Page 70 of Them Bones

He liked to do a bump before they fooled around. In the beginning he disappeared to the bathroom, but she’d been around Cary and his crew long enough to know what was going on and told him he didn’t need to bother. He’d laughed andpoured out a line on her stomach, snorting it off her skin and then licking up after himself.

She didn’t let him fuck her. She could tell he was annoyed about it, but he never said anything apart from a heavy sigh and an ‘okay, baby’.

He’d been surprised when she asked for a hit. It was the week before school started.

“Have you done this before?” he asked, tapping out a tiny line half the size of the ones he usually snorted onto the book beside her bed, the new Nick Hornby calledAbout a Boy. It was from a different container, not the one Nick used.

“No,” she said.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be the one giving it to you then…”

“Why not? You’re the first for everything else.”

Nick looked sheepish, at that. Like it had never occurred to him that she’d never fooled around with anyone. They really didn’t talk much – he never had asked how old she was, never mind asked her anything else – and he opened his mouth like he was going to say something but she leaned over, grabbed the little black straw he’d tossed on her nightstand, and snorted it. They lounged around for a few minutes, Nick running his fingers back and forth under the hem of her shorts, tickling her thigh.

It made her feel anxious, but kind of in a good way… Her heart was racing, she felt wide awake for the first time in months, and more than anything else she felturgent.She’d pulled Nick to her and kissed him fiercely as he laughed into her mouth.

She finally understood why he skipped the making out and got right to business – she was in arush rush rushand couldn’t get their pants down quick enough.

They spent most of their time together doing blow and fooling around.

Things with Dustin were tense. He never said it, but he blamed her for Shane not coming around anymore. Between that and the amount of time she spent going out or in her room with Nick, she didn’t see him much. She missed her brother, but being around Dusty made her think of Shane, now, and she couldn’t help but find herself avoiding him.

Dustin still called Shane almost every day, and sometimes Shane came by and picked him up. But he never phoned the house, never came inside, and didn’t even park around the corner to check up on her anymore.

Even Ma couldn’t shake her out of her gloomy reverie. Laney barely noticed Linette blowing through most days, just counted the minutes until she’d leave so she could call Nick and tell him to come over.

By the end of September, though neither of them said it, Laney knew that her time with Nick was wrapping up. Cary was bound to be home, soon; Laney would be back under leash-and-collar and Nick was unlikely to come sniffing around.

“Let’s go to the city,” Nick had said.

“Okay,” Laney said. “Party favour?” She held up the straw.

Nick grinned. “Not that kind of party.” He reached into his pocket and produced a small clear baggy with two white tablets in it.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Trust me, baby. You’ll have a good time.”

Laney shrugged and popped the tablet, laying back down on the bed and looking up at her ceiling. “What should I wear?”

He eyed her oversized shirt with mild distaste.

“Maybe borrow something from your mom,” he said.

JENNA

Shane had never been much of a talker, but Jenna was starting to wonder if he’d been struck with a permanent bout of laryngitis.

“I mean, I canseewhy you keep him around… thatface…” her roommate Laura said. “And he’s obviously keeping you sat-is-fiiiiied, I canhearyou moaning through the walls every night. But honestly, Jenna, does he ever say more than two words at a time?”

“Not really,” Jenna said, waving her hand through the air, the particles of her skin trailing behind like the tail of a comet.

They’d dropped some acid in a cab on the way to a warehouse party, and it was groovy shit. It had kicked in hard on the dance floor and she’d opted for some air while Shane waited at the bar for water.

She watched the ember of her cigarette glow, little bursts of light exploding from the tip like fireworks.

Laura lowered her voice. “You need a proper boyfriend. Keep him around for the epic dicking, but you need someone to like, you know… date.”

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