Break You (11 page)

“How about I have Marla come pick you up?”

“Marla?” I asked. Surly he wasn’t talking about the same Marla I had in mind.

“Yeah, Marla Danes,” he said. Someone in the background started yelling and Matt laughed. The place sounded like fun. “She’s my D.D. for the night. You don’t mind if she gives me a ride to get you, do you? I know y’all have history or some shit.”

Marla Danes. That was a name I hadn’t heard in a long time. Big blue eyes and red glossy lips flashed through my mind at the thought of her. She’d been my first. I’d caught her skinny dipping once at Lake Chapman when we were about fourteen. I was supposed to meet Matt out there to go fishing that afternoon, but he’d caught the stomach bug so I’d gone alone and there she’d been, in all of her tanned skin glory. I’d stood off to the side, behind some shrubs and bushes, watching her swim gracefully through the water. She’d flipped onto her back and began gliding along the top of the water, her perky boobs pointing up at the sky. To this day I still can’t figure out how she knew someone was watching her, but she had. And when she called me out on it and I strutted from behind my hiding spot, her red glossy lips had twisted into a wicked smile and her big blue eyes had lit up. I knew right then that Marla Danes was going to have her way with me and I knew I wouldn’t even put up a fight.

“Nah, that’s fine,” I said. “I’ll be sitting out front.”

“We’ll be there in a few.”

* * * *

I sat outside beneath the stars, enjoying the cool night breeze while waiting on Matt and Marla. After about fifteen minutes, I pulled my cell out and checked to see if he’d sent me a message. Nothing. Headlights bounced around the corner and loud music blared from the speakers of a car as it came to a slow roll in front of me.

“Hop in,” Matt shouted out his window.

Opening the door behind him, I slid into the backseat. There were articles of clothing for every season, shoes, crumpled papers, and empty boxes of cigarettes littering the floorboard and backseat. I pulled a bubble-gum pink sweater from under my ass and tossed it to the side. The dome light was still on and in it I caught sight of Marla’s platinum-blonde curls shining brightly from the driver’s seat. My eyes drifted to the rearview mirror and locked with hers. They were still just as big and blue as I’d remembered.

“Hey, sugar,” she said. She held a lit cigarette in her hand and took a puff. She tipped her head back and exhaled at the mirror. The smoke left her red glossy lips in swirls, floating to the ceiling of the car and dispersing into nothing. “You can move any of that shit around back there to get it out of your way. Sorry my car is such a mess.”

Her voice was familiar and raspy. She was just like I’d remembered…except sexier. I couldn’t believe this was who’d taken my virginity, like she’d been doing me a favor and never thought twice about it. We never dated after, but we had sex about four times more. Each time was just sex and nothing more. Practice made perfect was what she’d always said. I’d bet that Marla Danes was as close to perfect in bed as any girl could get.

Marla licked her ruby red lips and winked at me in the mirror. I grinned and then glanced at Matt. I didn’t know if they were together and I didn’t want him pissed at me.

“So, Blue’s, huh? That place still the hangout around here?” I asked.

“Yup,” Matt said. If he had a problem with the looks Marla was giving me—and that I was undoubtedly giving her—he didn’t show it. “Ready for a little fun?” He turned around to glance at me.

“Yeah, I am actually.”

“That’s my boy,” Matt said.

Marla shifted her crappy little beater into drive and whipped the car around, pulling a U-turn right in the middle of the street. Her lead foot pressed the gas to the floor and Matt yelled out a little whoop into the night.

It was like high school all over again, and in this moment, I was fine with that.

The drive from my house to Blue’s wasn’t but fifteen minutes or so. We’d listened to some rock band I’d never heard before the entire way. I’d forgotten how much of a rocker chick Marla was. She had the face of a fucking angel, but her insides were as wicked as they came.

Marla swerved into the tiny parking lot. She made her own parking space on the bold yellow lines painted across the asphalt that showed where you weren’t allowed to park because you would block the door. I smirked and shook my head. Marla hadn’t changed a damn bit in the three years I’d been gone—she still didn’t think the rules applied to her. With a face like that and a body to match, I could see where sometimes they probably didn’t.

Matt placed his arm over my shoulder when I stepped out of the car. “Come on. Let me buy you a shot.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” I said, closing the car door as we walked away.

