"Fuck, it's hot as shit in here!" I exclaim, running a hand through my hair.

I hear Sofia giggle as she watches me. "I think you're just drunk."

"What? Nooo." I reply, waving her off. "I just feel a little fuzzy is all."

"He's drunk." I hear the two say.

"Can I get you guys anything else to drink?" The same waiter as before asks.

"I want a jello shot!" Sofia says, bouncing in her seat.

"Jello sounds so good." I slur, laying my head back on the cool leather of the couch.

"Can we get like...nine?" Shane asks the waiter.

"Any flavor in particular?" The man asks.

"Grape!" I exclaim, leaning up instantly.

"Let's make a few of them grape." Shane says with a smile.

"I'm so glad you're drunk right now." Sofia tells me with an amused look on her face.

"I'm not drunk." I reply.

"You couldn't walk in a straight line if you tried." She replies.

"Liar!" I laugh in reply as I stand up to show her. I stumble slightly as I try to walk the straightest line possible. I only give up once I have to grab the table for support. "Maybe I am drunk." I inform the two.

Shane starts to laugh before grabbing my arm to take a seat.

"Wow." I say, looking up at the ceiling.

"What?" He asks.

"There are so many colors." I say, pointing to the ceiling. "And they're spinning." I add.

"He's absolutely plastered." Shane tells Sofia.

"Here we go! Nine jello shots." I hear. I'm sure it's the waiter bringing the drinks, but I'm too lazy to even lift my head up to look.

"Want to hold off for a second?" Shane asks, nudging me slightly.

"Are they grape?" I ask.

"Three of them are." He replies.

"I call dibs!" I say, sitting up to grab one of the plastic cups.

I fucking love jello.

No more than a minute later, all of our jello shots are gone.

"I think I should have only gotten jello shots. I love jello. Reminds me of a hospital." I state.

"God, I love you." Sofia laughs, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"Why isn't Natalia here? I miss her." I tell the two.

"Oh God, please don't tell me that you're an emotional drunk." Shane laughs.

"I'm not!" I reply with certainty. "I don't cry. I'm a man."

"Men cry." Sofia reminds me.

"Not this man." I say, flexing my arm for emphasis.

"Can we go downstairs?" Sofia says, looking down at the crowd of people dancing.

"I don't know." Shane replies with concern.

"Let's go downstairs!" I exclaim, standing up and offering Sofia my hand. I want her to have a good time. I can be fun. I can do stuff like this. I think I'm enjoying it so far.

Shane stands with us as we walk downstairs and towards the crowd of people. If anyone has bumped into me,I haven't felt it. I can't feel anything right now.

"Oh shit." I hear Shane mutter. I look over to see what he's looking at but can't get my eyes to focus.

"What?" I ask, trying to find what he's commenting on.

"Nothing." He replies, turning his attention to Sofia.

"You're lying." I reply, turning my body to see what it is that he's looking for.

"Dude, come on." He says, trying to get my attention.

I look over and see a tall man standing towards a small table. I recognize him instantly.

"No way! It's Nathan." I say, pointing over to him and Marcus.

I must have yelled much louder than expected, because I see him look over and nudge Marcus as the two approach us.

"God damnit, Gray." Shane curses, looking anywhere but at the two men walking towards us.

"Grayson." Nathan says, giving us a brisk nod. "And it's Shane, yeah?"

"Yeah, what's up man?" Shane says, giving him a quick handshake.

"Not too much. I've got to say. I'm pretty surprised to see the two of you here." He laughs.

"I don't know why. We're the ones who live here." I say, feeling my words slur slightly.

"Yeah." He laughs in reply. "Tell me, where's my sister at?" He asks.

"Natalia?" I ask.

"Yes. Natalia." He says. "The only sister that I have."

"She's at home. My home. She had to finish work tonight. I didn't want to come out without her but she told me that I needed to. I miss her. I should call her!" I say, pulling my phone out of my pocket and looking down at the screen. I can't even focus my eyes on the time, let alone unlock my phone to make a call.

"She's at your place?" He asks.

"Yes...It could be our place." I correct him. "I want for her to move in with me."

"Hold on, what?" He asks.

"Gray, stop." Shane urges, giving my shoulder a hard nudge.

"I want for her to move in with me." I repeat.

"You're joking, right?" He asks with a laugh.

"No. I want her to move in. I'm sure she will, too. She's awesome, you know? She's really cool." I say. Natalia is so cool.

"I think Sofia wants to go and get another drink." Shane says, trying to pull me away.

"Oh! This is Sofia. She's my sister." I say, pointing to Sofia. "Sofia, this is Nathan. Natalia's brother."

"Nice to meet you." Sofia says with an uninterested look on her face.

