Lawful Overdose (5 page)

Chapter Four

Tits and Ass

The rest of my morning and afternoon flew by. After
reacquainting myself with my B.O.B., I rehydrated with three bottles of water
before taking a long nap. I woke up to Piper violently shaking me to get up for
work. She was still pumped full of energy, and I was just waiting for her to
crash and burn.

I, however, am feeling refreshed and less hung
over. I stand up and stretch next to my bed, looking over at the clock. We have
an hour before we have to leave for our shift at Ryder’s.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go in tonight, Pipe.”

Her eyes are as big as saucers and there is slight
discoloration under them, a clear sign that she needs sleep.

“I’m fine, I took a nap like you.” Piper was never
a good liar, and her body language along with her lack of eye contact tells me
she’s lying now.

“Bullshit! You need to go to bed, before you do
something stupid at work because of your lack of beauty rest, and force Ryder
to fire your ass.”

I watch her walk over to my vanity and take a look
in the mirror. Her hands reach her face as her fingers play with the skin under
her eyes.

“I do look like shit.”

“I’ll never lie to you, Pipe.”

Piper takes a deep breath and turns to face me. She
points her index fingers to her face, “Nothing a little make-up can’t fix. I’ve
got to work tonight and I’ll crash all day tomorrow. Big E is back in town, and
he’s throwing a party over at the motel tonight.”

Big E is a local guy around our age. His real name
is Eric. He attends Eastern with us, and his parents run the motel in town. He
likes to throw parties when the motel has vacancies. I’m not a big fan of his
because he’s also a known dealer. I have friends who have bought from him, even
Piper has bought from him a few times. I don’t know if she still buys from him
now. A contingency on us staying friends is that she doesn’t tell me if she’s
still smoking pot.

“How did you already find out about this? I figured
everyone would still be trashed from Dave’s party.”

“News flash, Tessa. Some people, like me,” she says
with a smile on her face, “are hyper drunks and don’t need to sleep off a
hangover. If you check your phone, you’ll see the messages.”

I reach over to my nightstand and pick up my cell.
Sure enough, four people have messaged me about tonight’s party. I also have a
text from my boss.

Ryder: What did you and my brother do last night?
He came over this morning asking me a bunch of questions about you. He never
asks for details about a woman. You must have left your mark on him.

I feel the familiar butterflies moving throughout
my stomach. The warmth in my cheeks comes back and I know they must be a bright
shade of red. Ryder thinks I left my mark on Jaxon. What does that mean? Is
that like an animal that sprays her mate? Is he implying I’ve staked my claim?

I want to ask him this, but then it will seem like
I’m interested in Jaxon… and I’m not. Jaxon is just like any other guy. He’s
not special, so I need my boss to stop acting as though he is.

“Who’s the text from?”

“No one," I say hurriedly, and look up at
Piper.

“Now it’s my turn to call bullshit. Jaxon must have
just texted you.”

Piper yanks the phone from my hands and clicks to
read the text. “Ryder thinks Jaxon has a thing for you?” Her eyes look up to
meet mine and a huge smile moves across her face. “This is so great! You can
make Jaxon your new fuck buddy and get rid of Mikey. This way, you won’t end up
hurting Mikey.”

“Do you hear yourself? If Jaxon really does have a
thing for me, then I’d be risking hurting him as well. I’m not going to do
that, but don’t worry, Mikey and I are officially done.”

I decided to end it with Mikey right before my nap.
After the intense feelings I have for Jaxon, and I’ve only met him once, I
can’t go back to random hook ups with Mikey if I don’t have those same intense
feelings. It would be settling, for both of us. I see the irony, because the
whole idea of friends with benefits is kind of settling for the next best
thing, but it’s settling nonetheless… and I refuse to do it any more.

“I’m glad to hear it. Now let’s get our butts in
gear and get ready for work. Then we’ll hit up the motel afterward.”

An hour later we’re dressed and pulling into work.
There’s a purple and black duffle bag in the back seat with our change of
clothes. I grab the duffle bag and get out of the car. Piper is standing on the
other side of the car, playing with her chest.

“Should I get a boob job?” She asks as we start
walking into Ryder’s.

“Are you crazy? You’ve got that whole skinny super
model look going for you. Your boobs are perfectly proportioned to your body.
If you got them bigger, you wouldn’t look the same.”

