by L. J. Woods
Milo flops in the seat next to me like he owns the place, scrolling on his phone
“You’ve completed another full year of being that idiot’s henchman?” I ask, forcing myself not to look around for him.
“Burn,” Milo comments, not enthused at all. He’s like Daria with a dick. Emotionless and depressed.
Pulling my knees to my chest, my eyes move from Milo’s unbuttoned shirt to the black plugs in his ear. “Who the fuck still says ‘burn’?”
“You want a burn?” Milo looks up from his phone, a hand coming to my thigh. Since Gabe won’t talk to me, I don’t know where my pants are and that means I’m still in Hazel’s kilt. “These hands give a good spanking.”
I push his hand off. “Your dick not burning enough with all that chlamydia you totally have?”
He leans in again, those green eyes much too bright for his demeanour. “You’d know, right? With your mom being a whore and all.”
“Mate, if Gabe sees you with a hand on his girl, it’s game over.” Adam laughs before I fulfill the urge to slam my board on his head. He sways when he pulls his foot off the table, telling me they’ve been up to antics in the forest again. How does anyone look up to these three? “And that means … I’m officially all man. All glory!” He flexes a bicep, pushing his collared shirt up to his bulging muscle. I’ll give it to him. His muscles aren’t as big as Gabe’s but they’re definitely there. “I’ll see you two at mine, yeah?”
“Bikinis,” Milo adds. “Invite only.”
“No.” Gabe’s voice comes from behind me, making me jump. I fucking hate that he makes me jump. “We don’t invite cast-outs.”
“W-we’re cast out?” Hazel finally finds her voice.
“No,” I say, turning towards Gabriel behind me. He’s closer than I expect and that startles me too. But I don’t let him see it. “We’re not cast-outs because you can’t cast out someone who doesn’t believe in that shit.” Looking back at Adam, I nod. “So we’ll see you there.” I’m not jumping at the chance to party with these idiots. I’m jumping at a chance to ruin Gabe’s night. He’s ruining my life, so it’s only fair.
“No we won’t,” Gabe replies, that rolling voice in my ear. “Not a chance.”
“Another secret party tonight?” A girl’s voice comes from the other direction and when I turn around, it’s Gemma. Her hair’s even bluer than I remember and with her tie loose around her neck, she looks way less bothered about the video than Sammy was. “I could use one. The energy in this town is super dark right now. As long as no one mentions you know what.” She winks, totally owning it.
That solidifies my plan. Going to this party means I’ll piss Gabe the fuck off, but I can also find out what’s going on with the girls in these videos. Or what happened to Sammy. I hardly know her but I don’t want Gemma having the same fate.
Adam’s eyes move from Hazel to Gemma’s tits. They’re practically hanging out of her bra, buttons opened to her cleavage. His eyebrows raise before his grin grows. Hazel’s eyes narrow. “Gemma, you are definitely invited,” he says.
“I know,” Gemma says, walking away before she turns around. “Text me the details!”
“We’ll be there,” Hazel confirms. Whipping my head to her, she nods with confidence.
“That settles it,” I turn towards Gabe who’s already looking at me with narrow eyes. Like he’s calculating his next move. So am I. I smile in return. “We’ll be there.”
Sixteen
Gabriel
“So, things are going well with Delilah, yeah?”
When Adam mentions her name, my jaw work harder than it already is. He snorts a line off the patio table between us, his backyard something that belongs in a resort.
We’re not usually allowed to party it up out here but with his parents out of town for the night, it’s fair game.
“Nope,” I confirm, grabbing a crystal glass of amber liquid from the gold tray between us. Adam’s gone all out for his small birthday bash.
Big white balloons float in the water, the yard lit up in his favourite colour. Green. He even has a DJ spinning some house music to the side. Meanwhile, it’s just Adam, Milo and me. The fewer people that come, the less he has to worry about getting as fucked up as he wants. The Armstrongs don’t like drawing attention to themselves and Adam is more obedient than I am, always playing along. Keeping up appearances.
