Page 8 of Carnival
“Yeah, but without knowing anything on the victims, we can’t exactly know that.’’
Aria pours us a glass of whiskey each, again, then grabs some papers. “Tonight, I’ll go and ask around. There are a few exclusive pubs here, and at least one of these men were bound to frequent it.’’
“If it’s exclusive, how do you plan on getting in?”
Aria winks. “I’m Aria De Santis. There’s no place I can’t get in.’’
I snort, roll my eyes, and drink the whiskey, then grab a few of the papers off the floor and start skimming through them.
“Now, I need to ask you something.’’ Aria turns to me, suddenly too serious for my liking. “Back when you fucked the clown, how did it go down?”
My cheeks flush in embarrassment. “Well…’’
“Come on, spill.’’
“Fine,’’ I cave, looking away from her. “Basically, you and I got separated, and I got scared shitless. Then, I ran into the fucking clown, and he scared me. He noticed that I was on the brink of tears and offered to escort me out, but…’’
“But what?” She asks, leaning forward.
“I may… or may not… have begged him.’’
She frowns. “Begged him? Begged him to do what?”
“To, uh– take my virginity.’’
You could’ve heard a pin drop in the utter silence. My cheeks heat up even further, and I avoid eye contact with Aria like my life depends on it. It takes her a few moments to process and swallow down the information, then she bursts out laughing hysterically.
My eyes close shut, and the embarrassment makes me want to crawl into a hole and die.
She continues to laugh, not caring about my embarrassment. It’s loud, obnoxious, and definitely well deserved. I cannot believe that she got me to admit that out loud.
“You,’’ she laughs. “Begged a stranger to fuck you?” She throws her head back, laughing uncontrollably.
“Yes, yes! I get it. It’s pathetic. Can we move on now, please?”
“Okay!” She laughs once more. “Now, can you tell me, uh, how it actually happened?’’
“He was baffled, to say the least. I don’t think he expected it to happen. Then he agreed. He took me to a room in the terror house, assured me that there were no cameras around, and, well, we did it. Happy?”
“It’s odd, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
She chuckles again, wiping the tears off the corner of her eyes with her thumb. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re hella hot, but isn't it odd that he just… complied with your request?”
“If a hot girl comes and begs for you to take her virginity, would you say no?”
She thinks for a moment. “You’re right.’’ She pauses then adds, “hey, another question… You said that he didn’t take off his mask, right?”
I nod.
“Is there anything that is semi-recognizable about him?”
“I just vividly remember his gorgeous brown eyes.’’
“Your biological parents… they were from New Orleans, too, right?”
I nod. “What are you getting at?”