Piper adjusts her breasts in her shirt and looks
over at me as she opens the door to the restaurant. “I think that way
sometimes, too, but then I see how much attention your breasts get. Guys would
line up around the block to get a little motor boat action,” she winks at me.

We make our way through the bar area and into the
back of the restaurant, towards Ryder’s office. “That’s true, but there is a
negative side to that. Some real creepers hit on me, searching for some tits
and ass. You get the classy guys. Sometimes I wish my body was properly
proportioned like yours.”

I open the door to Ryder’s office and continue
talking to Piper. “I can’t get them to look me in the eyes, because their eyes
gravitate to my tits and ass. Especially in this outfit.”

I turn my head away from Piper and stop dead in my
tracks. Ryder is in his office and he’s not alone, Jaxon is with him. I start
wondering if they heard the last part of my conversation, but I don’t have to
wonder for long.

“Your uniform does show off your breasts and ass,
and they’re very appealing to the eye,” Jaxon says from the other side of the
small office. He’s leaning against the counter, looking straight at me and I
feel my cheeks start to blush. I watch him move from the counter and head to
the doorway, where Piper and I are standing. I turn my body sideways so he can
get through and he does the same. Our chests brush against each other and he
settles his hands on my shoulders, lowering his lips to my ear.

“But it wasn’t your body that intrigued me and
pulled me in. It was your beautiful eyes. They tell so much and are the pathway
to your soul.” His hands start a slow path down my arms. I feel warm everywhere
he touches. “And when you smile, the whole room notices, and wants to see you
smile again. I want to make you smile again.” He gently bites down on my
earlobe and in the next second he’s gone. Seemingly unaffected by what’s just
happened. I, on the other hand, don’t want to move my body because I’m afraid
to step back to reality.

I look at Piper and then Ryder. They just stare at
me, waiting for me to explain the scene they just witnessed.

I finally will my legs to move, and throw my duffle
bag on the counter behind Ryder’s desk.

“So, you and my brother-”

“Me and your brother are nothing,” I say, before
shooting a warning look at Piper so she won’t open her big mouth. “He’s just
overly friendly.”

Ryder starts doing that thing he does with his
hands when he’s nervous. I can tell he wants to say something to me.

“Spit it out.”

“Huh?”

“Whatever you want to say, just spit it out.”

He looks at Piper and then at me. “Just be careful,
okay? I would hate for you to get attached and then have your heart broken. I
don’t know how long Jaxon will be here. He tends to move around a lot.”

His last sentence confuses me. “I thought he was
here for his senior year? Wouldn’t that mean he’ll be here for the next eight
or nine months?"

“Oh… yes, well he will be. I just meant… I just
meant to be careful, that’s all.”

I walk over and lean across Ryder’s desk, gently
giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be careful. You have nothing to worry
about, because I’m not interested in your brother.”

Piper and I finish up in Ryder’s office before
starting our shift. The restaurant is busy, which is exactly what I need to get
my mind off Jaxon. A few hours later when the crowd has died down, I’m talking
with Piper at one of the side stations. Piper grabbed a tub of clean silverware
and we’re rolling them into napkins. It’s one of our side jobs in the
restaurant.

My back is to the bar and I see Piper’s eye spot
something and grow big.

“What’s up?” I ask her.

She looks at me and then looks back over to the
bar. “Krissy is such a slut. She’s leaning over Jaxon, just begging him to
touch her.”

“Jaxon’s here? I thought he left.” I flip around to
face the bar and I spot Jaxon at one of the high top tables. Sure enough,
Krissy is all over him, but Jaxon doesn’t seem to mind. Even from across the
room, I can see him flirting back.

“Ugh,” I grunt and turn back to face Piper.
“Krissy’s a slut? Just this morning Jaxon wanted to be all over me, and now
he’s looking for Krissy to fill that void. Jaxon’s the slut.”

“You turned him down, Tessa. You can’t blame him
for flirting with someone else. If you ask me, you’re looking a little
jealous.”

“Whatever,” I roll my eyes. “I don’t get jealous.
Krissy can have him, I was just pointing out a fact.”

Neither of us speaks as we finish rolling the
silverware. I hate to admit it, but Piper’s right. I am acting jealous. I need
to get myself together, because jealousy is just unacceptable.

Krissy comes skipping over and nudges each of us on
the shoulder. “Did you guys meet Ryder’s brother, Jaxon, yet?”

Piper suppresses a giggle at Krissy’s enthusiasm.
“I met him briefly, but Tessa and him are great friends.”