“‘Nothing’ like there isn’t a party happening here tonight?” Adam racks up another line of white powder, our only escape for the evening. While I crave something a bit more relaxing, who am I to say no to the pile of blow? He hands me the bill with an arched brow. “Or ‘nothing’ like you weren’t in rehab this summer?”
Leaning towards the line, my brows furrow. “That’s the same fucking thing, man.”
Milo’s deep chuckle comes from the pool. He lays on an inflatable swan, a bottle of Patron resting on his abs. “You sure?” he calls as I’m lining up another. It’s my third fat line and while I’m starting to feel like the god I am, nothing compares to the feeling I had with my fingers deep in Delilah. “‘Cause, you had zero chill when she said she was coming.”
My head to the sky, my nose tingles as my shades hide the rays from the setting sun. “I’m just tired of babysitting my best friend’s sister.” If you call what we did at the rink babysitting.
Adam laughs, “Alright, G.” But that response is sarcastic as fuck.
“What?” I ask, shades lowering so I can see him better, threatening him to say what’s on his mind and of course, he does.
“I’m just saying.” He sits up, torso bare as he wipes at his nose. “You and Delilah have a lot of sexual tension. A lot.” Adam’s saying this as if everyone knows it and I can’t have that. Pulling my drink to my lips I take a long swig while he continues. “It’s hot. She’s hot. My condolences, but her brother’s dead. What’s the damage?” With as much shit as he’s saying he’s clearly had a head start on the party favours. “The only babysitting you should be doing is babysitting your dick in that ass.”
His fist pushes into my shoulder before I swat it away. “I don’t need drama at my doorstep, you know what that’ll do to my plan.”
“I know you. You want control and I say, give in to it!” He laughs, poking his index finger at his head. “Tame the beast. You’re Hammer! Hammer that pus—”
“Gabe!” Mariam’s voice almost makes me drop the glass to the stone floor. I’m quick to place a towel over the pile of coke and the big bottle of rye on the table between us. “You’re already here!”
I look over at Adam, muttering, “You invited Mariam?”
He shrugs, looking lost but not at all bothered.
Mariam appears in front of us in a blue one-piece and a giant hat that flops over. Her eyes land on the almost empty glass on the table. “You’re drinking?”
When I groan, Adam and Milo laugh.
“It’s a drink, Mariam,” I say, taking another. “Not fentanyl.”
“Is that your first?” she retorts in a way that means she knows it’s not.
“It’s a party, Mariam!” Adam’s on his feet now, helping me out. “Chill out. Have an iced tea. Jump in the pool. Get naked. I don’t care. Just leave my man alone, will ya?”
“Who the fuck has palm trees on the east coast?” Delilah’s voice is next, a gut punch to my stomach, grip tightening around the glass. This party’s going downhill fast. Rising from my seat, I want to head inside for some relief but I follow Mariam’s wide eyes to Delilah’s outfit.
Fuck. Me.
Delilah looks like she fell off the cover of HeyBoy Magazine. The sunset hits her gold bikini, the breeze catching her long waves. Even in those dirty Chucks she looks like something I want to take a bite out of. The flashbacks from yesterday hit me like a truck. Her moans. Her cry. That orgasm. And right now, her little getup doesn’t help to make me forget that I’ve done yet another unforgivable thing.
Delilah smiles, skateboard tucked under her arm that only
adds to her sexy look. But I don’t miss when her eyes roam around my chest to my abs. They’re like lasers. Knives. Sharp and deadly.
“Daaaaamn!” I don’t notice Nix standing next to her until he speaks, dressed like the burnout he is. Flamingo shades and matching pool toy around his wide waist. “This how they be doing it in the ‘burbs?”
The fuck is he doing here?
“Who are you?” Mariam asks as my nostrils flare, body tense when I see how close they are. When I glance back at Mariam she has her manicured hand over her heart.
“Nixon Nash.” This idiot tilts his head to the sky as if he’s the king of this town.
Looks like I’ll have to put the guy in his place. “It’s invite-only,” I say, reaching for the baggie under the towel. Mariam’s way too distracted now to notice.
“Good,” Delilah speaks up as she places a hand on his bare shoulder. “‘Cause I invited him. And since I was invited …”
“You weren’t.”
