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Jason takes a pull from his beer as the three girls fan themselves and sip their concoctions.
“You sure you don’t want to come down there?” Jason asks me.
“No. I’m just fine up here. Besides, someone has to watch the table and your drinks.” I shrug.
“Well you could go down there with the girls, and I can stay up here and be the drink guard.” Jason offers.
“Thanks for the offer, but you look to be having fun and I am fine up here.” I smile.
“Okay, here.” Addy hands me a shot glass. “This is the Black Dragon shot. It’s tradition. You can’t come here
without taking at least one.”
“Um, I don’t know.” I look uneasily at the black concoction.
“Shot! Shot! Shot!” the four of them yell over the music playing.
Looking down at the shot, I let out a long breath. I guess one won’t hurt. Picking up the drink, I hold it up to the cheers from them around me. Then I knock it back.
The second it hits my tongue, peppermint consumes my tastebuds. A strong alcoholic burn runs down my throat.
“Wow, that was … I don’t even know.” I cough and take a sip of my other drink to wash down the sting.
Addy laughs and knocks back her shot. “You get used to it. Okay! Are we ready to dance more?”
Just as they are getting up,.30-06by Hardy is being covered by the band. I watch Addy’s eyes go wide.
“Oh my God! I love this fucking song! Let’s go!” She grabs Morgan’s hand, while Jason and Scarlett follow them.
Sitting there, I watch them run down to the floor and jump around. I am so lost in watching them have fun that I don’t see anyone come up to the table.
“Aw, look it’s the fatty all alone.” My head jerks to the voice yelling over the music.
Standing there, hanging off of my stepbrother, is that brown-haired bitch from the guest house. I look at the group now circling my table. The redhead guy has one of the girls holdingonto his arm, and then the giant man-o-sexy has two girls rubbing up against him.
“What’s the matter? Large Marge too big to dance?” one of the blonde girls says that’s rubbing herself all over the brooding tank asks.
I watch as my stepbrother laughs at her evil words.
“Oh, come on,sis. Learn to take a joke. I mean, you have probably been the butt of so many, you should know how to take them by now.” Xayden’s lips turn up.
“Yeah, probably as well as all these whores take your dick. But just like your sex life, your jokes are amateurish at best.”
“Are you jealous that I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole?” Xayden yells over the music.
“Keep your diseased pole away from me, thanks.”
“Go home, Aurora. Save yourself the embarrassment of being the fat girl in public. Go cry about how your mom abandoned you here, while she is out living a new life with my dad. You are the last piece she needed to get rid of so she could have her freedom.”
Tears start to well up in my eyes, and I can feel that knot in my throat get bigger. I push away from the table and grab my purse. I need to get the hell out of here.
The alcohol has me swaying on my feet a bit as I start to walk away from them.
“Look out! Semi coming through!” one of the girls cackles. I have no idea why they have such an issue with me, but I don’t want to stick around to find out.
Running down the stairs, the music pounds around me. I squeeze through the crowd and try to keep any tears from falling. Once I hit the doors, I head out into the muggy air. And that’s when the moisture in the corner of my eyes breaks free.
I start to walk down the sidewalk toward campus. It’s not a far walk, but it really sucks to walk in this heat this late at night.