Page 11 of Vibes

What the hell are we supposed to do now?

5 Buzzed

Lachlan

I’m pretty sure Cora thinks I’m a fucking joke. Waiting a few hours seems absurd with the predicament we’re in, but she doesn’t answer when I tell Iris to call her back. She refuses to bother her friend again, and I throw up my hands in frustration when we run out of options.

She flinched when I did that, which just set my teeth on edge. Something about Iris’s little quirks gets under my skin, even a few days ago at the party. We don’t know each other well enough for her to think I might be violent. It was enough to get me to pace out of her bedroom and take refuge on her couch for a minute.

Iris ended up taking a shower after the call, demanding that I didn’t destroy anything in her apartment if I was hanging out for answers. I ended up leaving for a few minutes to get some air, towel around my hips and all. Unfortunately, the wallflower doesn’t seem to have extra clothes for men hiding anywhere, so I just walk around in the towel that she threw at me after the blanket kept threatening to fall.

At one point my dick finally decided to get with the program and calm down. My balls are painfully tender, but right now it’s the least of my worries as I wander around her apartment complex looking like a homeless guy.

The towel is too small. I can’t even turn it into a toga and pretend I’m having a late-night party.

I look out a window and recognize where I am, and it just makes my nose twitch. This isn’t the worst part of town, but it’s a decent drive from the college campus. Evergreen College is set more in the foothills of the mountains than in town, and the hockey house I live in is within a few minutes drive of the school and practice rink. This is off the side of the highway, a few convenience stores and a gas station all tucked in with low-income housing for students that don’t want to pay for on campus living.

The chances I’ll run into someone I know while wearing a towel are higher than I’d like. At least in November it’s nippy out, and my skin is cool after walking the perimeter of her apartment complex twice before pivoting to head back.

When exactly is dawn? I’m not sure myself, but its still hours away. Enough hours that Cora better show up and explain whatever shit she got the two of us into.

Iris lives on the second floor of the building. It’s all inside, none of the hallways or staircases left to the elements. It also makes everything feel stuffy and claustrophobic indoors, which is saying a lot since I spent the last few days stuck inside plastic packaging.

Getting back to her apartment isn’t hard, especially when I hear someone yelling from down the hall.

“Iris! Open up baby! I miss you.”

Following the voice, I pause around the corner and watch. As I thought, that’s Dylan’s voice echoing through the hallway at this ungodly hour. He’s banging pretty hard on the door, his words slurred as he starts yelling again.

“Iris! Baby, don’t make me come in there!”

Well, no wonder Iris is paranoid. I don’t remember seeing her with Dylan at the party, but until I actually had to go and find her, I can’t say I was paying attention to where she was. They used to hang around campus together a lot last year, which is the only reason little miss wallflower ever ended up on my radar to begin with. I don’t usually have a lot of problems with the football team, but something about Dylan always rubbed me the wrong way.

I’m debating how I could or could not use this to my advantage right now, given all the weird shit that’s happened this weekend, when Dylan reaches down and tries the door. It opens easily, and he chuckles to himself.

Oh shit. That was my fault. I didn’t mention to Iris that I was going on a walk. I just wanted a few minutes of air, and I didn’t think to lock it behind me. At this hour no one should really be banging on the door as is.

I hurry over, catching the door before it closes. I don’t think Iris is expecting company.

Inside her apartment, Dylan stumbles directly into her table. He curses, rubbing his leg, and when I listen I realize there’s no sounds from the bathroom anymore. She’s no longer in the shower. I slam her door behind me, and he startles, spinning around with wide eyes the moment he realizes it’s me.

“The fuck you here,” he says, and I frown. Is that a question or not? “I’m here for her.”

Goodie. This is really a cherry on top of my hellish night. “I’m just here to see what the buzz is all about.”

Dylan frowns, not getting the pun. I shouldn’t be making fun of my current dilemma, but three days as a vibrator means I have to either laugh at myself or I’ll cry.

Or, I might go after Cora. I’m not entirely sure what kind of revenge I can extract on someone who could turn me into anything, but something has to be better than nothing.

Footsteps catch my attention before Dylan notices, and I glance past him to find Iris. She hurries out of the bedroom before backtracking, eyes widening when she notices how far into the apartment he is. She’s slid on a pair of glasses that weren’t there before, the round frames highlighting the fear on her face.

Interesting. Even when I appeared out of nowhere, the terror in her eyes didn’t last long. Dylan’s not even within arms reach, but she looks ready to dip back into her bedroom and pretend both of us aren’t here.

“Dylan…” Iris begins, pushing her glasses up her nose. This feels familiar; she’s always messing with her glasses when I see her around campus. It’s one of the things that sticks out about her.

Come to think of it, I don’t believe she had glasses at the party. Maybe she owns contacts, but seeing her without them was strange.

“Baby,” he replies, taking longer than he should to respond to her voice. “You finally left the door open for me.”