Oh my God! Spinning on my heel, I snap at her, “TMI! Keep your fucking preferences to yourself. It’s bad enough I know what his thingie looks like. I don’t need—”

“His thingie?” she mocks. “What’s the matter, Avery? Can’t say the real word?” Amber’s eyes glitter. She honed in on my little word and is advancing across the room, cigarette still in hand. “Is it just too much to wrap your little mouth around? Cock, dick, penis? Pick one and say it.” She stops in front of me, looking down at me like I’m a child. One arm is across her chest and the other is holding the burning smoke off to the side. She tilts her head, watching me. “Go on—say it.”

I smile tritely, but she’s unnerving me. The way she looks at me is so smug, with a dash of hostility. Most mornings she spends trying to stay in bed, because she stayed up fucking all night. I glare at her. “I’m not reciting male genitalia for you.”

She laughs lightly and says it again, whispering the word in a creepy way, close to my face. “I bet you scream when you come and say all sorts of dirty shit. It’s the good girls that have the kinkiest stuff going on in their heads.” Amber looks down into my bag and pulls up one of my G-strings. She holds it on her pointer finger and raises a brow at me. “See what I mean?”

I snatch it back from her and shove it into my bag. “At least I wear panties.”

“Ouch.” Amber feigns offense and then snorts and turns away shaking her head. “Me and you could have a lot of fun. Roommates who do three-ways never sleep alone.”

I make a face and look over at her. “If you ever suggest that again, I’ll puke all over you.”

“Whatever. Go on and pretend to be a nun. I don’t care.”

“Nuns don’t sleep with guys.”

She grins, “Well, not all at once, anyway. Maybe I should join a convent.” She taps her front tooth with her finger like she’s thinking about it.

I know what she’s thinking. “Nuns don’t do confession. Priests are the only ones who get to use the box, so think of something else or have someone stab you with a cross. Maybe you’ll turn back into a werewolf and can go hump a tree for the rest of the day.”

She gives me a snotty look and sticks her tongue out. “Bitch.”

“Whore.”

“Slut.”

“Skank.”

“Hooker.” Amber says the word exactly the same way she said the others, but she’s acting so weird today. I lift my chin slightly before throwing another insult her way. Amber is watching, waiting for me to show any sign of weakness. Does she know? Is that what this is about? Did she find out that I’m working for Black? That would suck. She’d tell Black that I’m in love with Sean.

I don’t pause. “Hoe,” I throw back, but our eyes hold a second too long.

“Bitch.”

“You already said that one.” I zip my bag shut and throw it over my shoulder.

“Yeah, but it suits you—a bitch in heat. Am I right?”

“Yeah, okay… I’m only going to say this once. If you have something to say to me, say it to my face, now. I’m not doing this weird shit with you when I get back, so if you’ve got something you want to say to me, spit it out.”

Amber purses her lips and then smiles at me, before rolling back onto her bed. “As if I’d make your life so simple. Catch you later, cock-lover. Make sure you ask him to get your back door really good and hard. You’re in serious need of an alignment. No one should be this bitchy right after sex.” She raises a brow at me and laughs.

I roll my eyes and walk out to the sound of her hollow laughter bouncing off the walls.

CHAPTER 7

Before I get to my car, Mel comes chasing after me. “That was some crazy shit last night. What’d your guy want?” She practically yells as she runs at me and crosses the parking lot. “Where you goin’?”

“To see Sean, and shut up. That was way too loud and I think Amber knows.” I glance around to make sure she didn’t follow us into the parking lot.

Mel waves me off. “Amber doesn’t know shit.”

“Mel, she knows. I don’t know how, but she does. She’s trying to get me to do three-ways with her and say ‘cock.’ Two days ago she would have never suggested such a thing.” I reach for my trunk, open it, and toss in the bag. When I slam it, the lid bounces back up and nearly smacks me in the face. “Awh, damn it!” I slam it down again and it catches this time.

“Amber is just trying to get dirt on you. She probably has some dick that only wants a three-way, and the only person she can offer up is you. You better be ready for her to have some asshole in your room one night, and hope you trip on them coming in the door. By the way, if you do, that doesn’t count as a threesome.”

