Page 33 of Bad Behavior

Jameson makes a face. “I’m going to get a beer. I’ll be right back.”

I pout for a second, then decide to get another jello shot. I head to the cooler, opening it. Cher appears as if magically summoned.

“Hey, you shouldn’t have more than two of those things,” she yells. “They are loaded with molly.”

I freeze. “What?”

“MDMA, molly. They’re special jello shots.” She looks pleased with herself for some reason.

“Shit!” I say. “Isn’t that like… what people take at raves?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly it.” She nods along to the music.

“I… I’ve never taken any drugs!” I protest. “I’m in law school! I don’t have time for that kind of thing.”

I start to tear up. I am totally out of my depths here. I don’t know anything about drugs. Ive barely even smoked pot.

Cher hugs me suddenly. I’m a little bit at a loss for what to do. “Then you need it most of all. Drink a lot of water, okay?”

I see Jameson coming back with a red solo cup, and I pry myself out of Cher’s arms. “I think I should leave.”

I turn and run to Jameson, feeling panicked. I get close to his ear, cupping my hand to be heard. “Can we leave?”

He looks at me, at the tears in the corner of my eyes. “Yeah, of course.”

Without another word, he sets his beer down on the steps. He holds out his hand to me. I take it, feeling lost and anxious. He leads the way through the party, through the house and out to the front.

Once we are a few houses down, the music has faded enough that I can hear him again. He releases my hand, and then I stare at my hand, wondering how it can feel so… empty.

“What’s going on?” he asks, gently grabbing me by the shoulder.

I look up at him, noticing again how handsome he is. Strong cheekbones, a prominent nose, perfect brown-black eyes. Unf.

“Hey! Say something.” He prompts me, shaking me a little. I guess I took too long to answer. I smile, feeling a thousand tiny pinpricks on the back of my skull. If this is the effect of MDMA, I guess it’s not too bad…

“Ummm… the jello shots had MDMA in them, I guess,” I say. My tongue feels very weird in my mouth all the sudden.

“Whhhat?” he says, perplexed.

“I didn’t know,” I say. “But I think… I think I’m high?”

“Fuuuuuuuck. Do you feel okay?” he says. Jameson leans down, scanning my face critically.

“I think I’m fine?” I say, giggling.

“Okay. We need to get you somewhere. Somewhere that’s not public, where you can ride the MDMA out. Do you want to go to my house?”

I frown. “Asher might be there. He can’t know.”

He sighs. “It’s not like you did this on purpose.”

“Yeah, but if he comes home and finds me high, he won’t let me hang out with you.” I reach up, curling my hand into his shirt. “I want to hang out with you, now more than ever. Besides, just thinking about Asher makes me anxious.”

He makes a face. “Okay. We can go to your house. But let’s set some boundaries, here…”

I jump up and hug him, burying my face against his neck. What I crave right now, what I need, is for him to hug me. Stroke my hair, maybe even kiss me a little.

But he reaches out and forcefully separates our bodies.

---