"Same to you." Nathan says before going right back to our conversation. "Hold on. Don't you think it's too early to move in with each other?" He asks.

"No! I want her to be with me all of the time. She's already at my house every night. The last time she was at her own apartment was like...two weeks ago. I love her. I wish she was here right now." I say.

"Okay, maybe you don't need another drink." Shane says, trying again to pull me away.

"Love her? Are you serious?" Nathan asks.

"Yeah. God, she's perfect. I miss her. Where is she?" I ask Shane.

"At home. I think we should probably go home, too. You're wasted." Shane replies.

"What's your problem with me?" I finally ask, turning back to Nathan. This guy has a problem with me and I want to know why.

"Excuse me?" Nathan asks with an amused laugh.

"You. What's your problem with me? I've been nothing but nice to you and you've always hated me. Even in high school." I slur. "You, too. You're a fucking dick. Plus, you dated my girlfriend. Not cool, man." I say, turning to Marcus. I have no idea why Natalia would ever date Marcus.

Marcus lets out a loud laugh at my comment and slaps Nathan on the shoulder.

"Oh God." Shane groans. "Grayson, stop."

"I don't have a problem." Nathan answers.

"Yes you do. Nat told me that you did." I say.

"It's not you that I have a problem with." He says.

"Yes it is." I reply. "I'll be good to your sister, I swear. She's my entire life. I love her." I slur.

"You don't love her. You don't even know her."

"Yes I do! I know her more than anyone else." I say. "She's my girl."

"How can you love a girl that you've only known for a few months?" He asks with a laugh.

"I just do." I shrug.

"No, you don't. I know her more than anyone else. That's my sister. I know her the most. Not you. Got it? You're just the guy she feels safe with right now. You're nothing more than a quick rebound from Ryan. She needs you to make her feel good, and then she'll find someone a little more her type. I don't mean to be an asshole to you, but it's the truth. You're nothing more than a rebound." He tells me.

He's lying. I know he's lying. What the hell does he know about our relationship?

"That's not true. She loves me. That's why she'll move in with me. Just you wait and see." I say.

"I've seen this play out. You're not good enough for her, Grayson. I'm not saying this to be a dick. I'm just telling you the truth." He sighs.

"Fuck you, Nathan." I say, pushing him away from me.

"Grayson!" Shane says, grabbing me by the shoulder.

"No! He doesn't know shit." I yell.

"You're fucking wasted. Don't push him. It's not worth it. All you're going to do is make Natalia upset. Let's just go home. You can be with her, okay?" Shane explains.

"You don't know anything, Nathan. You may not think I'm good enough for Natalia, but I know that I am. I'm so much better than all of those other guys. I'm rich. I have an entire company that I built from the ground up. I'm successful and I can support her with anything that she may want. I'm not a rebound. A rebound wouldn't do the things she's doing with me. I'm not a rebound." I say, stepping towards Nathan.

"You're an inexperienced guy going for a hurt, vulnerable girl. She's using you. I love her, but it's the truth."

"You're wrong. You've always been wrong about me, and now you're wrong about this too. And I'll have you know that even for an inexperienced guy, she said that I eat her pussy like a pro!" I exclaim.

"Oh my God, shut the fuck up." Shane says, covering my mouth with his hand. I pull his hand away and move every time he tries to cover it.

"I don't want to hear that shit." Nathan says, closing his eyes in disgust.

"Just had to add that." I say, feeling pretty proud at the memory. "Let's go. I'm done with this guy." I say to Shane.

"Yeah, we're leaving." Shane says with a nod.

"Wait." Nathan says. "Hold on."

"I think that's enough for tonight." Sofia says, placing a hand on me and Shane's shoulder.

"Sofie." I say, giving her a hug. "I'm glad you're back. Don't go back to Wisconsin. America's Dairyland."

I fucking love cheese.

"Okay, he's wasted. He needs to go home. Otherwise, he's going to have a terrible hangover." She replies.

"No I won't!" I say.

"It's a little too late for that." Shane replies.

"Let's just...start over? Yeah?" Nathan says, holding his hands up in defense. "Let's just have one last drink. I've got a table over there with some buddies of mine. We'll get him some water. Let him sober up." He offers. "He doesn't mean the shit he's saying right now. Plus, I doubt he remembers any of this tomorrow." He says.

"Water sounds so good right now." I tell Shane.

"Fine." He grumbles in reply. "This isn't a good idea, though."

"I've got one last thing to say!" I say, leaning on Shane for support.

"I really don't think you should say it." Sofia says, covering my mouth with her hand.

Instead of fighting it, I let her silence me.

-

Okay...drunk Grayson is a TRIP.

I love it. He's perfect. Can't wait for you guys to see how the rest of this night plays out.