Page 30 of Ecstasy
She’s got some nasty habits and he doesn’t even know about all of them.
He probably doesn’t know either, that the girls with the worst habits have the sharpest teeth.
And that girl could take a bite out of fucking glass and never bleed.
It’s how I know she’d be able to handle someone likeme.
8
Zara
“What doyou want to talk about?” I don’t wait for an answer, spinning around and heading back down the hall toward the kitchen.
I open the cabinet over the oven as Eli walks in and closes the door behind him. I grab two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila. I’m fresh out of lime, but I’m also fresh out of fucks to give so I pour two shots, pick them both up and turn to face Eli as I shoot both of them back, one right after the other.
Kylie is already off for the weekend, gone to visit her parents in Angier, and therefore I have no shame about getting wasted at two in the afternoon on a Friday. My classes are done for the day, my professors weren’t too hard on me this week considering what happened, and tomorrow is Rihanna’s funeral, so everyone has been very… somber.
Even people that didn’t know her. I’d argue especially people that didn’t know her, but whatever.
And Alex is playing the victim too, like he’s torn up about the cheerleader he didn’t give a damn about. Since he’s being a shady asshole, we haven’t spoken since lunch yesterday. He said he needed time to “think” about being with me.
God, he’s fucking annoying.
I slam down the shot glasses and cock my head toward Eli.
He’s been to my apartment before with Alex to pick me up for a party, but it occurs to me that this is the first time he’s been here without Alex.
The realization makes my heart pick up speed. Especially as I flash back to Saturday night, my bare breasts against his shirt as he stood in front of me while Alex fucked with me in the living room.
It feels a little hot in here suddenly, even though I’ve got the windows open.
Eli is in a black t-shirt that shows off his broad shoulders, the veins prominent in his biceps. He’s got a full sleeve on one arm, tattoos that bleed onto his hand and a few of his fingers.
He scrubs that hand over his face, and I see his five o’clock shadow. I prefer it to the clean-shaven look. He’s hot as hell and either the tequila is going straight to my brain, or his coconut-citrus scent is making me high, or maybe I’m just insane because I kinda want to fuck him right now on this counter.
Not a good idea, Zara.If I did that, I’m sure Alex would never forgive me.
“I just want to make sure you’re okay,” he tells me, quite seriously. His voice is lilting, and when we first met at his and Alex’s house, I thought for sure he was European or some shit. He is technically, considering his mother is from Greece, but he’s actually just from Raleigh. He only went to school at Caven because his uncle owns an auto body shop in Raleigh, and Eli is obsessed with cars.
It’s one of the very few things I know about him, aside from what everyone else does. He’s a wrestler, he’s smart, and quiet. The son of a wealthy lawyer. Has tattoos on his hands specifically so he couldn’t become a lawyer.
Okay. That last part I made up, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Are you shitting me?” I ask him, shaking my head and resting my palms against the kitchen counter at my back. For an on-campus apartment, this place is pretty nice. Hardwood floors, marble counters. It’s small, the living room is straight across from the kitchen, Kylie’s room is off from the living room and mine down a tiny hallway. But we each get our own attached bathrooms, and I can have lots of sex in here without worrying about dorm rules.
Eli takes a step closer to me and I feel warmth flood my veins.
I imagine what sex with Eli would be like. What it was almost like, before Alex stopped it.
“No, Zara. I know you like to pretend you’re above it all but—”
“But the girl that died was the same bitch that was trying to suck your cock at the party, so if one of us isn’t okay, shouldn’t that be you, Eli?”
He slides his hands into his white sweats, bites his tongue as he averts his eyes. He’s got long, dark lashes and with those fucking full lips of his, I swear to God he is the envy of every girl getting filler and lash extensions, everywhere.
It’s getting hotter in here.
I’m breaking out into a sweat, and I think about asking him to leave.
