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I wrap my lips around his thumb, swirling it in circles before he pulls it out and dips it into a line of powder, bringing it to his tongue. I watch as it dissolves, and he sucks the rest off. My cheeks flush as I sit back in my chair, the effects of the coke counteracting the alcohol that’s pulsing through my blood, which is good. It can sober me up a little.
We pull up outside the surf club when the people standing out front all part as they hear Malyk’s car. The girls slide out of the back, and I go to reach for the door handle when his hand stops me on my thigh.
“Before you go in, I need to tell you something.”
I hold my breath as he reaches forward and turns the music down. “That story I told you about? Do you want to hear the rest?”
I blow out my breath. “Yes.” The silence between us is suffocating, and I swear in the back of my mind I can hear both of our hearts beating together. “I’ve been wanting to ask you to finish it since I woke up and you were gone.”
His head tilts to the side, and if it wasn’t on Malyk, it would have looked cute. I’ve noticed small things about Malyk that I haven’t otherwise noticed before. He’s the kind of man you look twice at on the street. He has a charm that you can’t replicate, but a darkness that you can see he tries to conceal. I don’t know why. Darkness is there to touch. I don’t care what anyone else says.
“But what if…” He shuffles around to face me more, and the people outside start to get louder. The sun is only just setting in the sky, leaving a burnt orange hue that fades with the dark clouds. “What if I told you that the story isn’t about a good person? What if the person in it is the bad person who does bad things?”
I know it’s about him. I don’t want to push him to admit it yet, though. I’ll leave that for him to tell me in his own time. “Then I’d still want to hear it.”
He leans forward, and my eyes catch his tongue swiping over his lower lip. “What do you think about bad people, Shiloh?”
My fingers itch, and I can’t stop myself anymore. I reach forward and grab him from around the collar. The coke has most likely set in. Pulling him into my lips, I kiss him. Hard. My fingers move from his collar to the back of his neck as his tongue swipes the areas in my mouth that leave tingles crawling down my spine. His hands come to my waist, and he pulls me over the center console until I’m straddling his lap.
He bends his hips forward, and I groan, pulling back while resting my forehead on his. “If he’s the bad person, then I’d ask who made him that way.”
The corner of his lip curves in a sinister smirk, one that hints at the kind of madness that rests behind the facade Malyk keeps. “And I’d tell you some people are just born that way.”
The driver’s door opens, breaking our trance when Cooper drops down to both of us, his eyes wide. “Just so you both know, everyone saw that—Ruin included, and now he’s sulking.”
Malyk jerks his head back, shrugging. “Like I give a fuck about a kid with a hard dick.”
Cooper chokes on his laugh as I climb off Malyk’s lap, his hands the last thing to leave my body when he slams the door closed.
“See you later, Poppet!”
I turn just as he revs the engine of his car, a wide smile on his face. This man is a complete menace. “Are you not coming in?”
“Oh, we will be. A little later, though.” He winks and then shoots off in a dust of smoke.
“Jesus, girl!” Cooper says, hooking his arm with mine. “Let’s get you inside.”
I haven’t really been a fan of birthdays. A day to be reminded that you were born? Why do we need it? Pretty sure life reminds us daily with her big cock every time she fucks us. The whole inside of the surf club has been redecorated. The glass walls have streamers floating down, with neon lights flashing to the beat of the song. Raidne and Blaire are in hushed conversation in the corner. My smile falls slightly. Something is up with the two of them. I know both Raidne and Blaire better than I know myself. If they think they’re being discreet with whatever secret they’re sharing between the two of them, then they’re being as dumb as they are being shitty friends.
“Don’t think too much into it,” Cooper whispers into my ear when I don’t pull myself away from them. “You and I both know that whatever they have going on has nothing to do with you.” I knew where he was going with what he was saying, but that wasn’t what I was thinking.
He hands me a drink, and I wrap my fingers around the glass, smiling at the people who pass us. “That’s not what I was thinking.”
Everyone has always thought the three of us are sleeping together. We’ve all thought it’s funny, so we just go with it. It probably doesn’t help that any time we have alcohol in our system, we most likely end the night kissing. Am I bi? I don’t know. I’ll date anyone. I don’t have a preference. So maybe I am. Are Blaire and Raidne? No. Blaire just likes the attention, and Raidne just likes to play around.
“I know what you were thinking, girl. Sit.” Cooper pulls me down onto the sofa that’s pushed up against the window.
The surf club is going to have a problem on their hands if this gets out of control. The entire inside is cleaned out, with nothing but tables for drinks, food, and sofas. The doors open out onto the back ocean access. I swallow more alcohol, losing my train of thought with the heavy music and loud yelling. The fact that Cooper’s family owns the surf club has always been a bonus for my keeping him around, and that, on top of law enforcement not having shit to do with any of us in this town. This town isn’t run by anyone; the town runs us.
I step outside, Eminem and Ed Sheeran playing loudly in the background. The salt water sinks into my pores, and I instantly relax. I need a second. To get away from the noise, the questions. People mainly stay away from me, for the most part, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to be my friend. Maybe I’m the asshole, but I’ve never wanted to have any more friends than I already have.
I sink my toes into the sand as the music slowly dies out in the background, and the sound of waves crashing against sand replaces it. I’m drunk. Drunker than I’ve ever been, and in the back of my mind, I know that I should probably be smarter. I know better. But the sky is so pretty. It tilts as I look up at it as I start falling backward, hitting the sand.
“Dammit.”
I stumble through my phone, finding the message and staring back at it blankly. I type out the words.Not even today? You couldn’t even give me today!
I sit and stare at the words, waiting—no—willing for the little chat bubbles to spring up. When they finally do, my gut falls to the ground.
