Making a beeline for the exit out the back, I quickly scrub up in the shower and get changed. I know that there’s a cookout happening tonight like there is every night, before and during shows, and aside from the fact that I don’t particularly enjoy too many social settings, I do want to make more of an effort with the people I genuinely care about here, like Perse, Val, and Kenan.
I run the brush through my hair, allowing natural waves to fall down my back all the way to my tailbone. Swiping my lips with red lipstick, I quickly dress in jean short cut-offs and a Harley Davidson crop top that’s torn in all the right places. Slipping my feet into a pair of red Chucks, I push my phone into my back pocket and make my way down the stairs and into the kitchen. The door opens behind me and I stop short, just as the bottle of tequila grazes my fingers.
“Oh shit, you drinking tonight, Boo?” Kenan chuckles, walking in with a joint hanging out of his mouth.
“Actually, no.” I chuckle, shaking my head. “I’m bringing it for Perse because she is.”
Kenan hands me the lit joint. “I don’t know how that girl never has a hangover.”
I take it from him and put it between my lips. “She’s crazy, that’s why.” I take a few puffs before giving it back to him. “You coming tonight?”
He nods. “Yeah, I’ll be down after a shower.” He pauses, and then grins. “Seen Kaizer?”
The pot instantly relaxes me. Shaking my head. “Nope. Not since this morning.”
He chuckles. “Wait for me and we’ll go down together. Here.” He throws another joint at me. “Take a seat and chill.” I take it, pulling out my pack of smokes from my back pocket and placing them both on the table. Flicking my Zippo around my fingers, I watch closely as the light hits the edges of the silver casing. The embedded patterns engraved in the steel. The shower turns on. I continue flicking it.
Biting a cigarette into my mouth, I blaze the end and open my phone. I don’t need extra drama or drama in general in my life; in fact, I hate drama and do my best to stay away from it, but since being in Midnight Mayhem, it’s proving difficult to not get caught up in it.
Five minutes later, Kenan is shuffling down the stairs doing up his belt with freshly showered hair. He runs his hands through the ends. “Blaze that joint and let’s go.” He takes the tequila as I light the end and we make our way out of the bus and toward Val’s RV where the parties usually are. The fire pit is in the middle and a small makeshift bar to the side. It’s almost identical to how it always looks, no matter what town we’re in. I wonder to myself if they do this as a false sense of stability.
“You’re here!” Val comes crashing into me, her arm swinging over my shoulder. It’s crowded, way too crowded for my comfort. Good thing I’m high off my face.
I drop into the chair opposite her and sip on a cup of juice that Kenan brought over to me. He grins, pressing a kiss against my cheek. “Just drink juice so they think you’re having alcohol.”
I smirk up at him, tipping my head back and taking a long sip.
I’m stoned as shit. In fact, when I try to look Val in the eye, everything is moving around her in slow motion. The flames from the fire lick through the dark night, morphing into faces and objects.
I shake my head just as Perse reaches for my hand and tugs me to my feet. I drop my cup, the bright orange liquid spilling out against the fresh green grass. Perse and I start dancing with Val coming in the middle. A couple of the Angels slip in with us too, with the Demons standing. We’re all wasted or drunk or high, and all around it’s a good vibe.
I look up slowly to see all four Brothers sitting in their chairs right near the fire.
Killian is wearing a leather jacket with no shirt underneath and dark, ripped jeans. His combat boots are loose around his feet, his legs spread wide.
He stretches them wider with a smirk on his mouth as his eyes drop all the way down my body before coming back up to meet mine again. I hate the way he makes me feel. How can someone hold so much power without physically holding any? The chemistry between us seems to only get hotter and hotter the more time we spend around each other, whether we like or want it.
“Nonstop” by Drake starts playing loudly. Killian’s tongue slides out and dampens his bottom lip.