Blue’s was dark and smelled of stale cigarettes and sweat. Music blasted from some speakers in the ceiling; it mixed with people talking and glasses clinking together. A guy dressed in tight Wranglers and a black T-shirt stopped me by placing a hand on my chest before I could get much farther inside.

“License, please,” he said. His voice was gruff and firm. He obviously took this job seriously.

“He’s with us; relax, Duke,” Matt said.

“Don’t matter,” Duke said, his hand still placed firmly against my chest. “Still gotta see his license.”

“What the fuck, man? Can’t you clearly see from looking at him that he’s at least twenty-one? Jesus.” Matt’s eyes bugged out from his irritation and his hands flailed wildly.

“It’s cool, chill,” I said to Matt. Pushing big Duke’s hand off my chest, I reached into my back pocket for my wallet and slid out my I.D. “Here you go.”

Duke glanced at it and then eyeballed me. “All right,” he said and nodded for me to enter.

“I fucking hate that loser. He’s got such a power trip,” Matt said. I was grateful for all the noise of the place, because I was pretty sure if Duke heard him we would have been thrown out. “I swear he flunked out of the Police Academy or some shit and the only job he could find to fill his freakish power trip void was at this dump.”

I shook my head. “Forget about it and buy me that shot you were talking about earlier.”

Matt turned to look at me once we reached the bar. “What do you want? And no pussy shot either… Get something stout.”

Pulling out a stool, I sat and glanced at the bottles lining the back wall. What did he think was a pussy shot? Marla sat on the stool between us, facing the dance floor. She rested her elbows on the counter and leaned back, crossing her long, tanned legs.

“I’ll take a Jack,” I said. “Straight.”

“Right on.” Matt smirked. Obviously he liked my choice. “Yo, Phil, over here.”

The bartender stalked our way. He was tall with slicked-back hair and a plain white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked like someone from a fifties movie, but the look suited him well.

“What can I get ya, Matt?” Phil asked.

“Two Jacks, straight, and…” Matt turned to Marla. “What do you want, babe? We’ll be here for a while, one drink won’t hurt you to drive.”

Babe? They must be together.

“You know what I like.” She grinned up at him.

“And one Sex on the Beach,” Matt added to complete our order.

“That’s right,” Marla said. “Any drink with the word sex in it has got to be good.” She flicked her eyes to mine and licked her plump lips. Damn, this woman was a vixen.

Matt slammed my shot down in front of me, pulling my attention away from Marla. “Drink,” he demanded.

“Thanks, man,” I said.

Matt clinked his glass to mine and then Marla joined in.

“To the good times resting at the bottom of our glasses,” Marla said. Her eyes shifted to mine and her teeth scraped against her bottom lip. “And then some.”

Putting the shot glass to my lips, I tipped my head back and swallowed the burning liquid inside.

Matt slammed his empty glass on the bar and smacked his hands down beside it. “Damn, that definitely wasn’t a pussy shot.”

Marla stood and sashayed across the room.

Matt took the seat she’d been sitting in beside me. “She is one fine piece of ass.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. There was a fine line here I was treading on. I didn’t know if they were an item or not and I didn’t want to cause any drama. “So, you two together now?” I asked, hoping it didn’t sound like I was interested.

I wasn’t. Not really.

Matt chuckled. “Nah, you know how Marla is. She’ll never be any guy’s girl. She wants what she wants and that’s all there is to it.”

It was true. Very true.

“Why, you interested in her again?” Matt asked with a shit-eating grin. “Wanna show her all that you’ve learned over the years?”

I shook my head. “No, just curious.”

“Right,” he laughed like he didn’t believe me.

“You ready for another?” I asked, just to change the subject.

“You buyin’?”

“Yup.”

“Then hell yeah I’m ready,” Matt said.

After our third shot of Jack each, Marla finally made her way back over. She sat down in my lap and handed her phone to Matt. I placed a hand on her hip and one on her thigh. She wiggled and adjusted my hands, putting one under her knee and the other cupping her ass.

“I want a picture of Jason and me, will you take one for me?” she asked Matt.

Matt didn’t say no. He stood in front of us and held the phone up. “Say cheese.”

