[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapter 121. (Patreon)

Chapter 121: Intermission - The girls’ Friday night.

Mila had a much harder time than usual picking her outfit for that night’s party. Her closet was full of nice pants, cute dresses and stylish tops, so she wasn’t lacking for options. No, the problem was that no outfit seemed appropriate. She wanted to look nice and presentable, but… What was the point if her boyfriend wasn’t going to be there?

Mila sat on her bed and pouted. She knew Oliver felt uncomfortable at parties, so she didn’t try to force him, but she wanted him there. She wanted to dance with him, have a drink with him and introduce him to her other friends. What was the point of dressing nice if her boyfriend wasn’t going to see her looking cute?

In the end, Mila decided on a pair of ripped jeans, a white tank top and a cropped black jacket. She figured that just because Oliver wouldn’t be there it wasn’t an excuse to slack off on her outfit, and this looked casual enough.

Sarah would be the designated driver again, so Mila wouldn’t be taking her car. Her friend should be here to pick her up in a few minutes. She said goodbye to her parents, told her little brother to go to sleep early, and went out to meet Sarah.

Grace was already in the copilot seat, so Mila sat at the back. She quickly checked her friends’ outfits too. Grace had a wine red blouse and a long black skirt. Sarah was wearing white jeans, a black halter top and a purple windbreaker.

“Please tell me I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t pick an outfit for tonight,” Mila said.

Sarah groaned and lightly slammed her forehead on the rim of the steering wheel. “I had picked something better than this, showing a little bit of cleavage, more leg, and I was going to send Oliver a picture. But then I thought ‘Wait, he’s not going. Why the hell am I dressing to impress?’ Then it felt mean to send him a picture, so I changed into this.”

Sarah didn’t look bad by any stretch, but this really was more modest than she would usually wear to a party. That windbreaker, especially, was something she wore casually, not to these sorts of events.

“I told him we’re not going there to flirt or anything,” Grace reminded them. “He believed me. He trusts us. I don’t think he’d mind. But yeah, there’s little reason to wear something too special if he’s not gonna be there. It would only draw unwanted attention.”

“I wanted him to come with us,” Mila pouted again as Sarah drove out.

“...Should I have pushed harder?” Grace asked with a small sigh.

“Maybe? I wanted him to come, too,” Sarah admitted. “But when you invited him, we weren’t technically going out yet. Then he made plans with the guys. I think it’s better that he starts small. We can try again some other time, when he’s more comfortable around strangers.”

“I agree. Remember Thomas’ birthday, Mila,” Grace told her. “He was all stiff and uncomfortable. I’m sure he’d be more relaxed now, comparatively, but I doubt he would’ve had a good time regardless. Better not push him and nail the thought that parties are all bad.”

“I know, I know,” Mila grumbled. “I just want him close…”

Sarah sighed. “Same.”

Grace pursed her lips and looked down intensely at her locked phone screen, contemplating something before she dismissed it.

The trio soon made it to their friend’s house for the party. More cars were parked outside, but only about four more. This wasn’t supposed to be a huge event, as the house itself wasn’t nearly as big as Thomas’. It had a backyard, but no pool. It did have a grill, however, and one of their schoolmates was already preparing the fire for some burgers.

The girls greeted everyone with amicable smiles. Every person there was from their school, and everyone was a senior, Mila noticed. About 10 people were around, including them, and according to the host, a few more had yet to arrive.

Electronic music filled both the living room and the backyard, coming from big speakers. Groups were starting to form, and everyone had some drink or another in hand.

Mila, Grace and Sarah went to talk to a couple of friends from another class, seamlessly getting into the conversation.

“Maybe he cheated on her,” said the girl, a blonde one with short hair. She was very thin of frame, to the point one might think her sick if she wasn’t always so chirpy. That was Becky. “It’s the only reason I can see her breaking up with him.”

“I don’t see Thomas cheating, though,” argued the guy, a stout one. Martin crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. “He was totally into Lyla.”

“Don’t you guys have anything better to talk about?” Sarah asked them, unamused by the topic.

“But it’s a mystery!” Becky said. “One day they’re the perfect couple. Then one weekend after, they break up! WHY!?”

“So they had their issues,” Grace said, shrugging. “It’s for them to resolve or decide to move on.”

“Are you sure you don’t know anything, Grace? You’re always the first to know these things,” Martin said.

“All I know is that they’re both heartbroken. The reasons for their breakup don’t elude me, I just choose not to meddle. I have no reason to.”

“But the secret is killing me, woman!” Becky shook Grace by the shoulders. “I need the dirt!”

“Becky, what you need to find yourself a better hobby…” Mila told her friend with a small smile.

“That’s what I keep telling her,” Martin agreed solemnly.

The party went on. Everyone talked, most drank, a lot of them danced. The trio of friends went their own ways for a while, catching up with specific friends before gathering again about an hour later. When Mila saw her friends, they both wore frowns. Same as her, actually.

“Did you get interrogated too?” Sarah asked Mila.

“Yeah.”

“You denied everything, right?” Grace asked.

“Of course I did! I’m not dumb.” Mila crossed her arms, perhaps a little too offended by the question.

Yes, yes, she wanted to tell everyone who asked that it was true. She was going out with Oliver now, and so were her friends. So what? She wanted to tell them how attentive, how caring, how sweet and passionate he was. But she didn’t. That’s what they agreed on. So no, Mila didn’t tell those who asked that they were dating Oliver.

