Page 102 of Echoes of Us

I answered the phone.

“You can’t send me a text like that and expect me to keep my cool. King, are you serious right now? Molly?” Chase’s voice boomed.

“I’m serious. Chase, you can’t tell anybody about this. Please promise you won’t tell anyone,” I pleaded.

“I won’t tell,” he assured me.

“Thanks. So have you?” I asked, glancing back at Noah. He was talking to a couple of his friends, smiling.

“Yeah, I have. Are you thinking about doing it?”

“Noah wants to.”

“Oh my god, I’m so jealous right now. I would give anything to see you on Molly.”

“I still haven’t agreed to anything,” I replied.

“So why ask me?”

“Because I don’t know about these things,” I admitted.

“Why don’t you ask Ezra? I’m sure he’s done it before.”

“Ezra doesn’t like Noah.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. Well, it’s like this, King,” he said, sounding smug. “It’s super fun. Make sure you’re getting it from a reliable dealer, not someone selling you bath salts, and go slow. Don’t take too much.”

“Do you have more than just ‘super fun’?”

“Are you taking a pill?”

“No, it’s like a powder, crystal-y thing.”

“That’s better. Take a little, okay? Dip your pinky in and make sure it’s just the tip. See how that feels, and you cantake more if you want, like another day. Has Noah done it before?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good. Stay close to him and let him walk you through it. It’s not super long, like a four-hour thing, maybe less. It’ll take a while to kick in. When it does, you’ll feel tingly, amazing, cold, and your heart will start racing. If that freaks you out, get up and dance. That helps. Drink a lot of water and get some gum if you can,” he said.

I tried to process all the advice he gave. “Are you joking right now?”

He laughed. “It sounds like it, but I’m dead serious. It’s fun, Att. It’s not scary. If you’re doing it with Noah, you’ll be super happy with him. You probably won’t be able to keep your hands off each other. You’ll have great sex, a great talk, and fall asleep at nine tomorrow. You’ll wake up a little banged up, but nothing serious.”

That didn’t sound so bad. “And it’s not, like, addictive?”

“No, you won’t get hooked on it. Don’t worry about that.”

“Atty!” Noah called.

I turned towards him. He waved me over, and I held my hand up.

“I have to go,” I told Chase.

“Okay, King, have a good ride. And please, I’m begging you right now, let someone get a video of you and send it to me or call me. Yes, no, do that. Please call me,” he said, laughing.

I ignored his request. “Bye, Chase. Thanks again, and don’t tell anybody.”

“Bye, King. Have fun.”

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