Chuckling, I swiped it from her, placing it in my wallet. “I never tongue-fuck and tell.”
She raised an eyebrow, giving me what the fuck eyes. “That’s not how that saying goes, Madden.”
With a wink, I shooed her out. “No, but tonight when I’m tongue-fucking some random, it’ll be exactly that.”
She pretended to be scandalized by the notion, but we’ve been playing this game for years, nothing should surprise her at this point.
“Now, I’m going to shower. Can’t have sweaty balls when someone sucks me off.”
She blinked. Twice. Her face red and scrunched in displeasure. “You know, it’s been a minute since you’ve been here. I’d forgotten how dirty your mouth could be.”
Don’t say it.
Don’t fucking say it.
“Andy, Andy,” I cooed. “My mouth hasn’t even begun to messy itself.”
She started by opening her mouth, closing it right after, then left without another word. Laughing, I grabbed my shit and headed to the shower.
This nine-month stint was about to be interesting.
Only two years had passed since our last memories, but it felt like a lifetime since we got fucked up together. Maybe in those two years, she grew a moral compass. Hell knows I hadn’t.
If she did, we were both about to be fucked.
And definitely not the fun kind.
Chapter Five
Daddy Issues (Remix) – The Neighbourhood & Syd
Madden
“This place is dope.”
Andy stared at me and I realized the base reverberated too loud for her to hear me. Leaning into her, I repeated myself.
“It is,” she confirmed, her words hitting my ears. “I haven’t been here in months.”
“How come?” We turned at the same time, our noses hitting. Without trying to startle her, I moved back a smidgen, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable. She made a face, leading me away from the speakers behind us. This entire place had subs around each area, making sure the music hit all corners.
“Studying has been ridiculously taxing,” she explained once we hit a quieter area.
“Fair enough,” I mused, wanting her to let herself go if that was the case. “How about we both get drunk?”
She smiled, her lips parting without sound. After a nod, we headed toward the bar. I grabbed her hand, weaving us through the dancing bodies.
By the time we made it there, my skin felt filmy from sweat. The ceiling let out a fog, kind of similar to the ones in airplanes for oxygen and moisture. It only had my shirt clinging to me more.
“I’ll get a whiskey sour and six shots of vodka,” Andy yelled at the bartender, giving the redhead a massive smile and wink. I stared at her, astonished. The time apart didn’t change the fact that she’d always been and would be a badass.
My phone vibrated as I went to mention that to her. Pulling it out, the notification from Cars lit up my screen. Sadness filled me immediately.
I fucking miss you, loser, his text read, and I already knew it wasn’t a good night for him.
Likewise. You surviving?
I’m not dead yet, he joked, unsettling me. Cars only spoke of death as dark humor when he felt the need to self-harm or worse.
Not dead, ever, I argued, wanting him to know distance wouldn’t kill our friendship. Your parents being insufferable?
Only the normal amounts, he texted back. Before I could respond, Andy bumped into me, almost knocking my cell out of my hands. Peering at her, she looked embarrassed.
“My bad,” she hollered over the music. “Do shots with me!” She seemed flustered, like she’d taken one or two already.
Unfortunately, the crowd kept pushing in, making me uneasy. With a little shake of my shoulders, I willed my brain to settle. Cars’s well-being kept me anxious most days, especially being this far away. I tucked my phone into my pocket, hoping Cars didn’t do anything while I spent the night with Andy.
Taking a shot, I downed it, coughing, and somehow forgetting how long it’d been since drinking last. The most recent was almost a month ago. Back then, I’d downed several picklebacks. It might’ve sounded gross being pickle juice and whiskey, but it went down far too easily and fucked me up just the same. We usually substituted the whiskey for tequila, it tasted much better. I’d woken up on the back lawn at Ilya’s, not remembering a ton. Luckily, my parents weren’t even aware I didn’t make it home.
After the second shot, I took a heady breath. The air was thick and Andy smiled at me, joy filled her features in kind.
“I forgot how easily we used to get along,” she shouted. Her eyes were already glazed and I loved the freeing way she got when nothing stood in her way of music and peace.
“How could you forget? We’ve always been chill.”
She smiled again, her face softening to the idea. “I’m supposed to be an adult.”
“I mean, me too, yet here I am being a fucking headcase.”
Her hand came to my face, palming my jaw in a tender way I hadn’t experienced since childhood. “Not a headcase, Toland. You’re an outcome of the life you’ve been offered.” When someone made their way toward us, Andy dropped her hand as if it was burned.
“Asher,” she announced over an awkward swallow of air. The man shuffling through the last of the people stared at me with conjecture. He narrowed his eyes once spotting Andy’s stiff form. Music blared in the background, but as he glared daggers at me, it seemed almost silent.
“Didn’t take you long,” he spoke over the music. If not for the scowl on his face, I’d find him attractive. His rain cloud slate eyes stood out against his dark complexion, as he peered through me and Andy, dissecting a situation without the proper information. He had an aura around him, like a successful businessman with a possessive streak.
“Stop,” she immediately grumbled, displeasure painting her face. She turned from him, grabbing the other shots to hand to me. “Don’t feed into something you’re not privy to, Ash. It’s unbecoming.”
He scoffed, and if he didn’t do it so loudly, I would’ve missed it. “Sure, hooking up with a dude who barely looks legal. Nice.” Andy was barely twenty-one, it wasn’t like she was much more from barely legal than me.
Before I could step in to make the man back up, Andy and all her five-foot-seven form stormed toward him. While she’s on the tall side for many, both Asher and I towered over her easily.
Her finger went to his chest, pressing against him more aggressively than seemed possible for her pixie-like self.
“Listen here, Asher James. I owe you nothing. Calling us off had nothing to do with him,” she explained, gesturing to me. Andy could easily explain to him that we’re related, but for some reason, she didn’t. “It had to do with your jealous nature, inability to see me as an equal, and possessiveness when it’s unnecessary.”
He closed his eyes as if it pained him to hear the words, but he didn’t push and I wanted to clap him on the back for doing the bare minimum. Men didn’t usually take no as a sufficient response, but he didn’t argue. Maybe that had to do with me, but the hopeful part of me trusted he was a decent human.
“It’s over, Ash. It has been for a while.” She turned back to me, tapping my shot glass, not offering him any more clarification. One thing women didn’t owe men, or anyone, for that matter; an explanation.