COLEEN

I should’ve said no.

I didn’t want to be outside. What I wanted was to be in my bed, curled up under my cozy blanket while watching a movie, preferably romantic and maybe tragic.

What I didn’t want was to be in the midst of a bunch of strangers, with loud music blaring in the background.

I knew it the moment I stepped into the party and was hit with the wall of heat, sweat, perfume, and bass-heavy music vibrating through the floor like a second heartbeat. The air was thick, and ...