Chapter One #2
Maureen rolls her eyes, tucks the sweater under her arm and storms away.
Her emerald green skirt complements her green eyes but does little to hide her body as she sits beside me, flashing a partially bare cheek.
“Gosh, she’s annoying,” Maureen says, slamming the car door before glancing at me. “How do I look?”
“Like a slut,” I say with a broad smile.
We burst into a bout of maniacal laughter as I back out of the driveway and speed down the street.
She scans my outfit and shakes her head. “What happened to wearing something sexy?”
I grip the steering wheel tighter, whitening my knuckles. “I changed my mind.”
Her eyes widen as she places her hand on my forearm, gripping it tight. “You changed your mind about banging Jayce tonight.”
My head snaps in her direction. “I didn’t say that.”
She nods. “You don’t have to. Your outfit says it all.”
I slap the turn signal down and pull into the parking lot across from the park. “Don’t make a huge deal of it.”
I exit the car and round the front as she climbs out and says, “Oh, I’m not. Did you tell Jayce yet?”
“No,” I murmur as I press the door lock button on my car, and we cross the street.
Maureen shimmies her skirt down as we enter the grass and walk along the pond, heading for the man-made path that leads to the party spot. She pulls the bottle of vodka from her oversized bag and passes it to me. “Here, some liquid courage.”
I twist off the top and take a big swig. The liquid burns its way down to my empty stomach, and I cough at once. “That shit is strong.” I pass it back to her, and she takes a swig.
She shakes her head and wrinkles her nose before swallowing hard. “It’s 80 proof.”
We press through a row of bushes and weave around a thick blanket of brush before coming into a clean flat space, a small fire burning in the center.
Jayce drops a pile of sticks into the flames and approaches us. He glances briefly at Maureen with raised eyebrows before wrapping his arms around me and whispering, “What are you wearing? Did you get your period or something?”
My face flushes, and I feel it drain of color. He’s disappointed, I can hear it in his tone. “Can we talk?” I gaze up at him as he runs his fingers through his hair.
He directs me away from the growing crowd and behind a wide tree. “You changed your mind, didn’t you?”
I put my head down and nod. “I’m sorry.”
He places a finger beneath my chin and tilts my head to face him. “It’s fine.” He sighs heavily. “If you’re not ready, you’re not ready.”
“Will you wait for me?” I ask, a tear developing in the corner of my eye.
He cups my face in his hands. “Of course. You know I love you.”
I slip my hands around his waist and hold him tight. “I love you too.”
Maureen’s voice carries through the woods. “Let’s get this party started,” she shouts, and it’s followed by hooting and hollering from multiple people.
“Come on.” I nod toward the sound of the party. “Let’s have some fun.”
Within an hour of our arrival, the size of the party grew exponentially.
This happens every year. Seniors invite friends from other schools and the neighborhood, and they drink up all the alcohol they didn’t help pay for.
When the crowd gets too large, a fight or two always breaks out.
Not only that, as night falls and the flames grow higher, neighbors who work in the morning will start calling the police to break up the party.
Two girls face off in front of the flames, screaming at each other.
Maureen wanders over, carrying her bottle of vodka, and staggers between them.
I don’t know what she says to calm them down, but next thing you know, they’re taking swigs from the bottle and talking as if they’re friends. Maureen is such a social butterfly.
Jayce strolls around the fire, grabs a beer from the red igloo cooler on the ground and pops the top open, tossing the cap into the flames.
He’s been a little off since I told him, but I’m not upset.
I broke our promise, not him. He sucks down a big swig of beer as Maureen struts toward him and hands him her liquor bottle.
She continues walking by him and disappears into the woods.
Even through the flames, I can see the look in his glossy eyes as she wanders away, his focus on her barely covered ass.
How could he not? I’m having a hard time not looking, along with many other girls and guys, at the party. If Maureen’s skirt shifts, even just a little, boom—you can clearly see the black lace bikini underwear she’s wearing.
I stagger to the side as someone crashes into me, and two guys get into a pushing contest beside me. They exchange words briefly before the one closest to me swings at the other, and a brawl ensues. I roll my eyes and storm around the fire pit, searching for Jayce.
He’s no longer standing where he was before the fight broke out.
I scan the crowd twice before peering into the woods in the direction Maureen went.
He probably went to check on her. I press through the dense landscaping, fumbling along the dark path until I breach the tree line in front of the closed factory.
I rub the goosebumps from my arm as I approach the eerie building.
Glass along the perimeter crunches beneath my sneakers as I round the corner and spot a piece of plywood resting beside an entrance to the building.
A small opening, big enough to climb through, catches my eye.
I creep close to the hole and stop breathing to listen.
Low voices come from inside; one of them is Maureen.
What the hell is she doing? This place is both dangerous and haunted; everyone knows this.
I step through the opening and move cautiously through the space.
A small amount of moonlight shines through the broken upper windows as low voices turn to moans.
I stand behind a tall pile of pallets and gaze around the stack.
My eyes widen at the sight of Maureen on a metal table, her legs wide open, Jayce slamming his cock into her.
I cup my hand over my mouth to stifle my scream, not wanting them to hear me.
“I missed you so much,” he murmurs in her ear before licking her neck and ramming his dick into her again.
She grips his hair and kisses him hard. “Fuck me from behind like before.”
Like before?
Have they been fucking behind my back this whole time?
Tears cascade over my hand as he grabs her violently, throws her over the table, and reenters her from behind, his hand holding her throat.
She cries out with every thrust, a sinister smile on her face.
Heat rises in my cheeks as my heart pounds, and my blood boils.
I saved myself for him, and this whole time, he’s been fucking my best friend behind my back.
He lied to me. They both did. They’ve been running around together having this secret relationship for who knows how long. I’m a fool.
I’m a fucking fool.