by Tijan
A few grumbled as they headed down. I stayed behind. Something was going on and I knew it had to do with me and Hell Bitch from before.
Kara turned back, biting her lip, and wringing her hands together. The clipboard had been left behind in the room. She seemed to be eyeing me up and down, measuring for something, but she switched to Beth. “Call Hannah. Be friends with this girl.”
Then she flounced away, hurrying after the rest.
I shifted back to my heel and reassessed this girl. Dressed in baggy jeans, a black T-shirt with a rock band on the front, and she had a lip ring—make that an eyebrow ring as well, she didn’t seem like any sort of help against Hell Bitch.
“Who is this Hannah and why does she want our friendship so bad?”
Beth shrugged as she bent to grab a backpack. Glass clinked together inside, but she put her arm through one of the straps and slung it over, uncaring about whatever was fragile inside. She flipped her straight brown hair over her shoulder. As she did, I caught another small tattoo of a hummingbird behind her ear. “No idea. And Hannah would not come to something like this.”
“Still.” There had to be a reason. “Who is Hannah to you?”
“She’s my cousin.” She grew suspicious. “Why?”
“Because when someone throws a girl at me and commands our friendship, I want to know why,” I snapped.
“Oh.” The suspicion melted away. “That makes sense. I’d want to know too.”
“You’re not curious why she said that?”
Checking her pockets, she started towards the stairs. I fell in step beside her and heard her say, “When it comes to Kara and her friends, I don’t really give a damn. They’re too loony and pretentious for my liking.”
“Wait.” My arm caught hers. I hauled her to a stop on top of the stairs. “You said Kara and her friends?”
She rolled her dark eyes. “Yeah, I know Kara because she’s best friends with my other cousin.”
My heart began pounding. I already knew where this was going. “Who is that?”
“You don’t want to know her. Trust me.”
I think I already do. “No, really. Tell me.”
“Tiffany, she’s Hannah’s older sister.”
Bingo.
I knew there’d been a reason, but wait. That made no sense. “So you’re best friends with Hannah, who is sisters with Tiffany? I’m confused.”
“Join the club.” She shrugged again and started down the floors. When we would’ve veered to the left and kept going to the basement lobby, she went to the right.
I paused. For some reason, this seemed important for me to know. And I hated to admit it, but Beth wasn’t hard company.
She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “If you want to, we’re going to Club T.”
“What’s Club T?”
She flashed a grin and it transformed her face. Beth had seemed moody and withdrawn, but with the slight curve of her lips, she was animated. Most guys would consider her plain looking, but in that moment, I thought she was radiant. She laughed at me. “Come and find out. Hannah’s driving.”
I didn’t need any more incentive. I was out the door in two heartbeats.
A red Camaro was waiting for us, with another blonde bombshell behind the wheel. She never grinned, nothing. Her aviators hid most of her face and her lips never moved an inch. She only spoke to Beth as I crawled into the backseat and her cousin took the front, “Who is this?”
“Um.” Beth glanced at me before she settled into her seat. “A friend. Let’s go.”
She gunned the Camaro and off we went. I was thrown back by the force of it, but I didn’t mind. The girl was thin like her sister, but she was tanner. Her hair held red streaks among the golden blonde of it and a tattoo was on the underside of her forearm. It was in another language, but in simple and tiny letters. While her sister had been dressed like she was attending tennis classes at the White House, this girl wore tattered jean shorts and a black top that stuck to her.
Both were gorgeous.
What was in the water around here?
Beth frowned at me once more before her cousin turned the radio up and the two talked the rest of the way. It was a thirty-minute drive. She pulled into a parking lot outside a warehouse. The tall building, built from tin, was decorated with nothing. A lone black sign hung over the side entrance door, behind a guy in black clothes. He wore a hooded sweatshirt as a line of people waited.
“Oh, hellll no. This ain’t happening.”
Hannah parked the car and was out in record time. Beth caught my arm, holding me back, and we watched as she sauntered towards the bouncer. She pressed her chest against his and arched her back. One of her legs lifted in the air, all the while she was smiling and cooing into his ear.
“What is she doing?”
Beth shook her head. “She’s getting us in. That guy is new. Hannah’s been coming here for three years. She doesn’t like change.”
Three years?
“How old is she?”
“She’s a sophomore this year, but we came to visit Tiffany when we were in high school and she was a freshman and sophomore at Grant West.”
“So Tiffany’s a junior?”
“Yeah.” Beth couldn’t stop grinning as she watched her cousin in action.
I had to admit. I was impressed. She was stroking his arm, putting her boobs on display, and even puckering her lips. Oh yes. This girl knew how to work guys and every movement promised them so much more.
Finally, the guy grinned with lust as he ran a hand over her bottom lip. Then he nodded and stepped aside.
Her eyes lit up in triumph, and she glanced at us.
“Come on.” Beth grabbed my arm and pulled me after her.
We hurried through before the guy changed his mind.