What the fuck? Throw me under a bus, why don’t you?

“You know him?”

“We met yesterday, but I wouldn’t say I know him,”
I answer.

Piper is laughing from behind Krissy and I want to
throw the napkin in my hand at her. Krissy is a sweet girl, but such an
airhead. I usually try to avoid all conversations with her. Piper is doing this
purely to torture me.

“He’s gorgeous, right? I was flirting with him a
few minutes ago and he’s going up to the motel tonight. Do you think I should
make a move?”

I don’t know what comes over me, but whatever it
is, it’s not good. I can feel my face turning red from anger? Jealousy? I’m not
sure which, but I blurt the first thing that comes to mind to get her away from
him.

“He’s gay.”

I hear Piper and Krissy gasp simultaneously. Both
in shock, but for different reasons.

“He’s gay? Of course he is. All the good looking
and sweet guys are. Thanks for warning me before I got my hopes up,” Krissy
says glumly, before leaving us at the side station.

Piper has the biggest grin on her face. She’s never
seen me act like this. Hell, I’ve never seen me act like this.

“Don’t you dare say it. Don’t say a damn word.”

She moves her hand to her mouth and makes a gesture
of zipping her lips shut and locking them with a key. Almost immediately she
makes a similar gesture and unlocks her mouth.

“Let me just say this, you have a thing for Jaxon.
I’m not sure if it’s physical, emotional, or both, but you definitely have a
thing. You need to take care of this thing before it gets out of hand. Go fuck
him and get it over with. You’ll feel better, I promise.”

Maybe she’s right. I basically told him this
morning that he blew his chance, but maybe another night wouldn’t hurt.

I turn my head and look over at his table. I can
see Krissy talking to him again. She looks serious, but Jaxon isn’t looking at
her, he’s looking at me. He knows what I told her, and he knows what that
means. There’s really only one reason you lie to a girl and tell her the guy
she likes is gay. Jaxon’s shit eating grin tells me he knows this, too.

Chapter Five

No

The rest of the night goes slowly. I’m avoiding
Krissy and Jaxon at all costs. I even joined Mikey on his smoke break because I
saw Jaxon stand up from his table and start walking over to me, and I don’t
even smoke.

Now Piper and I are walking into Big E’s party at
the motel, and I’m anxious to see Jaxon. I’m a walking contradiction.

I’m dressed in a form fitting floral strapless
summer dress. It’s a perfect dress to show off my curves, but not too slutty. I
have small wedge sandals on my feet and my hair is down in soft waves. 
The small hints of blue in my dress have the desired effect on my eyes, making
them pop.

“We’re not staying long, right?” I ask Piper as we
look at three different open motel room doors, deciding which one to check out
first.

“You’re not fooling anyone. You may have avoided
him all night, but I saw you looking at Jaxon. You want him and you’re hoping
to see him. Actually, you’re hoping to do more than just see him.”

Piper’s right, as she always is when it comes to
reading me. She knows me better than I know myself sometimes.

“What shall it be? Door one, two, or three?” Piper
gestures to the doors.

“Alright, Dr. Seuss, let's quit it on the rhyming.”

I get a glimpse of Krissy through the window of the
second room, and my instinct says she’s in there because of Jaxon.

“Let’s try door two,” I say, and begin to walk to
the door.

We make our way in and I immediately know it’s a
bad decision. The room is packed with the type of crowd I try not to associate
with. Several people are lit up and I swear I’m high just by breathing in the
fumes in the room. I look around and spot Jimmy with two girls, making some
type of exchange in the corner of the room.

“I’m out,” I yell to Piper over the loud music.
Screw finding Jaxon in here, I’ll try another room in a few minutes. I walk out
of the motel room and lean against the nearest vehicle. It’s a run down blue
pick-up truck. I lean against the door to the bed of the truck, breathing in
the fresh air.

“Looking for me?” I hear from behind me.

My body is on instant alert from the sound of his
voice. I don’t turn around to look at him.

“Don’t flatter yourself, I go to all of Big E’s
motel parties.”

 He moves to stand next to me, and leans
against the door with me.

“Yes, but do you always lean against a stranger’s
truck?”

“How do you know it’s a stranger’s truck? Maybe
this is a friend’s truck, or my boyfriend’s truck?”

“That’s cute, you think because we kissed and I
spent the night at your place, I’m your boyfriend. I’d be honored to be your
man, but we should probably try a date first.”

