Page 39 of Afterglow
“Take a breath before you do something stupid,” I say.
This was not how our night was supposed to go. I invited Jay over to my apartment for our version of family games night. Austin, Athena and Colt are always present, while Athena’s other roommate, Sofia, is usually here but has a couple days until she finishes herinternship.
Now, instead of playing poker, we are searching for Jazmine and Willow—who Jay clearly thinks is a bad influence.
“Athena, do you have any idea where they were going?” I ask.
“Frankie’s,”
I raise my eyebrows and tilt my head as I look at Jayden. He grabs his keys from the coffee table and stalks out the door. There is no way he is going alone, so I follow him.
Scared shitless is how I felt when Jazmine’s name appeared on my screen at midnight. My heart was pounding in my chest, on the verge of jumping outside my body. Terrible thoughts were rampant in my mind: What if she was hurt? Or in danger?
Negative thoughts swirl in my mind as Jayden and I arrive at Frankie’s. I’m confident in saying Jay broke every speed limit to get here, but as long as Jazmine is safe, I don’t care about the law.
The music is blasting and lights flash at different speeds. A migraine forms in my head and I’ve been here for not even five minutes. The shouting and screaming only makes it worse as I look around the bar for the two girls.
Jayden told me on the way here what Willow looks like: vivid red hair, tall and a pain in the fucking ass. He didn’t want a bar of it when I said the last part isn’t a description.
My eyes lock on two girls who are spinning around on the wooden bar bench. One fits the lacking description Jay gave me, while the other I could recognise from anywhere.
Jazmine fucking Allen, in all her beauty—a pale pink skirt that is way too short and a top that highlights her tits.
A hand hits me up the back of my head. “Stop eye fucking my sister and help me get them down,”
“Right. Sorry,” I’m not really, but Jay doesn’t need to know the things I want to do to his sister.
The two of us walk towards them, signalling to the bartender that we are going to get them down. He seems rather pleased that we have appeared.
“Hey Princess,”
Jazmine turns, looking down on me. “Theodore,”
Her voice is high and slightly slurred, while I laugh at her enthusiasm. Where is this every other time she sees me?
“Can I help you down?” I reach my hands towards her hips, not letting them touch her until she says yes.
Jazmine thinks for a moment. “I suppose…so. My feet…are rather sore,”
I lift and place her on the ground, careful not to let her skirt ride up and become any shorter. Jaz steadies herself using my shoulders. I watch as her chest slowly rises, while she cocks her head to the side. Jazmine’s gaze remains on me, never wavering despite her confused look.
“What are you doing here?”
“You and Willow called me. Jayden wasn’t very happy,”
“He’s such…a…buzzkill,” she slurs.
I nod slowly. “How many drinks have you had?”
Jazmine’s lips pursed and her eyebrows furrowed as she thought. “Not too sure, can’t really remember anything after the fourth shot,”
“Okay, home time it is then.”
Two people yelling, nearly louder than the music, captures my attention. Jazmine sighs next to me, while shaking her head. We edge closer to the voices, finding Willow and Jayden in an extremely heated argument.
“We. Are. Going.” Jayden grits out.
“No. I’m. Not.” Willow retorts.
