Page 107 of Seeds of Malice

The house is packed with people, and it all bores me. I had plans for tonight, but now, I don't know. I glance at my whore, and my heart aches. I take long breaths, trying to calm it, wondering if I'm having some kind of attack.

Why am I letting this girl get under my skin? She's just another pawn in my game.

No, she's different.

She's actually special.

Jesus, what the fuck am I thinking?

I continue watching her take in the scene, trying to hide her shock, telling myself she's just another girl.

She's not.

"Look who we have here," Bobby booms, then slaps Ivy on the ass.

She jumps and yelps.

I spin, lunge at him, and grab him by the shirt. "What the fuck are you doing, Bobby?"

He puts his hands in the air, laughing. "Easy. Since when are you so uptight?"

"Don't touch her," I warn, but for the first time in the history of playing our game, I mean it. Every part of me doesn't want him to touch her.

Stop being soft!

Bobby puts his arm around me and pulls me to the side. "Hey, man, why are you so uptight?"

I grind my molars.

His coked-out eyes study me. He adds, "For real. What's going on?"

I shrug out of his grasp. "Nothing's going on."

"You sure? You're not changing your ways on me, are you?" he questions with a challenging stare.

I hesitate.

"Jesus, don't tell me she got under your skin."

"Of course she hasn't. Don't be fucking stupid."

"Good. It would be a shame if you fell for a country girl from West Virginia." He chuckles.

I refrain from sticking up for Ivy.

He's right.

I insist, "There's no chance of that."

He grabs a fifth off the counter and hands me a shot glass. I take it. He pours tequila into both and holds his in the air.

"Salud."

"Salud," I repeat, clink his glass, and we knock back the shots.

"Let's get everyone wasted," he says with a mischievous look.

It's the same old Bobby. Something tells me I shouldn't let this go on, that I need to take Ivy and get out of here, but I'm trapped.

---