Page 186 of Filthy Elites

“Good luck, forty-seven.” Royer claps me on the back while also pushing me forward.

Rat hands me another cup. “Don’t let her drink all of it. Maybe a few sips.” He winks. “Unless you’d rather her be unconscious.”

Bile rises in the back of my throat, but I manage to reply, “Gotcha.”

I take the drink and walk away from the two of them as quickly as I can. I just want to get away from them, but more than anything, I need to get Janelle out of here. She’s standing by the fire, trying to stay warm. I feel a hot gaze on me and look over to see Miller with a girl tucked into his side, watching me. Did he drug her too? I turn away, not caring what he thinks or knows. This has nothing to do with him.

I do one last thing before I approach my old roommate. I take off the button and slide it into my back pocket. What’s about to happen between us can’t be seen by anyone else. For her protection, as well as mine.

“Hey. Didn’t expect to see you here.” She snorts, but I see her glassy, dilated pupils. She’s already super wasted, but not enough that she doesn’t recognize me from class. “Thought you hated frats and frat boys and everything to do with this world.”

“Yeah, I thought I did too,” she replies, arm wrapped around her stomach. She looks around, but her gaze is completely unfocused. “Have you seen Rat?” She sighs. “He’s so fucking sexy.”

I fight a gag. This girl has terrible taste in men. Maybe worse than me. “He, uh, told me to take you somewhere to meet him.”

“Oh, okay,” she says, stumbling over the sand. I grab her by the waist before she falls, prompting her to lean against me. Leading her away from the party, I find a quiet area where I can try to figure out what to do next. Janelle grabs for the cup. “Oh, more drink!”

“Yeah, no more for you.” I snatch it back, forcing the liquid to slosh out the side. Then I dump the rest on the sand.

“Why did you do that? It was so yummy and makes me warm.” She looks me up and down. “Aren’t you cold? You’re so skinny. I know! I’ll make you warm.”

Her hand lands on my chest and I freeze, hoping she doesn’t feel my tits underneath, but she runs them up instead of down and wraps them around my neck. She sighs. “You seem like a good guy, Theo.” She presses her forehead into my shoulder. “Too bad I’m not into good guys. Where’s Rat? Is he coming?”

She’s lucky he’s not, because he’d have no problem taking advantage of this wasted girl. I wrap my arm around her waist and say, “Come on, let’s get you out of the cold.”

“Mmhmm,” she mutters, burrowing into my side. “You smell good.”

“Thanks.” I sniff her head. It smells sweet, a little like candy, and nothing like a barn. “You do, too.”

It takes a while, because she gets heavier with every step, but we finally make it to the parking lot. I dig into her pocket and find her phone. I need to call someone and get her out of here.

There’s only one person I can trust, and I don’t have his number.

I remember the button in my back pocket. I type a message in the phone and hold it up to the camera.If you’re watching, I need your help, it says.Miller says it’s some alumni’s property. Right on the beach. Secluded. Maybe you’ve been here?

Janelle watches me as I shove the button and phone back in my pocket. I think she’ll ask me who I’m talking to or what the hell I’m doing, but she touches my lips and says, “I like your mouth.”

“No, you don’t. You’ve been drugged. You like anything right now.”

I move her between two cars, out of the line of sight if someone walks up—someone I don’t need seeing me. I lean her against a truck and brush her hair out of her eyes. “Just stay with me, okay?”

“Sure,” she mumbles. “I told you. I like you.”

“No, you didn’t.” She starts to fall over, and I lean against her to push her up right, leveraged against the car. “And no, you don’t.”

“But I do.” She touches my face. “You have nice eyes, and you know, the mouth.” She falls forward, sloppily pressing her lips to mine. Her lips are cold and taste sweet like berry lip gloss, but her tongue is warm and shit. It’s not the worst feeling in the world. It’s also fucking wrong. “Janelle,” I say, trying to talk around her tongue. “You don’t want to—” Her hand shoots between us and before I can react, it’s wedged between my legs. She fiddles around for a second and then jolts back, eyes wide. “Oh my god.”

“I can explain,” I blurt.

“Oh my god,” she says again, looking me up and down like she’s trying to figure it out.

“It’s not what you think,” I start, but thankfully, I don’t have to finish. Not right then. Bright lights flash over us and a car comes to a stop a few feet away.

“Theo?” I shield my eyes, recognizing Grayson’s voice.

“Yeah, help me get her in the car.”

A moment later, he’s next to me—his hair damp and smelling like soap. He shrugs her on his shoulder and gestures for me to open the door. Together, we stretch her out in the backseat. She passes out the instant her head hits the cushion.

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