by Alexis Davie
Ali didn’t answer, but she was suddenly overcome by a deep sense of longing.
“How did you get leaves in your hair?” Tara commented as they made their way back to their site.
Ali’s heart began to race. She reached to comb her fingers through her hair, and she barely held back a gasp as she noticed the leaves falling to the ground from her head.
“Maybe I did stumble out to pee,” she muttered, trying to sound nonchalant when all she wanted was to blurt out the entire bizarre story to her friend.
And give her and Christine something else to mock me for? she thought grimly. No, thanks. Anyway, what would I even say? Oh, yeah, I think I had a threesome with a vampire and a werewolf last night. Are you sure I was in the tent all night?
That was not bound to go over well.
Sighing, Ali flopped down onto a lawn chair as Tara dug around in the food pack for coffee.
Get that image out of your mind now before you drive yourself crazy. It never happened. Just accept it.
She turned her head to stare back toward the remnants of the bonfire. A moment later, she saw a tiny figure bounding toward them, and Ali swallowed her amusement.
“What time did Penelope go down last night?” she asked Tara as the birthday girl made her way over to them.
“I don’t think she has yet,” Tara replied, following Ali’s gaze.
“Good morning, darlings!” Penelope sang once she had approached. She then turned to Ali and crossed her arms over her chest. “Shame on you, Ali.”
Ali hung her head with contrition. “Sorry, Penelope,” she replied apologetically. “I’ll be better tonight, I promise.”
The smaller girl grinned, already forgiving her friend’s sour mood the previous day.
“You better!” she exclaimed. “Because we have an entire busload of rivals coming tonight, so you better be on your A game.”
Ali arched an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
“I special ordered a CSU sandwich for my birthday. A few of those boys are coming for a visit.”
Ali’s head jerked up. “What did you just say?” she breathed. “You ordered a what?”
Penelope scowled. “Oh, don’t be like that, Ali! Threesomes have been around since the beginning of time. And it’s my birthday! Don’t judge me.”
“No!” Ali shook her head, her thoughts racing. “Of course I’m not judging you. I… I just didn’t hear what you said.”
The birthday girl eyed her, as if debating whether to believe her explanation. In the end, she seemed to be convinced.
“Anyway,” Penelope continued, “there’s someone I want you to meet.”
Ali shuddered. After whatever fantasy she had concocted the previous night, no man was possibly going to measure up to her expectations, but she was in no mood to spark a debate with Penelope, especially after she had been so grumpy the day before.
“Sounds good,” she said weakly, turning her blue eyes downward.
“He’s so handsome,” her friend went on, like Ali had shown more enthusiasm for the idea. “Ripped abs, gorgeous eyes…”
“Uh-huh.”
“His name is Alex. I think you two will hit it off beautifully.”
The blood drained out of Ali’s face, and she gaped at Penelope.
“Is this a joke?” she demanded angrily, looking at Tara. “Are you guys toying with me?”
Both women stared blankly at her.
Tara stepped closer to her. “Are you okay, Ali? Like, seriously, you’re acting really weird.”
You are, Ali agreed silently. You’re acting like a lunatic.
“I think I’m still drunk,” she answered, determined to get herself together. “Sorry. What were you saying?”
Penelope paused and eyed Tara before continuing. “Anyway, Alex is solid, but there might be one problem.”
“Is he gay?” Ali asked.
“No,” said her friend with a thin smile. “But his step-brother Jareth is a real asshole. Come to think of it, that entire family has something odd going on.”
Ali did not hear anything else. The words Penelope had told her when she had arrived spun through her mind.
Oh, ye of little faith. You’re going to have an incredible time. Mark my words.
There’s a rumor about this mountain, but you already know it, don’t you?
They’re supposed to roam around on nights of the full moon.
Guess what tonight is?
So, keep your eyes open, ladies! You never know who you’re gonna meet!”
Ali stared at Penelope in disbelief.
She had known all along! She had probably set it up! She had been the reason Ali had even met Alex last night! It hadn’t been a dream!
“Penelope—” she started, but Penelope winked slowly at her and then turned around to dance away.
“I have to make my rounds!” she cried. “I’ll see you later, Ali!
The way she had winked at her and the way she had told specifically Ali that she would see her later carried a different message for only Ali’s ears.
See you tonight for round two.
* * *
THE END
6
Night Out
Swipe left, swipe left, swipe left…
Beth groaned and tossed her iPhone onto the table, causing her younger sister to glance up from her salad.
“What’s wrong?” Cara asked, but Beth forced a smile and shook her long, blonde waves disarmingly.
“Nothing,” she replied, her thick southern drawl accentuating her words. “It’s nothing to get worked up over, anyway.”
Cara returned to her meal, and Beth glanced around, her blue eyes scanning the restaurant for anything to give her salvation. She was aching to go, to be taken out somewhere, and there was not a single prospect in sight.
“Beth, sit still!” Cara complained. “You’re making me sick with all your squirming!”
Beth tried to oblige, despite the fact that she could barely contain herself. “Let’s go out tonight,” she announced suddenly. “Veil?”
