I groaned but looked at him, waiting for a sarcastic retort. “You look nice,” he said. I narrowed my eyes, but the punch line didn’t come. Instead he leaned closer, his smoky mint breath on my cheek. “You looked just as sexy in those jeans.”
My eyes met his, and I thought I was hallucinating, but his face was serious, and I immediately averted my eyes to the window. I pushed around him, and he moved out of my way as I slid it back open. As I climbed through, I couldn’t resist throwing a jab at him. “Just not good enough to kiss, right?” I slid the window closed behind me before he could respond.
Trish was ready to go and waiting in the living room for us. A few minutes after I came in, Abel followed, and the popular‐asshole persona was firmly in place.
“Let’s go party,” he called out, and his friends cheered and shoved each other toward the front door. I rolled my eyes but followed behind because that was what I did. I was always the extra wheel.
We made our way downstairs, and out front was a sleek, black Barracuda. Classic cars had a spot in my heart because that was all Brock ever talked about getting.
“We’ll take my car,” Abel said, as he pulled open his door.
“Much better than that rusty old truck,” I said under my breath.
“There you go. Now you sound just like her,” Abel replied just as quietly.
Trish made her way to the passenger side and slid into the seat. I waited for the other guys to climb into the back from the driver’s side. As I prepared to follow, Abel slid the seat back and motioned for me to sit in the center of the front bench seat. “I can’t let you sit back there with those fucking pervs. Your boyfriend would kill me.”
I ignored his comment about Brock and slid across next to Trish. She looked less than pleased that she wouldn’t be cuddling against Abel. I was the last person she should direct her frustration at. I didn’t want to sit next to Abel any more than she didn’t want me to, and it wasn’t my fault she ran with such a shady group.
Trish leaned around me to look at him as we pulled into traffic. “You think you could hook us up before we get there?”
I glanced at Abel, who was working his jaw as he stared ahead at the road. “Glove box.” He took a quick glance at me, and I looked at the glove box as Trish opened it and pulled out a bottle of pills. I looked back at Abel, who gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
“Liar, liar,” I said under my breath. I saw his head turn fraction of an inch toward me before he reached out to turn up the stereo and drown out any talk with classic rock music.
Trish pulled money from her wristlet and held it out to me. I grabbed it angrily and held it out to Abel. His fingers wrapped around mine and squeezed.
“It’s on the house,” he said, and his fingers slid from mine, leaving me holding the cash as Trish handed out pills to the guys in the backseat.
“Tonight is going to be epic, boys.” She laughed as she popped a pill into her mouth and held one out for me. “Don’t be such a baby.”
I felt Abel’s gaze burn my skin, and I held out my palm. He thought he was so smart. Everything he said was a lie, and he wanted to call me out? I popped the small pill into my mouth and swallowed. Trish let out a gleeful yell as Abel stepped on the gas and we flew down the highway.
Chapter Six
Party Hard
Domino was packed, and the strobe lights made the room feel as if it were tilted to the side. I giggled as I tried to navigate through the crowd on the dance floor. We barely could fit through the endless sea of bodies to get inside, but I didn’t care. I felt weightless, free from the memories that plagued me. The lights flickered in a thousand different colors, and it was like slipping inside a rainbow.
Abel gripped my elbow uncomfortably as he helped guide me through the mass of people. Trish had her arms wrapped around his waist behind me, and I was desperate to disappear from them.
“I need to dance,” Trish said from behind me, and I felt Abel’s fingers release from my skin. I kept moving through the crowd, needing to blend in, like I’d done so many times before.
I had no idea what I’d taken, but it was making me feel like I was on a cloud. I wasn’t a druggy, but in this world you have to be willing to adapt and overcome. I was adapting. For a moment I’d thought I’d seen something I could relate to in this stranger. Just as quickly it was all ripped away, and I knew he was no different from Trish, no different from the bullies who had spent years tormenting me.
I could be that way too; I could not care about anyone. So I set out on my mission to be one of the crowd. My skin tingled and ached as people rubbed against me as they danced. Soon I began to move with the steady, thumping pulse of the music, and my heartbeat took on the rhythm of the song. My body became languid, and I swayed slowly as the earth shifted with me under my feet.