“Aren't you dating some girl from Fuller High?” I ask, and Hael shrugs. It's neither a yes nor a no, but I'm too pissed off to care. If he has a girlfriend, that's his problem. Thursday means getting back to school, walking up the front steps of Prescott High and knowing that I'll be navigating a minefield of social politics. “Bet she’s a hot piece of ass, for you to cross the Fuller-Prescott line for her.”
Hael laughs, this loud, braying sort of sound that I actually kind of like. It’s an uninhibited, wild kind of laugh.
“That’s pretty much all she is,” he says as he pulls into the parking lot of a nearby drug store. I figured he’d idle in the lot while I ran in, but he turns the engine off and pockets the keys, glancing over at me as rain spatters the windshield in big, fat drops. “I’m pretty sure I hate her. Maybe I’ve always hated her?”
“You screw people you hate?” I ask, and he cocks a brow at me.
“You slept with Vic.”
He has a point.
Instead of answering, I smile and push open my door, heading out into the rain and ducking into the front entrance. The place smells like bleach and everything is too white and too sterile. For a moment, I just stand there, wondering where I’m supposed to go and what I’m supposed to do. It’s not like I’ve ever needed morning-after pills before.
“You’re right,” I say as Hael comes to stand beside me, a sea of color in an otherwise colorless building. “I hate Vic.”
Hael works his jaw for a minute, like he’s thinking about something, and then gestures with his chin toward the back-left corner of the store.
“Come on, little bird,” he says, and I bristle at the nickname, following along behind him. I don’t need a guy to tell me about morning-after pills; I have Google. I try to surreptitiously pull out my phone to do some quick research when Hael grabs my hand and yanks me along after him. “Ahh, here we go.” He pauses in an aisle filled with tampons and pads on one side, condoms and lube on the other. “Here we go. You have a brand preference?”
“Fifty bucks?!” I choke, grabbing one of the boxes with my mouth hanging open. “For one pill?!”
A couple holding hands starts down the aisle toward us and then pauses, looking unsure.
“Oh Shnookums,” Hael says, pulling me into his arms and nuzzling my ear. My entire body lights up with flame, even as my muscles stiffen up and my fingers clench tight around the box in my hands. “It’s okay. I’m a gentleman. I always pay for emergency contraceptives after coming in my girl.” He pauses and glances over like he’s just seen the other couple. “Oh, don’t mind us. We’re just grabbing supplies for our next fuck-fest.”
The couple makes a very hasty exit as Hael chuckles, and I elbow my way out of his arms.
“Seriously?” I ask with a dramatic eye roll, putting the box back and selecting a slightly cheaper generic version instead. Thirty-five bucks. Vic better reimburse Hael for this. “Alright, let’s go.”
Hael plucks the box from my hand, puts it back, and then grabs four of the expensive name-brand pills.
“Just in case,” he says, lifting them up. “And then because you two are idiots …” He grabs a box of condoms next, hesitates for a second, and then snatches some lube. “Alright, let’s go.”
“I can make my own healthcare decisions,” I growl as I follow him down the aisle. Hael pauses and lets me catch up, raising his eyebrow again.
“Okay, Blackbird. You don’t want this stuff?” He holds it out to me, and I frown.
“I’m not paying you back for any of it. This is Vic’s problem.”
Hael chuckles and shakes his head at me, heading for the front counter and tossing the shit down on it like he’s not at all ashamed to be spending more than two hundred bucks on sex paraphernalia. The woman behind the counter blushes and bites her lip in his direction.
“He’s seventeen,” I tell her, and she quickly drops the flirty act, ringing the items up as Hael glances over at me and narrows his brown eyes.
“Thanks a lot, Blackbird.” He grabs a water bottle from the cooler next the counter and adds that to our tab.
“You’re welcome,” I tell him with a sharp smile, collecting the bag and heading for the door with Hael on my heels.
“Did you know in some states, they won’t let people under eighteen buy morning-after pills without a prescription? Like for real. That’s some psycho Handmaid’s Tale bullshit right there.”
“How do you even know that?” I ask as he unlocks the doors, and a pair of Fuller High girls waltzes by, looking him up and down. Good lord. I’d hate to go out in public with Hael on a regular basis. He gets plenty of attention, and returns it right back, tossing a wink their direction before he finally climbs into the Camaro.
“I know all sorts of fun things,” he says, looking over at me with heavy-lidded bedroom eyes.
