by Coralee June
“What? She’ll come around,” I offered when he didn’t say anything.
The silence seemed to go on forever. I waited for him to provide some sort of commentary about her assumptions of me, but Mack just sat there in his own world. Lost in his grief. He’d given in to the memories he’d been running from since May died, and I knew the only way he’d come back out of it was either from a slap to the face or with a lot of time.
I decided not to be the villain today and give him time.
Roe walked back out of her bedroom, ready for class and still angry. “Mack, I’m ready for school.”
Mack didn’t even acknowledge her. He was too busy staring at his good fist.
“Mack?” she called again with a huff while taking a step closer. “I’m ready to go now.”
She cocked her head to the side while observing him.
“I’ll take you to school,” I spoke up while standing. Roe wasn’t going to get anything out of Mack right now, and we needed to discuss what happened last night anyway.
“Fine,” she replied. I was really starting to hate that answer. She used it practically every time we talked.
“Fine. Fine. Fine,” I mimicked as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed toward the front door. “Don't you know any other single-syllabled teenage words of rebellion?”
She walked toward my Jeep and got in the passenger side. The chill in the air made goose bumps pebble over my skin, and I could see my exhales.
Once we were both in the Jeep, I locked the doors with a sense of glee. There was no escaping this conversation, and I wanted to watch Roe squirm.
“That was quite a show you put on last night,” I said while putting the car in reverse and pulling down the drive.
“Can we please pretend like last night didn't happen?” she asked.
If I were being honest, I'd like nothing more than to pretend like nothing had happened last night, but that just wasn't possible. I couldn't forget her creamy skin. I couldn't forget the way her body moved or the raspy way she spoke to me. It was like this continuous loop in my mind.
“No, we can't.”
“Well, if you're hoping for a repeat performance, you're shit out of luck.”
Part of me was a little disappointed, but I pushed that emotion down while stopping at a red light. “Why'd you do it?” I asked. I had a good grasp on the human condition. I'd seen the worst and best of it over the years. Motivations were easy to figure out if you paid enough attention. I just needed to figure out what was motivating Roe right now. Hate, I could work with. Interest would be a problem.
“I wanted to prove that you aren't as indifferent as you pretend to be,” she snapped back with a satisfied grin before twisting in her seat to stare at me.
She looked so beautiful with her shoulder-length caramel hair and those warm brown eyes staring back at me. Her lips looked blushed and tender, like she'd been gnawing on them all night. Her outfit of plain jeans and a simple black long-sleeved shirt wasn't anything to obsess over, but she looked good. When did I stop seeing her as a girl I needed to protect? When did she become this...woman?
“You kissed me, then acted like it meant nothing. I just wanted to prove that you're a lying sack of shit with a hard-on for me.”
I nearly choked on the spit gathering in my mouth at her words. Well alright then. Those motivations were pretty damn clear. So she wanted to get me back? Fine. Two could play that game.
“You shouldn't want me to be affected, Pretty Debt.”
“We shouldn't want a lot of things, Stalker.”
Against my better judgement, I reached out and lightly grazed her knee. I doubted she could actually feel it through the thickness of her jeans. My fingers were a feather light, teasing touch. “Is this what you wanted? You want a reaction out of me? You want me to admit that you're hot? That shit doesn't mean anything.”
“I just want the truth,” she breathed out before shoving my hand away. The light turned green, and I started driving toward her school again, taking each turn slowly to prolong our time together.
“I've given you as much of the truth as you're entitled to,” I replied with a frown.
“Bullshit. You won't explain why you feel so protective of me. You won't explain why you seem hell bent on keeping me safe but hate me all the same. I'm getting tired of the contradictions. I just want you to admit that you give a fuck about me. You wouldn't have kept me safe all these years if you didn't.”
I pulled into the school's parking lot and turned the car off. “Caring is relative, Roe,” I replied. “Stop trying to push me for answers.”
She stared at me for a moment, smiling like she had me figured out. There was a halo of light surrounding the crown of her head from where the sunshine hit through the window. “If you won't give me answers, I'll find them somewhere else. You can pretend all you want, Stalker. There's something here, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it.”
With those ominous words, she got out of my Jeep and left me to wonder what she had up her sleeve.
I watched her on my phone the entire drive home.
ROE
The club downtown was thudding with rebellious music. Hard beats and loud guitar riffs rattled my ears. They crammed bodies into every nook and cranny of the club, and I felt like I was walking through the personification of Nicole’s cry for help.
I wore a black tank top and skinny jeans. My hair was curled and my makeup smoky. I didn’t even have to show the bouncer my fake ID. I got in with a flirty smirk and a wink, and I hated myself for it.
Nicole was easy to spot. She was like a flare of naivety in the club's corner, sipping on what was probably a virgin cocktail and waving her arms above her head. It wasn’t until I squeezed through the dancing bodies and got closer that I realized she was sitting on Joel’s lap. He looked better than the last time I saw him. The club lights camouflaged the bruises on his shadowed face. A couple more weeks, and he’d be back to his beautiful self.
