Maybe if Charlotte had me with her on her partying nights, shit wouldn’t have happened, and just maybe she’d still be here. I look at Amelia, her eyes large and round, and for a split second I see Charlotte, begging me to come to Dad’s with her.
“Okay, fine.” I give in. “No drinking.”
“I don’t drink!” She exclaims.
The house is indeed thumping with music and fucking large. I know this neighbourhood because the Greenes live not too far from here and I look around the line of cars to see if a M5 is visible.
I can’t deny I want to see her and I can’t deny I want to find out everything about her. I follow Amelia inside the monstrous house and cringe when I hear the loud shrill of pop music. It’s not too late into the night but some people look completely inebriated while others look tipsy at most, and I can smell the cloying scent of marijuana.
“Amelia!” I look to the sound and see the girl I remembered from the wharf party.
“Hey Veronica.” Amelia gestures to me, “this is my brother Neil.”
Veronica gives me a once over and grins at me. No way, little girl.
“Hi, Neil.” Her voice becomes husky.
“Yeah… no.” I shake my head and walk towards the kitchen. I see a couple kegs in there and a few dudes my age.
“He’s hot.” I hear Veronica say to Amelia.
Fucking Jailbait.
Am I that much older than her? No. I’ll be twenty in a few months and even though it’s just a couple of years, maturity is a big thing, and I have way more of it.
“Who’s this Dean?”
I stop at a slightly opened door and see long blonde hair swinging back and forth.
“No one, Riles.” Ivy.
“He’s constantly messaging you, who the fuck is he, Ivy?”
“Someone in New York. He’s in the past.” Ivy sounds pissed.
“Then why is he messaging you!” Riley yells.
Why are they fighting like a couple? Wait. Are they a couple? I know what I saw that night at the strip but that was just a bet, right?
“It doesn’t matter,” Ivy’s voice is low and I can hear the anger buried in it.
“Let me see them then.” Riley sounds petulant.
“No.”
“If you don’t show me the messages,” Riley’s voice becomes shrill, “then we’re over.”
“You sure about that, sweetheart?” Ivy’s voice drops and the seduction in her words has me hardening in my pants.
“Yes,” Riley does not sound sure. “I mean it this time.”
“Then you have a nice life.” Wow, she’s fucking harsh. Then again, I already knew that because she killed my fucking sister.
The door swings open and reveals a crying Riley as she pushes by me. I look into the small washroom just as Ivy sits on the closed toilet and pulls a baggie of weed out of her pocket.
As if sensing someone watching her, Ivy lifts her head, and those Caribbean Sea blue eyes meet mine. For someone who just suffered a break up, she looks pretty nonplussed, again, not surprised.
“Wow,” she breathes, her voice sarcastic. “Neil Jones back in Whitsborough.”
She pulls out rolling papers and her tongue glides along the thin material, making my dick twitch in my jeans.
“In or out, loser.” She says as she sticks two papers together, “I don’t need to share this with others.”
Maybe one day I will have the exact reason why I went in instead of walking by, but I don’t have it today.
“So, Riley is your girlfriend?” I snort.
“Was. You heard most of it,” she looks up at me with her brow raised. “Are you a homophobe, too?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Sounds like it, Neil Jones.” Her voice is taunting. “Shut the door, I need a good seal in here.”
Again, I do the opposite of what I should be doing and close the door, locking it. I watch her spark a lighter and bring the flame to the tip of her spliff, the cherry burning bright red under the heat. She takes a deep inhale and coughs, holding it out to me.
“No thanks.” I shake my head.
“You know it’s going to get filled with smoke in here, right? I’m hotboxing the bathroom. You will get high.”
I look down at the knob and I hear her tsk behind me.
“Can’t leave now pretty boy.” I hear her inhale again. “You’ll break my seal.”
“Why’d your girlfriend break up with you?” Might as well get some answers while I’m in here.
“Because of some guy messaging me. Girls are jealous things.” She leans back on the toilet.
She’s wearing tight black jeans, rips strategically placed at the knees and upper thighs, and she has on a baggy black hoodie. Her hair is down in messy waves, the deep red hues shining under the vanity light, and her face void of makeup. Even without makeup, Ivy is a fucking stunner.
“An ex-boyfriend?”
She looks up at me and grins as she stands from the toilet. She takes her time, leisurely making her way to me, and taking a long drag on the spliff. She steps right up to me and we are nearly eye to eye, her forehead just at my chin. I like that she’s tall for a girl, it’s always been something I liked about her. Fuck. I try to clear my head of those thoughts but it’s a bit foggy from inhaling the potent smoke.
She lifts her face and I bend mine, neither of us stepping away, and our mouths just centimeters apart.
“Open your mouth.” Her voice sounds weird as she continues to hold her breath.
Again, I do the opposite of what I should and open my mouth for her. She exhales a long plume of smoke and I suck it in, eager to take whatever she’s giving me. Her lips curl up as she blows out the rest and I hold my
