Page 14 of The Order of Disorder
“Hey, Billy,” says the redhead, her eyes sliding over me just long enough to make me shift in my seat, before cutting back to him.
She’s striking up close—honey-colored skin, that riot of copper hair, an easy, crooked smile. Her friend is wide-eyed and fluttery, with a delicate constellation of tattoos scattered across her collarbone. She’s short and curvy and looks like trouble wrapped in candy floss.
Billy stretches one arm across the back of the couch and motions lazily, first to one side, then the other. “Sit.”
The pink-haired girl drops down beside him, and the redhead takes the seat next to me, her thigh brushing mine, bare skin against bare skin. The contact sends a spark up my spine,and I do my best not to react. She smells like vanilla and warm sugar, soft and sweet in a way that makes me feel strangely unsteady.
Her skin is soft. Her legs are perfect.
“This is Max,” Billy says, gesturing toward me. “Max, this is Rox and…”
He looks to his left.
“Peach,” the girl supplies, voice sweet and syrupy, with just a hint of a southern drawl.
I nod politely. I’ve become too mute and passive to do much else. But the heat of Rox’s thigh against mine makes my heart skip in a way it hasn’t in a long time.
Billy flags Cash down again with a flick of his fingers. “Bring more cups.”
Cash nods and returns with a stack of red Solo cups.
“Where’s Maze at?” Billy asks, stretching his arms across the back of the couch.
Rox takes a sip from her glass and shrugs. “Probably passed out in the back room. Or with that blonde from earlier.”
Billy grins. “You guys still crashing in Kai’s room?”
“Yeah,” she says. “Appreciate that, by the way. From both of us.”
Billy waves it off. “You’ve earned it. We needed hands on framing, and he knows what he’s doing. Saved my crew a hell of a lot of time.”
Rox smiles. “We try to pull our weight.”
“Keep that up, you’ll always have a place here,” says Billy, lining up a row of Solo cups and pouring tequila into them. He hands us each a cup.
“To new friends,” he says.
“To new friends,” Peach and Rox repeat.
I lift my cup without saying anything.
I can remember what it was like to be a girl wanting Billy’s attention. I know how they see him. Handsome and charismatic, with that lean, taut body, the intensity behind his gray eyes, his unruly dark hair. And somehow, in tandem with all that swagger, there’s a boyishness that seems fun and vulnerable. That’s what draws them in.
But I know a version of Billy they don’t. I know the darkness that underlies that charisma. There is no boyishness or vulnerability in Billy. Not anymore.
I down my drink without flinching, welcoming the burn. It doesn’t hurt, it’s not real pain. Just a little zip, a little flare. A taste of life.
Rox knocks hers back with a wince, and Peach does the same, then lets out a whoop, sticking out her tongue.
Billy watches her with a smile, eyes glinting. He turns to Rox, voice low and teasing.
“I like your taste in girls, Rox.”
“Oh yeah?” Rox says, playing along. “She’s cute, isn’t she?”
Peach grins and slowly sucks a drop of tequila off her thumb.
Billy’s gaze darkens. “Very.”