My cast stood out like a bright neon sign, glowing an electric blue under the lights. I made my way over to them, not thinking about the beacon in my pocket or how I had to climb out of my bedroom window to get here. Mack and Hunter would be at the club soon enough, but until then, I planned on being rebellious and free.
“Hello,” I greeted before sitting next to them on the small couch. It looked like Nicole used her parents’ credit card to book a private alcove somewhat away from the booming speakers and screaming crowd. A cocktail waitress sauntered over with a bottle of Patron and set it down with a wink. Guess she paid for bottle service, too.
Nicole squealed and shifted from Joel’s lap to mine, wrapping her thin arms around my neck while squirming her bony ass against my thighs. “You made it! I figured you’d be busy with your new boyfriend,” she practically yelled. I didn’t miss the way she side-eyed Joel as she spoke, as if making sure he knew I was fucking someone else.
“I needed out of the house,” I replied with a shrug before leaning over her lap to grab a shot. I downed it with a hiss, letting Nicole’s screams of approval drown out my better judgment. I didn’t like clubs, though I’d heard enough of my classmates brag about this place. It was one of the few clubs in Denver that turned a blind eye to underage girls. If you had money, you could shake your ass with the rest of them.
But crowds made my sense of self-preservation spike. There were too many variables, too many statistics about death, rape, and alcohol poisoning in my mind to really enjoy myself.
Once the burning liquid was down my throat, I turned my attention to Joel, fixing my expression into an indifferent facade. “Hello.”
“Surprised they allowed you out, Rowboat,” he said before leaning back on the velvet loveseat, reaching an arm back to rest it behind my head. I didn’t like the insinuation in his tone.
“Yep. Escaped the warden for a bit,” I replied with a frown.
“Let’s take a picture!” Nicole interrupted before wiggling between us. Pulling J
oel close, she pecked his cheek while holding her cellphone up, capturing an Instagram-worthy shot of the three of us living it up illegally in a downtown club. I guess it didn’t happen unless you posted about it.
Within three seconds, she had it captioned and shared, the likes popping up like jealous little reminders that we had a life. She stared greedily at her phone, stroking the screen with her thumb while Joel and I sat there in silence. It was awkward for a moment until the real reason we were all gathered here lit up her phone. I glanced at the caller ID with bored interest.
Mom.
“I have to answer this...” Nicole got up, her pearly white teeth digging into her bottom lip to keep the grin from breaking out across her face.
I stared at her back as she retreated to a side hallway. “Does Nicole know what kind of shit you’re involved in?” Joel asked before leaning forward to get his drink from the coffee table.
“What exactly am I involved in, Joel?” I asked while cocking my head to the side.
He glanced at me over the rim of his glass. A flash of terror crossed his features before he put his glass down. “All I know,” he began while leaning closer, “is that one second I was taking you to the bus station, and then a few hours later some guy was breaking into my house and kicking my ass. He held me at gunpoint. He told me not to say a word and to stay away from you.”
I swallowed. That sounded about right. “And then you ran away like a little bitch,” I replied. I was still angry about the way he brushed me off in class, but I understood that he was scared.
“What does it matter to you? We break up, you call me for help, then rope me into some fucking gang activity bullshit, and then get mad when I cut ties. I don’t get you, Roe.”
He wasn’t wrong. “And then you date my friend,” I snapped, though of all the things leading up to this moment, I didn’t care about that.
Joel tossed his head back and chuckled. “You don’t do friends, Roe. You do temporary projects to help pass the time. To have a friend, you’d have to actually stick around.”
I leaned forward and glared at Joel. “That may be true, but if you’re fucking around with her because you’re hoping to get back at me, you’re wasting your time.”
“Am I?” Joel asked while placing his hand on my upper thigh. “The way I see it, Nicole wants someone to make her parents pay attention. I think the town slut and local bad boy fit the bill nicely. We’re all just using each other. It’s up to you if there’s a payoff,” Joel said. He swayed in his seat while snaking his hand higher and higher, pressing the tip of his middle finger against my cunt as his whiskey breath feathered over me.
His words pissed me off and made me doubt myself. I thought I had Nicole figured out. Was she just hanging out with me to make her parents mad? I thought she did that with Joel, but I never imagined she was playing me, too.
I felt the impulse to run. It was a recognizable feeling. Breathing in the smoky club air, I prepared to stand up and leave this clusterfuck alone. I wanted a taste of freedom, not a slap in the face of reality.
“Keep touching her, and I’ll break your fingers off and fuck her with them,” a cruel voice said to my left. Joel turned ghastly pale and dropped his mouth open. He snapped his fingers back, and I enjoyed the drunken, stark terror crossing his face as he scrambled off the couch and away from me.
I grabbed another shot and downed it before slowly turning around to face my devil knight, and fuck if I didn’t swoon at the sight I saw.
He was wearing a leather jacket, cut and tailored perfectly to his broad shoulders. His hair was disheveled in an effortlessly sexy way, and the dark denim jeans he was wearing fit his thick thighs perfectly. He leaned forward and yanked the shot glass out of my hand.
Neon lights danced across his skin as he stared me down. I could feel the intensity sizzling between us. Blood boiled in my veins, heating me up from the inside out. “What are you doing here?”
