If I Were Your Boyfriend (40 page)

d Daley and I had just parked his car in front of a very large white house. The curtains were drawn shut and there was no loud music emanating from the dwelling.

  "Are you sure this is it?" I spoke slowly as if every word I said held importance.

  "Of course this is it," Ed said. "Whew, man, you smell like a straight-up wine head. How much did you drink? I'm getting buzzed just smelling you."

  "I'm just making up for lost time, dog," I said, half laughing.

  "Do you need help walking up to the door?" he asked.

  "I'll be happy to remind you that I have two feet, which have specialized party radar built right into my toenails. They can sniff out any party on the planet and keep me balanced all at the same time."

  Ed cracked up with laughter.

  "You're so stupid," he said as we continued laughing and snorting in unison.

  We got out of the car and made our way up to the front door. Ed rang the doorbell and a very tall and sinisterlooking man opened it. His eyes were blazing red and his eyebrows were pinched into an expression of anger and irritation.

  "What do you two fools want?" he asked.

  "Neophus, it's me, man. Ed Daley." Ed attempted to break the ice.

  "And?" Neophus asked.

  "Liz invited me and my boy, Wesley. She said that this was an exclusive party."

  I leaned my shoulder against the side of the house pretending I could barely stand. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and pretended to cough violently. While my hands were in my pockets, I clicked the button on the recorder.

  "This boy looks like he can barely stand up. And he smells like he's been hitting the bottle already."

  "This is Wesley. I know you remember Wesley, man. He's the guy who I said could drink tequila and chew jalapeno peppers at the same time."

  "Yeah, I remember him. The crazy one," said Neophus. "Come in here and go sit down. Don't walk around in this house. You might see too much and that wouldn't be good for your life expectancy."

  "Cool, man. We got you. We just came to party, right, Wesley?" Ed slapped his hand on my back.

  "Yeah, I came to get my head right," I said, talking slowly.

  "Liz is sitting over on the sofa with the rest of the crew," Neophus said as he stepped aside and allowed us to enter. The house was rather dark and had a chemical odor that was wafting through the air. Ed and I made our way over to the crew, who were sitting near the glowing red flame of the fireplace. There were two very large black leather sofas situated on both sides of a glass cocktail table that was filled with pills, alcohol, marijuana and condoms. I sat down on the end of the sofa, close to the fireplace. I thought Ed was going to sit next to me but he didn't, instead he kneeled down in front of the glass table and began searching for the perfect pill to take. Neophus walked over and stood in front of the fireplace. He looked like pure evil. Everything about his presence and body language said
hell-raiser.

  "I want everyone in here to sample something from this table. If I don't see everyone try something, I'm going to crack open your skull," said Neophus.

  At that point I became very nervous and paranoid. If I didn't participate, I'd have hell to pay. My heart began racing as I started searching the room for the exit. I wanted to get out of there because I'd bitten off more than I could chew. There were about twenty kids in the room and the girls outnumbered the guys. Most everyone was on their hands and knees taking up the offerings that were before them.

  "What's wrong with you, fool?" Neophus snarled at me.

  "I'm cool," I answered him, hoping that he'd let me off the hook.

  "No you're not! Now either you sample something or I'm going to beat the daylights out of you and your friend. So make a choice, right now? Try something or get your ass kicked!"

  "Wesley, dude, try one of these pills." Ed offered me something but I didn't know what it was. "Come on man, this is what we came here for, bro." I reluctantly moved toward Ed. Neophus stalked my every move as if he was hunting for my soul.

  "It's good for you, bro," Ed said. "You'll feel as if you're floating like a cloud in the sky, baby. The feeling is spectacular! Trust me."

  I took the round red pill from Ed's hand. I put it in my mouth, picked up a glass filled with water that was sitting on the table and took a gulp. I opened my mouth to show Neophus that it was empty. He seemed satisfied. However, I didn't really swallow the red pill. I'd maneuvered it around so that it was positioned between my cheek and jaw. Neophus turned his back and I was about to spit the pill out but Liz came over and pulled me down to the sofa. I certainly couldn't get rid of it while she was sitting so close, especially if I wanted her to trust me enough to open up about what she'd done to Keysha.

  "Hey, babe," she smiled at me. I trapped her gaze and studied her features. Her hair was raven black and resting on her shoulders. She had on black eyeliner, a black turtleneck and a black skirt. Her skin appeared to be a little more pasty than usual but her goth style of dress suited her well. Liz ran her fingertips through my hair.

  "Hey," I answered her back trying to contain the large amount of saliva that was rapidly building up in my mouth. I swallowed hard and I could tell that the pill had begun to dissolve.

  "I'm glad to see you," she said. "And it smells as if you're in a partying mood." She inhaled the air around us. "You've been drinking scotch," she said.

  "Yeah," I answered, still playing the role of an alcoholic.

  "The scent of alcohol excites me. Did you know that?" she asked.

  "No," I answered her, feeling extremely uneasy. I swallowed again and could taste some more of the dissolving pill.

  "I want to pick up where we left off in the hallway." She leaned close to me and spoke purposely in my ear. She clenched my earlobe with her teeth and lightly tugged on it. A bolt of electric energy shot through my body and formed goose bumps on my skin. I started to feel strange and couldn't tell if it was the pill or because I was aroused. Either way, I knew I had to get rid of the pill.

