-long, even with Journee speeding. Jordy was weighing on my mind heavily and it felt weird. I couldn't stop thinking about the way her soft wavy hair flowed onto her shoulders, or how she carried herself so confidently that you couldn't help but focus on her in the room. I wanted more. I wanted to know everything that there is to know about her. I abruptly stop my thoughts realizing this could just be lust or infatuation. Though I can't help but wonder, does she think about me too? 

We park on the side of the street amongst other cars and make our way to the driveway. The walk from the driveway to the house itself felt like a hike, but there was no way possible to secure a spot any closer than we had. As we approach the house, we can hear music bumping and see colored lights shining through the numerous glass windows. 

"You ready to go in," Journee asks and I nod eagerly as I notice the people laughing and drinking in front of the house. 

"Yay okay," she says excitingly and I follow her as she takes us past the group of people and into the enormous house. 

The loud music somehow got louder as we get closer to the source emitting it, and Journee interlocks our hands together. I feel a wave of comfort flow through me knowing I'm not alone; parties aren't my scene, but they can be enjoyable. After passing the living room, which is filled with too many bodies to count, we enter the kitchen. There are people conversating as they drink whatever is in their cups, Journee and I look at the many drink options displayed, and we both decide on Hennessy. This would probably end up being a bad idea later, but I want to have fun and start this summer off properly.

Journee and I take five shots of Hennessy before walking out to the backyard. There's light music playing as people stand in front of a bonfire conversing and laughing. I look over towards the lake seeing people down at the docks in the warm water splashing and swimming amongst themselves. I take a second to take this entire scene in, being grateful to even witness and be a part of this. Maybe it was the alcohol in my system, but I was suddenly feeling extremely grateful. 

"Bri I think I see Sebastian," Journee whispers, and I look in the direction that she's looking. I see a brown-haired guy holding a white claw in one hand while engaging in a conversation with a group of people. 

"What are we waiting for? Let's go over," I encourage her and she nods quickly, but pulls her phone out first.

"First I need to text Luca and Eva and tell them we're in the back, so they aren't lost when they get here," she explains referring to our other friends. 

Luca is one of the sweetest guys I've met, from his blue eyes and curly blonde to his outgoing personality hair he's never had trouble attracting girls or friends. Eva, on the other hand, is one of the shyest girls I know but once she opens up to you she'll never stop talking. Her brown eyes and straight orange hair highlight her prominent features, and she always seems to light up the room without trying. 

"Okay let's go," she says while locking her phone and slipping it into her back pocket and I nod following her lead. 

"Journee you made it!" Sebastian's deep voice beams as we reach the group of people. Journee hugs Sebastian and he gives me a respectful smile, his green eyes crinkling from the action. 

"You must be Brielle," he holds out his hand for a shake, and I don't hesitate to shake it. 

"In the flesh" I joke and he laughs before pulling Journee gently to his side. 

"Jordy, when did you get here?" Journee asks causing me to redirect my focus to the brunette standing amongst the group. 

Our eyes lock and I realize her eyes had already been on me causing my insides to turn to mush. Why am I like this? She's my best friend's sister, I seriously need to chill out. This is probably all in my head when in reality she probably thinks I'm Journee's weird best friend. 

"I got here a few minutes ago," she informs Journee as her gaze follows back to her. With the alcohol in my system and the stream of thoughts running through my head, I feel guilty. 

Guilty that even though I'm telling myself that Jordy's off-limits, I still think about her. I think about exploring her body, tracing over her tattoos; feeling her soft skin under mine. Then there's a part of me that want's to listen to her talk about random things she likes or dislikes; listening to how her day has been while cuddled up next to each other. No-no I have to think about Journee, this is her sister for god sake.

"I'll be right back," I say giving Journee a forced smile, which was harder than usual considering the alcohol in my system makes it harder to suppress my emotions. 

Journee nods returning the smile and I quickly turn around and head towards the cabin; avoiding Jordy's noticeable gaze that I felt burning through me. 

I need to cool down and somehow get my thoughts in order. 

I make my way into the house and find the first empty bedroom, which was harder said than done. Once I make it into the dark bedroom I go to the bathroom attached to the bedroom. Taking time to be grateful for the bathroom attached; I make my way to the sink and turn on the cold water. Once the water reaches as cold as I thought it could get, I wet my hands and press them to my face. This is just a crush I try to remind myself. I then remind myself of why these impending thoughts were thoroughly wrong. 

Once I get myself and my thoughts together, I make my way back down to the party. I stop at the kitchen to take a few shots, knowing ill need some of it in my system to handle these risky emotions. I head back out to the backyard feeling like somewhat of myself again as I spot my friends I make my way over. I notice my redheaded friend Eva and my blonde-headed friend, Luca conversing among the group. 

"Bri baby is in the house!" Luca announces as he emphasizes baby before pulling me into a tight hug and spinning me around. 

"Luc, you've been drinking haven't you?" I question him as he sets me down and he nods shamelessly. 

I look over to Eva who gives me an innocent look and I try to look as mad as I can, "Eva you know to cut him off after three shots" I say and she shrugs.

"You know how convincing he is" she reminds me and I look to Luca, who's giving me puppy dog eyes. 

I roll my eyes and look back to Eva who's trying to hold in her laugh and Luca waves his White Claw in my face, "Loosen up Bri and try some" he offers the alcoholic beverage to me. 

I look to the rest of the group to see Sebastian and Journee conversing and laughing to themselves and Sebastian's friends in a deep conversation about sports. I notice Jordy isn't here, so I glance around the backyard to see her conversing with another group. The group of people she's talking to seem really engrossed in the conversation, and I notice one of the brunettes standing a little too close to Jordy. A little too close Bri? Really? Stop being weird I tell myself.

"Fine" I reluctantly agree as I focus my attention back on Luca before grabbing the White Claw and chugging it. 

Eva and Luca yell chug as I down the entire alcoholic beverage, feeling the carbonation on the back of my throat as the buzz starts to already affect me. 

"Yes that's my girl" Journee whoops and I muster a smile and everything starts to feel good as the alcohol pumps throughout my veins.

"Now let's really get the party started" Luca yells as he grabs another White Claw from the box and chugs it. 

I pray internally that I survive tonight.