“Just wanted to have a little fun,” I replied with a noncommittal shrug I just knew would piss him off even more.
Hunter looked over my head at Joel, and I watched as his chest expanded with air. Anger bled through the thin line of his lips and his dark glare.
“I’m going to go find Nicole,” Joel stuttered before running out of there.
I gnawed on the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at his quick departure. Hunter watched Joel’s retreating form until he was completely out of sight, then turned his attention back to me.
“Where’s Mack? He’s usually the one to drag me out of these things,” I said before glancing at my watch.
“I’m thinking you want to be pulled from these things. You don’t like parties, you don’t like crowds.”
I averted my eyes, choosing to stare at the scuffs in the wood floors at my feet. Hunter grabbed my chin and forced me to stare at him. “You want to have some fun, Pretty Debt? Let’s have some fun.”
Hunter led me out of the private corner of the room, dragging me through the parting crowd to the dance floor. Bodies crowded me, sweat and swaying limbs stuck to my skin as he dug his fingers into my hips. I focused on the feel of his fingers to stop my intrusive thoughts.
Stay away from crowds, Roe. They could trample you.
I forced my mother’s trembling voice out of my mind.
“You going to dance with me, Hunter?” I asked, my lip quirked in amusement.
The song switched to something dark and heady, the beat electric. Hunter leaned over to shout in my ear. “No, Pretty Debt. I’m going to get you off.”
I gasped as he shoved his thigh between my legs. His hard grip on my hips guided my grinding movements against his thigh in time to the music. My lips parted on an exhale. I looked up at him through my lashes, taking in the deliciously devious man playing my body like an instrument.
The room was dark aside from the neon flashes of lights flickering around us. Lasers danced along the ceiling. It didn’t take long for the grinding to awaken that harsh need within me. I wrapped my good arm around his neck and pressed my body against his.
His lips found my ear again. “How’s that feel, Pretty Debt?” he asked. His thumbs pushed up my shirt, teasing my hot skin with his rough touch.
I couldn’t even form my answer; I was too busy humping his leg like some sick, needy animal. From the corner of my eye, I saw Nicole and Joel dancing. Her mascara was smeared like she’d been crying. Joel looked oblivious, staring at me with his haunting gaze as he swayed.
“Don’t fucking look at him,” Hunter said while removing his leg from between mine. I whimpered at the loss of friction.
Pushing me away, Hunter spun around, like a predator looking for someone else to demolish. A blonde with a tight little body and a shirt so thin I could see the dark color of her nipples approached. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck as they started grinding on one another. The song changed, and I stood there like a statue, rooted to the spot with my mouth hanging open in disbelief.
I was two seconds from coming on the dance floor, and he left me for someone else. He was trying to prove something here, something I didn’t understand. But I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of winning the who-cares-less game.
I looked around the room and settled on a guy dancing near me. He was lanky and high, his delayed movements and vacant face made him the perfect partner.
But I didn’t even get the chance to walk over to him. I simply looked away from Hunter, and he drew away from the woman dancing on him and stole my attention back for himself. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he whispered in my ear, “Pretty Debt, you didn’t think I’d let someone else get you off, did you?”
I almost melted at his touch, but I wasn’t so easily controlled. Instead of answering him, I walked off the dance floor with an angry clit and wobbly legs.
I walked past Nicole and Joel, not bothering to tell them goodbye. I hated that Joel’s words had affected me so much, but I needed room to think. I walked past t
he bar and out the front door, welcoming the icy city air with gritted teeth. In my epic storm out, I forgot to grab my jacket.
Nope. I definitely would not be going back in. I just had to make it until my Uber arrived. I pulled up my phone and started ordering a car when I felt him at my back.
“You’re cold,” he observed.
“I’d make fun of your observation skills, but you’re a stalker,” I replied while typing in Mack’s address. Hunter plucked my phone out of my hand and put it in his back pocket.
“My Jeep is just around the corner.”
Of course it was. Hunter wrenched out of his jacket and placed it over my shoulders. The friendly gesture almost made me forget his torturous idea of fun on the dance floor. I was getting genuinely fucking tired of being led on and then getting left to take care of matters myself. I just wanted to get home and get rid of the tension. I couldn’t help but wonder. Would he watch me again? Would he call? Would he stay on the phone this time and listen to me come?
“You hear me?” Hunter asked while holding his arm out, pointing in the car’s direction. “I’m parked over there, let’s go.”
I nodded. “All right,” I replied before walking along the sidewalk.
The Denver night air smelled like pot, booze, and burgers. Drunk girls walked past in their short skirts, oblivious to the nasty chill. Hunter kept close to me, eyeing everyone that passed.
Once in the car, I pressed my forehead to the glass and tried not to let him see how frustrated I was. He drove us home, and I thought about Joel’s words. I thought about my friendship with Nicole. I thought about Hunter showing up and threatening Joel. I thought about our dance—boy, did I think about our dance.
It took us thirty minutes to get back to Uncle Mack’s house. I didn’t even bother to question Hunter when he pulled up the drive and turned off his Jeep. He got out of his car and stalked up the driveway with angry steps, not explaining himself.