“Vic says you’re eager to fuck me over the hood of your car,” I say, and Hael lifts both brows this time. “Is that true? Because he basically ordered me to have sex with you.”
“He did?” Hael asks, sounding a bit perplexed. He blinks at me and the bedroom eyes fade. “Huh.”
“Huh, what?” I ask, feeling my skin get hot and itchy as I pull out one of the boxes and the water.
“Nothing,” Hael says absently, gunning the engine and drawing every eye in that parking lot. The women are lusting after Hael, the men after the car. It’s pretty pathetic. But I can't say I totally blame them. It is hot. The Camaro, I mean, not the man.
When we get back to the house, Vic is smoking weed outside with Cal while Aaron entertains the girls and Oscar sits perched on one of the chairs in the living room, fucking with his iPad. Always with the damn iPad.
He glances back at the two of us, gray eyes sharp. He doesn’t miss a thing, this guy.
“Did you get the pills?” he asks, and I frown. It’s not really any of his fucking business, is it? “And did you take one?”
“None of that is your business or your choice,” I snap back, my fingers curling around the handle of the bag. Oscar adjusts his glasses and smiles at me. It’s not a very nice smile.
“Not my choice, no, but my business, yes. A baby complicates things.”
“You know what would complicate things?” I ask, stepping forward and dropping the bag on one of the side tables. Aaron and I once carved our initials on the underside with a pocketknife. His mother was furious when she found out, even though you can’t see it unless you get down on the floor. “If I kicked your ass and choked the life out of you a second time.”
Oscar’s face darkens, but before he gets a chance to reply, the back door is opening and Vic is stepping inside. He’s goddamn huge, and not just physically. His personality and presence takes up the entire room and sucks the air right out of me.
“What the hell is going on in here?” he asks as Callum slips past him, grabs that black bag of his, and slips right back out. He winks at me before he goes, and I frown, wondering where the hell he’s off to.
“Oscar thinks it’s his business whether or not I got the pills and whether or not I take them.” I lift my chin up, expecting resistance, but Vic just sighs and gives Oscar a look.
“Leave her alone,” he says, and although the words sound tired, the order is there. It’s not a fucking request. Oscar grits his teeth and stands up, reaching up to push ebon black hair from his forehead.
“It’s not often we have two days off during the week. I say we take advantage of it.” Oscar looks at me like he wishes I’d keel over and die. Hael just whistles under his breath and slips past me, heading for the kitchen to grab a beer. “Let’s go get the wedding dress.”
“The wedding dress?” I ask, feeling my stomach dip. “I …” I have no good excuse to get out of this. This is what I signed up for, isn’t it?
“Do it,” Vic says, closing the sliding door and locking it. “Let me get changed first.”
“You can’t pick out the dress with me,” I scoff, feeling my palms get sweaty. “It’s bad luck.”
“Bad luck?” Vic echoes, and Oscar smirks, noting his boss’ discomfort and probably enjoying it, too.
“Bernadette is right. It’s bad luck to see a bride in her wedding dress before the wedding. I’ll take her.” Oscar tucks the iPad under his arm. “Assuming she won’t try to choke me while we’re out.”
“Don’t press your luck, and I won’t have to,” I retort, crossing my arms over my chest and returning Oscar’s hard stare.
“I really can’t go?” Vic asks, looking confused as fuck. He glances between Oscar and me, his gaze lingering on my lips. I wet them subconsciously, and he closes his eyes. Maybe, like me, he’s thinking about our quickie and wondering what it’d be like if we both gave in, if we took our time. “Fine, what the fuck ever. I want this wedding done right. Go.”
He opens his eyes again and looks right at me, but I can’t hold his gaze. When I do, I feel my armor start to break apart, and all these little worries and fears and wants and desires begin to creep in and tease my aching flesh.
“Let’s go,” Oscar says, giving Hael’s beer a look. “Give me your keys; I’ll drive.”
“Don’t you fucking scratch that fresh paint,” Hael warns, but he hands over the keys to his precious Camaro like it’s nothing.
I consider saying goodbye to Heather, but then I hear her faux screaming something about dragons and decide to let her be. Sometimes, you just want to be left alone inside your fantasy.
I fully expect our ‘shopping’ trip to take place in a trailer full of stolen goods, much like it did when we went to get the luncheon dress. Instead, Oscar takes me to a proper bridal shop. I end up standing on the sidewalk outside the doors, soaked in sweat and shaking with nerves.