Page 11 (2/2)

Eone before I can react, thanks to the number of shots I’ve had With exception of that one look between theht, so the idea that he’d leap up and take Eets to his feet unsteadily after a quick glance between Brooke and estures to Jenna, who’s curled up asleep on the floor We’ve successfully set a fifteen-year-old on the road to corruption, as others did for each of us Tadd nudges her semi-awake and he and Quinton each take one of her are sta her up

Quinton closes his eyes, steadying hi to hate "

"I hate you now, man I still don’t believe you’ve never had lobster"

They both laugh, weaving towards the door, Jenna barely conscious between theht You two behave," Tadd leers at Brooke and me, eyebrows raised, as the three of them stumble into the hallway

The door closes behind the at each other across the expanse of carpet Neither of us says anything for a couple of minutes

Finally, I incline my head towards her bed "Once, for old ti how serious I am Given that Em hot and doable, and we’re in her rooame if she is For a few seconds--one, two, three--I think she ht be And then she shuts it down "Not on your life"

"So serious and bitter" My htly, her ain, before she shutters it, there’s ht she possessed She gains control of it quickly, her eyes locked to mine And then she crawls across the ten feet of space between us, ontome, at first softly and then hard, like punish the skin through rinds her pelvis against h perhaps because of the alcohol inshe recoils and slides off rip her waist "It wasn’t so good, either" Her tone is disinterested and her sht and walks an erratic path to her bathroo frohten at the sound "Right I forgot for a moment what a cold bitch you are, Brooke I remember now Don’t worry, you’re not nearly as difficult to leave as you assume"

"Fuck you," she says as I pull the door open I chuckle as it shuts behind et to my rooh the godda and stupid and for a brief space in tiht I loved her I hadn’t, of course, any more than she loved me As much as I wish I was unaffected by her, that’s ih

E how ht Definitelyin the ood habits I reh the e is probably an incomprehensible ju

I wake to a tapping noise and at first I’ from inside my head I crack an eye open My mouth feels like someone has wallpapered it with felt Tap-tap-tap Nope, definitely the door The clock on the nightstand says it’s not quite ten am

On my toes, I peer out the peephole I unlock the door, open it a sliver and squint in the bright hallway lighting "Graham?"

He holds up a lidded cup with a Starbucks label and smiles "Go brush your teeth and splash some water on your face"

"Graham, I look, and feel, like shit"

He slips into my room "Go on, it’ll help How do you take your coffee?" He walks to the desk with the coffees, pulling packets of sugar and creaue with a head full of cotton "Gio into the bathroom and close the door behind me I wash my face, brushtheso, which isn’t too difficult since my eyes refuse to open fully

When I co this--" I snap esture towards hiover?"

"That’s the word"

"Well, I outweigh you by at least seventy pounds That’s pretty much the secret" He moves a pair of shoes froet hungover?"

"I wouldn’t say that But I took it easy last night while everyone else got plastered with the help of high school party ga a sip and closing ?"

He watcheson top of the opposite knee "Mlad we didn’t play spin-the-bottle or… well, I’a "Yeah, a his eyes "I’uy" I think about that while he sips his coffee, and then, in what I’es the subject co?"

A guy ants to shop? "You aren’t going to lure oods place or a co bookstore But if you’re into comics…"

"No, please Bookstore yes; couy last year as into co about the about Gilirl ever wants to know