The Infamous Y2K Party

I couldn't believe my eyes. I stood at the table as Kelsey, my blonde, sweetheart of a girlfriend at the time, lined up a crucial pong shot, shooting for redemption after her opponents sank the winning cup. No one cared that her elbows were over the table (she's a hot girl). No one cared about the game itself. Everyone was looking at her the same way I was. With utter disbelief on their faces. We should have seen it coming, but who would ever imagine Kelsey fucking Collins looking like this, acting like this, and wearing THAT.

Four months ago, the seeds were planted for this night. "Be careful what you wish for," I should've told her. It was Junior year. As Freshman and Sophomores, we were a well-known couple on campus. It was a small school, and we did the classic "meet at the second or third party of Freshman year and never look back" maneuver. It happened easily, in the best way. We fell for each other quickly and were a good match. In the early days, people constantly told us how sweet we looked together. We continued going to parties, but without needing to say it, Kelsey made it clear she was off limits. She was too sweet for even the meanest girl to try and break us up. We were meant to last forever.

By Junior year, Kelsey felt like an old married woman. One night when we were supposed to go to a party, she broke down crying. She looked at the reflection in her mirror, dressed in a buttoned-up grey cardigan and blue mom jeans. "I look like a 40 year old mom going to get the kids from daycare!" I tried to help her find another outfit, one a little more fitting for a college girl with the body of a 21-year old. She put on a tight, black spaghetti strapped crop top from Freshman year, something she wore with white jeans to one of our first parties, and still she didn't feel right. "I'm so fucking lame!" she lamented as we sat in her apartment living room, ate takeout pizza, and never went to the party.

Looking back, that was the low point. Slowly, Kelsey built her confidence. A gym membership card hung from her lanyard. Boxes of delivery clothes started appearing at her apartment door. She stopped wearing athletic shorts and t-shirts to class and started dressing up a little more, the way she imagined she would when she was a bright-eyed freshman. I loved when she did her fashion shows, trying new outfits for me. Lacy bodysuits, crop tops, faux-leather everything. I loved it. She looked amazing in everything, anything, and nothing at all. I felt so lucky to have such a hot girlfriend. She was doing all the background work for a college glow-up: joining groups, becoming a gym regular, finding friends in her major. I was a little envious, but so enamored by the new Kelsey.

I never thought about what these changes meant. What did she really want? Was it the glow-up, or something else, I never asked myself.

We were having so much fun. Freshman and sophomore year, she followed me around at parties, the quiet observer and determined wallflower no matter how much we tried to involve her in our games and conversations. But Junior year Kelsey was making her mark. She would never be the life of the party, but now she was an active participant. I loved to see her more engaged, more confident, seemingly happier than ever before. She had all these new friends to talk about and stories to tell. New names popped up on her phone regularly. Now, I was following Kelsey to parties, usually "themed" parties, where decorations and outfits matched a description for the night: Toga party, Beach Party, Foam Party, Beach Party plus Foam.

They eventually got more creative: superhero party, dress like a meme party, Anything But Cups where people drank from cowboy boots, dog bowls and other ridiculous items. They were serious about these themes. You had to look the part to get in, and now Kelsey helped me figure out what the hell to wear. My favorite was the beach parties. The first one, she wore cheeky green bottoms where her bubble butt looked incredible, thin bikini lines striking above her waist. For the foam party, she wore something even smaller, a tiny blue thong bikini, arguing "I'll be covered by the foam, baby!"

One night, Medieval night, she surprised me yet again. My quiet, shy Kelsey, wearing her princess costume- a pink, fluffy short dress, white heels, and a crown, walked straight up to the last dude I'd expect. The most notorious, obnoxious party-hard athlete in the school, a 6'6" forward on the basketball team who had unbelievable range from three-point land and a Viking beard, of course dressed like a knight. "Hey Chris!" she flirted with him. "Remember me from your dreams?"

What the fuck, Kelsey. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

They kept talking. And talking, and talking. My girlfriend and this goddamn knight in shining armor. They stood close together, whispering in each other's ears and laughing, thinking no one was watching. I was stuck in stone. The last thing I wanted anyone to see was my girlfriend flirting with Chris fucking Clarkstone. I would never hear the end of it. But somehow, it was kind of enamoring. Sure, he was your typcial douche athlete who hooked up with lots of girls, but damn I didn't know Kelsey could pull like this. I hated that I was jealous of Kelsey. Jelsey, you could call me. At the same time, I was impressed. I was stuck in my tracks watching her.

She pulled away from him and the party continued. I looped around to "bump into her" and we carried on the night as normal. But later when we were finally alone and all the drinks hit me, I admitted it was kind of hot, the way she charmed him. A guy like that half the school would drop everything to be with. Within seconds, he was focused on no one but her. I told her I thought they were going to make out and I'd have to beat his ass, laughing so it sounded like more of a joke than it was. She laughed and told me she was committed to me as ever. "Just having fun," she said..."Before these days are distant memories." I never should have believed her.

"Yooooo," I heard a guy yell as Kelsey picked up the phone. They chatted.

"Oh my god, Y2K? I love that idea!" Kelsey squealed. She hung up with whoever a minute later. I don't remember what his name was. She hung up and turned to me. "Baby, I have been wanting to do this one forever. Can you please come with me?"

Now Junior year was almost over, and the party bug had started to leave my system. I still loved Kelsey and had fun with our friends, but the loud music, drinks, same exact apartments and bars started to get a little stale. Kelsey was making so many friends that I lost track of them all, new names and faces every week. I was "Kelsey's Boyfriend what's-his-name" to most people now. Who could blame me for skipping a party every now and then.

"If it means a lot to you, I'll go, baby." I relented. It made her so happy when I went. And I kind of wanted to see what she'd wear. She seemed so excited.

When Kelsey walked back into the room for her "fashion show," I literally gasped. "Ho-ly shit," is all I could say. She strutted towards me.

"Do you like it, hoe?" she laughed. She wore a tight black tube top, baggy light denim jeans impossibly low on her waist, and skate shoes. Her hair was slicked back into a tight bun and she wore brown sunglasses. The front of her shirt said H-O-E in massive, white letters, and she pulled her red thong high above her shorts, resting on her waist.

Like an idiot, I went overboard with effusive praise. "Kelsey, you look so fucking hot!" I couldn't stop looking at her. How could anyone? She sat on my lap on her apartment bed as we made out, my hands navigating to her waist and pulling her slutty little thong as her tongue torched against mine. She was unbelievably turned on, I could tell. "Baby, this fit is wild!" I told her in between kisses.

"Baby, this is just the beginning," Kelsey said, eyes ablaze. "I have another surprise for you tonight."

I had no idea what she had in mind. We went to the party, and it wasn't long later I found out.

"Yooo, you look like a hoe!" An obnoxious, deep voice boomed as we walked inside the apartment, decked out with balloons and I