Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
This is why people come to Saint Parras. It isn’t the academics and it’s not the surfing, though that stuff’s nice. It’s the beach parties, the bonfires, the alcohol, the moonlit illicit sex on the beach, which isn’t that great by the way, sand gets everywhere and it’s not super pleasant. But students come for the rush of kissing your crush one night and fucking her lips and sucking her clit the next. It’s the steep drop from normalcy into pure hedonism.
For a long time, Calico House controlled the party scene. But lately, I’ve been slacking. This shit is an important part of what we do, a sort of smoke screen for our illicit activities mingled with good advertising for our services.
“Is this all you people do?” Kaye says loudly over the music. We’re standing somewhat away from the main party, down near the ocean. The cold water laps at my toes and I shrug, breathing deep as I look out at the sky. I do love this island, even if there are too many bad memories swirling around in the jungles and too many ghosts haunting the cliffs. Still, it’s beautiful at night, and it’s even more beautiful having Kaye by my side.
“It’s a way of keeping control of the campus.”
“I’m not sure I follow. Throwing parties seems like the opposite.” She gestures back toward the chaos.
But where she sees a bunch of random people hooking up and partying, I see power structures. I see groups coming together and breaking apart. I see fights, feuds, loves, friendships. There’s a strange sense to the way parties form.
“It’s one thing for Cask to start smuggling in alcohol,” I say, bending over to scoop up some sand, “but it’s another for people to go to them for what they need. These parties are a way of showing that we’re in charge, that we’re the best, and if this campus wants something, it needs to go through me to get it.” I let the sand drizzle back down in to the water and wipe my palms on my shorts.
“God, you’re crazy. So this is basically public relations?”
“More like marketing, but yes, basically.”
She shakes her head, frowning. Ever since her run-in with those Cask goons and Lesley’s little stunt with that boat key, she’s kept to herself. I noticed this is her pattern—something bad happens, she pulls into herself to process it, and eventually she comes out of her shell to talk it over. I’ve been busy making a run and planning this to really think about how she’s feeling, but I can tell there’s something bothering her.
And it’s time for the talking bit.
I don’t have to wait long for her to come out with it. She looks at me over the rim of her drink, her eyes sparkling in the firelight, and I feel my pulse rush. Normally, at these fucking parties, I’m busy making sure everyone else is happy and having a good time. But tonight, with Kaye, I feel like I want to be a part of the action for once. I feel like I want to be one of those lucky guys drinking, kissing, fucking, not thinking about anything but pleasure and how good it is to be alive.
Kaye’s pleasure and my own.
“These guys from Roost told me something the other night.” She tilts her head, watching my reaction.
“Roost guys talk a lot. What did they say?”
She begins walking down the beach, away from the party. I follow slowly, keeping my distance, wary for where she’s leading me. To heaven or hell? Knowing her, a little of both.
“They said my sister was obsessed with you. That she used to follow you around. And that you two were—” She chokes on this last bit and clears her throat. “Fucking.”
I love the way she says that word, fucking. So raspy and sultry. It makes my pulse boil through my skin.
I stop walking and force her to turn and face me. I want her to look me in the eye so she understands that I’m not playing around about this.
“I wasn’t sleeping with your sister. I never touched her.”
“That’s not how the Roost guys made it seem.”
“And who would know? Some drunk frat boys or me, the man that was involved in this little situation?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know what you’re hiding from me, but you’re hiding something.”
“Kaye.” I grab her arm. We’re far enough from the party now that we’re lost in the blackness of the night. She turns and looks up into my eyes, and I expect to see defiance, but there’s only fear. It breaks my fucking heart, and my fingers dig tighter into her flesh. “I didn’t fuck your sister. I never wanted to, and I doubt that’s what she wanted from me.”
“Why did they say she was obsessed with you? They said she was following you around all the time or something, like a puppy dog.”