Page 72 of King

Craig turns around, his palm out to me, two pills inside. “Well then, to new relationships.”

“Uh…”

My hesitation makes him hesitate. “What’s wrong with it?” Craig looks down at the pills in his palm.

“Nothing! I don’t, y’know, get high on my own supply.” Fuck I sound nervous. I take a deep breath. It’s not like I haven’t tried MDMA before but getting on the love drug with a stranger in a random mansion might not be the best idea.

“You expect me to buy a bunch of pills you won’t even try? How am I supposed to trust you as a supplier?”

“I don’t know, do a test or something.” I shrug.

“Alright, well, I’m not buying if you’re not trying.” He closes his palm and turns around. "There's a lot of sketchy shit happening with my dad running for mayor. I’m not taking the risk."

Craig shovels the mess of pills back into the bag. As he does, I’m watching that seven-hundred dollars go down the drain with it.

“Okay fine,” I say. Fuck it. What’s a pill? Nothing I haven’t tried before. And if it’s worth seven-hundred dollars, why not? “Bring it back. But, you’re doing it with me.”

He turns around with a smile. “Well alright then." Holding out a pill, he tilts his chin to the ceiling. "Open up, gorgeous.”

Ignoring the nickname, I stick my tongue out the same way I did with Zane when we tried it together. I could hold it under my tongue or in my cheek until I’m out of sight, but Craig’s not playing games. He opens his mouth wide to show me it’s gone and waits for me to do the same.

I swallow before sticking out my tongue and he laughs, clapping. “Glad to be doing business with you.” Craig sits in the modern brown chair behind the glass desk. He turns around to the large built-in shelf behind him and I hear the pull of a mini-fridge.

Grateful this is all over, I turn to the door, wanting to get back to the guys before this thing settles in. I trust Isaac that this is all okay. That the pill I took isn’t anything else or that this isn’t some big ploy to seek revenge on the rival school. But I rather not be here when things start to feel fuzzy.

Craig calls to me when my hand touches the gold doorknob, “Drink?”

I open the door, pointing out of it as I turn around, music bellowing in. He has a couple of beers in his hand but I shake my head. “Thanks, but I’ve gotta go.”

“Go?” He sits up in the office chair. “No, you're staying with me for at least thirty minutes to see if this shit even kicks in.”

“What?”

“Yeah, how am I supposed to know you didn’t sell me a bunch of placebos? Or poison?” He gets up from his chair and walks towards me, wrapping an arm around me with more oomph than I expected. He hands me a beer. “Relax. Chill out. It’s a party after all.”

He leads me back outside to where his friends are waiting. They smile when they see us coming and bowtie asks, “How is it?”

Craig flops down on the outdoor sofa. “I guess we’ll see. Won’t we?” He looks at me and bites his bottom lip before gesturing to the seat next to him.

I try to look down the driveway but I can’t see Isaac’s Rover at the bottom of the hill. I sit before I turn to him, cracking the cap off the beer. “Thirty minutes,” I say.

Craig clinks our glasses together before he leans back in his seat. He spreads his arms across the sofa, a smile on his face. “Thirty minutes and we’re having fun..”

My skin tingles and my brain feels like it's getting a massage. There’s a stupid smile on my face and Craig looks hotter than when I came in. Much hotter. There's a chance I misjudged his sweater combo.

Craig babbles about how great it felt to be in the ocean during his last trip to Bali while his friends drink. They hang on to his every word and it's clear he’s the Damien of Ancaster. He’s not saying much but it feels like everyone else is too afraid to speak.

The music switches to some drum and bass. As Craig rambles on I’m bopping my head, my eyes on the bright orange coming off the hanging outdoor lanterns.

The bass drops, and I follow the urge to stand to my feet and sway my hips to the rhythm. Closing my eyes, my chin lifts to the sky, the night air making the tingles on my skin all the better. It's fresh, crisp with a hint of soggy leaves. It makes me giggle and I don’t notice that Craig’s friends are gone until he startles me out of my dancing daze.

“Damn girl." His auburn eyes follow my movements and it’s like they’re glowing. "You look good when you do that.”

“Did it kick in for you?” I ask, slowing down my movements with the beat. I’m one with the music. “Cause it sure as hell kicked in for me.”

Craig scratches the back of his neck. “I’m not sure.” With the way he’s rambling and the way he's touching the sofa cushions, I’m sure he's rolling. But since he’s the client, he’s got to be sure too.

“Come here.” I hold out my hand, my hips still moving whether I want them to or not. He takes it and I pull him up to where I’m standing. His hand is warm, albeit a little clammy. “Move with me,” I say. He starts swaying from side to side and when he finds a rhythm, he starts moving his feet with mine. “Now, close your eyes.” After he does, I do it with him, remembering the words Zane asked me. “Do you feel the music? The tingles? The buzz?”

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