“What the hell is it with people and three ways?” I stare at her. Mel sounds like she’s had a few and thinks they’re good, like chicken soup.

“You don’t see the appeal? Come on, you have to see it. Two dicks at once…” She gets a funny look on her face, like she’s remembering something.

I look away like I haven’t noticed. “Fine, maybe, but two girls for one guy is a dude fantasy. I see enough of naked Amber without having sex with her.” I cringe and shake it off, but the mental image is stuck. “Oh gross, I’m gonna have to bleach my brain after this conversation.”

Mel laughs. “Clorox hasn’t made brain bleach, yet. Otherwise I’d have a stockpile for you, because have I got stories for you!”

“Mel, I don’t have time. I have a ring.” Taking a deep breath, I smile at her. “I’m going to find Sean and ask him to marry me.”

“No shit? I thought that was all talk. Even after work last night? You sure about this?”

“Work last night was Sean—”

She blinks and leans in like she didn’t hear me. “Come again? I thought Ferro left town.”

“He did, but we, ah… did it anyway.” I give her an awkward smile and hope to God she catches on.

Mel glances both ways and says in a low voice, “You had phone sex?”

“Sorta. Maybe…”

She shakes her head at the same time her jaw drops open. “You did not sext with him. Black will fire your ass faster than a—”

“It’s what he wanted. Besides, it’s Sean.”

“She won’t care, Avery. Damn, you know the rules. What the hell were you thinking?” She glances up at me. “I’m going with you and we’re taking my car.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“And you think I’m letting you go by yourself? Besides, I need to slap that boy in the head. Rules are rules. They’re there for a reason. You know what happens to us if we get caught, right? Those pictures are proof. There’s not supposed to be any proof of anything.”

“Sean isn’t going to report us to the cops. Besides, if he did, he’d get in trouble, too. If you stop lecturing me and can be ready to go in five minutes, I’ll wait for you. If Amber happens on me, I’m running her over.” I shiver. Holy crap she creeped me out.

“Fine, but I’m not done bitching you out yet. How long’s the ride to Jersey?”

“A few hours.”

“Good, that should be long enough to drive into your head how stupid that was, and then you can give me details.” Mel rubs her hands together, grins, and runs back to the dorm.

_____

Mel is in the passenger seat in my car. It runs okay and gets great gas mileage, but the rickety nature of the rusted frame makes Mel jumpy. Plus we have to yell because the window seals are pretty much shot.

“So, I wanna see some pictures of the infamous Sean Ferro in compromising positions… or at least his naked ass.” She holds out her hand for my phone.

“Uh, it wasn’t like that.”

She stares at me for a second. “He didn’t send you any pictures at all?”

“No. Why? Is that weird?”

Mel makes a face and picks up my phone. “Depends on what he said. May I?” She holds up my phone and I know she wants to look at the messages.

My face flames red, but I nod anyway. “Since when do you ask?”

“Since when do I go through your personal shit? Never, that’s since when. I might butt my nose where it don’t go, but I—” Her eyes go big as she reads the screen. “He had you do this shit? Like all of it?” Her eyes continue to read as I answer.

“Yeah…” I’m getting the impression that something is off. “I’ve never done it before.”

“No shit.”

“So, did I do it wrong?”

“I don’t know. To each his own, you know, but it’s weird he didn’t send you some dick shots or something—maybe even record himself jerking off so you can see.” She squints at the screen and turns it sideways like there’s a hidden dick in the letters.

“It sounded like he wanted to do that another time.”

She puts the phone down and looks over at me. “I didn’t picture him as the type. Shows what little I know.” She shrugs. “So, little Miss Chastity Belt, did that get you off? I’m not watching the video. By the way, you should delete that shit. If you lose your phone, it’ll be on YouTube faster than you can say fuck me.”

“I know. I’ll delete it. I don’t like having stuff like that around, at the same time, it was with Sean.” I smile into space.

“You look like you’ve been hit in the head with a brick, Avery. Stop that. Sean is trouble. Like a big fat sack of damaged goods. Marrying him means you’re okay with all his shit—the hookers, his dead wife, and his freaky ass family. Did you think this through?” Mel moves her hand to recline her seat. Before I can stop her, she pulls the lever and the seat falls back. She spews some choice words as she flies backwards. “What the fuck?”