Page 57 of Soulless Saint

“Hello? Is someone there? Hardin, if that’s you, I swear to…”

I let the words trail off, unclenching my fists, closing my eyes to take a deep breath and shut the door.

I wasn’t even sure I saw someone.

And just because Hardin liked to sit in the cafe and drink coffee for three hours and stare down other guys who dared speak to me didn’t mean he was stalking me. That was a bit of a jump, no?

Unless he found out what you did with his brother two days ago…

I chewed my lip. At least then he would really leave me alone, right? Who would want their brother’s sloppy seconds?

Even though I hadn’t seen Hardin in the cafe since that Thursday, it didn’t mean I hadn’t seen him.

I’d had to scrap three abstract paintings and counting because somehow they all wound up looking kind of sort of like him. Well, save for the one that wound up looking suspiciously like his brother’s fat cock, but…

Yeah. I was fucked.

The denim felt a bit stiff as I slid my arms into the sleeves and shrugged it on, folding the collar flat instead of leaving it popped up like Toby usually did. I thought for sure I’d be swimming in it with Toby being so tall, but when I went to check in the bathroom mirror, I found, as usual, Toby was right.

It did fit the vibe.

“You have absolutely no right to look better in my jacket than I do,” Toby said with a mock sigh. “But I guess I’ll forgive you.”

A little laugh bubbled up my throat, and I found myself smiling at my reflection. The jacket made my shoulders appear wider, stronger, more… intimidating. And the fact that it was just a bit longer on me than it should’ve been meant that if I wanted it to, it would cover the bulk of the sex kitten outfit Toby stuffed me into.

With my usually straight hair teased up into a mass of voluminous curls—the transformation a la Sandy in Grease—I felt like a real race queen. All I needed was a cigarette and the look would be complete. But since this bitch didn’t do tobacco, a joint would have to do.

“Go on, say it,” Toby said, looking at me smugly through the mirror as he finished with his eyeliner.

I sighed.

“Say it.”

“You were right, Tobes. There, you happy?”

“Yes! God, I will literally never tire of hearing that.”

Toby tapped his phone and shrieked, tossing his eyeliner on the counter. He snatched my hand, his freshly polished nails glistening on the opposite hand as he swatted Kate’s behind. “Come on, sexy ladies, Uber’s here. It’s go time!”

A thrill went through me as Toby dragged us from the apartment. The anticipation of something coming like a sixth sense I couldn’t shake. It made my heart thud hard and fast against the wall of my ribs. Made my skin prickle with something halfway between anxiety and excitement. Like I was balancing on a tightrope, and if I wasn’t careful, it would snap beneath my feet.

* * *

We had the Uber drop us off a solid half mile from where the race was. It was a rule, apparently. You needed to come in on foot.

If it was a matter of not letting the Uber drivers know where you were going or what was going on way out in the canyon, then I really didn’t see the point.

The instant we stepped out of the Uber, the thump of bass could be heard even at this distance. And over the ridge of the canyon to the east, lights flashed up toward the sky in blue and pink and green. Cars were littered along the access road, abandoned like used condoms in the dirt.

We used our phones for flashlights as we tripped our way down the winding cracked pavement, our threesome growing the deeper in we got. Everyone on their way to the race grouping up in the dark, that pack mentality, safety in numbers, taking over.

My blisters had blisters by the time we made it over the hill and were able to look down on the insanity below, but I found I didn’t care. Standing there atop the hill looking down on all the tiny-looking people crowded in the valley below, I felt excited and powerful. Ready to take on the world.

It also could’ve been the whiskey I drank during the walk. Or the joint I shared with Toby. But that wasn’t important.

“Holy shit,” I found myself saying, the words no more than an exhalation of hot air as the lights below danced over us high above.

I wasn’t sure what I expected, maybe a Bluetooth speaker and a bonfire in a barrel. But this?

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