When we got inside, it was one large room with a frenzied mass. People gyrated, grinded, did all sorts of dancing to the band on the stage. Some of them wore clothes that lit up like Christmas trees. As we fought our way to the bar, I was entertained by a girl that extended the lights to her hair and neck. She wore eyelashes that glowed in the dark. When she caught my eye and saw that I was studying her, she pressed a hand against her cheek, and then touched it to mine.
Beth grinned. She saw the exchange and leaned into my ear, “You have a glowing rose on your cheek now.”
I nodded, happy for some reason.
The girl pressed a kiss to my cheek and lifted her hand to the bartender. After she got her drinks, she turned and disappeared again.
Two glasses were pushed our way. The bartender leaned close over the bar with his elbow braced on it. “That girl paid for your drinks.”
I was floored by the generosity, but Beth grunted and flashed a wad of cash. The bartender nodded and she was given a tray of drinks instead. She added the free ones to it and lifted it high above the heads as we moved out of the crowd. When we got to the edge, she lowered the tray and hollered in my ear, “The girl seemed fine, but don’t accept any more drinks from anyone. I like this place, don’t get me wrong, but don’t be stupid at the same time.”
I hollered back in her ear, “Where’s your cousin?”
She gestured to the dance floor.
And yep, there she was. She had an arm around some guy who was grinding against her hips. The two looked hot and heavy; then Hannah pressed her chest against the guy’s and he dropped his head to her neck. When she gasped, I turned back to Beth. “You think she’s coming back for these drinks?”
Beth laughed. “Maybe. They’re for all of us, help yourself.”
“What?”
She found a table in the back section and placed the tray on it. Her bag was put on the chair beside mine and she patted the seat. “Have yourself some fun. I’ll be back.” And with that announcemen
t, she vanished into the crowd.
I was left alone with a tray of drinks.
Wonderful.
I didn’t even like to drink.
I didn’t see either of the girls for a while, but I couldn’t really fault them. I didn’t know them so I settled back against the wall, kept the tray in front of me, and watched the people. When it was nearing midnight, Beth returned. Her hair was sweaty and slicked back from her face. Her face was red. When I saw the hickey on the side of her neck, I didn’t ask what she’d been doing. I hadn’t seen her on the dance floor.
“Did you have fun?” She hopped onto the stool across from me and yelled over the table.
I indicated the tray, still full with the drinks. “Loads.”
“Sorry.”
She didn’t look it.
She started searching the dance floor. “A lot of my friends come here. It’s an underground club.”
I had gathered.
She kept going, “I’m a big band junkie and these guys are one of my favorites.”
“What’s their name?”
“Do Cocktails.”
“Nice name.”
“Yeah.” She flashed me a grin. Her eyes were glazed over and the smile was sloppy. I wondered if she’d been doing more than drinking, but I didn’t ask. It wasn’t my business and it wasn’t my place to judge. A yawn came over her and she fought it off before leaning closer. “Listen, you want to leave? I’ll call a cab for us.”
“What about your cousin?”
She shrugged. “She’s with that guy. Don’t worry. She’s been with him before.”
With him before? Duly noted. I nodded. “Okay. Sure.”
She pulled out her phone. After she called for the cab, she yelled again, “It’ll be about twenty minutes.”
“They know this place?”
“Oh yeah. All the cab companies do. Sometimes they don’t even charge, but we’ll get charged tonight.”
“Why’s that?”
She gestured to me. “Because of you.”
Me? I looked down. Why me?
“You look rich.”
“I do?” I only wore jeans and a gray shirt. There wasn’t anything special about my outfit and I never wore make-up.
“Yep. You might think you’re being simple, but I can tell you’ve got money.” When she saw that I was dumbfounded, she waved it away. “Don’t worry. Kara and Tiffany are like that too. They try to look like that, though. You just exude it or whatever.”
I wasn’t sure how to take that. I didn’t want to be like either of them.
Beth’s phone lit up and she hopped off the stool. “Come on, cab’s here. That was a lot quicker than I thought.”
She led the way, weaving through the crowd. When we neared the door, I saw her cousin not far. She was being pressed against the wall by a different guy. His tongue was inside her mouth and his hand was underneath her bra.
I tapped Beth on the shoulder and pointed. “It’s a new guy and your cousin lost her shirt.”
She grinned, not the reaction I was expecting. We both watched as the guy started to undo her jeans and slide them down.
My eyes bulged out. They were going to have sex, right there, in front of everyone. My hand wrapped around Beth’s arm. “Stop them.”
“Why?” She shrugged. “That’s why she came.”
From a different tone in her voice, I edged back a step and gave her another more measuring look. “Is that why you came here?”
She could’ve gotten mad. She didn’t. Another jerk of the shoulder as she mused, sounding bored, “I don’t do it in public. Hannah doesn’t give a shit. She will in a few months, but she doesn’t care right now.”
Trips to Club T took on a whole other feel to me now. Why did Kara want me to be friends with them again?
“Come on.” Beth tugged me out the door.
A cab was waiting for us and she darted into the back door as another group started towards it as well. They stopped, but moved closer again when she left the door open. Her head popped out and she shouted at me, “I’m sharing with her.” She pointed at me. “Not you guys.”
“Oh,” one of the guys groaned, but their entire group stopped.
