CHAPTER ONE

"Shot, shot, shot, shot, shot!"

I throw back my third shot of burning, cheap tequila, and grunt. I can already feel the buzz of the alcohol rushing through my system, making me lightheaded and having me stumbling on the ridiculously high heels my sister is making me wear.

"Easy tiger!" The culprit laughs and grabs my arm to steady me. "When did you become such a lightweight, sissy?"

"Since I've been studying and working twenty-four seven!" I wipe my mouth and remember too late that I'm wearing a scandalous shade of red lipstick. Luckily, my sister is a genius when it comes to the art of make-up because the back of my hand comes back clean.

"You are so beautiful." Sammy gushes at my sister, her eyes shiny behind her glasses from only one shot of tequila.

Most people are enamored by my sister when they first meet her. She's beautiful with a raucous personality, making her noticeable wherever she goes. She enjoys the attention, too, soaking up everything thrown her way.

"You guys are soooooooooo boring!" She rolls her eyes and throws herself another shot. "I thought college was supposed to be fun, bang all the hot guys, and go out and shit!"

I'm sure that's what she thought. I'm also pretty sure that's what she's been doing even without going to college.

There's not much difference between my sister and I when it comes to looks. We both have long, shiny dark locks, emerald eyes, and a full mouth, but that's where the similarities end.

"Did you not go to school?" Sammy asks with a tilt to her cute head.

Phoebe throws her head back and laughs, Sammy joining in even though there wasn't even a joke told. See, even women are bewitched with my sister's looks and personality. And she thrives on the attention, just like another woman in my life I don't want to think about.

I remind myself that Phoebe is nothing like her, even though the evidence is staring me right in the face.

"Girl, I barely surived high school." Phoebe pours three more shots. "Now bottoms up, it's my little sister's twenty-first birthday. We are going out, we are getting wasted, and we are getting laid!"

And there we get to the reason why my sister got on a bus and came all the way to see me.

I'm twenty-one, meaning I'm finally at a legal age to drink. Not that that has stopped her before giving me alcohol.

We're only two years apart, and of course, she was the most popular girl in school, dragging me to every party. Which was good, because I had to save her ass more times than I can count, from being too drunk to drive her beat-up car she got from some guy in our neighborhood, from guys who tried to take advantage of her.

I didn't mind, though, because she's my sister and she's all I ever had.

Plus, once upon a time, she saved me too, and I will be forever grateful to her.

"I don't want to get laid." Sammy blushes profusely.

She, too, is dressed up like some social media influencer, as if we do this every weekend, as if we care.

We are nerds, we study and we tutor. That is who we are.

Have I gotten a lot of interest from the opposite sex over the years? Yes, tons, but I've managed to dodge all the advances. Apparently, I'm known as the Ice Queen around campus, as if I gave a damn.

Most of these students come from cozy, stable backgrounds. They don't have to claw their way out of the dungeon. If they fail, their mommies and daddies will be waiting for them with tissues to wipe their eyes.

I don't have that type of luxury. Luxury, to me, is getting a solid, uninterrupted four hours' worth of sleep.

And that's why Sammy and I are friends. Our backgrounds aren't exactly the same. She actually has a mother who gives a damn about her, but they're poor, so we understand each other.

We both have a lot to lose, so we stick together, and we stay out of trouble.

Until the beautiful disaster that is my sister arrived, that is.

"Nobody is getting laid tonight." I promise her and shove my sister with my shoulder. "Understood?"

"Speak for yourself!" Phoebe huffs. "If I find a prime piece of meat, he's mine. This is the big city, ladies, and I'm out to hunt!"

Yip, definitely like someone I know.

Phoebe's splendid idea of my twenty-first birthday is to go to some trendy club with a line so long, my feet ache just looking at it.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else, maybe somewhere a little more low-key." I tell her, but she gives me the stink eye, marching straight to the bouncer at the entrance with a confidence I sometimes wish I possessed.

The guy doesn't even blink. He just opens the rope for us as if we belong there.

"How did you do that?" There's awe in Sammy's voice, and I roll my eyes. She's going to have to take the admiration down a bit. My sister thrives on that kind of attention.

Next thing you know, she will be the owner of your vehicle, and you will have to take public transportation.

I can feel heads turning in our direction as we wade through the packed bodies in the club, probably thanks to half our asses hanging from these damn outfits.

The club itself is really cool if you like that type of thing. I don't, of course, I prefer having conversations where we can actually hear each other.

"Let's get a drink!" Phoebe shouts over a hip hop song that's currently very popular.

I grab Sammy's arm so I don't lose her in the crowd. She's tiny, and I don't think she'll know what to do when a guy starts gyrating against her. I, on the other hand, have tons of experience kicking men in the balls.

We walk to the nearest bar and the crowd parts like the Red Sea for Phoebe. Her kind of looks can be both a curse and a blessing. In cases like these, it's definitely a blessing.

"Three tequilas and three Long Island ice teas, please."She shouts at the bartender whose eyes go straight to her tits.

Typical.

My face starts burning in that tell-tale sign that someone is watching me.

When you come from a place where I come from, you learn to trust your instincts. Otherwise, you end up raped and dead.

I look around me and spot a group of guys sitting over at a section of couches. They're looking at us, and one winks at me when my eyes land on them. They are about my age and look like privileged assholes who have never needed to work a day in their life. So I flip them the bird and turn back towards my girls, accepting the shot my sister holds out to me.

"To my sister, best friend, and lifelong companion!" She announces. "Happy twenty-first birthday, you make me so proud, and I hope you land on a well-endowed dick soon! Cheers!"

I drink to that, not on the dick part, though. I can't afford to get distracted by the male species.

The feeling like someone is watching me persists, awareness tingling up my spine, and something I can't quite put my finger on.

It feels a lot like....

Excitement.

Weird.

"Ladies!" The bartender pushes our Long Island ice teas towards us. There's disappointment in his eyes as he looks at Phoebe. "You're invited to the VIP area."