Read The Next Forever for Free Online Page B

wanted, needed a girl to talk to. Unsure if I would spill everything or just needed a place to hide, I let them know I was headed for the bathroom. Unfortunately it wasn’t until after I said it that I realized it was the second time in less than an hour that I’d said the word bathroom to Trevor. Forget even having a choice to reject him—I was doing just fine getting him to do that on his own. When I think of Amy, I think of her using the bathroom. Maybe she’s majoring in plumbing.
    I fought through the crowd, my cup held high so it wouldn’t spill. Just as I suspected, there was a line for the bathroom and girls were in it. There was something about standing in line for the bathroom that made it okay to talk to people you didn’t know. There was something about an unnamed shot from a flask and an almost finished beer that made it okay to talk to anyone.
    “I hate waiting in line,” I said to the girl next to me. It was true and it wasn’t like I knew what else to say. It’s not like I could start with, I am a gigantic whore .
    “Yeah,” she said, turning to me. She had flame-dipped red hair, definitely from a jar, and eyes so blue they made my teeth hurt.
    “Is there another bathroom?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going. What I really wanted to ask was, What am I doing here? How could I do this to Joe? Why did I agree to even come? Why am I still here? But she barely seemed interested in talking to me as is.
    “I wish,” she said. She looked around like she wanted to find that other bathroom just so I’d stop talking to her.
    But I couldn’t. I was a little drunk and when I’m a little drunk, I ignore the social cues life’s stage manager is giving me. This one was clearly, Move on .
    “I’m afraid I’m going to cheat on my boyfriend,” I said, amazed how easily it came out of my mouth.
    “What?” she asked, her head spinning so fast to look at me it might have launched across the room if it wasn’t attached. Now she was interested. I knew drama could make anyone your new best friend. I needed a new best friend, even if it was for just as long as it took the girls in front of us to finish peeing.
    “I’m here with someone who isn’t my boyfriend,” I said, hoping that would make more sense.
    “Naughty,” she teased. “Which one is he?” She twirled her hair around her finger so tightly her skin was turning as red as her hair.
    “Does it matter?” I asked, feeling a bit like I was being interrogated, even though I was clearly asking for it.
    “Um, yeah it matters. If he’s superhot, I say go for it. You only live once, right?” She held her cup high. “YOLO!” She laughed and took a drink.
    “YOLO,” I repeated, not nearly with the force she’d said it. More like I was responding with here in class.
    “So,” she said, leaning in to me, “who’s the lucky guy?”
    “That’s him,” I said, pointing to where Trevor was standing. It was obvious even from this far away that he was indeed superhot. His blond hair fell just to his eyes, his worn leather jacket fit snug enough that you could see the muscles in his arms, the jeans he wore perfectly framed his ass, and he stood like the floor was lucky to have him on top of it.
    I would say pretty much any girl in the room would be lucky to have him on top of her.
    He wanted me to be his bad girl , and I liked that he wanted it—more than liked it.
    “Do it,” she said, her breath hot in my ear.
    I guess I had been asking her permission. I’d been asking permission from someone I didn’t even know because once again I was too afraid to just do what I wanted to do.
    Even if I wasn’t completely sure what that was.
    The bathroom door opened for her turn.
    “My Twitter handle is @RockinRed15,” she said. “DM me what happens.” She closed the door behind her.
    I grabbed my phone from my pocket, logged in to Twitter, and followed her, because at least if things went to shit with Joe, I’d have someone to talk to