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My head snaps up. Gracie stands in the doorway to the kitchen. I’ve forgotten all about her. She’s wearing a pair of pajama shorts and a camisole top. Even I can see that the girl is hot but screams innocence. Maybe that’s why Hawk is so twisted over her.
“I need some more Snapple. You want anything from the store?”
Her eyes narrow as she takes in the mess on the kitchen table—four empty bottles of Snapple Apple. Two more are shattered on the floor where I let them fall. The first bottle of Grey Goose is on it’s side. It was anyone’s guess where the top is. I can’t remember where I put it. It’s not like I needed it. The second bottle of Grey Goose is also topless and just begging me to drink it.
“You drank all of that by yourself?” I remember her checking on me once. I’d been two Snapple Apples in when she made herself a sandwich. We didn’t talk, at least I hadn’t.
I shrug. “Yeah.”
“You aren’t driving.” She steps forward, holding out her hand for the keys. “You have to be drunk…” her eyes narrow “…even if you don’t act like it. Give me your keys.”
“Fuck that!” I turn and head for the door. I may like the girl, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to listen to her.
“Raven!” She rushes after me and catches my elbow before I have the door open. “Don’t do this. Look, if you need to go to the store I’ll drive you. Please. Please let me drive you, Raven.”
The please does it. No one ever says please. No one ever cares enough to say please. I blink back tears and hand over my keys without glancing at Gracie. “Let’s go,” I whisper.
The clock on my dash says it’s past three in the morning. I sigh, wondering if the run had gone as planned.
Ten minutes later Gracie pulls into the convenience store’s parking lot. It’s not owned by anyone in the club, and I rarely shop here except for gas. It’s one of those twenty-four hour places and part of a chain. Gracie gives the guy behind the counter a nervous smile as we enter the store, and I head straight for the back coolers. I need Snapple Apple. That’s all I want…
They don’t even have Snapple!
None. At. All.
I slam the cooler door shut and kick it hard enough that if I hadn’t just swallowed a whole bottle of vodka it would have hurt like hell. Instead I laugh then laughed at the sound of my girly-ass giggle. Gracie touches my arm. “Raven, are you okay? That looked like it hurt.”
“I’ll let you know tomorrow.” I tell her, giggling again. “I can’t feel shit right now.”
“Um … Okay. Did you find what you needed?”
“No. Fuckers don’t have Snapple Apple. Who doesn’t sell Snapple Apple? That shit is awesome.”
Gracie shoots a glance toward the front of the store where the cashier eyes us both with caution. “Raven, you’re being really loud. Maybe you should dial it down a little.”
“Oh, yeah?” I ignore her and turn toward the cashier. He looks like some college kid with a gym membership. He has muscles and obvious attitude, but I can see he’s just a poser. No guts on the inside where it’s needed the most. “Hey, asshat! Where is the Snapple?”
“We don’t carry Snapple.” His tone is grumpy, and I figure he needs a nap.
“Why the fuck not?” I demand. “I want Snapple Apple.”
“There are other apple juices in the cooler behind you. Get what you need and get out.” He points to the cooler right behind Gracie. “I don’t want any trouble.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I don’t want that shit. It tastes like ass.” I walk toward the cash register, picking up random snacks from the shelves and dropping them on the floor. I step on them busting them open and kicking the contents around. Yeah, I’m acting like the bitch I claim I’m not. I don’t care. Let this asshole clean up the mess.
“Raven …”
“Raven!”
My head snaps up at the sound of my name in that tone of voice. I grimace when I see Hawk standing by the front door. “What?” I demand.
“Fucking hell, girl!” he explodes, taking in the shade of red on the cashier’s face and seeing the mess I’ve created. The boy’s holding a phone. Who the hell is he calling? “Are you trying to get arrested?” His gaze moves behind me, narrowing on Gracie. “What are you doing here, Gracie?”
“I didn’t want her to drive herself. She finished off an entire bottle and was already starting on another … I’m sorry, Hawk.”
“This isn’t your fault, sweetheart.” Hawk’s tone softens. Oh, for her he gets all soft and nice. He never treated me like that! “You drive on home, baby. I’ll take care of Raven and this mess.”
Gracie walks out of the store and I see Hawk touch her arm as she passes him. I clench my hands into fists. When she pulls out of the parking lot in my Challenger he turns that evil glare on me. “You are in deep shit!”
