This was a strange date. Even stranger way to end the night. I don’t know how to do this.
Something tells me Apollo doesn’t either.
He pulls his phone from his pocket and hands it to me, unlocked. Bared for me to see everything. Like he’s moreexposed now than he was at Iron Inque. I type my number into his contacts as he slips his jackets on.
“Bye,” I say quietly, not sure what else to say.
I give him a tiny wave as he stands there, fingers reaching out for me. Not wanting another second of the awkward moment to linger, I pull away and dash inside.
Groaning,I roll back and forth on my twin bed, pulling the blankets over my head. I really don’t want to wake up.
“Help me,” I whisper through an arid throat. My breath tastes like I swallowed a night full of bad decisions.
And my face feels like I forgot to wipe off all this gross makeup before bed.
Because I did.
“You look horrible.” Ellis sets a large paper coffee cup on my desk. The scent is like medicine for my throbbing skull.
“Alcohol metabolizes at 0.015 per hour… I should be fine.”
Ellis rolls her eyes as I inhale the aroma.
“ThankCaliphylla. You went all the way to Quad Café for me this morning?”
“Sure did. But the payment is to tell me what happened with Apollo Griffin last nightafterthat insanely hot kiss.”
“Oh no.” I sit up, head dizzy and vision spinning. My stomach lurches. “I… Oh gods.”
“Did youfuckhim?” She squeals and jumps on her bed with her ice latte in hand. Criss-crossing her legs, she leans forward, eyes bright. “Tell meeverything.”
I moan, hand slipping down my body to scratch at an itch. “I got a tattoo! I—” I almost slip and confess everything I did. But the shame hits me like a spotlight snapping on in a dark room. It wassounlike me. If anyone found out about my evening…
Reputation ruined.
I lick my lips. “I hung out withDeltas.” It comes out in a disgusted murmur. “AndMarauders.”
But the real horror is knowing that…I enjoyed it.
“That motorcycle gang? You’d better get checked for syphilis.”
My eyes widen. “I’m making an appointment. But for a clinic outside of this city. Just in case.”
She shrugs and purses her lips in a smug grin. “Have your mom run the tests at the hospital.”
I toss a pillow at her head as mine pounds. “I hate you. Seriously.”
My body aches in both good and bad ways as I scramble to get ready for class, stumbling over Ellis’s high heels I wore last night.
“We gotta motor. I haveneverbeenlate.” I wave my foamy toothbrush around like a lecture pointer.
“I figured you were shirkingallthe rules now.”
I glance at my tangled brown hair hanging down my back. Black bags sink in under my eyes. And my skin is paler than ever.What the fuck did I do?
Hurriedly, I dress in my usual NU sweatshirt, jeans, boots, and a thick coat. As I rush out the door, I tuck my knitted beanie low and remember my evening in vivid detail.
Brothers. Oh gods. I almost fucked both brothers. If they’d asked me to, I would have.
