Life of the Party (Wayward #1)

CHAPTER 25

I sniffed in deeply and welcomed the pleasant burn that started in my sinuses and slid down the back of my throat. I passed him the vial, pinching my nose shut and breathing deep.

Anywhere turned out to be Grey’s house. I was so surprised when he took me there; I’d always wondered where he lived. His house—no, their house, he shared it with Alex and Zack—was in the older part of town. It was obviously lived in by bachelors. There was no kitchen table; a large beer-can castle took its place, apparently Alex’s masterpiece. I had to sit on my hands to keep from knocking it over, the urge was so great. The living room was devoted entirely to a big screen TV and all its necessary components—sound surround, DVD towers, a large black, overstuffed sectional.

“This is good shit.” Grey handed me the vial. I did another scoop and the rush of calming heat bore instantly into me. I grinned and shut my eyes a moment, savouring the sensation

“I know.” I sniffed. I felt the rush spread into my tongue, fuelling the speed of my words as my heart surged in my chest, pushing eager blood through my veins. “I did some last night when my dad was making me study but I didn’t get anything done, but it was a blast. But I haven’t studied for like, one of my tests yet. I’ve probably failed them all, which will suck when I have to come back next year and do it all over again…or maybe I won’t, who knows…” Shakily I lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. “Anyway, how did you do in school? Were you a total brain?”

“Hardly.” He laughed. “I guess I could’ve been, but I didn’t care enough to try. I dropped out in grade…ten, was it? Ten or eleven.” He shrugged. “And it was the best thing I’ve ever done. ”

“Why?”

“I knew I wanted to be a musician. I started going to auditions and stuff after I quit school. I did some side gigs and just kept practicing. It took a few years before I met Zack and joined the band.”

“Wait, you joined his band? I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah. Everyone else was already there but Alex and Jimmy; they joined after me, a year or so ago. We wrote some new stuff and changed our style a bit, and, well, it’s worked out pretty good so far.”

“I can’t believe you’re signed. Like, that’s a big deal, right?”

“Yeah. That’s a pretty big deal.”

I flicked my cigarette rapidly over the ashtray, my fingers trembling, my heart fluttering hastily in my chest. “So, why don’t I ever see Jimmy and Tom and…Lucas, right? You only see them at gigs and stuff?”

“They still live in the city, but they come out a couple of times a week. It’s kind of a pain in the ass, but we practice and we have the Aurora deal out here, and since we didn’t have jobs or anything, it made sense for us to move closer and cheaper.” He shrugged. “It’s not bad. It’s a lot better than the city was, for me, anyway.”

“And what was that?” I dared to ask.

Grey shook his head. When he lifted his blue eyes, they looked a bit sad. “Doesn’t matter.” He shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”

“Oh.” I nodded. Obviously, he didn’t want to talk about it, but I was intrigued. I took another scoop of delicious white powder and shot it up my nose. The cocaine made me blissfully numb but superbly aware. “How expensive is this stuff anyway?” I wondered suddenly. I’d have to pay Charlie back for all the coke I’d gone through.

“Why?” Grey chuckled. “You in deep?”

“This was Charlie’s. She lent it to me last Friday, and I’ve kind of…used it all.” I grimaced at the skimpy remnants left inside the vial. “Good thing I’ve got tips now.”

“I’d say. That’s going to be a mighty expensive habit, at the rate you’re going.”

I shrugged. “Girls just wanna have fun.”

“Yeah. Some girls more than others.” Grey studied me for a moment, and a smile broke over his lips. “Sometimes, I swear, you’re like the female version of me.”

“Well,” I grinned. “No wonder you like me so much.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s one of the reasons.” He laughed, and when he did, his blue eyes twinkled brightly, happily. I loved it. I loved being the cause of his happiness.

“There are more? ”

“…Yeah,” he relented. I was sitting cross-legged on the kitchen counter; he was leaning opposite me against the centre island. With a smirk set on his perfect lips, he swaggered over and stood before me, so I only had to look up to see into his face.

The coke gave me confidence I never would’ve had otherwise. I put my hands on the hard muscle of his arms and slowly trailed my fingers down them. I met his eyes—eyes so beautifully clear and blue they rivalled any summer day—and smiled warmly at him, invitingly. “And those reasons would be…?” I probed.

“Well…this is one of them…” His voice dropped low, he smiled sexily, and then bent down to kiss me. His lips were soft against mine at first; I wrapped my arms around his neck and let my fingers delve into his messy, dark hair. His hands were warm on my waist, he used them to pull me close and my heart leapt happily in my chest.

His smell and taste and touch swept over me until my senses reeled with delight. I couldn’t get enough of him. I would never get enough of him.

A noise occurred to me, vaguely, so focused was I on the feel of Grey’s lips that I barely noticed it. He stopped and pulled away, breathless. “Your phone’s ringing.”

I followed his eyes to my bag, strewn across the counter. Without thinking—only to make the noise stop so we could continue where we left off—I snapped my cell phone up and whipped it open.

“Do you have any idea what time it is? I have been calling—” I had to hold the phone away so the sheer volume of Mom’s voice wouldn’t burst my eardrum.

“Shit, it’s my mom.” I cringed, whispering to Grey as she continued to rant and rave. He looked at my cell phone in awe. Mom had an impressive range when she needed it.

“Mom. Mom, hold on.” I tried to calm her.

“If you don’t walk in this door in five minutes, I’m sending your father to get you,” she threatened. Which would have worked, had she known where I was, and if the threat of my father still scared me.

“Mom, relax. I’m on my way home now.” I lied.

“Five minutes,” she repeated. That was it; she hung up on me right after. I sighed and flipped my phone shut in defeat.

“I should go.” I frowned. Still twined around Grey’s hard body, I could easily have changed my mind, hang the consequences. I rested my head on his shoulder.

“She sounded pissed.” Grey smiled.

“That’s because she is.” I groaned. “Shit, Grey, what am I going to do? I’m still like, totally blitzed. ”

“Here, let me look at you.” He sat me up and studied my face intently. With his hand, he smoothed my hair, still a tangled mess from our earlier bike ride. His blue eyes were soft. “You look fine. Amazing, actually. They’ll never suspect a thing.”

“Are you sure?” I bit my lip, nervously.

“Even if they did suspect something, what would it be? Alcohol maybe. At the very worst weed. Cocaine is not a conclusion parents jump to.”

“Yeah?”

“You’ll be fine.” Grey kissed me again, and his lips hinted of our earlier passion, but it was over way too soon. He lifted me down from the counter. “We should go. Five minutes, remember.”

“Right.” I frowned and stuffed everything back into my purse. I’d missed thirteen calls while we were out riding. I looked at the phone with dread. I was in huge trouble.

“You don’t mind giving me a ride home?” I wondered as we put our shoes on.

“No. How are you supposed to get home in five minutes by walking?”

“I don’t think we’ll make it in five minutes riding either.”

Grey grinned. “I’ll take that bet.”