My hand pulls through my hair as I look down and
try to hide my smile. I look back up and point to the truck, “This is your
truck?” I ask, shaking my head in disbelief.

“Don’t sound so disgusted. They don’t make trucks like
this anymore,” He says as he bounces on the bumper to shake the vehicle. “She’s
gotten me through some hard days.”

“She?”

“Yes, she. Don’t be jealous, I’ll leave her at home
and take the Charger on our first date. Besides, she wouldn’t be too happy if she
had to drive around another woman,” he says jokingly.

“I think she can handle me,” I laugh. “I’m a truck
girl anyway. I’d be too afraid of breaking something in the Charger.”

“Now, what would we be doing in the Charger that
would make you break something?” Jaxon’s lips turn up, and he wiggles his
eyebrows. His boyish charm makes me so at ease with him.

“You are a dirty boy, I wasn’t trying to imply
anything.”

“Yes, but by indulging in this conversation, you
did imply you’d go out with me.”

I look down at my shoes and then back up at him.

“I did, didn’t I? I guess one date wouldn’t hurt.”

“You guess?” He leans into me, bringing his face to
meet mine. He brushes his lips gently against my cheek and then whispers
against my skin, “Tessa, not only will it not hurt, you’ll enjoy it so much
you’ll want more.”

His words have my entire body on alert. I’m
instantly anticipating our first date. Knowing how much I want him in this
moment, and that if I leave here tonight I’ll probably back out of the date, I
decide to take some initiative.

“Why not make the first date tonight. We’re already
together, and I have no desire to go back into that motel room.”

Jaxon turns to look back to the open room I left a
few minutes ago. I can tell he’s undecided on what to do. Maybe I misread how
much he wanted to go on this date.

“Or not. Yeah, you know what, it was a bad idea.
I’m going to go,” I babble, embarrassed that he basically just turned me down.

He turns back to me, confusion on his face.

“You can’t back out now. I was just contemplating
whether I should tell Ryan I’m leaving.” He moves his hand to gently caress my
cheek. “I’m going to go find him and let him know. Get in and I’ll be back in a
minute,” he says, handing me his keys.

I watch him go back into the motel room I left
earlier and I move to get into the truck. It’s surprisingly clean when I get
in. The interior is worn out, but I can tell he takes good care of his vehicle.

I start up the truck from the passenger seat and
turn on the radio. I’m instantly hit with the sounds of Creedence Clearwater
Revival, one of my all time favorite bands. I sit back, listening to the genius
of Proud Mary and wait for Jaxon to get back.

A few minutes later, the driver’s door opens and
Jaxon is in the car, driving us out of the motel parking lot.

“What do you want to do? I’m not too familiar with
this town and it’s after midnight, I’m not sure what our options are.”

I hadn’t thought about this. Unless we want to go
to a bar, there really is no place to go.

“I forgot how late it is, nothing is open. Maybe we
should do this another night.”

I don’t sound happy about canceling the date
tonight and when I look over at Jaxon, he doesn’t look happy either.

“This isn’t a line, I swear, but we can go back to
my place. There is a nice open courtyard. We can sit out there, talk and get to
know each other.”

I take a second before answering. I don’t want to
sound too eager, but I want to spend time getting to know him. These feelings
are new to me. I’ve never really wanted to get to know a guy before. My version
of getting to know a guy was little talking, and just sex. If he was good at
sex, he might get lucky and I’d sleep with him again.

“Well… nothing is open, so I guess that is the best
solution. I just want to let you know, I have GPS linked to my phone so if I
don’t come home in the morning, Piper will be able to find me.”

Jaxon looks over at me, shocked.

“I’m kidding… about the GPS, not about Piper. She’s
loyal like that.”

I see the shock leave his eyes and before I know
it, we’re both laughing.

We make it to his apartment complex a few minutes
later. It turns out he only lives a half-mile down the road from Piper and me.

“Wait here,” Jaxon says firmly, as he gets out of
the car. I watch him walk in front of the truck to my side of the vehicle. He
opens the passenger door for me and reaches out his hand for me to take it.

“You’re such a gentleman,” I giggle, and place my
hand in his.

“Let’s go up to my apartment first. We can grab
something to drink, a snack, and a blanket, before heading out to the
courtyard.”

“Are you real? I didn’t know guys really did this
romantic shit. I thought that was just in the dirty romance novels I read... or
a cheesy romantic comedy.”

He tightens his grip on my hand as we walk into his
apartment building.

