Page 83 of Satan's Spawn

Why are they here?

Offering me drugs?

Where the heck are my friends?

And why the hell does this DJ not believe in pop music? I am so sick of hearing Drake.

I’m feeling the paranoid effects of marijuana that I’ve never even smoked before, along with the eyes of everyone around us except for the three pairs I want to see.

“Have any of you seen Felix?” I ask, scooting away from Saint.

“Probably balls deep inside a cheerleader by now.” Levi chuckles, and Riggs joins in, shoulder bumping his friend after snorting whatever it is inside that necklace.

I ignore the fact it’s wildly insensitive to suggest such a thing about a guy to his current date, knowing it’s coming from a place of sheer ignorance and adolescence. But then there’s the reminder that the moral philosophies of the world I come from and the world these people come from are poles apart.

So anything is possible and it’s infuriating.

“Have you seen Archer or Hendrix at least?” I try for the eerily unreadable guy next to me, who’s lighting the joint.

“Last I saw them they were dancing by the outhouse.” Saint’s response is grim, like something I said pissed him off, and the last thing I need is another case of whiplash from his Jekyll-Hyde impersonations.

“Yeah, where Archer was violating Bex’s friend with his shitty dancing.” Riggs cackles, sealing his necklace shut. “I’ve seen better moves come out of a toaster.”

That metaphor doesn’t even make sense. Jesus.

Where the hell are you Hendrix?

I scan the perimeter once again for my friends, and just like earlier, they’re nowhere to be found.

Well, fuck it. If I’m flying solo for the rest of the day, I might as well do it in a way that doesn’t continue to burn my ass.

“You know what Levi? Fuck it. I will take you up on that swim.”

“Yeah you will.” Riggs lips widen into a boyish smirk. “Atta girl, come play with the big boys.”

Levi crosses muscular arms over an even muscular chest. “Riggs talks a big game, but chances are he couldn’t find your G spot with a road map.”

Real…romantic.

The two of them start wrestling in the water as I look on, and it’s not long before Levi has Riggs in a chokehold.

“Smoke too?” Saint holds out the joint, sliding closer to me again.

“That’s still a no.” I push his hand away and stand, unbuckling my shorts and shimmying out of them, then placing the jeans on top of my bag to hide it.

Riggs and Levi’s hands drop to their sides, not hiding their intentions as they watch me bend over. I can tell Saint is trying hard not to, though.

Maybe he has a girlfriend I don’t know about.

The second my belongings are hidden I waste no time diving into the pool, my body immediately relaxing once it hits the water. When I break through the surface, I inhale a deep breath and run my hands over my hair, imagining the scent of salt wafting in the air. The infinity pool and the view of the hills from Sampson’s backyard feels a lot more like home than the Riverside pool.

And right now all I want is to pretend that’s where I am.

I don’t pretend long, mostly because Levi and Riggs start splashing each other, and I get caught in the crossfire.

Saint is laughing again, crisis avoided, and before I know it I’m joining them in the water fight. Then one thing leads to another and we’re taking shots together.

Until finally we end up dancing—all four of us in the pool like a bunch of drunken…well…teenagers to Kesha’s “Take It Off.”