Cade
I was hoping for a night off, but the morning after the party, Rudy told me that we’d be working a private bash later that day. One of Tyler’s friends was getting married and we were going to his bachelor party to sell molly and party with him and some strippers. I was dying to see Vanessa again, not party with a bunch of sluts, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to say yes.
“Good man,” Rudy said. He clapped me on the shoulder and pulled me into a masculine half hug. “Tonight’s gonna be a real screamer.” He raised his eyebrows at me and I tried not to cringe. “You gonna find some pussy?”
“Pussy!” Tyler cried gleefully. He strode up from behind me. “Man, there’s gonna be a ton of it there tonight!” He let out a wolf whistle and I rolled my eyes. “What, you too good to fuck the same girls that we do?”
“No, man, nothin’ like that,” I said. “I just need to keep my eyes on the job, that’s all.” I grinned as I pulled out two stuffed baggies from my pocket. They were each holding over three hundred pills, and I knew what the giant score would mean for the club: enough money to tide us over until the next big party.
Rudy nodded his approval, and I could tell that even though I was gonna get teased for being a pussy, I’d made the right decision by vowing to stay away from the other women.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and instinctively, I knew that it was Vanessa. After listening to Rudy and Tyler joke around for the next few minutes, I made up some excuse about having to piss and darted off to the side for the bathroom. My heart was racing as I slipped my phone out of my pocket and looked at the screen. Vanessa was all I could think about—her creamy skin, her big blue eyes, the way she held me close when she was about to come. I wanted her to be mine, and I was starting to realize that I wanted her to belong to me forever.
I got a haircut! ;) There was a photo attached to the text. My mouth went dry when I saw Vanessa. She looked even better than she had before. Her shiny brown hair looked bouncy and healthy, and her bangs made her look sexy, like an ingénue from an old movie. I closed my eyes and groaned, thinking of how it would feel to slide my cock inside her warm, wet, waiting pussy.
You look great, baby. Can’t wait to tangle my hand in your hair and yank your pretty head back.
I stared at the screen, waiting for her reply. Vanessa was usually pretty slow to text, but we hadn’t seen each other in days and I knew that she was probably missing me just as much as I was missing her.
Finally, the phone bleated with her reply. I miss you. When we can see each other again?
I sighed. Soon, I typed back quickly. I have another party tonight and I’ll call you later. As soon as I’d sent the message, I had a feeling that Vanessa wasn’t going to be thrilled. She hadn’t been excited to hear about the first party, and I knew she was probably jealous of all of the women who would be hanging around. I just wished there was I way I could get inside her head and reassure her that no matter what, I’d always love her.
Shit. Love her? Do I love her? I closed my eyes and thought about it. I’d never loved a girl before. I’d never even come close. There were times where I thought that I was falling in love, but it always turned out to be lust or infatuation that faded away with time. With Vanessa, it was different. Whenever I was with her, I never wanted to be anywhere else. She was all I could think about, hell, even when I wasn’t with her, my mind was still drawn to her. I loved everything about her. I loved that she’d come from a different background than I had. She was beautiful, smart, and driven. Hell, she was going to be a doctor one day! When I thought about that, I felt inadequate as ever. A woman who made a living as a doctor definitely didn’t need someone like me to support her. In fact, she’d probably go for someone just as rich. I sighed as I imagined Vanessa coupling up with a fancy lawyer or some surgeon. Of course, that was the man she’d want in the future. Not me. Not a loser who hadn’t even finished high school.
But I couldn’t deny that my feelings for her were growing stronger by the day. Hell, by the second.
Vanessa texted back just then. Oh. Okay. Call me later.
My heart sank. Right then, more than ever, I wanted to drive over to campus or her apartment and pull her into my arms. Reassure her that everything would be okay. Reassure her that I did actually love her.
Suddenly, I wondered what it would be like if I proposed. That way, we could take our relationship out in the open. Wives of gang members were much safer than girlfriends, and Rudy and the rest of the guys would have to respect her. At least they’d have to act like they respected her, and they’d have to let her around.
I sighed. It was a fucking pipe dream. A girl like Vanessa probably wouldn’t marry a scumbag like me even if I wasn’t the last asshole on earth.
There was a pounding on the bathroom door that made me flinch.
“Yo, Mitchell! I have to take a fuckin’ piss! Hurry it up in there!”
“Use the bathroom upstairs, douchebag!” I yelled back.
“Someone’s in there! I gotta go! Hurry the fuck up!”
Sighing, I flushed the toilet and shoved the door open. Tyler was standing there with his legs comically crossed.
“Hurry up,” Rudy called after Tyler. “We gotta leave for the party soon.”
# # #
An hour later, I was standing in what looked like a high-class brothel. Women of all shapes and sizes gyrated around me in matching skimpy costumes, taking big drinks of champagne and popping pills by the second. It only took me twenty minutes to sell most of my stash, and then I wandered over to the bar and got a drink.
