My Hockey Alpha

Nina

It was the night of my coming-of-age party. I was most of all excited for one thing: tonight, Justin would finally announce that he was my boyfriend.

Justin and I had been seeing each other for a couple of months now, but we had kept things under wraps so far. Frankly, I would have preferred to make our relationship public right away — he was one of the most handsome and popular guys on campus, and was on the hockey team — but he insisted that we wait until the right time.

“I want to save announcing our relationship for a special night, baby,” he had told me. I had been asking when he would make our relationship public for a while, but maybe he was right; it was best to wait until a special time. That meant that he really loved me, right?

As I stood in front of the mirror and admired myself, I felt confident that Justin would announce our relationship tonight. I picked out special lingerie, which I wore under my outfit now, because I was certain that we would finally have sex for the first time. I was ready to lose my virginity.

Aside from the lingerie, which was a sexy red set that I picked out at the mall a couple days before the party, I was wearing a short, tight skirt that showed off my thighs, a pink crop top, and heels. I wore red lipstick and black eyeliner, too. I felt a bit awkward wearing an outfit like this, as I usually dressed in jeans and hoodies; but my roommates, Jessica and Lori, insisted that I dress up for the party.

The only thing that I kept the same about myself tonight was my hair, which was black with bangs and two long braids. I always wore my hair like this and never liked it any other way. Some people said it was childish, but I thought it was cute and practical.

“You look so hot, Nina!” Jessica said as I came out of the room. “The guys are gonna be all over you!”

I didn’t say anything about Justin. Even my own roommates didn’t know about our relationship.

Lori looked at her phone and took another swig of her beer. “Everyone should be here any minute,” she said in her low, sultry voice. Lori was the quintessential “goth girl” on campus, which was a stark contrast from Jessica’s bubbly nature and my studious attitude. Somehow, though, we were all best friends.

Just then, the door burst open with the first guests arriving. The group of guys and girls flooded in carrying cases of beers and whooping and hollering, excited for the party. With a grin, Jessica cranked up the music and started greeting people while I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Lori walked over to the couch and sat down, scrolling on her phone; she really only ever came to parties for the alcohol and the weed.

Soon enough, the suite was full of people. The LED lights flashed red, green, and blue while the music played loudly, and the guests started getting drunk and playing games. The main attraction seemed to be the beer pong table, where the boys competed like their lives depended on it, but people also hung out around the seating area, played drinking games, and smoked on the balcony.

finally arrived. I got excited, but instead of coming over to me and greeting me, he simply made

Justin

he pulled out his phone, read the text, then pocketed his phone again. He

you okay?” Jessica said, coming over to me with an extra

last of my beer. “I’m just not much

and handed me the other beer. “You just need a little liquid courage, that’s all!” she

wasn’t going to cut it — not with how Justin was treating

she turned around to face the group, cupping her hands around

“The birthday girl wants

like I was going to throw

stood up and made my way over to the sink, where I splashed some cold water on my face and took some deep breaths to sober myself up. I looked at my smudged makeup and my messy hair in the mirror, trying not to cry as I thought about Justin. Why was he treating me

breath and wiping the tears off of my face, I straightened up and decided to go talk

the bathroom, however, he wasn’t

have you seen Justin?” I asked a guest. She just shrugged her shoulders and pointed toward my bedroom. Maybe he just went inside to be alone for a minute, which

to my

the door, however, I wished that I had

blonde hair and thin body — it was Lisa, the cheerleading captain. They were tangled together

fuck!” I

aside from the music,