It was the first and only thing to come to Raleigh's mind as she entered Effron's home. His father was pretty well off that he rented a house for his only son. It was a two story home with three bedrooms and two baths. There was a room off the back hall that a lot of people tended to crash in after parties like this.

Before Raleigh could really begin to appreciate the home, Autumn pulled her to the kitchen to get drinks and then out back by the pool where the party seemed to be in full swing. As Autumn ran off to talk to Ember and a few of her other friends, Raleigh joined a group of people she knew form her classes. Coming to LA, she had expected egotistical, self-righteous people. While there were those select few, Ember was a perfect example, most of the people were nice, down to earth, and laid back.

She had just finished listening to a joke Airyk had told and her laughing was cut short when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, Raleigh's breath got caught in her throat when she found herself looking into those beautiful emerald eyes, belonging to a very gorgeous, very bare-chested Effron Walker.

"Hello, love. I was wondering when you were going to show." The smoothness of his voice, the slight accent, they were aphrodisiacs all their own.

"Well, I'm here so you can stop wondering."

"Well, the moment I saw you I began to wonder something else entirely."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Why is that beautiful southern bell over there conversing with those losers when she could be dancing with this beaut?"

"Maybe she was waiting for the big gesture."

"Now that I've made it, dance with me, love?"

"I would love to." Raleigh couldn't help the smile that erupted on her face as she took his hand and followed him to the patio where music was blaring. As they danced, Raleigh felt like she really got to know him. Aside from her siblings, they really didn't have that many differences.

Over the course of the next few hours, Raleigh found herself going between playing bullshit pyramid, asshole, and dancing with Effron outside. She couldn't help but to think of how his body felt up against her own, how wonderfully erotic his hands on her felt. Her flesh felt like it was on fire, her senses going into overdrive as their eyes held one another. She never wanted to kiss and touch a man who wasn't Josh so badly.

Josh.

Dammit, now why did she have to go there? He was off in New York having fun and she was trying to do the same but her thoughts always seemed to go full circle, always going back to him in the end. To hell with that. She was going to have a good tonight no matter what.

"Come on, Effron. I need another drink." Autumn chose that moment to show her face and pull them into the kitchen, getting everyone to make them do body shots of tequila. Raleigh had only done tequila once before and had been the worst night of her life. She was going to kill her later. But sucking it up, Raleigh faced Effron, ready for whatever he was going to do.

He slowly closed the gap between their bodies and pulled her long hair to the left side. Leaning down, Raleigh tried not to close her eyes as she felt his tongue going along her neck. She knew he was taking his sweet time just to torture her, but she didn't mind one bit. She liked having his lips on her. He finally pulled away slightly, and poured the salt on the wet spot he had just created before delving back in. After making sure he had lapped it all up, he took a step back and downed the liquid, burning all the way down to his stomach. Wasting no time, he immediately put his mouth to Raleigh's, releasing her of the sour lemon. When he was done, Raleigh followed his moves exactly. When they were done, Effron rounded up Raleigh, Autumn, Ember, and Davey and they all went downstairs into a room in the finished basement.

Raleigh had no idea what they were planning on doing but the drunken state she was in seemed instantly gone when Davey pulled a baggy out of his pocket.

A baggy full of a white powder.

She wasn't positive but Raleigh knew it was cocaine. Should she really be surprised though? They were college kids in Los Angeles for crying out loud! It was no hidden fact that LA was the underbelly of the most well known drug lords. It was just that she had never been faced with it before.

She watched as Davey poured the substance on the glass coffee table and cut it into short, even lines. As the tube went around the group. Her heart began to pound in her chest. What was she going to do? How could she even ask herself that? She simply would say "no thank you" and go back upstairs. No big deal. But damn if that bitch could keep her mouth shut.

The tube came to Effron and he leaned down, quickly inhaling the drug. Wiping his nose as he sniffed a little bit, he turned and held it to Raleigh. Moment of truth.

"Uh..."

"You've never done this before?" Effron raised his eyebrows at her and she felt so foolish. What was she doing here?

"No. I've never even seen it before."

"Try it, Ray. I promise you you'll like it." Davey said, leaning forward looking at her.