Cara glanced up again, her green eyes brightening with interest. “Are you going to sneak me in?” she asked, sitting back in her chair and folding her arms over her chest.
Beth bit on her lower lip, wondering if she was thinking straight or if she was just letting her hormones get the best of her.
“Why not?” she replied, offering her sister a smile. “Anyway, are you really going to pretend you don’t have a fake ID? I know you’ve been using Crystal Price’s since you were juniors in high school.”
“All right!” Cara agreed with a laugh, and Beth joined in. “But if we get caught, you’ll need to be my lawyer.”
“It’s a deal,” Beth answered.
She had worked hard for the last three years, and she had every right to enjoy her break while it lasted. Nothing was wrong with taking her sister out for a forbidden night in Austin. No one would be the wiser.
Then again, Cara wasn’t the only reason Beth wanted to go out somewhere. She had been back in Texas for two months, and she was starting to find herself restless. She knew that she needed a distraction before she exploded.
Back in Colorado, her life was occupied from dawn to midnight between her course load, work, and extra-curricular activities. Austin didn’t provide the same kind of stimulation that her college life did.
More the reason for me to take my own action, she reasoned. And Cara will have a good time. Lord knows, Mama and Daddy must be driving her up the wall without me as a buffer.
Beth reached for her phone again and opened the dating app.
Swipe left, swipe left, swipe… right?
She paused and paid close attention to the ethereal face on the screen before her. August Vega, as his name read, was not handsome in the typical southern gentleman way. He lacked a certain arrogance, but his tanned face exuded a sublime confidence, his green eyes an eerily clear yet penetrative stare.
Are his eyes green?
Bet
h drew the phone closer to her face. In a particular light, the man’s eyes seemed violet, but of course that was crazy—purple wasn’t a normal eye color… was it?
“What are you staring at?” Cara asked, craning her neck to look.
Swipe right.
“Nothing,” Beth lied, shutting off the screen and turning back to her own lunch. “I was just seeing if I could get us on the guest list at Veil.”
“Oh, yes! Bottle service!” Cara squealed happily, but Beth barely heard her, her mind still focused on the alluring stranger with whom she had just attempted to match.
He will do just fine, she chuckled to herself. Hello, August Vega. I am looking forward to being very good friends.
* * *
“Some man is outside honking his horn like a damned fool!” their mother announced as she entered Beth’s room.
“Our Uber is here, Cara!” Beth yelled to her sister, glancing at her phone. Indeed, their ride was waiting for them, but that wasn’t what Beth was waiting for. She hadn’t received any answer from August Vega yet. Disappointed, she shoved her phone in her purse and slipped on her black stilettos.
“I don’t know what that is, Beth, but tell him to stop his honking! He’s going to wake the neighbors!”
Cara entered the doorway, and both sisters laughed in unison.
“It’s nine o’clock on a Friday, Mama. The neighbors aren’t sleeping,” Beth chuckled.
Her mother only scowled. “It’s still rude!” she insisted, her blue eyes narrowing. “Where are you girls going? You aren’t going someplace where there will be drugs, right?”
Again, the sisters giggled.
“No, Mama,” Beth assured her as they slipped past her and headed toward the stairs. “We’re just going to visit some friends.”
“Don’t be home too late!”
“All right, Mama!” Cara agreed.
She and Beth made their way outside and toward the waiting sedan, a sulking man behind the wheel.
“I have been waiting for ten minutes!” he grumbled.
“You’ve been honking for ten minutes, too,” Cara retorted. “We’re going to Veil downtown.”
Their driver grunted, pulling away from the curb, and the siblings exchanged an eyeroll. Beth reached for her phone again and glanced at it.
“You’ve been glued to that thing all day!” Cara complained. “What on earth are you looking at?”
Guiltily, Beth threw the iPhone back into her handbag, wishing she could stop herself from looking at it. She shook her head, trying to make sense of the anxiety she felt. She still had not received word back about a match with the surreally attractive August Vega, and it bothered her more than she cared to admit.
It was strange. Typically, when she swiped right the guys responded right away. After all, the dating app was based on physical attraction, and few could claim to have Beth’s beauty. Despite her stunning good looks, though, Beth was not conceited. She accepted the attention with dignity, although it had always come so freely.
Never in her life had she been left questioning why her attraction wasn’t reciprocated.
Never until right now, she thought tightly. Maybe he doesn’t like blondes.
“Well?” Cara insisted. “Are you going to tell me?”
“It’s nothing,” Beth replied, feeling a faint blush of embarrassment stain her cheeks. “I was just expecting one of my Kappa sisters to text me tonight.”
“I still can’t believe you belong to a sorority,” Cara sighed. “I never thought you’d be the type.”
“You’ll like it,” Beth assured her. “Just wait until you start at the University of California in September. Mark my words, I bet you’ll pledge a sorority, too.”
Cara shot her a look. “Why?” she asked, and Beth could read the genuine curiosity in her sister’s question.
She smiled and reached across to squeeze Cara’s hand affectionately. “Because when your family isn’t near, you look for kinship in other people,” she answered. “These women become like your sisters.”
