Page 24

“I’m not going, Maya.” I yawned and picked up my book again.
She gets my book out of my hands and throws it on the floor. With her arms crossed over her chest, she shows off her resting bitch face.
“You can’t just stay in this room and think about that man. You should be having fun, partying, and getting laid all the time,” Maya yells.
“Ugh, no.” I said, “Maybe she doesn’t understand that I’m really engaged.”
I took my hand away from her mouth when she nodded. I rolled my eyes and looked at my open closet. She had a sly smile on her lips.
I asked, “You’re not going to quit, are you?” I already knew the answer. She laughs and nods, then goes back to my closet.
I deserve to have some fun, even if it’s not the right time. When is?
Just enjoy yourself.
“Fine,” I said as I picked up my book.
While I got out my curling iron and makeup, she started blasting music. When she turned up the radio and started dancing, I glared at her.
I started to get ready by putting on a very light layer of makeup. I chose to stick with blush, mascara, and lip gloss. A lot of songs have been played over time. Maya was getting ready for tonight while I curled my blonde hair. I heard her heels clicking behind me, so I finished the last piece of hair and then turned around.
Her long-sleeved cheetah print crop top and short black skirt made her look stunning. Her straight, brown hair fell perfectly on her pale tan skin. She came over to me with my clothes in her hands and held them up for me to see.
“Maya, where are my clothes?” I looked at her with a blank look.
“Right here.” She grins and shows me her white teeth.
“I can’t see it because there’s not much there,” I said as I stood up. “I don’t want to wear that.”
“Yes, you are,” she says.
I stood there in the sexy outfit she chose for me and looked at myself in the body mirror.
Let go, Aria.
If I do say so myself, I look great. A little fun won’t hurt anyone. I messed up my hair by tossing it around a bit.
I told myself, “You can do this.”
Maya picked out a snake-skinned, tight dress for me. I walked out of the bathroom, having trouble pulling the zip.
I turned around and whispered, “Maya, a little help.”
Caleb was in the middle of my room, and he had a smirk on his face. He wore a grey polo shirt with the sleeves rolled up and ripped black jeans. I was wearing a slutty dress and he was in the room with me. Good job, Aria.
“I-I thought you were Maya.” I crossed my legs and put my hands behind my back, making them look messy and sloppy.
“I can help.” His voice was smooth and calm, maybe too calm.
I looked at him with suspicion, but I quickly gave up and turned around. I heard him walk over to me. It took a few minutes for me to feel his warm hand on my back as he slowly pulled the zip up.
After he zipped it up, his hands moved to my shoulders. I turned my head a little to see what he was up to. Maya walked in with chips in her hands before anything else could happen. I pulled away from him.
“Shake skin looks good on you, Aria,” he said before walking out the door.
As Maya walks towards me, she wiggles her eyebrows and says, “Don’t even say anything.” I pushed my hair back and put on my black heels.
“Okay, so you want to f**k my brother?” She laughs and puts on her heels. I shook my head and laughed a little.
I raised my hand and showed off my diamond ring. “I’m happily engaged,” I said.
“He bought you, so it doesn’t count,” she says. That hurt because she wasn’t lying. I think that’s why I could never really love him; I’ll always know he bought my body.
“You’re such a bitch.” I nudged her a little and laughed. She quickly joined in.
When we left the club, she drove us there, but Caleb was nowhere to be found. I was going to ask him, but it felt weird, and I wanted to have fun tonight. I think Maya was a lot more excited than I was, which was fine. I think she wanted more than just a fun night with drinks; I think she wants to have s*x tonight.
Maya lost her virginity to Jeff, her stupid ex, and their relationship ended badly. I lost mine after that. She has always been the fun friend, the wild friend, the sassy and sexy friend, the friend who would sleep with anyone, even if those guys were mean to her. She just ignores it. I have only slept with three men: Caleb, who I lost my virginity to, a random guy from school, and Sebastian.
Maya and I walked arm in arm into the club. The lights were flashing everywhere, and the dance floor was full of people. There was loud music and a strong smell of s*x and whisky in the air.
Girls wore tight little dresses that looked a lot like mine, and guys wore suits with buttons. I needed to drink alcohol before I could dance and talk to anyone, so Maya and I went to the bar. The bad thing is that I don’t really drink, and I don’t like the way my throat feels when I do.
“Two shots,” Maya says to the hot barman, who looks her up and down. He puts the shots in front of us and starts working on them.
He asked Maya, “I’m leaving already. Want to dance?” She looks at me and takes her shot. I take mine after her. I bit down hard on the lime to get rid of the bitter taste in my mouth. It worked, sort of.
“Do you have a friend?” she asked while twirling her hair around her finger and batting her eyelashes at the barmaid.
“That would be me.”
When I turned around, I saw a guy. He was a little taller than me and had blue eyes and ginger hair. He looked fine, but I’ve seen better.
“Hi, I’m Gary.” The redhead reached out his hand to mine, and I smiled and took it.
“I’ve got a ring on it,” I said with a smirk.
Maya rolls her eyes and leaves with the barman to dance, leaving Gary and me alone. We just looked at each other for a few seconds. The whole time, I was thinking about Sebastian.
He asks, “What colour do you like best?”
I laughed and looked away when he asked, “What’s your favourite colour?”
Before straightening up, Gary laughs. Gary says, “You have a beautiful smile.” He looks me in the eye again after taking a sip of his drink.
“Thanks,” I say.
We talked and drank, and I didn’t do anything bad. I was drawn to this guy, especially because he’s ginger. After six shots, I was definitely in a different world. I could feel the alcohol.
This song that started playing was more s****l. Gary asked, “Why don’t we dance?” I laughed and looked at him, then I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor.
I started to move my hips to the music, and he put his head on my shoulder and stood as close to me as he could. I didn’t want this; the music got louder and the lights got brighter. I tried to pull away, but my body was too weak.
He whispered in my ear, “You’re so hot,” and then his hands started to move all over my body.
I tried to pull my dress down, but he hit my hands away. I would have never done this if I had known he was going to act this way, especially with a stranger.
I put my hands on his chest and tried to push him away, but my arms were too weak.
“How about you make this night a little more fun for me?” he said, his eyes full of desire.
Gary put his hands around my neck and slammed his nasty lips against mine. His mouth tasted like whisky and cheese. I was sickened and tried to pull away again, but he wouldn’t let go. My drunk self couldn’t do anything else.
Again, my sloppy arms tried to push him away, but it didn’t work. He tightened his grip on my throat and pushed his tongue into my mouth.