Page 117 of River of Deceit

Of course, now I really am running late. I opt to take the stairsinstead of the elevator, because if I keep following Sam, I’ll be too distracted.

Speaking of eating pussy, though. I really need to convince Blaze and Asch to demonstrate their skills.

Something to do on our date tonight.

23

ASCH

“Should we have invited River, too?” I ask, and while my voice is thick with sarcasm, I do half-wonder if we should’ve brought him along. He has an in to Pandora that we don’t, and if we’re going to find out more about her, we have a better chance of doing it if he’s on our side.

That means buttering him up a little, which might require making certain allowances.

River had started acting strange with her text, though he’d said he wasfinein the universal language of “I am absolutely not fine.”

Blaze straightens his tie again, as if he didn’t get it perfectly right the first time. He wouldn’t ever wear his $200 silk tie crookedly, after all.

I’d opted to forgo the tie, in part because I don’t like the way they feel and in part because none of the ties I own look half as nice as Blaze’s, with the subtle pattern on the shimmering blue.

“River’s going to have to put on his big boy panties and say what he wants,” Blaze says when he’s satisfied with the tie. He goes on to check his hair again.

He looks good already. He’d shaved off the scruff, and he’d addedjust enough gel to his hair to keep it artfully in place. The suit is a dark navy blue that fits him perfectly and brings out the deep blue hue of his eyes.

In contrast, I’m wearing a black suit that I’d painstakingly saved up for. It was off the rack, and the only concession I’d made to Blaze was that I’d let him have it tailored for me. I’d carefully avoided looking at the receipt for that particular favor, not wanting to know how much it had run him.

He can afford it, of course. He can afford anything he wants. When I start officially working for the Bouchards after graduation, chances are that I’ll have enough money to…

Melancholy strikes me, and I realize I’m not going to have money for anything at all. I’ll be too busy continuing to keep my mother afloat with every dollar I scrounge up from my stipend from the Bouchards.

A stipend I don’t really deserve, given I can’t even protect Blaze from himself.

I glance in the mirror again, making sure my own hair is as carefully styled as the unruly strands will ever let me manage. I don’t look as good as him, but then, I never do.

“Yeah,” I agree with Blaze, turning away. “Let’s get out of here before we’re late.”

Before we get far, my phone dings. I pull it out, expecting it to be a text from my mother, but I’m surprised to see it’s from River.

River

If she asks you to eat her out, do it

I blink at it. “River says that if she asks us to eat her out, we should do it.”

It’s not like I’ve never gone down on a woman before. It’s not even like I have an aversion to doing it. But the fact that he’s flat-out telling us to do it is… interesting, to put it lightly.

Blaze laughs to himself. “It wouldn’t be a hardship. Anyway, let’s go. I left my car parked out front.”

I nod, heading out of the frat house. I stop short when I see Pandora already out there, lying on top of the hood of Blaze’s silver convertible. She props herself up on her hands when we approach, and I get a proper look at her.

Instead of the usual single braids or ponytails, Pandora’s hair is in an elaborate up-do with multiple braids threading together. Her black dress is short and tight enough that I wonder if she can bend over in it, with enough cleavage showing that she’ll be turning everyone’s head. Even her shoes are proper high heels, so unlike the combat boots she favors.

“Took you long enough,” she says, waving. My eyes are drawn to the bracelets on her wrist, multiple silver shimmering ones that seem out of character for her.

At least, they seem that way until I realize all of them have a snake motif of some sort. Even her earrings, though fancier than usual, are designed like snakes.

The snake motif continues onto the small purse she has slung over her shoulder, with a subtle snakeskin pattern and a snake-shaped latch.

“We were going to pick you up,” Blaze says, walking over to her. “The whole full chivalrous date thing?”