He walked away, and I sat my ass down on the long driftwood, the surface like glass from years of the water smoothing the surface. Broken branches stuck out at all angles, making it impossible to get more than three people on this thing, and that was just how I liked it.
“What was all that about?” Josh asked as he walked over and handed a red cup to me.
I took it and sniffed the contents before taking a sip of the soda. “How fucking stupid he is,” I replied, still staring at the huge group on the other side of the bonfire. “And the fact he’s fucking Phoebe.”
Josh coughed into his beer, frothy liquid pouring out of his mouth and all over his hand. “He’s what?”
I nodded, never taking my eyes off the brunette that had caught the attention of the guys near the group. “Yep. From the way he’s been acting, I’d say it’s been going on for a little while.”
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sat beside me, stretching his legs out. “I knew he was nailing someone, but I didn’t know it was her.” His head dropped back as he sighed. “Fucking idiot.”
“Yep.” I took another swig of my coke, then placed the cup next to me on the wood. “And before his cum could dry in her panties, she left a few ear-worms behind.”
“Okay, that was graphic,” he said, his nose scrunched up. “And what ear-worms are we talking?”
When I spotted said idiot making his way over to the group of girls, I stood slowly. “The kind that leaves a trail of shit she knows can’t be cleaned up.”
“Fuck.”
“Anyway, it’s time I mingled.”
“Whoa.” Josh shot up and stood beside me before I could take a step. “You? Mingle? What the hell fifth dimension crap is this?”
I smirked and shoved my hands in my pockets. “Just going to say hi to the customers.”
“You’re acting fucking weird, Quinn.” He kept up with me, but said nothing else about my one-eighty.
I surveyed my surroundings, observing as people darted around, and focused on the small groups dotted about on the other side of the bonfire. Guys were going back and forth, and some girls were running about, their cups in the air as they laughed, splashing in the shallow water lapping against the sand. There had to be more than a hundred bodies here tonight, and that was just at a glance.
I looked past the others, though, and honed in on a specific gathering.
Miley was talking animatedly to Jojo and Rachel, their shrieking laughter causing heads to turn in their direction, but that was all for show. They’d soon be picking out their prey, their painted talons ready to stick into the weak and the vulnerable. And by that, I meant the guys too stupid to know they were being used. I got closer to the bonfire that I could feel the heat through my black hoodie, the flames lighting up my face concealed by the hood and the peak of my cap.
I pushed it back, and bodies turned in my direction, fingers pointing, voices lowering and whispering, and some ‘Hi, Quinn’ greetings yelled out. I lifted my hand to acknowledge I’d heard, but I didn’t stop. Business was happening tonight, no matter what, but this side hustle needed to happen sooner.
I slowed my walk when a couple of girls and a few guys stopped in front of us.
“Quinn, hey,” one guy said, rubbing the top of his head where his bright green backward cap sat. “Good to see you here, man.”
“It is?” I asked, my question getting a held in chuckle from Josh. “Why?”
The guy’s face dropped, his mouth hanging open. “Uh, it’s just that we rarely see you here until much later.”
I allowed a smile to grace my expressionless face. “I’m just fucking with you,” I said, and green cap guy visibly relaxed. The others with him laughed.
“So, are you partying tonight?” a female voice asked. I looked to his left to see a short girl. Her shoulder-length blonde hair seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place her. “I’m Sia. Like the singer, but not her.” She giggled.
“No. Just catching up with someone.” I looked past her, then side to side, my head whipping around because Kinsley was fucking gone.
Shit. Layton better not be with her, or I’ll fucking tear him apart!
“Are you okay?” another girl asked.
I didn’t bother to look at her to see who she was. “No. Look, I gotta go, okay? Go… Drink or some shit.” They parted when I moved forward, letting me through their little blockade.
More people tried to step in my path, but I ignored all of them, especially the ones that reached out for me, trying to get a grip on my arm.
“Did you see where she went?” I asked Josh.
“No, but I saw her say no to whatever Layton was saying before she vanished.”
Good. Layton should be thanking her for saving his ass.
“Just the guy we were talking about!” Miley said, bouncing over to us with a beaming smile. Glitter sparkled on her cheeks when she spoke again. “And here you are.”
“Asshole,” Jojo whispered with a pout.
“Do you wanna hang with us?” Miley asked, but I furrowed my brows to say, ‘are you for real?’
“We didn’t expect you to show up already, given that it’s just gone nine,” Rachel said. She gripped the edges of her light-blue tank top and tugged it down a little, showing the swells of her tits and cleavage. “So, what are you up to? You look all dark and mysterious.” She bit her lower lip, and her hands smoothed down her white shorts as though she was encouraging me to look. So I did.
I started at her neck, down to her chest, and took in the small but pert pair, then further to her waist. I continued my downward path to the apex of her thighs, tan skin coming out of the frayed hem of her shorts. Her legs were neither shapely nor slender, but I continued my perusal, coming to her feet covered by matching blue and white sliders. My eyes snapped up to Rachel’s and saw that her cheeks were flushed. Yet, I felt absolutely nothing. I flicked my eyes to Jojo, her scowl and pursed lips giving me a sense of satisfaction. I smirked, knowing she was pissed that her friend was getting checked out—not that I was actually doing that—instead of her.
“I’m trying to find my girl,” I said once I’d made sure Jojo was close to blowing a gasket. When Rachel’s eyes widened, and a collective gasp came from Jojo and Miley, I added, “She was here a minute ago, but I lost her.”
Miley looked around, her blonde and pink hair swishing about. “Who is she?”
Before I could say anything, I spotted her talking to Colby West. He was laughing and grinning as he spoke, and my blood ran cold in my veins; she was laughing too.
“Found her.”
“Bye, ladies,” Josh said, following me. “It was fun.” He jogged beside me. “Shame. Rachel’s pretty hot tonight.”
“Then stick around with her.”
“You sure?” he asked, glancing back.
“Yeah, so go. I gotta do this alone anyway.”
Without another word, Josh about-turned and headed back. “Ladies, how about I keep you company for a while?”
Kinsley
“So, what are you doing after college?” Colby asked, sipping his drink. “And by that, I mean, what do you want to do?”