It was tough to see through the thick crowds of people clustered in groups. Surveying the crowd one more time, I began to grow frustrated and finally pulled out my phone to text Anna.

Me: "Where are you?"

I stared at the phone impatiently, waiting for a reply. I saw the prompt showing she was typing back.

Anna: "At the bar."

I started to walk towards the bar and stopped dead in my tracks about ten feet away. I saw Ezra leaning back against the bar on a stool with some scantily clad purple-haired girl standing between his legs. Her hands were on his stomach and he was leaning into her. I could feel something in me turn sour watching them. It made sense he liked girls who looked like her and little miss nose ring. He was gorgeous; he could have anyone in this bar. Except for me, of course, I wasn't interested in him that way.

I looked away from Ezra and saw the top of Aiden's spiked Auburn hair. I slid between bodies and wiggled through the crowd towards the bar. When I got there, Anna screamed my name and wrapped me in a huge hug. She had already started attacking the free drinks the band got for playing here tonight. The look on her face said she was feeling really good right now.

At the sound of my name, Ezra jerked his head to look at me. I saw his body tense when he realized I was there. Without even looking, I could feel his eyes moving over me, studying me like I was an exhibit placard in a museum. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his eyes lingering a little too long on the curves of my hips. He shook whatever he was thinking away and turned back to the purple-haired skank who was begging for his attention. Did I imagine it, or did Ezra just check me out? My mind must be playing tricks on me.

Aiden came over and wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me into a hug. I squeezed him back tightly. He rocked me back and forth, swinging me around. Aiden must have had a drink or two with Anna tonight. He spun me around to the side and looped his arm over my shoulder so I could face the group.

"Aieee." I let out a high-pitched scream when warm fingers squeezed the bare skin on my lower back. I jumped high in the air and wrapped myself into Aiden, who pulled me in to keep me from falling over.

Ezra turned to look at me again when he heard the noise I made. His body was tense and he looked like he was about to jump out of his chair. He carried the same expression JD did when he was pissed off about someone messing with me. Three days in and I had apparently already gained a new chaperone.

"Hey, little girl, want some candy?" Mark whispered in my ear like a creepy serial killer.

"Damn it. You scared the shit out of me." I turned around and started smacking Mark on the arm. He bent down to laugh and swung his long hair back when he stood back up.

"That never gets old." He cackled between fits of laughter.

Anna threw back a shot of some brown liquid at the bar. Aiden noticed me watching her and smiled.

"You want one?" He asked me.

"Nope, I'm good," I said. "I have to drive later."

"You can ride with me?" Aiden suggested.

"You're drinking too," I said.

"Yeah, but I stopped. I'll be good by the time the show's done. I can take you back to the house." He smiled, looking down at me.

"It's fine. I don't really want to leave my car here overnight." I looked back up when I felt eyes on me and saw Ezra smirking in our direction when I turned Aiden's offer down. Someone needed to tell Ezra it is not polite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. He should pay attention to the girl who was grinding herself against him instead of trying to figure out how he was going to harass me tonight.

"We're on in 10 mins." JD walked up the stairs towards the group. He scanned over us, taking a roll call mentally and paused when he saw me. "Riley, what the hell are you wearing? Mom and Dad let you out of the house looking like that?"

"Let the girl live, Dad. She is so hot." Anna stumbled over from the bar and pushed JD back with one hand. He reached out and pulled her to him and kissed her cheek.

"I swear you're trying to kill me. I just can't even." JD said, flustered. He shook his head, looking at me over Anna's shoulder. "At least do me a favor and hang out with my girl so she can keep an eye on you."

"I think you should be asking me to watch her," I said as she was trying to drunken slow dance with him with absolutely no music playing.

"Will you just listen to me and quit being such a pain in the ass?" JD pleaded.

"Anything else, Sir?" I asked mockingly.

"Yeah, one more thing. I see any guys talking to either of you and I will jump off the stage to murder them." He paused and tried to pull away from Anna, who was holding onto him for dear life. He whispered in her ear and she let go of him with a frown on her face.

Aiden took his arm off my shoulder and fell in line behind JD and Mark, who were heading towards the stage. Honestly, I didn't even realize he still had it there.

Ezra took one last sip of his drink and pushed the purple-haired girl back off him without saying a word to her. I tried not to laugh at her when she looked dejected, but it just came out. He looked over at me when the little squeak escaped my lips and raised his eyebrow at me. I stared back at him, waiting for him to break his gaze first.

Two guys walked in front of me; they interrupted my staring contest with Ezra. The taller blond one turned and smiled at me and his eyes went straight to my breasts. I smiled at him for a brief second as he and his friend slowed down and turned around to talk to me.

I felt long fingers wrap around my arm just above my elbow and pull me away from the duo before either one could even wave in my direction.

"Jailbait," Ezra's voice boomed over top of me as he dragged me away. The blond guy threw his hands up and stepped back like he had seen a ghost. Did Ezra just seriously call me jailbait?

"You know I am eighteen, right?" I huffed as he pulled me over to the bar and deposited me next to Anna, who was throwing another shot back.

"You can thank me later." He said, pushing his hair back off his face. That rude, arrogant son of a...

"Thank you for what?" Anna pushed between us sloppily.

"For saving her from those fucking pricks," Ezra said, pointing to the two guys who were already on the other side of the bar talking to another short blond female. They clearly had a type.

"They don't look so bad." Anna slurred as she leaned around me dramatically to watch them. "The blond one is cute in a little boy holding a baseball glove kind of way. I just want to mother him."

I laughed at the unique stylings of drunken Anna. As soon as the noise came out of my mouth, an older guy with a beard turned his head at the sound and smiled at me.

"Or you can go with the furry? You could call him Daddy." Anna pointed at the guy staring at me.

"She is not going to call anyone Daddy tonight." Ezra stepped between the man with the beard to cut off his view of me.

"What if her Dad calls her phone?" Anna was in a mood.

"I could just call him Father or Pops. Maybe Padre? I got it. I'll be one of those cool people like they have on TV and just call him Kurt?" I poked.

"Fuck, you two are annoying. Seriously Riley, don't you have a sweatshirt or something you can cover yourself with?" Ezra looked down at me and threw up his hands in frustration. He looked around the bar like he was ready for a fight.

"It's June," I smirked up at him.

"You should have brought one anyway!" He pulled at his hair.

"Shouldn't you be up on the stage playing instead of down here with jailbait? Not good for your reputation, you know. Talking to an underage girl is illegal." I jabbed at him.

"Fuck off." He gritted his teeth at me.

"Break a leg, Ezra," I said, waving to him and gave him my best sarcastic smile. "Maybe you'll break both if I'm really lucky."

He flipped me off and turned back around without another word. He was so strange and irritating.

"He's as bad as your brother, maybe even worse." Anna laughed.

"Yeah, but his charming personality makes up for it." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Let's go to the front. I need to see my sexy man." I turned back to Anna, who was giving me a funny drunken smile.