Page 13 of Take You

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Either you got the number, or you didn’t. There’s no gray area.”

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong.” He sat on the couch and picked up his phone. I was pretty sure he was going to order the pizza. We got the same shit every time, and he had a shortcut programmed in the app on his phone. He tapped away, then turned his attention back to me. “I didn’t want to ask her for her number. She just seemed too skittish, and I got the impression she’d freak out, so I asked for her phone to put my number in.”

“But now the ball’s in her court. If she’s as hesitant as you say, she’s not going to call.”

“Yep, that exact thought occurred to me, too, but the gods must have been looking out for me, or some shit, because she held back. Then she finally decided to hand the phone over, and as she did, she was kind of nervy—no doubt still in shock over what happened—and somehow managed to tip her entire coffee over, pretty much into her lap.”

“No fucking way. I almost feel sorry for her. She’s had a terrible day.” And it wasn’t even done.

“Correct. Anyway, she jumped up, freaking out, and ran to the bathroom—”

“Leaving you with the phone.”

“Exactly, but not just the phone. Her bag and laptop too. Would you believe that she’d been carrying her laptop in her arms when we crashed into each other in the hall, so it was right there on the table.”

“So you got everything done?”

“Yep, and it was so easy, it almost felt like a trap, like I was being set up, you know? I mean, I know I wasn’t, but it just almost felt too good to be true. That said, if it was a trap, she really fucking committed, because she came back from the bathroom with a coffee stain on her pants that made it look like she’d had a big old accident. Honestly, with the expression on her face, I could just tell she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.”

“Ha! Well she’d better brace herself, and get used to that feeling, and more. She has no fucking idea.”

“She really doesn’t. I got the pizzas, by the way.”

“I gathered, though I did say I’d get them.”

“Whatever. It’s done. You’ll get the next ones.”

He always said that, but nine times out of ten he was the one who paid for just about everything. “Hmm… so, don’t keep me in suspense. Tell me about the phone number.” I’d joined him on the couch, and turned to face him as I questioned him.

“Oh yeah. That was the easiest of everything. While she was gone, I pranked my phone from hers. So I’ll have a plausible reason to have her number later down the track. That was my plan all along, even if she hadn’t gone to the bathroom. That was just an added bonus, as it means that she won’t realize for a while, but then if I contact her, I can tell her to look at her call log, and she’ll see the missed call to my number.”

“Genius. And here I was thinking I was the smart one. Turns out you’re not just a pretty face after all.”

“Eat a dick motherfucker. This pretty face, and the brain on top of it, are your ticket to making all your wildest dreams come true right now, and possibly ending some of your worst nightmares. If I were you, I wouldn’t bite the hand that fucking feeds me.”

I knew it was just a figure of speech, but given the way our friendship had evolved, it really bothered me. I was sure Kane hadn’t meant it the way I’d taken it, but that didn’t help me feel any less like a loser when he used phrases like that.

I couldn’t wait for the day when I could even up the scale between us, but with shit like losing half the Fellowship money, it sometimes felt like that day would never come. I was being overdramatic, and I knew it. It was probably just nerves making me overthink shit.

In any case, I was so close to viability with two of my side-hustles that sooner, rather than later, not only would they no longer be side-hustles, but I’d also be able to finally stand on my own two feet, and pay Kane and his parents back every red cent. That day couldn’t come fast enough for me.

In the meantime, I had to swallow my pride, once again, and rely on him to pull off the most important occurrence in my life. Yet from that point onwards, something didn’t feel right, and for the first time in our long friendship, I had my doubts about him.

I knew we were given instincts for a reason, but I couldn’t afford for those particular thoughts and feelings to get in the way of the plan that I’d painstakingly orchestrated. I had to go ahead, no matter what the niggling voices told me. It was literally now or never, so I pushed them way down, locked the door on them, and threw away the key.

Chapter 9

Rose

The tears were flowing before the door had even clicked closed behind Kane. It was strange that I’d been able to suppress them until that point, but on the other hand, it was also completely out of character these days for me to bring a guy I’d met only minutes earlier back to my apartment and let him nail me to the wall. Clearly the events of the day had taken their toll in ways I could never have predicted. One thing was for sure—when I’d let Kane fuck me to hell and back in my shower, I certainly hadn’t been myself.

As I slid down the side of the couch that doubled as a fold-out bed and sank heavily to the floor, I could scarcely comprehend what had happened earlier. It was just too mind-boggling to begin to wrap my thoughts around, and outrageously bizarre on so many levels. Someone had what... hacked into the AV system in the lecture theater during my Bioengineering class? Someone who knew who I was, and maybe even more disturbingly, knew I was going to be there at that time.

Actually, on reflection, the most disturbing part was the fact that, as well as knowing so much about me—my real full name, what high school I’d gone to, and events that had happened during that time—there was someone out there who cared so deeply, and hated me so much, that they’d go to those kinds of lengths to get at me.

A myriad of thoughts swirled around my mind in a big untidy jumble. What was the endgame? Did they want to scare me? Send me a warning of some kind? They’d been successful in both things, to the point where I wished I could somehow respond to them, “Message received, loud and clear.”

Obviously being “outed” in just about the creepiest way possible was definitely a warning in itself. I had so many questions and no idea how to get answers. Had someone found out about me? Or had they already known about me, and been waiting for their chance to pounce? Was I being watched? Or followed? What was their next move, if any? And, most confusing of all, what the fuck did they want from me?

---