Page 5 of Stray
She did her best to shake me off, but I held tight. “Come on. Let’s go inside and put your fucked up ass to bed.”
“You’re not coming into my apartment. I’m perfectly capable of taking myself inside. Get off me.” Again she tried to shake me off.
Ignoring her futile efforts, I pulled her along to the front door of the building, motioning for her to get out her key. Grudgingly, Codie opened the front door, muttering beneath her breath as she stumbled and almost fell. I wasn’t sure how she was even conscious.
“You’ve got to be the most arrogant, cocky, egotistical man I’ve ever met.” Her words were slurring worse than before. “It’stoo damn bad you’re so fucking hot. Guys like you don’t deserve to be so good looking.”
Clearly, she’d reached the point where she had no idea what she was saying. I smirked to myself, smug as hell that she admitted to finding me hot. I only wished I had it on video so I could rub it in her face when she was sober.
“Tell me what else you love about me,” I said, choking down a laugh.
We got into the elevator where Codie slumped awkwardly against the wall in an effort to stay on her feet. If I hadn’t been holding onto her arm, she would’ve been splayed on the floor.
“You think you’re God’s gift to women because so many campus sluts are lining up to spread their legs for you. It’s a fucking shame. I would never screw a guy that only sees me as a number. A conquest.” She spat that last part like the words tasted sour in her mouth.
The elevator rose up to her floor. As the door slid open, I helped her out despite her efforts to shove me away.
“Who said you would only be a conquest?” I asked, ignoring the fact that she’d just sought out a scenario where she would have only been a conquest. “Maybe it could simply be a mutually beneficial encounter that leaves us both satisfied.”
She tried to make a noise of disgust that only sprayed spittle at me. “Oh yeah, I’m sure your few pumps and your two second squirt is worth it. Give me a break. What makes you so much better than the rest of your kind?”
I assumed by my kind that she meant men. Trying to keep my voice low since it was late and I didn’t want to wake up her neighbors, I said, “There’s only one way to find out, sweetheart.”
“You wish.” Codie fell against her apartment door. She struggled to fit her key into the lock, snatching it away when I tried to help.
From inside I heard her roommate say, “Codie? Is that you?”
“That’s my cue to leave. It’s been a real pleasure, strawberry. Until next time.” I gave her a playful salute before strolling back down the hall to the elevator.
Outside I lingered near my car, watching the window that I knew was her bedroom. After several minutes, the light came on. Codie immediately appeared in the window, staring down at me. Although I couldn’t clearly see her expression, I had a pretty good idea what it would be. She promptly closed the curtains, making me shake my head in amusement.
I stayed until I saw her light go out. Only then did I get back in my car and leave. Something told me I needed to keep a closer eye on her, especially when she went to the Venom raves.
What was it about Codie Edwards that made her seek out danger? Why was she willing to put herself in harm’s way like that? And why the hell did it turn me on so damn much?
I made the drive several blocks away to my house. Most of the lights were still on when I arrived. A few of my friends had moved in with me over the summer. Splitting the bills while we were enrolled in school cut us all a break. Plus, it was fun. No shortage of entertainment with the four of us. Of course, Rebel had his own place with Storm now, so he wasn’t part of the fun as much these days, but he still made time for us. We ran a business together after all.
When I walked in the front door, I found Auryn and Casper on the couch watching some action movie. The coffee table in front of them held an empty pizza box and a plethora of liquor bottles.
Auryn glanced up, his dark eyes narrowed. “Where have you been? I tried calling your phone. Let me guess. You got lost between the thighs of a cheerleader or three.”
Yeah, I kind of deserved that. I’d built my reputation brick by brick. No wonder Codie thought so little of me when my own friends said shit like that. However, they weren’t wrong. Although Auryn was somewhat of a hypocrite. He chased pussy almost as much as I did.
“Not tonight. Venom had one of their raves. I swung by to check it out. Just wanted to keep an eye on them.” I may have been able to fool a lot of people but not my best friends.
Casper rolled his eyes and signed, “You mean keep an eye on Codie Edwards.”
Casper Callahan didn’t speak. After witnessing a gruesome accident that claimed the lives of his parents as a kid, he’d gone mute. That didn’t stop him from finding other ways to bust our balls. We’d all done our best to learn sign. Some of us, like myself, had done better than others. When that failed, he had no problem resorting to a good old text message to tell us off.
“Maybe,” I said, as close to admitting it as I would get. “Considering I caught someone drugging her drink, I’d say she needs someone to keep an eye on her.”
“Was that someone you?” Casper signed, laughing at his own stupid joke.
A full sleeve tattoo along with blue streaked black hair easily made him the most intimidating one of us all. His size was enough to put the fear in most people. Even though he could go from chill to deadly as fuck in a heartbeat, Casper was like a brother to me. All the guys were. That’s why I put up with their shit.
I slapped him in the side of the head before plopping down on the couch next to him. “No, it wasn’t me. I don’t need to drug chicks to get in their pants.”
“You might have to drug that chick,” Auryn pointed out, shoving a hand through his platinum blonde hair. “I lost count ofhow many times she’s shot you down now. What’s your deal with her? It’s not like you to get so hung up on one girl.”