“You think this is romantic? Wow, I'm not even
trying. This is spontaneous, spur of the moment. Just wait until I really start
to wine and dine you.”

“You say that as if you’ll get another chance to
take me out.”

Unless he does something to royally fuck this date
up, he’ll be getting a second date.

“I’m an optimistic person, and I usually get what I
want.”

His confidence is a big turn on, but I don’t want
him to know that his game is working. I stay silent as we go into his apartment
and he grabs everything we need.

We make our way out to the courtyard and the sky is
breathtaking from here. This is the clearest I’ve seen the sky in a while. It’s
quiet with only the soft sound of the crickets in the nearby grass. A few
apartment windows are open and still have their lights on, lighting up the
darkness.

Jaxon lays out the blanket and sits down, tapping
the spot next to him for me to sit. I take my shoes off and move next to him.
I’m still in a dress so I place my legs in front of me, crossing them at the
ankles.

“That was a fun party, huh?” He asks me while
handing me a beer. I’m happy he didn’t try to bring a bottle of wine and
glasses out here. That would have looked like he’s trying too hard.

“You're hilarious. I think I was in the room a
total of two minutes before I got myself out of there.”

He takes a sip of his beer and I can’t help
watching the way his tongue licks his lips after he releases the bottle from
their grasp. “I thought you went to Big E’s motel parties all the time.”

“I do, but I’m usually with Piper and our friend
Mikey. They try and make sure that I’m in a controlled environment.”

He looks at me curiously, “What do you mean
controlled environment?”

I look away to think of how I’m going to explain
this to him without sounding like a nut job. When a few seconds pass and I’ve
come up with nothing, I decide to tell him the truth.

“I know we were drinking last night, but do you
remember our brief conversation about drugs?”

“How could I forget, you almost left me for the
evening when you heard the crap Ryan and I were spewing out in the game.”

“Well, that’s me. I know I was tipsy-”

He raises an eyebrow at me.

“Okay, not tipsy… drunk, but everything I said was
true and it goes beyond that. I’ve never tried hardcore drugs. I don’t
associate with people who do drugs in front of me, and I think anyone who sells
drugs should have their dick cut off. They are the result of hundreds of deaths
every year. I don’t put all the blame on the dealer, seeing as the person who
dies usually takes the drugs willingly, but it’s a sick business and the people
in it don’t realize all the lives they affect by selling it. The people taking
the drugs don’t realize all the people they hurt around them by doing it.

“I walked into that motel room and I swear I
started getting high off the stench of pot in the air. Then I see Jimmy, or
Rocks, as some people call him. He was in the corner with two girls making some
kind of drug exchange. I had to get out of there before I did or said something
stupid.”

Jaxon pulls his knees up to his chest and casually
drapes his arms on top of his knees. “I saw that, too. I couldn’t make out what
he was giving them though.”

“Who knows? Could’ve been coke, heroin, ecstasy,
molly… I hear he sells it all.”

He nods his head, “What about meth? I’ve heard he’s
a big dealer around here.”

I laugh at his innocence. When he says things like
this it makes me remember how new he is in this town.

“He’s the king of meth around here. Even though
it's supposedly the easiest thing to make on your own, most people don’t like
to risk it, so they go to him. I had a friend who bought from him for a while.
Luckily, Piper and I got him clean and off that crap. Meth is no joke.”

“Isn’t that the fucking truth,” he whispers as he
straightens his legs, mimicking my position. “Where does he make it?”

I look over at him, wondering why he’s so
interested in Jimmy.

“What’s with the twenty questions? You looking to
buy from him or something?”

His face drops in complete shock, “No, I would
never do something as stupid as that. I don’t know why I asked.”

I take a deep breath, “I’m not sure where he makes
it, but I’m almost positive it’s not at his house. That friend I told you
about, Piper and I had to pick him up there once. Jimmy’s house is clean.”

Jaxon shakes his head again and I can tell the
information means something to him, I’m just not sure what.

“Can I ask you something?” He says hesitantly.

I nod my head, “Sure.”

“Why are you so anti-drug? I mean, I think it’s
great; I just have never met anyone so opinionated about the subject. Most
people I know who don’t do them, don’t think twice about the people who do.”

I’m not ready to tell him about my sister, but I
also don’t want to lie.

“When I was fourteen, someone close to me died of
an overdose. It was horrible and changed my life along with so many other
people’s lives. Let’s just leave it at that.”