As I hurried past them and climbed inside, the cab started forward. It was cold in contrast to the club that had been overheated with human bodies. Beth started to shiver and the cab filled with the smell of sweat quickly dissipating. I looked at the sweater in my bag, but I didn’t offer it to her.
As her teeth began chattering, she looked at me. “Don’t start doing that.”
I looked over, but I didn’t ask what she meant. I knew what she meant.
“Don’t start judging us.” She said it for me. Wrapping her arms around herself, she started to shake. “I know what you’re thinking, that we’re some sluts or something. We’re not. You don’t know why we do that, or even what we’re doing.”
She was right. As she said that, in the back of our cab, a deep loneliness filtered inside of me. People judged me. They became scared of me because a part of me died after that letter. That damn letter.
My phone buzzed at that moment. It was a text from Jesse.
U at ur room? Sorry, took longer than I thought. Can I come over? Cord told me how to sneak in back.
I responded. Yes, will be there in twenty minutes.
K.
A shiver went through me, but it wasn’t from the coldness, or even the loneliness. I was sitting in the back of this cab, with someone I didn’t know, and I’d been scolded. I wasn’t a judgmental person, but I had been with her. I had been with her cousin. She was right. What they did was none of my business. It wasn’t until I grew to know them and understand their situations. Then it would come from caring and I didn’t care about them.
I held my phone tightly. I couldn’t let it go.
Someone that I thought had stopped caring still did. I was going to see him soon and like Beth’s sentiment, I hoped he didn’t judge me. He would learn, at some point, that my parents had abandoned me. They lost their son and I was no longer good enough for them. Instead of forgiving me and taking me as is they chose the decision to start a new life. There was no room for me in their new life.
I drew in a breath. Pain blasted me, tightening my chest.
I didn’t know what I would do if Jesse saw the same defect in me as my parents did, if he walked away as they had.
I sent a furtive look beside me. For some reason, the cab wasn’t as lonely as before.
I hadn’t been in my room long when I heard his knock.
A rush went through me. He was here. He was on the other side of the door. As I opened it, he ducked inside. There were rules against having boys in our rooms, but I didn’t care. Not at that moment, not as I was drinking him in.
Jesse flashed me a grin as he ran a hand through his hair.
I murmured, “You got it cut again.”
“Hmm, yeah.” He grimaced. “I was tired of the faux hawk. Told the girl to buzz it as close as she could before I’d go bald.”
“You look good.” And he did. It was a military-style haircut, but with his dark coloring and dark eyes, it made him leaner. But no. I chewed on my lip as I looked him up and down. He was leaner. Cord hadn’t been the only one working out. Jesse had muscles showing in places he hadn’t a year ago. Even as his wrist twitched, a small muscle stood out on his arm, one that I never would’ve known was there before now. His shoulders were more compact and his waist was trimmer.
He looked really good. I licked my lips. Damn good.
He smirked. “You checking me out, Connors?”
My chin went up and I narrowed my eyes at him. He was doing the same thing. Suddenly, I was glad that I had changed clothes. I hadn’t had the intention to dre
ss for him, but I wore a tank top and lightweight scrub pants. They fell low on my hip and were tied in a loose knot. I became very aware that I wasn’t wearing a bra and my underwear’s strap was visible above my scrub’s waistband. Sexy wasn’t the vocabulary to describe me, but I knew I wasn’t ugly. My body was trimmed down, even more so since my friends had deserted me. I wasn’t an exercise person, but I had begun eating better. I might’ve hoped to become healthier, even though I knew that food wasn’t going to fix everything wrong on the inside. But it helped, a tiny bit.
“You approve?” I murmured, my voice husky with desire. It had been stirring since his text, simmering, but it was boiling as soon as I heard his knock on the door. It was a full fire when he stepped inside and it was only the two of us.
His eyes centered on my hand.
I lifted it and saw the small burn on the inside of my wrist. It was from that night when I lit my parent’s letter on fire. I hadn’t let go of the letter quick enough and I hadn’t felt the pain so it went unhealed for a while. When I did notice it, it had already healed over. So I left it. No one had been around enough to notice it. As Jesse stepped close and touched my arm, he lifted it for inspection now.
I bit into the inside of my cheek. What would he think? I already knew I couldn’t give him the answers to any questions. I didn’t want him to know, not yet, not on the first night.
Slowly, I eased my arm out of his hold and crossed to my desk. “I met some of your friends today.”
His eyes narrowed and he shrugged.
My shoulders dropped. He had let it go. Relief had me sagging against my desk, but I got myself under control. A grin came over me, but I knew it was half of one. I was still reeling that he hadn’t asked about the burn. “Oh, come on. Chandra, Tiffany, Kara. I think I should nominate them for a Good Samaritan Award. Do you guys have that here?”
The corner of his mouth curved up. “Yeah, maybe Kara. Cord mentioned that you and Tiffany didn’t seem to care for each other.”
“Please tell me you’re not best friends with her or screwing her behind your buddy’s back. I don’t think I could look at you the same.” It came out as a joke, but I wasn’t teasing. I meant it.