Marla wrapped one arm around my neck, kicked one leg out, and forced me to look at her with her other hand. Then she kissed me. The flash from her phone went off more than once as the kiss continued.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

BLAIRE

Someone hurling in the bathroom down the hall was what I woke to. The sun was up, blaring through the wooden slats of my blinds, harsh and unsympathetic to my situation. Hearing the distinctive splat followed by groaning, I slipped out of bed and headed in that direction. My head was killing me, pounding in sync with my heartbeat. My throat was dry and scratchy.

Knocking lightly on the bathroom door, because my head wouldn’t tolerate anything too loud at the moment, I waited for whoever was inside to respond.

“Ugh, just a minute,” Paige grumbled.

 “Are you okay?” I asked. Opening the door, now that I knew who was inside, I moved across the room to sit on the edge of the tub. I didn’t think my legs could support me for much longer.

Paige pulled the toilet lid down and extended her arm so she could lay on it across the top. She was still wearing the clothes she’d worn last night. Her hair was twisted up into a messy bun and the fine hairs along the nape of her neck were drenched with sweat.

“No, I’m not okay. I’ve been puking my guts out for hours now,” she moaned. “I had way too much to drink last night.”

“Me too,” I muttered, thankful I hadn’t had enough to throw up.

“God, I just wish I could stop. I’m so tired and I really don’t want Craig to see me this way.”

Craig. I’d forgotten about him; he’d stayed the night. I wondered if they’d done anything last night. I might think he was an arrogant ass, but it didn’t stop me from wanting the details of my best friend’s love life.

“I’m sure he’ll understand,” I said, trying to reassure her. “He’s probably been in the same position before.”

“Still, it’s like our first hangout date and here I am, puking because I couldn’t handle my shit. Real sexy… .”

A slight muffled sound came from her and I realized, after a moment of talking to myself, that she’d passed out against the toilet.

Smiling at the situation, I fought the temptation to run to my room and grab my phone so I could document her at such an inapt time—like I was positive she would do if the shoe were on the other foot—and made my way to the kitchen instead. If I wanted this headache to go away then I needed some aspirin and orange juice, maybe even a piece of toast. Lauren was still zonked out on the couch. She hadn’t wanted to drive home last night, which I thought was smart, considering how many Lemon Drops we’d pounded back. Images of the previous night invaded my mind, causing me to laugh out loud at the way we’d all behaved. I hadn’t let loose like that in a long time.

Lauren had given some guy named Jimmy Moon her number. Paige had danced like a stripper and Craig was her pole. And I’d danced with some guy I didn’t know, who oddly enough looked similar to Jason. The night had been eventful, to say the least.

Grabbing a cup from in the cabinet, I poured myself a tall glass of orange juice. Lauren stirred on the couch and I froze, hoping I didn’t wake her.

“Oh my God, I got hammered last night,” she said suddenly. “Please tell Paige to never get us a D.D. again.”

I laughed. Most of the time if we went out either Lauren or I was the D.D. for the night. Paige had a license and a car, but she rarely ever drove anywhere. If we were going out, she preferred to drink without worry.

“I know how you feel,” I said. “Want some aspirin?”

“Honey, I don’t even think aspirin would touch what’s going on inside my head right now.”

“Orange juice?” I asked.

Lauren sat up. Her blondish hair was a mess. I grabbed the aspirin bottle from the cabinet beside the sink and poured one in my hand.

“Is Paige all right? She was wasted last night,” Lauren asked.

I shook my head. “No, she’s passed out against the toilet.”

Lauren laughed. “I figured she would be. Did you see the way she was dancing?”

“I know, complete stripper. Craig seemed to like it though.”

“I did,” Craig said. He stood in the hallway. I hadn’t even known he was awake. “She has some nice moves.”

Lauren smirked at him. “You should see her dace when she’s sober. The girl could give strippers a run for their money.”

“Really?” Craig’s eyes lit up.

Lauren nodded. “Yeah, I should know… She learned everything from me.”

Grabbing a slice of bread from the bag on the counter, I popped it into the toaster and cast a quick glance at Craig. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts. I wondered if they were of Lauren dancing or of Paige.

Craig’s eyes shifted to mine. “Should I leave some water or something by Paige before I leave? I’ve got someplace I need to be in a bit.”