I kept my face schooled, but damn. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for vandalism.

“I want.” Hannah was heated.

“We’ll have to do it after hours, around five or so in case anyone stays after closing.”

“Four should be okay.”

The two nodded, a crime couple in the making. I was waiting for the fist pump, but it never came. Instead, Hannah slumped back down and Beth kept driving. That was when I realized they’d done this before. I had newfound thoughts on these two. Hannah had always struck me as a loose cannon, but I understood a little bit more why she was that way. But Beth, I wasn’t sure. However, unless they were killing people, I wasn’t fearful of any friendship with them. I was more inclined. I didn’t understand it, but I knew that these two made me feel stronger.

Hannah was still drunk. I was sobering up and Beth didn’t care so we went to another party. This time, instead of a dive bar, we parked on the street for a house party. Cars were lined up and down the block so we had to walk from two blocks away, but as we drew closer, the bass got louder. It was nearly ear splitting by the time we walked up to their opened garage.

Either the neighbors were gone or sleeping. All the lights were off in the houses surrounding.

“Chitty!” A guy opened his arms and Hannah leapt for him. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he caught her, and buried his head in her hair. Some of his friends laughed, swatting Hannah on her butt as the guy disappeared inside with her.

Beth touched my arm, gesturing inside. I nodded. The music was too loud for conversation. She weaved through the crowd, glancing up a few times and waving at people as we passed by. I noted that each person would’ve gained Angie’s disapproval. They either had tattoos, piercings, or both all over them. Some of the guys were large and intimidating, but they nodded at Beth with kindness.

It was like she instantly knew where to go because she never lingered as we went through the house. She led us right to where the keg was and passed a cup to me. Leaning close, I asked in her ear, “What about Hannah?”

She shook her head, sipping from her own cup. “She knows the owner of the house.” She gestured to the ceiling. “She’s probably upstairs with him right now.” Nodding with her head further inside the house, she said, “Come on. I’ll introduce you to some of my friends.”

We went to a back closed-in patio room. Couches lined against the walls with three large beanbags in the middle. People sat everywhere and stood against the wall. Two girls, nearly naked, were lying across the beanbags with two guys rubbing them. One had his hand inside the girls pants, which had been loosened and pulled down, while the other was openly caressing the girl’s br**sts.

I touched Beth’s arm and gestured to the girls. She leaned in again. “Don’t worry, those are both couples. Those girls are known for this thing, they get off on the attention.”

Still. Live  p**n ?

Angie would more than disapprove. And because of that thought about my ex-best friend, I plopped down next to Beth on one of the couches. I didn’t care.

“Beth!” A big bald guy crossed the room, lifted her up and settled her on his lap. He wore a ripped shirt over a muscular chest. His arms were covered in tattoos, as was his chest from what I could see. A large hoop hung in the bottom of his earlobe and he had a large cross tattoo that extended from the base of his skull and disappeared underneath his shirt on his back.

“Sal, this is Alex,” Beth introduced us. Sal was short for Sallaway. He owned a tattoo parlor and had known Beth for two years.

The two whispered to each other over the next hour while I sat beside them and drank my beer. When my cup would get empty, I’d go and fill it up again. Beth did the same, taking mine with her a few times until some of Sal’s friends showed up. They brought two coolers into the room, sat them beside the beanbags, and opened them to show an impressive display of hard alcohol. Bourbon. Rum. Whiskey. Bacardi. As the two couples continued to be the room’s entertainment, a bottle of Wild Turkey was opened and passed around.

Beth took a drag and handed it over.

The stuff smelled foul and I was full from too much beer so I passed it.

“Hey, you need to drink.” Sal grabbed the bottle from the guy next to me. He gave it to me. “It’s a bonding thing.”

I stared him down.

Beth had frozen on his lap. His hand was tucked on the inside of her pocket, but her eyes were glued to me.

I glanced at her in questioning. Was he serious? Then I shook my head. What did I care? Coolly, I handed the bottle away and said, “I don’t have to do a goddamn thing.”

His eyes narrowed. Despite the music still blaring, the room fell silent. Sal must’ve been a big deal with these people.

Lifting my chin, I still didn’t care.

Beth whispered something in his ear as her hand started rubbing up and down over his chest, through a rip in his shirt. After a moment, he broke out in a grin and relaxed back into the couch. “Yeah, whatever. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

The guy next to me took his swig of the alcohol and continued passing it on. Everyone went back to what they’d been doing. The couple progressed to complete nudity.

When Sal didn’t pay me any attention, I went back to my beer.

It wasn’t long until I’d gone from being buzzed to being wasted so it took me a while to register that Beth was pulling on my hand. She was saying something to me, but the beer had given me tunnel vision and tunnel hearing. It mixed with all the other noises in the house. She kept yanking at my hand and her face was masked in concern.

I rolled my head over. Sal wasn’t paying any attention to her now. He was chatting with another girl, with his hand inside her front pocket.

Was that why she was upset?

I started to point at him, but my arm was so heavy.

Beth kept tugging on my other one and I fell off the couch. Stumbling to my feet, I shook my head. Everything spun around me. Had the couches turned upside down? Ugh, no. That was me. She kept tugging at me and I tried to follow, but all the people kept getting in my way. Bumping into someone, I turned to apologize, but Beth grabbed my pants and literally dragged me behind her. She was going at a breakneck speed. I wanted to tell her I was sorry about Sal, but she was better off. He didn’t seem like a good guy. I never got a chance. When I’d open my mouth, she’d yank me through another group of people. The words kept getting swallowed as I tried not to hit anymore people.