“Cherry?” I laughed when he gave me the information. “Do I just tell her that I’m a friend of yours?”
“Yeah. She knows who you are though.”
“What’s her delivery system?” I asked and moved to the bar and filled a glass with scotch. “You want one?”
“No. I’m good. She’ll meet you wherever you want. Just as long as it’s within walking distance of the bar she works at.”
“Cool.”
“I’m gonna get some sleep. Take it easy, wild man.” He slapped me on the back as he walked out.
My phone lit up with a message.
Holly: Get some rest. I’ll bring you food.
Me: Will do. No food needed, but thanks.
I dialed the number to the girl named Cherry. “Hello?” Bar music played in the background as she answered. Good, she’s close.
“Hey, Cherry, this is Ace.”
“Hi, Ace. What can I do for you?”
“I need a repeat on what you gave Luke.”
“Sure thing. Delivery or pick up?”
“How about a compromise, meet in the middle?”
“Sure thing, honey. Twenty minutes. In front of Gators.”
“What’s the cost of shipping?”
“Even three.”
“See you in twenty,” I said and hung up before I could change my mind.
I hadn’t made a deal in so long, the thought of it made me nauseous. I always had it brought to me by people I knew and trusted, or at the very least, shared by friends. This had me all stressed out. I was Ace Motherfuckin’ Newman. I slipped a plain t-shirt over my head and pulled a cap down low. After changing from basketball shorts to khakis, I was good to go.
I stepped out of my room, quickly hit the elevator button, and slid in as the doors were still opening. The music was soothing, something from the Bee Gees. It was calming my nerves. The doors opened, I walked out, and just like that, I was on my way for a drug deal.
I laughed to myself as I walked down the street. Spring breakers were everywhere, flooding in from all over the country now, and no one even stopped me to ask for an autograph.
In front of Gators, I spied a girl with a Beasts baseball cap on, her long blonde curls falling to her waist.
“Hey, sir, would you like to buy some cookies?” Cherry said, and I realized she was holding a box of Girl Scout cookies.
“Clever.” I laughed.
She handed me the box, and I slipped her three bills.
“Give me a call if you start craving any other flavors. I got ‘em all.” She winked as I walked away.
The night air was balmy, and I was feeling better as I returned to the condo complex.
“Ace?”
I turned to find Rhett sitting at an outside patio table by the parking lot.
“Hey, what’s up, Rhett?” I slapped my hand against his.
“Not much. Sorry I missed the game yesterday. I heard it was a rough one.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t the best. I think those damn Yanks got in our heads.”
“Did your sweet tooth kick in?” he asked, pointing to my cookie box.
“Nah, these are for a friend,” I said when he looked like he might ask for one.
“Why don’t you sit down?” he asked. “Have a drink on me. I’d like some of your insights on how you think the team is doing.”
Reluctantly, I sat down and tossed back a few drinks as we talked about strengths and weaknesses of each player. After about an hour, I was done and yawned hugely. “Sorry. Gotta get some sleep.”
Rhett smiled. “Good idea. You taking care of yourself?”
I felt the implied question behind the words.
“Yeah, doing great. See ya tomorrow.”
I rushed into the hotel, through the lobby, and into the elevator. Two young spring breakers were in the metal box, luckily more interested in arguing over Pokémon Go than paying any attention to me.
In the room, I opened the box to find… cookies. I popped one in my mouth and dug deeper to find the baggy of white powder speckled with some pills.
Looking around the room, I looked for a good place to stash it. I didn’t need more tonight. This was just backup for whenever I was having a bad day.
But I probably should check it for quality tonight.
Right?
I opened the baggy and dipped my pinky into it, wincing at the sharp taste. I dumped some of the powder onto the table and scraped it into two long lines. I pulled the bill from my pocket, snorted them up. Oh yes. Pure gold.
Experiment concluded.
Giving myself only a few moments to enjoy the rush my brain was experiencing, I took out a couple of the pills before tying the baggy back up. I stuffed it into a sock, then stuffed the sock in the back of a drawer.
Shit. I was jittery and wished like hell I had some weed to bring myself down just a little. I checked my watch, but it was too soon to take a pill, so I poured a scotch instead.
An hour later, I was still pacing the room, hyped up with too much energy. I popped a pill, then a second with another two fingers of scotch. Soon, I was feeling sleepy and laid down to wait for Holly.
***
“Ace?”
A warm hand was patting my face, a second hand shaking my shoulder.
“Ace, you need to wake up. The team is leaving in half an hour.”
I opened an eye, then closed it quickly against the brightness of the room. I tried again, and Holly came into focus. She was looking down at me with concern.
I stretched and sat up, realizing I’d slept all the way through the night. Holly grinned at me and pushed my hair back from my forehead. “See, I told you that you needed a good night’s sleep.”
Too bad I still felt like complete shit.
“Yeah,” I said instead. “It was just what I needed.”
I looked around and noticed her suitcases by the door and pain stabbed me in the ribs. I quickly looked away and saw that she was dressed. “What time are you leaving?”
She smiled, but it looked forced. “In a few minutes.”
Moving closer to her, I pulled her against my chest, holding on to her hard. “I’m going to miss you,” I told her.
Her fingers dug into my back. “I’m going to miss you too.”
She was the first to pull away.
It was strange not knowing what to do with her. Before this shit happened, I would throw her down on the bed and give her a proper tongue lashing as a goodbye present. But we weren’t those types of friends anymore.
“Goodbye, Ace,” she said, reaching for her suitcase and tossing a bag over her shoulder.
“Here, let me help—” I stopped when she shook her head.
“Help is on its way. Besides, you need to get ready to go. Good luck today.”
“Can I have another hug?” I asked.
She opened her arms and invited me into her embrace. I took a long whiff of her scent, let my hands fall past her bag to her ass for one last squeeze, and stopped myself from attempting to nuzzle her neck.
“Do your best to be your best, Ace,” she said as she pulled away.
I laughed. “That sounds like a greeting card.”
She laughed in return. “It’s corny but very fitting.”
“Yes. I guess it is.”
There was a knock on the door, and I opened it to find a bellman outside. Holly smiled at him, gesturing towards her bag. I found my wallet and slipped him a twenty, then stuffed a couple hundred in her purse when she wasn’t looking.