“We’ll see,” Cara muttered, and Beth laughed, pulling her hand back and turning to look out the window. Her sister sounded just like she had when she had left for school.
“Just pull over at the end of West 6th,” Beth instructed the sullen driver. She turned to Cara. “I need to find an ATM, and I’m not spending five bucks for a service charge in the club.”
Cara nodded in agreement, and the two jumped out of the car, scowling at the driver before heading toward the center of the city.
“He was miserable,” Cara commented, and Beth bobbed her head, her eyes scanning the street for a bank.
“Well, we did make him wait ten minutes. Let’s not let his bad attitude ruin our night,” she said.
A moment later, her gaze finally rested on a vestibule on the opposite side of the street, and she gestured at Cara to follow her. They stepped inside, and Beth pulled out her bank card.
“Oh, sweet Lord,” Cara muttered, stepping closer to her sister.
“What?” Beth asked, her fingers working the machine, but Cara did not answer.
She only nudged her hard in the ribs.
“Hey, that hurt!” Beth turned to look at Cara, and she froze when she saw what had seemed to scare her sister.
A scruffy-looking man had entered behind them, avoiding eye contact as he tried to hide his face behind the collar of his jean jacket. He wasn’t fooling anyone, and the siblings could sense his malintent.
Beth swallowed and eyed Cara, debating what to do.
You don’t know that he’s up to no good, she thought to herself. He has just as much a right to be here as—
“Empty out your account,” the scraggly stranger growled, stepping toward them.
Panicked, Beth turned to her sister. “Run!” she cried.
As Cara turned to flee, though, the man took out a gun from his pocket and pointed it at them.
“Don’t do anything stupid!” he barked. “Just do what I say, and you won’t get yourselves killed!”
Gulping back her fear, Beth nodded, protectively yanking her sister back as the robber poked her with the butt of the barrel.
“Hurry up!” he snapped. “I ain’t got all night!”
Beth whirled toward the machine, punching in her code with trembling fingers.
“I-I don’t have much,” she warned him, her mind racing.
She had over ten thousand dollars in her account, most of it for her tuition and the books she would need when she went back to school in September. If he took everything…
Beth shuddered when she thought of the alternative.
“Lemme see what you got, honey,” he purred, peering over her shoulder, and Beth closed her eyes. There would be no escaping; he was going to take what she had.
Just give it to him! a logical voice yelled in her head. Cara is with you. It’s only money, you’ll manage to get it back someday!
She didn’t need any further convincing, and she tried to withdraw all the money.
The machine, however, did not allow for it, offering her only three hundred dollars.
“Looks like you got lots of money!” the robber snarled. “Hurry up!”
“It won’t let me take it all out at once!” Beth protested.
“Well, take it out as many time as you need to!” he cried, and Beth could read the antsy expression on his face.
He was losing his nerve.
The sisters exchanged a panicked look, and Beth hoped her sister would somehow be able to keep a clear head and call 9-1-1 without attracting attention from their attacker, but her face was whiter than anything Beth had ever seen. She must be even more terrified than Beth was.
“You stalling?” the robber demanded, raising his voice. “You wanna die?”
Beth shook her head. “No! Of course not!” she replied, willing the machine to work faster as she waited for the second round of money to be withdrawn.
The ATM beeped, and Beth looked at the flashing scr
een. She gasped aloud, the color draining from her face.
“What?” the man growled. “What’s taking so long?”
“The machine is out of money,” Beth whispered, turning to him, her eyes wide with concern.
His face contorted in fury.
“Is this a trick?” he yelled, and Beth shook her head wildly as he seized Cara’s arm. “I will kill her as you watch!”
“No!” Beth cried. “It’s not a trick! Look!”
He gazed at the words on the screen and then looked back at them.
“Listen,” Beth said, struggling to keep her composure. “You can take the card and go. I will give you the PIN code. Here.” She thrust the card toward him, but his scowl only deepened.
“Do I look stupid to you?” he asked, his grip tightening on Cara’s arm.
The younger girl squealed.
“No,” he decided. “We’ll have to find another bank, that’s all.”
“No!” Beth protested. “I will give you the code! Please, there’s no reason to—”
Suddenly, the door to the ATM opened, and another man walked into the vestibule.
Everyone froze.
Beth’s eyes turned toward the newcomer, her face twisted in shock. It was the man she had been looking forward to hearing from all day. She recognized the facial features that had captivated her so.
August Vega, she thought. How is this even possible? What is he doing here?
For a moment, Beth wondered if she was hallucinating. But whether or not he had swiped left or right on her profile was the last thing on her mind. She gazed at August hopefully, and he looked on indifferently at the situation in front of him.
After an awkward silence, August cleared his throat. “Are you done with the machine?” he asked, shifting his eyes away from the trio.
He apparently didn’t notice the tension in the air and the gun the robber had hid behind his back.
Look at his hands! Beth wanted to scream, but August seemed oblivious.
“The machine is out of money, friend,” the mugger explained, and Beth could see he was trying to keep the anxiety from his tone.