C005: Not-So-Invisible Invisible Girl

“Who’s the new baddie?” Deacon leaned toward me, shouting over the music.

I barely heard him.

I was sitting back on the couch, half listening to my teammates argue about last night’s game. Some girl whose name I didn’t remember was gently stroking my hair.

I followed his gaze across the room. And froze. A girl had just walked through the door.

She was stunning.

Long hair falling over her shoulders. A fitted top. Short skirt. Her face was framed perfectly by makeup and there was something about the way she carried herself that made heads turn.

Including mine.

I stood.

“Who is she?” Deacon asked.

“I don’t know.”

But even as I said it, something about her looked familiar. I stared harder.

No.

That couldn’t be right. I crossed the room, desperate to get a closer look.

The closer I got, the stronger the feeling became.

Same eyes. Same mouth. Same little crease between her brows.

The girl in Room 309.

My eyebrows rose.

Impossible.

The girl I’d met earlier had been buried beneath an oversized sweater and a pair of glasses. Her hair had been messy, her face completely bare, and she’d looked like she’d rather spend the evening reorganizing a library than attending a party.

This girl looked nothing like her. Except she did. It was the same face. The same eyes.

The same Wren.

Just…different.

Like, different - Hot. Very hot.

I stopped a few feet away. Maybe she’d seen me coming because her eyes widened.

“Wren?”

She looked at me. “Hi.”

Her voice was quieter than the music. But I recognized it immediately. It was definitely her.

I smiled. “Well, this is a surprise.”

She immediately looked uncomfortable. Her eyes darted around the room. Then toward the door. Then back at me.

She shifted from one foot to the other, and every time the bass thumped through the floor, she jumped a little.

She was completely out of her element. That much was obvious. She looked like she was calculating how quickly she could escape.

I stepped closer. “You look amazing. I’m glad you came.”

She gave me a look. “Don’t get too excited.”

I laughed. There she was. The snacky girl from Room 309.

I gently grabbed her arm to keep her from disappearing into the crowd before I’d had a chance to talk to her.

She immediately glanced down at my hand.

I waited to see if she realized what I was trying to do. But she just looked back at me. “You have Pri to thank for having me here. She made me come.”

“Of course,” I said with a knowing smile.

“She practically dragged me here.”

I smirked. “So you didn’t come for me?”

“No.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

She rolled her eyes. I laughed. God, she was different tonight. Not just because of the clothes or makeup. She seemed more exposed somehow.

Like she’d stepped out of the careful little world she’d built for herself and wasn’t sure what to do now that everyone could see her.

I gently pulled on her hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Her eyes widened. “Where are we going?”

“To sit with my friends. As much as I’ll love to, we can’t stand here all night. ”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she muttered.

“Trust me.” I didn’t wait for her to agree. I simply dragged her by her hand towards my group. They were all staring at us.

Pri followed behind us, looking much more comfortable than Wren.

When we reached my teammates, Deacon’s eyebrows raised. He looked from me to Wren and then back to me. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?”

Wren immediately opened her mouth. “I am not-”

I grinned and raised my voice, drowning her out. “Guys, meet Wren.” They stared. “The girl from Room 309.”

The group erupted. “No way! Room 309? That’s her?”

Wren’s cheeks turned bright red. I could practically taste the question in her eyes. But before she could ask me anything, Pri spoke.

“Hi, everyone. I’m her lucky roommate. Nice to meet you all.”

The guys welcomed them immediately. Someone handed Pri a drink. I reached for another cup and offered it to Wren.

She looked at it suspiciously. “What is it?”

“Vodka.”

Her expression changed. “I don’t drink.”

Deacon immediately started laughing. “Cal, you brought the one girl who won’t drink to a party?”

The guys started teasing me. Then someone began chanting. “Drink! Drink! Drink!”

Wren looked horrified. She shook her head. “No, seriously. I don’t-”

The chant got louder. We were starting to draw attention from the other people in the room.

I raised my brow at her. “You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.” I pretended to be heartbroken. “But if you don’t, I am going to be the laughingstock of the night?”

She stared at me for a moment, clearly conflicted. She looked around at everyone. She clearly hated the attention.

Finally, with a roll of her her eyes, she lifted the cup. I didn’t expect her to actually do it. But she did. She swallowed the drink in one go.

The reaction around us was deafening. “Let’s go!”

Wren lowered the cup then immediately doubled over coughing.

Her face turned red. She waved a hand, trying to tell everyone she was fine.

“Easy.” I reached for her.

She was still coughing when I pulled her toward me, shamelessly taking advantage of the her momentary inability to argue.

I dropped into one of the chairs behind us and before she could regain her balance, pulled her onto my lap.

She stared at me through watery eyes.

I gave her a cheeky smile and patted her back. “Breathe.”

She tried to push herself upright. “Get-”

But another cough cut her off and kept her on my lap.

The guys around us were laughing and shouting, but I barely heard them.

Her coughing caused her to jiggle up and down on my lap. Her chest jiggled along with the rest of her body.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Suddenly, I hated those damn sweaters with all my life.

Someone cleared their throat and I finally tore my eyes away. But my eyes weren’t the only ones on her. Every guy in a three-meter radius had their eyes glued to her chest.

Suddenly, the girl from Room 309 didn’t seem so invisible anymore.

And I wasn’t the only one who had noticed.