The bachelor, Tyler’s friend, Alonzo, was surrounded by strippers who were kissing his neck and trying to pull him into their clutches. I could barely see him for all the skin swimming around his body.
“Congrats, man,” I said as I slipped him a pill. “This is for you, on the house.”
Alonzo grinned. “That’s rich, brother,” he said.
Tyler slapped him on the back and pulled one of the girls towards me. “Hey, Cade, take this girl,” he said with a wink. “She told me she has a thing for blonds. She probably likes little limp dicks like you.”
“Fuck off,” I said mildly. “I gotta mosey around and push more E. You keep her.”
The girl sauntered over to me with a pout on her shiny pink lips. “Hi there,” she said in a sensual voice. “Wanna party with me?”
“Tempting,” I told her. “But I gotta work. You make sure the bachelor boy has a good time, you hear me?”
The girl pouted again. She was blonde with green eyes and tan skin—most guys at the party would have killed for a chance with her. But I just couldn’t get excited. Vanessa was a real girl, someone who wanted me because of me. At least she did for now. I shuddered to think what she’d think of me when she got to know my buddies. But this girl…she was being paid to be here. She didn’t give a shit about me; she just wanted my money. I had absolutely no problem pushing her to the side.
“Pussy!” Tyler called after me as I walked away. The guys erupted into laughter and I rolled my eyes. A big group of college kids had just rolled into the party and I could tell they were looking to get high.
The college kids didn’t disappoint—each one of them bought two pills, and I added a surcharge since I imagined they’d crashed the party. Rudy’s gonna be real fuckin’ happy, I thought as I fingered the wad of cash in my pocket. He’s gonna knock me up a notch or two for sure.
The rest of the party went pretty well. The guys all got blasted. I’d even popped a pill to make the dealing more fun, and as I walked around, I realized that while I was happy, I wasn’t exactly content. Before I’d met Vanessa, parties like this had been my bread and butter. But now that I was always waiting around on her, they just weren’t that fun anymore. I was only twenty-two, but I was starting to feel like an old man. What was going to happen in a few years? How fucking elderly would I feel then?
At the end of the night, Rudy put his arm around me and pulled me outside. I could tell that he was still rolling, but unlike the other guys, he looked mostly lucid.
“Hey,” Rudy said in my ear. He clapped my shoulder with his other hand. “You did a real good job tonight, Mitchell. I’m real proud of you.” He fished a patch out of his jacket and slipped it over to me. “This is for you, shows your commitment to the Prophets.”
I looked down at the patch in my hand: a little Bleeding Prophet with angry red eyes. It was sick. I loved it.
‘Thanks, man,” I said, giving him a half hug. “This party was cake.” Pulling the cash out of my pocket, I slipped a wad over to him. Rudy nodded and stuck the whole thing in the pocket of his vest.
“This is rich,” Rudy said. “Look, I know I gave you a real hard time because of that girl. But you’ve done so much fuckin’ better since you dropped her, man, I am so proud.” He grinned. “And I like that you didn’t fuck any of those broads in there. You kept your eye on the job, and you stuck to it.” He nodded, his face suddenly serious. “You’re gonna make a good lieutenant one day,” Rudy added. “Take it from me. When I was your age, I fucked up, too. But you ain’t gonna be like me, I can tell.”
I grinned uncertainly. I didn’t exactly have a choice: the Bleeding Prophets brought men through the ranks for their ability to sell drugs. Sure, I was good at it now, but what would that be like when everyone knew about me and Vanessa? How was I going to be able to focus on doing my job without getting arrested, or worse, going to jail? How the fuck could I support Vanessa if I was locked up?
I hated even thinking about it.
“Thanks,” I said to Rudy. “I’m glad I’ve been doing better. I’m trying, you know. I wanna do right by the group.”
Rudy nodded. “I know,” he said. “You got a good heart, Mitchell. Ain’t your fault that you fuck up sometimes. Hell, I’d be warier of you if you never made a mistake!” At that, Rudy threw his head back and laughed, as though what he’d said had been the funniest fucking thing ever.
“Thanks,” I said again. Just then, the front doors burst open and Tyler and Alonzo struggled out. Tyler’s pants were unzipped and his belt was flapping. I rolled my eyes, thinking about him and the blonde stripper. Well, at least someone had enjoyed themselves.
“Man,” Tyler said. He put a hand on my shoulder and acted like he was about to fall over. “You fuckin’ missed out, man! That girl has a mouth like what!” He grinned and yawned, feigning exhaustion. “You’re a fuckin’ queer for not jumping on her!”
I rolled my eyes. “Right,” I said. “Yeah, you got it, Tyler. I’m a homo. You figured it out!”
“I know I did,” Tyler said. He winked at me. “That’s what I’m here for.”