“She was,” Milo calls from the pool and I have the urge to throw this bottle of rye at his head. “Looking good, Delilah.”
Delilah poses, her ass poked out to one side. “Thank you, Milo. You wanna better look?” My eyes narrow as she moves further into the yard but not without a pat on my cheek, reaching up on her toes. “Jaw’s on the floor, Godfrey.” It’s also tight, and it’s taking everything in me to not press her against the brick of Adam’s house and tell her to cut this shit out. With my fingers.
Nix follows her with a pat on my shoulder, my body tensing. For Delilah’s sake, I don’t floor him right here. Something flies out my mouth instead. “Where’d you find that? In your mom’s porn star closet?”
“Why? Do you recognize it?” She looks over her shoulder as she approaches one of the cushioned wicker loungers. She has a smirk that tells me she’s not bothered at all. Nix jumps in the pool with a giant splash, making Mariam scream as Delilah lays down, her chin to the sky, her tits in the sun.
It’s not a good day to be wearing these loose black trunks.
“Are we still talking about Delilah’s porn star mom?” Gemma’s raspy voice comes from behind me. When I turn around Hazel’s with her coming from the tree-covered path to the yard. “This town just can’t get over themselves.”
A whistle comes from Adam. “This party has started!” He rises from his seat with a sway, approaching Hazel and Gemma. Hazel wears a leafy print suit, Gemma in a Rolling Stones bikini. Adam wraps an arm each around them both. “Shall we celebrate?”
And that we do. No one else from the school arrives but Adam doesn’t need them. Hazel and Gemma sit in the hot tub with him, attached to the pool. Milo floats in the swan near them, faded as hell. Mariam does laps while I’m sitting in a lounge chair across from Delilah and Nix. It’s hard to keep my eyes off them. They’re laughing together at the side of the pool as she whispers in his ear. When she catches me looking, she scoots closer, stroking his arm.
That confirms the assumption I had this entire time. The assumption I had for years.
Was she with him during our rinkside hookup? If so, that makes it worse. Not only is Delilah trouble, but she’s a cheat too. My grip is so hard around this glass, there’s a chance I’ll actually break it. I’ve been back and forth inside to do a few lines, hiding it from Mariam but I don’t think it’s helping. If anything, it only makes me angrier. So does the rye I’m barrelling through.
“Should you still be drinking?” Mariam appears beside me, patting herself with a towel. Delilah glances over before she laughs at something else Nix says.
Pulling a wet Mariam on my lap makes me wince but Delilah’s watching when I do. She’s watching when I wrap my arms around Mariam before I lean into her ear. “Keep me distracted.”
Mariam’s cheeks redden, looking back at me but my eyes are still on Dee and I see the way her lips tighten. The way she sits up like I finally have her attention. Nix looks our way before he leans into Delilah, saying something as he wraps an arm around her, pulling her close.
I know what she’s doing.
Game on, motherfuckers.
“Well, you smell like a bar so maybe you sh—Woah!” Mariam’s taller than Delilah but she has a slender body that’s easy to toss around. So I turn her towards me, making her straddle me. Mariam looks around and I know I’m making her nervous but unlike Delilah, she shows it. “Wh-what’re you doing?”
“Getting comfortable,” I give her a rye-filled smile, sloppy and lazy and with this much coke in my system, I no longer feel my face. Or the nausea building from having Mariam on my lap. Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her close, like we’re back in ninth grade. “You good, McQueen?” I’m not worried about her feeling put off. My cock is as flimsy as a pool noodle, only twitching when I see Delilah rise from the side of the pool, water dripping off her legs. Her ass.
She rubs Nix’s shoulders. I brush a strand of hair out of a confused Mariam’s face. She pushes a hand through his shiny short hair and my hand drops to Mariam’s ass. Mariam squeals and giggles, “Gabe!” Delilah’s eyes narrow before she walks towards the bar, getting a refill of whatever’s in that glass. While she’s away, my hands drop from Mariam. “Gabe?” she asks, looking behind her. Mariam follows my gaze before her shoulders drop. “Is that what this is about?” Pushing her off, I rise from my seat, not caring when her ass hits the stone. My legs are more wobbly than the last time I stood as I make my way over to Delilah.