"Raleigh, look, no one is going to make you do anything you don't want to. We're just all having fun here." The look in his eyes was sincere and she knew he was a big sweetheart.

"Look, if she's too damned scared to try it leave it alone. All the more for us."

After Ember's comment, Raleigh found herself taking hold of the small glass tube. Holding it to one nostril, she plugged the other and leaned forward, quickly inhaling two of the lines. Never had she imagined it would burn quite so badly. She immediately dropped the tube and started coughing, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so. Wow. I wasn't expecting that burn." As she wiped her nose and sniffled, Autumn rubbed her back.

"Don't worry, Raleigh. I think we all reacted the same way our first times."

"Speak for yourself." Ember muttered and Raleigh would have told her off had Effron not told her to shut the hell up. She just rolled her eyes and went back to sipping her daiquiri. Effron moved so his mouth was next to Raleigh's ear and she tried not to once again get lost in the feel of his hot breath on her ear, his voice, or the scent of his cologne.

"You want to go for a swim?"

"I don't have my suit."

"And your point is?" Raleigh didn't miss the playful glint in his eyes and she found his little smirk insanely adorable and she allowed him to pull her to her feet and lead her upstairs and to the backyard once again. They found that most of the partiers had dispersed. When they came to the pool, Raleigh could feel the effect of the drugs on her already. She couldn't quite explain how it made her feel. It was like being drunk with no inhibitions, no worries. She felt completely carefree as if she were floating on a cloud. It seemed to make her senses more sensitive. She was fully aware of every movement Effron made, every look he cast her way. It made it that much more difficult to push him away.

As she began to undress, more people came out to say good night to Effron and thank him for the invite. Pretty soon only Raleigh, Effron, Autumn, and Davey remained. While their friends were in the house doing god knows what, Effron watched as Raleigh swam through the glistening water. She may have been carefree at the moment but he knew it would wear off within the hour. Having been her first time, he knew she would come down hard, and he planned on being right there by her side to calm her down.

Effron had no idea what it was, but something about Raleigh drove him absolutely crazy. He had been with many women and has once even been the love ‘em and leave ‘em type, but she was different. He found himself not wanting to do anything while she was wasted because then it wouldn't mean anything to her. And for some reason he wanted it to mean everything.

"Hey." her soft voice brought him out of his thoughts and he looked up, seeing her swimming slowly towards him...naked.

Oh hell.

"Why don't you join me? I'm feeling a little lonely, and it was, after all, your idea." That was all it took for him to free himself of his shorts and jump into the pool with her. "So much better."

Raleigh swam a little closer to him and Effron couldn't tear his eyes from her lilac gaze. She allowed her hand to snake down his chiseled abdomen and slowly made her way around him, her hand circling his waist. Letting out a low groan, Effron rolled his head back slightly.

"What are you trying to do to me?"

Moving closer so her lips were at his ear, she whispered seductively, "Making you want me."

"You did that the first day we met." After that, no words were spoken. Raleigh snaked her tongue along his earlobe and without another thought, Effron spun around, his mouth devouring hers. How was it possible to want someone so badly? As Effron pushed Raleigh against the pool wall, she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. She could feel his excitement at her entrance and she began to shake with anticipation.

When it was over, Raleigh immediately jumped out of the pool and began to dry off and dress.

Not knowing exactly what to do for the first time in a long while, Effron did the same,. When he looked over at her, he noticed she was shaking. Either she was coming down from her high or she was crying. He hoped to god she wasn't crying. But she was.

"Was I that bad?" His ego had taken a major blow form her reaction and as badly as he didn't want to show it, it hurt that she was acting this way.

Not expecting the question, Raleigh could only stare at him for a moment before shaking his head. "No, you were incredible, Effron."

"Then what it is, love?" The care she saw in his eyes when he looked at her only made this that much harder. Could she really tell him? What they had just shared was great, she hadn't lied to him about that. But it still didn't change the truth at hand.

"I've never been with anyone but Josh." Raleigh shook her head and wiped away the tears. "I'm sorry. I have to go." Then she ran out of there, leaving Effron standing by the pool, only one question running through his mind.

"Who the bloody hell is Josh?"