The Bet || l.h.

- 30 -

"Is this too slutty?" Lindsay asks as she turns around to show off the short, tight black dress that dips down low over her chest.

Natalie shakes her head. "No, you look great, Linds." 

"Calum's gonna love it," she adds with a smirk.

Lindsay rolls her eyes, throwing at sock at her. "For the last time, Calum and I aren't together."

"You just had sex," I tease. "Multiple times."

"You can't prove that," Lindsay says, pointing a finger at me.

"Please, we all know what happened," I say as I go through her closet for something that offers a little more coverage. I pull out a white tank top, searching for a bottom.

Lindsay reaches over and hands me a sequined skirt, continuing our staggered conversation. "How would you know?"

"You like sex, he likes sex," Natalie says simply. "You like him, he likes you. It's not that hard."

Lindsay rolls her eyes. "Does that mean that the only thing stopping you from having sex with Michael is that you haven't had sex before?"

Natalie shuts up, blushing.

I scowl at Lindsay. "Oh, leave her alone."

"Right, because you've been seeing Luke for weeks and just had sex for the first time, where as he's had sex with every other girl he's ever met within thirty minutes," Lindsay says, fixing her makeup in the mirror.

I roll my eyes, ignoring her jab. 

"So when are you going to ask Calum out?" I say, flopping onto her bed. "We all know that he's not the one with the issue about going official."

"I'm not really looking for a boyfriend," Lindsay says, setting her mascara down. "The last one I had did drugs so much that he cared more about the cocaine than me." 

Turning to us, she claps her hands together. "All right, bitches, let's get this show on the road. Is that hunky boyfriend of yours giving us a ride there, Em?"

I check my phone to see a text from Luke already waiting. "Yep. He's outside."

Luke's leaning against the hood of an unfamiliar car, the keys clutched in his hand. He glances up as we walk down the stairs, his face breaking into a grin.

"Hey, babe," he greets as I reach him, pulling me in for a slow kiss. "You look amazing," he breathes, his eyes taking in the outfit.

I smile as I slip my hand into his. "Thanks."

Natalie and Lindsay hop into the back as I slide into the front.

"Who's car is this?" I ask as he starts backing out of the driveway.

"It's my mom's," Luke replies as he pulls out of the subdivision. "Try not to get vomit in it later, I'm the one that has to clean it up."

"You're no fun," Lindsay pouts.

The party's already in full swing when we pull up, the boys saying they were gonna get a ride from Calum's friend to help set up early. Luke didn't want to go near the drugs and the alcohol so he gladly volunteered to drive us.

"There you guys are!" Calum exclaims when we walk through the door. He brushes his dark hair out of his eyes as he turns his smile on Lindsay.

"You look freaking awesome, by the way," he says as he leads her into the kitchen to get started on all of the alcohol they plan on drinking.

Michael appears from another room, Ashton right behind him.

"Hey, Nat," Mikey says shyly. "They're playing pool in the other room - do you wanna be on my team?"