PROLOGUE
“Trip! Trip! Trip! Trip!”
The chanting accompanied the funnel of beer I downed, much to the entertainment of the whole party.
Well, I guess “party” might be overstating things. My buddy Ramsey had invited some people over to send me off properly. It was my last night in town, and my friends wanted a chance to say goodbye.
Then again, I guess “friends” might be overstating things, too.
They were the people I hung with by default. The sons and daughters of the city’s richest and most powerful. Indianapolis didn’t have the same social scene as L.A. or Chicago, but it did exist. In every place I ever lived in, status could be determined by whether or not you had the cash to buy your way in.
My father built his fortune, but Ramsey’s dad inherited his. Most of the families around here did. This crowd was old money all the way. Born rich, and they’d probably stay rich until the end of time. Spoiled, entitled, and sheltered from reality by their brick mansions, fancy cars, and preppy clothes...
You know the “bad guys” in every ‘80s teen film? Yeah. That was them.
I chugged the last drops of Heineken and threw my arms in the air, causing the two dozen or so onlookers to hoot and holler with marked enthusiasm. I may have been the man of the hour right then, but I was pretty sure everyone in that room would forget all about me within two minutes of walking out that door.
It really sucked that it was time to move again. Actually, it was time to move two weeks ago, but I’d simply been postponing the road trip. My new school already started last week, but I just couldn’t bring myself to get there in time. My parents had taken a flight out to Jersey, and I was supposed to drive out in my truck the next day. Ramsey let me crash in his family’s poolhouse for that final night in town... which turned into fourteen. But tonight really and truly was my last night. If I didn’t get on the road by tomorrow, I’d never go.
Not that I really had anything keeping me in Indy. I was as attached to that place as I’d been to any of the cities I’d ever lived in, which is to say not at all. I’d become friendly with enough kids in each place to afford me some sort of social life while I was there, but it never made much sense to get too close to any of them. I’ve lived my entire life as an outsider looking in.
Actually, that’s not true. I guess I was more of an insider looking out.
I was always accepted into the “coolest” social circles anywhere I went, but I just never felt like I was a part of things. I was normally too focused on the next move, the next city, the next group of rich kids I’d be forced to hang out with. It was always the same story no matter where I went.
I mean, just look at this effing room. Golden boys John Ramsey and Ward Whitney, stars of the basketball team. Melissa Andresen, who, after a well-timed nose job, quickly rose the ranks of Moreland Prep royalty. Chloe Ephraim and her Rah-Rah crew. Bradley Preston and a handful of his fellow Young Republicans. A few football meatheads, some lacrosse guys, a couple of debate club weenies... and the two hot girls in the corner presently eyeing me up and whispering to each other: Heidi and Greta, The Brennerman Twins.
Heidi caught my eye and took that as her cue to come talk to me. “Trip,” she slithered, stepping a little too close. “I can’t believe you’re really moving! This city won’t be the same without you.”
“Yeah,” I shot back. “Thanks, but I think Indy will be exactly the same as it ever was, whether I’m here or not.”
“I hope you’ll still remember me after you leave.”
My lips curled into a lethal grin. “Now how could I ever forget the one and only Heidi Brennerman?”
“I’m Greta.”
Shit. “That’s what I meant.” She stood there scolding me with her eyes, so I quickly added, “I was only trying to say that I’ll remember your sister and you. Especially you, Greta.”
Greta didn’t seem too insulted by my screwup, however, judging by the way she leaned in and danced her fingertips along my neck. Her graduation presents pressed against my arm as she stood on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear, “Well, at the very least, my mouth would like the chance to make sure of it.”
Nice. I could get down with a little blow-and-go.
“Well, if you insist,” I teased, before leading her out the back door.
Five minutes later, I’d find myself lain out on the couch in the poolhouse, getting a going away blowjob.
Five hours after that, I’d be sitting behind the wheel of my black Ford Bronco setting out for Norman, New Jersey.
My new home.