Page 15 of Until You're Breathless

“Please. You think Jagger loves you?” Boston says almost under his breath. “It was a line, Bowie. Don’t be stupid. Guys say shit like that all the time.”

“How is it any of your business, anyway.” I tell him, pulling my shirt tighter, since his eyes keep going to my cleavage. The din of the senior class forces us to speak loudly. Jinny’s mom is away, and she gave us permission to have a party. Little did I know that word got around to Boston, and he snuck in, uninvited. “I don’t even know how you found out.”

“Everyone knows. Don’t you think that Jagger went and squealed the second that he bagged you?”

“That can’t be true. He waited almost two years.”

“Oh, how noble.”

“Seriously. I think it’s noble.”

“I think he couldn’t make it with anyone else.”

“That’s your opinion.”

“Trust me, Bowie. Get a clue. He doesn’t love you anymore than he loves me. And I can prove it to you.”

My skin crawls. I refuse to believe that Jagger could be capable of behaving so insensitively. So barbaric. So selfish. He’s the sweetest man I know. “How can you prove it.” I say, wanting so badly to add, ‘asshole’, but I don’t want to set him off.

“Have you even seen your knight in shining armor in the last ten minutes?” He points out.

I know that Jagger has been drinking. It’s Jinny’s fault as she started a game of quarters and Jagger was the chosen one to drink in more than a few rounds. His brother Halen drove him here but I’m staying overnight, so we met up here. “Last I saw he was talking to some of his buddies about cars upstairs. Why?”

I don’t like the smirk on his face. “You should go check on him. I saw him putting the moves on Kayla Hartman.”

“You’re so full of it. He doesn’t even know who she is.”

“All the guys know who she is. Her tits enter a room before she does.”

“You’re disgusting.” I mutter as I walk away from him, having heard enough. I decide to shut Boston up and set him straight. Jinny’s house is large. To get to the upstairs, I have to pass through a living room, a family room, and a large foyer to the spiral staircase. The landing on the upper floor has a long area rug, which leads to the games room, where the game of quarters is happening. Downstairs is the billiard room, where some people are playing pool, and the music is so loud, Jinny should be thankful that her closest neighbor is on another parcel of land.

There is a secondary staircase that leads from the back of the kitchen to the upstairs, from the other side of the landing. The games room is full of pinball machines, an air hockey table, and a large table for playing cards. About ten people surround it, playing quarters. I look at Jinny, who is half in the bag. “Hey. Have you seen Jagger?”

“I think he’s puking in my mom’s ensuite.” She says through a laugh. Sometimes she pisses me off when she’s been drinking. It makes me a little irritated that her mom lets her and her friends drink, and they’re only seventeen. If I ever told my mom what went on over here, she’d forbid me from seeing her. I’ll put up with the drinking if it means that I can have her as a friend, but it’s still annoying at times like these, when they practically got my boyfriend drunk. He doesn’t know any better. He wants to please me, and I think part of him wants so badly to fit in with my friends, that he’ll take the risk, especially when his brother Halen condones it. I mean, he did drive him here, and he’s going to pick him up, too.

The door is slightly open to the ensuite bathroom, that leads into her mom’s room. A girl from my biology class is just in there touching up her lipstick. When she leaves, I walk into the bathroom. The door into her mom’s room is slightly open but the light is off. I can hear the door on the other side of the room open, and the light from the hallway bleeds in. It’s Boston opening the door. “Did you find him?”

“No, I...” I stammer, as the light shines onto the bed.

In the bed are Jagger and Kayla Hartman. Jagger lifts his head, looking stunned, and Kayla lifts her head, shooting at me with daggers in her eyes. I gasp and run.

I never speak to Jagger again.

Chapter 5

Jagger

AfterItossandturn all night, I decide to give up on sleep, at around four o’clock in the morning. The only other dude I know that is up at such an ungodly hour is my friend Axl. Well, that’s what everyone calls him, but that’s only because his real name is Walter, and he’s a race car driver. We’ve been friends since I got backstage passes to meet him during the Grand Prix one year. And the only reason why I scored those is because the vendor sent me them when I opened my business and sent them a prototype to test out for free.

I've got to go to Rush’s place later, but for now, I need to hang with my buddy that has the same passion as me. Not any of my brothers or any of my other friends share the same passion for speed, acceleration, power or control. Well, only one other person, but she’s been out of the picture for as long as I can remember...

The room spins as I toss back another shot of Jack Daniels. I think I’ve swallowed a couple of quarters, too, but I can’t be sure. Jinny is laughing her ass off at me. She’s used to the hooch, but not me. I’m a cheap date at best, especially with this hard shit. “Come on, man. I’ve had enough.” I chuckle, I think.

“You’re looking a little green, there, Jag.” Jinny teases. “Don’t puke on my mother’s floor or I’ll kick you in the nuts. If you need to toss your cookies, the bathroom is down the hall.”

I decide that the best course of action here is to just go to the john in an attempt to escape. Those stairs seem cumbersome right now with my head spinning, so I resolve myself to stay on the second floor. Bowie is downstairs but she’ll be coming looking for me soon enough, and I’ll get her to pump me with water or soda or something. Anything other than this shit. I can’t think straight and nothing looks like it’s supposed to. The door is closed, so I knock on it.

“Yeah.” I hear a female voice say. I have no idea who it is nor do I care. “Come in.” She says.

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