“Hey Gemma!” she calls to the pool. “So, like, who sent that video?”
Gemma shakes her head, blue hair shaking from side to side.“Nope. Not today. I’m here to relax. Not to mourn, not to explain myself. Today, that video doesn’t exist.” With that, she leans her head back to the evening sun.
“The fuck are you doing?” I growl once I’m behind Delilah.
She turns around, pink curly straw in that pretty little mouth. “Partying?”
“You know what I mean. You dare try to one-up me in my own town?”
Her head falls to the side, her eyes roaming my body before she glances behind me, probably at Mariam. Or Nix. I’m not sure but I’m holding this gaze until it kills me. Or until my cock explodes. “That’s a good idea,” she says. “Truth or dare! Who wants to play?” When she yells, I notice the strong smell of rum coming off her and before I can protest, Hazel cheers.
“Yes!” Hazel says, a big grin on her face telling me she’s been drinking as much as the rest of us. Minus Mariam. It’s the biggest grin I’ve seen on her since the news about Sammy. Sammy’s body in my head makes my stomach flip, and now I need another drink. “Let’s do that! That sounds fun!” Or ten.
“Lame,” Milo says to the sky.
“Agreed,” I say, bringing my eyes back to Delilah’s.
“Pft, you’re lame,” she snorts.
“Not lame at all.” Adam sounds mesmerized, and when I look his way to tell him “no”, he’s unable to pull his gaze away from Hazel’s rack. “Let’s play.”
There’s an urge to stop the whole thing but I don’t want to be a damper on the guy’s birthday, so I give in. Coke fuels my answer. “Fine.”
“Or, we can up the ante.” Delilah takes a bottle of rum off the bar, wiggling it as she walks towards an empty spot on the grass. “We can play it the way we play at parties in the city.” She stares at me when she speaks, a little extra sway in her step as she walks backwards.
“No,” Mariam pipes up next. “No way. I’m not gonna kiss some random.”
“I’m down!” Nix responds, hand in the air.
My jaw works. Mariam nods. “Okay fine, one round.”
Seventeen
Gabriel
“This is my party so I’ll say when it ends.”
Adam pulls himself out of the pool. Water drips off his yellow swim trunks as he takes the bottle from Delilah’s hand, eyeing up both Hazel and Gemma. Hazel follows, taking the spot next to Delilah, Nix takes a spot on the other side.
“I’m so not down,” Ge
mma says, her hands in the air, appearing beside me. She wraps a large pink towel around her chest. “I’m already in enough trouble as it is.”
“You can’t blame yourself for that.” Delilah waves her over anyway. “Whoever sent that video, or whoever took that video should be the one in trouble. Not you.”
Gemma’s about to say something but doesn’t as Delilah takes charge, gathering everyone to the grass. In another few minutes, we’re all seated in a circle like it’s fucking middle school. There’s a bottle beside me, another beside Adam. Milo has his own, looking as miserable as I am.
Delilah spins the bottle first. It lands on Gemma who groans, sitting up. “Truth,” she says.
Delilah’s quick with her question. “Who took that video?”
Gemma’s quick too. “I dunno.”
“Okay, who’s in the video?”
Gemma pauses, looking up to the sky. “Someone at the school.”
“A student?” Delilah asks.
“No. You get one question!” Gemma argues.
“Well, you gave half an answer,” Mariam pipes up, all our heads whipping to her, her towel in her lap. She shrugs, looking at Delilah. “Right?”
Delilah jerks her head back, looking surprised that Mariam’s on her side. “Right.” She turns her gaze back to Gemma. “So, come on, fess up. We’re all here ‘cause we’re good at keeping secrets.” Her eyes hit mine.
Gut punch.
“Fine!” Gemma says. “Not a student. Now let’s move on.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Delilah says. “Time out. Not a student?”
“Time out?” Adam asks. “We just started! Come on!” He’s desperate for something and I wonder if that’s a chance with Hazel.
“Just hold on,” Mariam puts her hand up, her eyes on Gemma too. “If not a student then who?”