Page 123 of Love Me in the Dark

She giggles as I trace my finger down the side of her face. I hate when bitches do that. A catty little game. Ellie and Jenny know what our fathers want, and they think they can be the ones to make us faithful.

Fat chance, bitches.

Dropping my hand, I give her a fake smile, continuing to let her believe I truly care about her.

“We need to get to class. Stop by the house tonight and I’ll let you suck my cock. Let’s go, Hals.”

Pushing past them, we both smirk at their pouty lips, arms crossed across their chest as they stomp their feet on the ground. Immature. It’s a move that will cost them later—not like they’ll say anything. As much as we despise the thought of being chained to them for the rest of our lives, they desire to be with us even more.

“Heard from your dad yet? Mine’s been blowing up my phone all morning. Wanting to make sure everything is in line for the thirteenth and that we haven’t fucked shit up. They act like it’s our first year doing it and not our last.”

“Fuck you with this last shit. You know full well we’re not going to be like our parents and theirs before them. This is going to continue until our dying breath. I’ve got a taste for it and don’t plan to stop. Unlike them, we’re better at picking our participants.”

We give each other a knowing look as we head toward the one-story brick building ahead of us. If all the sheep at this school actually knew what went down on the thirteenth, they would run in fear. Not every month, just those lucky few where it falls on a Friday.

It was a tradition started by our great-great-great grandparents or some shit like that. That’s how long our families have been tied to one another. A bond that passes from male offspring to offspring. A deal was made in the night that secured our futures. You’d think they made a deal with the devil himself—if he was real.

As we step up to the door, it’s held open by a wimpy little boy, who won’t make eye contact. He doesn’t need to fear us. He’snot on our radar. The child of a foreign diplomat would pull too much unwanted attention and a lashing from our fathers.

We strut down the hallway to our room. Hals is stopped by some of the football team, talking about the game coming up this weekend. Thankfully, this is an away game for them and doesn’t conflict with our plans.

I head toward our seats in the back that no one would dare sit in and drop down in mine, spreading my legs as I slump down. They definitely weren’t made for someone almost six feet tall.

I open up my Econ textbook. God, I hate this class. I’d much rather be in a women’s studies class than here.

I can feel the shift in air when Hals takes his seat beside me. The metal legs scrape against the tile floor as he flops down into it.

“Want to ditch the rest of the day?” He doesn’t even bother to whisper. Who fucking cares if we’re loud.

“Can’t. Got a test in the next class.” I wish that teacher was as wrapped around my fingers as the others, but he’s been giving my ass a hard time. Dad said to let it go, that he’d be sorted out. I just need to be patient and it just so happens to be one thing I’m good at.

The professor for the class, an overweight middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a wife who’s slept with half of the male faculty, steps into the room. A fucking joke of a man and waste of air. But he knows the deal when it comes to the three of us.

“Fine, I’m going to grab some beer and pizza and head to the house. Make sure I have everything in order,” he tells me as he opens his book, not even caring that class has started.

“Just don’t get wasted. We have a meeting and video call with the parents. Also, if all goes well, Jonas will be bringing home a guest tonight.”

That has Hals’ eyebrow raising, as we exchange a knowing look. He swallows his laughter as he turns his attention back to the front of the class. But I can see the playful smirk on his face.

He’s excited, and he’s ready. Hell, so am I. It’s been over a year since we’ve been able to celebrate. To tamper down the fire that burns deep inside of us. The joy of seeing our bodies and the ground covered in crimson.

Just a little longer. I take deep breaths, blowing them out to calm myself. It’s almost time.

3

Hals

Monday the 9th

As soon as I step inside the house, there’s a knock on the door.

While the urge to ignore it is overwhelming, I begrudgingly open the door. There in a long coat stands Jenny.

“What are you doing here?” I bark.

There’s nothing more I hate than a bitch who pops up without being asked. Yeah, we told them to come by later, but that didn’t mean two hours. How the fuck did she even know I was here? Is she stalking my ass?

The three of us need to have a conversation with our fathers.