“I’m going to grab a shower and maybe a nap. I work tonight.”
As soon as I locked myself in the bathroom, I pulled the pill bottle from my purse and immediately popped two. The recommended dosage was one every six hours or so. Since I’d built up somewhat of a resistance, I needed more than one.
Stripping off my clothes, I got into the shower, turning on the water until it ran nice and hot. The events of the previous night replayed in my head. A warm squishy sensation filled my chest when I thought about Auryn.
He had this ridiculous jokester vibe. Like he didn’t take himself or life too seriously. I kind of appreciated that. He also had a way of making me feel like a goddess while I was with him.Like he’d worshipped every part of me he could get his hands or mouth on. I doubted anyone would ever make me feel quite like that again.
Too bad Auryn was such a player. I knew his type, and I wanted nothing to do with it. Between graduation being not too far off, my job, and planning for my future, I didn’t have the time or energy to waste on a player. Especially not one who was a known criminal.
Maybe in another life.
CHAPTER FIVE
AURYN
I wasn’t really going to jerk it in some frat bro’s bed. I had already fucked Ripley in his sheets. That was enough.
After she left I laid there for a while, savoring the fading smell of sex. Deciding that I’d rather lie around in my hungover state at my own house, I dragged my ass out of bed and got dressed.
Making sure not to forget her adorable pink panties, I tucked them into my jeans pocket before heading downstairs. Most of the partygoers had cleared out, other than those who’d passed out at random all over the house.
By the time I got home, it was almost noon. My insides were itching. Craving a hit of the blow I kept in a small metal container on the living room coffee table. Stray had told me multiple times to put that shit in my bedroom. I never did.
As soon as I entered the house, I kicked off my shoes and went straight to the coffee table. Plopping down on the couch, I poured the sacred white powder out on a metal tray and reached for my credit card, divvying it up into thin white lines. I grabbed the rolled up twenty off the table and snorted two lines in succession.
Within minutes I felt better. More like myself. The coke helped to chase away the existential dread that threatened to set in now that the ecstasy high had worn off. Feeling more awake and settled in my skin, I headed upstairs to grab a shower. As I passed by Codie and Stray’s bedroom, I heard the telltale sounds of them fucking on the other side of the door. Like little Energizer bunnies they kept going and going.
Rolling my eyes, I closed myself in the bathroom and hit the shower. Fuck that felt good. As I scrubbed down my body, I took note of the many marks coloring my skin. I could only imagine what my back looked like. Ripley McKay was a feisty little minx in the sack.
When I emerged from the shower and toweled off, I got a good look at my back in the mirror. Good goddamn that woman was a little hellion. My back was covered in red scratches, some deep enough to draw blood. I couldn’t help that it stroked my ego. She’d clearly had a great time.
I too had enjoyed myself. She was everything I knew she would be and more. Even this morning when she’d tried to sneak away and I caught her, that flush to her cheeks and her suddenly timid nature had only made me want her again.
Ripley had caught my eye because she was a gorgeous blonde. However, there was something else about her that left me feeling like I wanted more than just one night. It had been a long time since I hung out with a woman the way we had and not been bored out of my mind.
We’d talked in our little nook under the stairs. Tucked away from the rest of the party in our own little world. There had been something about her that drew me in. Something that told me we were kindred in some way. Like maybe she would get me in ways that other people didn’t.
Drugs are bad. They make you feel and believe stupid shit.
Naturally after getting dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt, I returned to the living room to do more of them. Because why not? That was the thing about blow. You couldn’t do just one line. Thirty minutes later you needed another. Anything to keep that sense of carefree wonder going. To avoid the inevitable crash as long as possible.
After doing another line, I went to the kitchen where I found Codie brewing a pot of coffee. Good timing. I could use a hit of caffeine.
She eyed me up as I slid onto a stool at the island. “Did you just get in?”
“Not too long ago. Crazy party last night. When did you guys get home?” Needing something to do with my hands, I lit up a joint that I’d brought from the living room. No shortage of drugs around here.
“Just after two in the morning. We lost track of you last night.” Codie wrinkled her nose. “Isn’t it a bit early for that?”
“For a wake and bake? Hell no. It’s already the afternoon.” I took a long draw on the joint, turning my head to blow the smoke toward the other side of the room. “Where’s Stray? Is that lazy fucker still in bed?”
“Shower,” she said, turning to grab a few mugs from the cupboard. “Looks like you hooked up with a wild one last night. Is that a bite mark on your neck?”
My hand went to the bruise I knew she referred to. With a chuckle, I said, “Yeah, that Ripley is a bit of an animal.”
Codie spun around so fast she fumbled one of the mugs. It hit the floor and rolled without breaking. “Excuse me? Did you say Ripley did that? My Ripley?”
She picked up the mug, placing it on the counter with the others. Staring at me intently until I answered.