“But we all got questioned,” Sarah said with a groan. “People aren’t stupid. They know something’s up.”

“Yes, but we knew that would happen. Not like anything visibly changed from yesterday to today, but we have been spending most of our time with him for two weeks. Like we agreed, just deny it calmly, say that we’re friends, and let them think whatever they want.”

“Yeah, that’s what I…” Sarah suddenly stopped speaking and nodded towards Mila with a serious look. No, not towards Mila, but behind her.

The Russian girl turned around to see three guys walking up to them. Mila knew them and had already greeted them a while ago. Nice enough dudes. They’d spoken at other parties, too. Alfonso, Jaboc and Anders. They were all in the volleyball club, so they were all pretty tall.

She got Sarah’s message. No more talking about Oliver.

“Hey girls,” Alfonso waved with a friendly smile. “How’s the night going?”

“Getting a little chilly,” Grace answered with a soft chuckle. “Summer really is ending.”

“Oh, if you’re cold, you can use my jacket,” Jacob offered.

“I’m not that cold, but thank you,” Grace declined with a polite tone.

“You know, the days are still warm enough,” Anders said. “Even if we’re back in school, I feel like I want to take advantage of summer one last time, you know?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Sarah agreed with a nod and crossed arms. She turned to look at her friends. “We didn’t go to the beach at all, did we?”

“Well, you have a pool. It’s more convenient,” Mila said. “Still, now that you mention it, we did kind of miss out.”

“Oh, then why don’t we go?” Alfonso offered. “You know, the six of us. We’ll make it a trip.”

Ah. That’s what it was. Mila had to give it to them, at least. They were being sufficiently polite, far more than others would be.

“That’s too bad,” Grace said, forcing a regretful smile to her face that managed to look perfectly genuine. “We have plans this weekend and the next.”

“A-Ah. Yeah, that is too bad…”

“Still, though,” Anders insisted. “We only ever meet at these parties. Maybe we should do something else. I know this Italian place that makes the best pasta in town. I know you’d love it. We could all go next week after school.”

Sighing softly in resignation, softly enough that it would only look as her blowing out some air, Grace asked directly. “You mean like a triple date?”

“Yeah, exactly,” Jacob answered with a confident smile. “What do you say? Give us a chance?”

Mila suppressed her own sigh, but didn’t manage to completely stop her wincing. She’d let Grace turn them down, as she didn’t feel she could do it without saying something incriminating. However…

Grace smiled from ear to ear, and both Mila and Sarah looked at her with a raised eyebrow. The brunette hid that smile behind a single finger, and she looked like she would start giggling at any moment.

“Sorry boys. You got here a little too late.”

Mila blinked, and she wasn’t the only one taken aback. Of course, the guys were surprised for a different reason.

“W-Wait. You all have boyfriends?” Anders asked.

Sarah sighed in resignation and shook her head with a shrug. “Well… Yeah. It’s a recent thing.”

“W-Who…?”

“You don’t know them,” Mila said.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to be mean, but I felt like you should know,” Grace said, now with a genuine apologetic smile.

“Y-Yeah…” The three guys shared deeply disappointed looks. “Well… Sorry about that. We won’t bother you, then.”

The guys muttered their goodbyes, waved with weak smiles and left. Once they were far enough away, Grace could hold it anymore and she started giggling madly.

“Grace, what the hell?” Mila asked her friend. “We had to turn them down, sure, but you didn’t have to smile like that.”

“I’m sorry!” Grace said, hiding her face in her hands, yet still laughing. “I just realized why Oliver asked us out in such a hurry.”

“Huh?” Sarah exclaimed. “What do you mean?”

“I bet he must have known this would happen, or he thought something like this COULD happen tonight, and rushed to ask us out.”

“...” Mila and Sarah shared a brief glance before they both exclaimed “Ooooooh!” in realization.

After that, the two girls joined their friend in her laughter. Mila hoped the three other guys weren’t watching them. That would be too cruel, but she couldn’t help it.

“Still, you had to go and say we had boyfriends, huh?” Mila asked with an eyebrow raised in accusation. “What happened to denying everything?”

“If people think we’re dating other guys, we’ll have to deal less with this sort of thing, don’t you think?” Grace defended herself.

“I don’t know,” Sarah said. “But I prefer it.”

“But more than that…” Grace began giggling again with a teasing smile directed at someone who wasn’t there. “Oliver went as far as to ask us out to mark territory. It would be insulting to him not to use this to turn guys down, don’t you think?”

Mila found herself completely agreeing.

“Anyway,” Grace said, taking out her phone and tapping on her screen. “This party is bound to get a bit awkward now.”

“Yeah. And it’s getting a little boring,” Sarah said. “Whoever put the music on has poor taste.”

“So you girls want to leave?”

“I was thinking… Want to crash the boys’ little get-together?”

“Ah? You mean going to Thomas’ place?” Sarah asked.

“They probably won’t want us there,” Mila said, a little disappointed at the thought.

“That’s why I’m asking,” Grace answered, eyes locked on her phone screen. Her eyes lit up when she got her response. “He says they’re all okay with it.”

Mila’s chest tightened. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Dammit! She should’ve totally worn something cuter tonight!