  "Did you like that?" Liz asked. I knew that she was tempting and manipulating me all at the same time.

  "Do you want something more to drink?" she asked.

  "No," I said, "I'm good."

  "Come on, Wesley, I know you can handle more." She traced the edge of my ear with her tongue. I shivered with anticipation. "Have a drink with me and I'll do something that will blow your mind."

  Another sensual bolt of electricity plucked every nerve in my body.

  "Is he the one, Liz?"

  I glanced over my shoulder and Neophus was standing nearby.

  "Yes, this is Wesley," she answered.

  "Bring him back to my office," Neophus ordered her.

  "What's going on?" I asked.

  "Neophus and I want to chat with you for a moment about something."

  "What? Did I do something?" I was nervous and afraid. And I immediately felt that getting back with Liz and the crew just to save Keysha wasn't such a grand idea after all.

  "Come on." Liz pulled me to my feet.

  "Hey, Ed, I'll be right back," I said, hoping that he'd come with me. Ed couldn't have cared less. His mind was already flickering between reality and the unknown. Liz pulled me along and I trailed behind her. I covered my mouth with my free hand and blew out the pill. It was almost completely dissolved. I walked into an office where Neophus was sitting behind a desk that had piles of money stacked up on it. There were four other men in the dark room who were sitting at a table packaging various types of pills into Ziplock bags.

  "Sit down," said Neophus. I sat in a chair in front of his desk. Liz stood behind me and began rubbing my shoulders. "Relax, babe. You're so tense. You shouldn't be so tense smelling as if you've been on a four-day drinking binge. Plus the pill you took should have kicked in at least a little by now."

  "I feel as if I'm floating," I said. My statement was partially true. I felt a sense of euphoria, but I wasn't completely out of it yet.

  "Tell him about the mess you've gotten us into," said Neophus as he leaned back in his seat. His gaze upon me was like an eagle about to kill its prey.

  "First of all, I want you to know that Neophus and I need your help."

  "Help?" I asked nervously. "What kind of help?"

  "Well, you see." Liz tried to position her fingers on the inside of my shirt, but I stopped her because I didn't want her to feel the recording wire I had taped to my skin.

  "A bad batch of Ecstasy ended up on the streets from my operation," Neophus said. "Some kid ended up with brain damage because of it. I failed chemistry so my science isn't perfect." He laughed and so did the other men in the room.

  "The police were looking for someone to blame," said Liz. "So I told Neophus that I knew someone who the police could target."

  "Who?" I asked.

  "Someone you know," Liz said. "Someone who should not have rejected my advances toward her." She continued to rub my shoulders.

  "Relax," she said. "It's okay."

"I don't understand," I said.

  "Keysha, Wesley. I placed a very large quantity of the bad Ecstasy in Keysha's locker."

  "And the police and media just happened to receive several anonymous tips about where the pills could be located," said Neophus. "I wasn't about to allow my operation to sink over a few bad pills."

  "But why did you pick Keysha?" I asked. "Why not someone else?"

  "I told you. I wanted her and she rejected me." Liz nibbled on my earlobe once again and then spoke directly in my ear. "And no one rejects me."

  "She's such a sinister little hellcat, isn't she?" Neophus asked. "I've taught her well," he said with pride. "Keysha just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time, you know what I mean?"

  "Yeah, I understand," I said. "But what does this have to do with me?"

  "Well, Wesley darling." Liz walked in front of me and squatted down. She looked directly into my eyes.

  "She's now trying to haul me into court to say that I set her up. I need a favor from you. Wait, scratch that. Neophus and I need a favor from you."

  I swallowed hard. I instantly realized that I was just like Keysha. I was in the right place but at the wrong time. I also realized that Liz was playing me just as much as I was playing her.

  "We want you to help us assassinate her character. When I return to school, I'm going to have on some tattered clothing. I'm going to head to the principal's office and make up a story about how Keysha Kendall attacked me. Brittany and Courtney will confirm my story. However, the icing on the cake will come from you. I want you to come to the office and make a report about how Keysha plans to shoot me with a gun she's brought to school."

  "Wow," I said as I listened to Liz's twisted plan.

  "Then Dorothy Pam Pinkerton is going to rush into the office pretending to be upset because Keysha has threatened her with a gun. In addition to that Neophus and I want you to plant more drugs and a gun in her locker. Ed Daley has been spying on her and has copied down her combination. Once this is done the school will be forced to check her locker. Then they'll call the police and our problem should take care of itself. Keysha will have a difficult time explaining all of the accusations and evidence against her. So, what do you say, Wesley? To be a part of this crew you have to be willing to get a little dirty."

  I swallowed hard again and then asked another question. "Do I get any money for doing this?" Everyone in the room laughed.

  "Hell to the no!" Neophus yelled at me and I damn near leaped out of my skin. "But you will get to walk out of here alive."

  "Give it to him," Neophus said to one of his goons. I was handed a large brown bag. "Make sure the contents of this bag end up in her locker. Don't touch it unless you want the police to find your fingerprints. Ed will give you the combination. The moment the evidence is planted, contact Liz and we'll take care of the rest. Do you think you can handle that?" asked Neophus.