“Well, maybe not right now,” he chuckles and grabs some toilet paper to wipe my chin. All I can manage is a snort in response.
“Besides I've slept with Chelsea before and she’s not as hot as you think.” He scrunches his face in distaste. “That skank gave me crabs.” We both start laughing, even though I’m sure the situation wasn’t funny.
“Don’t tell anyone I told you that!” he hisses. I nod my head in understanding and slide my fingers across my lips as if I’m zipping them.
“Shit, how much did she have to drink?” Shadow asks, barreling into the bathroom. My sincere gaze at Bobby turns into a sinister grimace toward Shadow. I stumble up, pulling on Bobby as I try to stand. I hold onto the wall as I make my way toward the door frame where Shadow is. There is red lipstick on his neck. The sight of it makes me sick to my stomach, well, more than usual right now.
“You –“ I stumble on my drunk tongue. “You have a little slut right there,” I say, pointing toward his neck. He steps around me and peers in the mirror, confused.
“Fucking Chelsea!” he mutters under his breath.
I stumble toward the bed. It is literally only six feet from the bathroom but it feels like twenty.
I can hear Bobby and Shadow whispering heatedly at each other, but I cannot make out what they are saying. All I can focus on is the spinning room and it’s making me feel like I might vomit again.
“Make the room stop spinning!” I yell out to nobody in particular.
I look over and see Bobby leaving the room. He looks angry. Shadow comes at me from the bathroom.
“Hey, drink this,” he demands as he hands me a glass of water. I take a small sip and almost gag.
“No, drink a little more; you’ll thank me in the morning.” He tips the glass up making me take a bigger sip. I glare at him and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.
“I’m sorry, Dani,” he says sincerely, running his finger over the rim of the glass. His voice is deep and smooth, warming me with every syllable. Maybe it’s the liquor talking, but I cannot be mad at him. I didn’t like what I saw, but what was he supposed to do exactly. I feel like making him squirm just a little longer, though, so I say nothing.
“I was in a tough spot; everyone knows I mess around with Chelsea. If I told her to get lost everyone would have wondered what was up.” Hearing him confess that he messes around with that slut-cake doesn’t make me feel any better.
“Then just go be with her,” I yell at him. I'm sure it would make everything a lot easier.
“Will you stop acting like that? I don’t want her, I want you. It’s just complicated,” he whispers, his admission that he actually wants to be with me stuns me out of my hissy fit.
“You weren’t fighting her off very hard,” I whine, not sure if he can understand my words slurring together.
“Well, she’s pissed now.” He raises his eyebrows. “I told her it wasn’t happening.” My eyes shoot up and I look at him skeptically. “Like really fucking pissed,” he says, laughing. “But, I was worried about you, I’ve been watching you all night and I knew you had more than you could handle” his voice is heavy with emotion, “and, at that point, I didn’t care what others were going to think. Fuck 'em.” I’m shocked, I didn’t think Shadow was watching me at all, I wonder if he saw me dancing with Bobby?
“Well, Bobby agrees that I would be hotter than Chelsea in leather anyway,” I slur.
“Bobby better learn to keep his opinion to himself,” Shadow mumbles, while gently guiding me the rest of the way to the bed.
The alcohol takes me down into a deep, dark slumber. I try to open my eyes but it’s no use, I’m passed out and I don’t even have my shoes off.
I wake up to a slight throbbing in my head and the sunlight shining through my window feels like a laser beam. I pull the blankets over my head to block out the light and hear something slide off the bed. I peek over the side and see a large, white gift box on the floor. What the hell is that?
I reach down and grab it. It's heavier than it looks, so I drag it onto the bed with me. I open the lid and find a crisp, white note setting on top of black tissue paper.
“I told you that you would hate me more than like me, but you're mine and mine is the hottest bitch in leather. -S”
A small grin spreads across my face as I reread the note. I rip the tissue paper open and uncover a jet black leather jacket folded up. I run my fingers over the leather as the smell of it overtakes the room.
The door opens and Shadow steps in. “Do you like it?” he asks with his hands in his pockets. He’s nervous; how cute.
“I fucking love it!” I respond, making him laugh. “Nobody has ever given me anything like this before.” I pull out the jacket to admire it. The only time I've ever been given anything was when it was expected, like a birthday.