Days Of St Croix

Ten

  Unfortunately, that was unlikely to happen, because Jas was currently lying on his back on the large, comfortable king sized bed in the hotel room while Paige planted kisses all over his naked stomach. His jacket and shirt had come off at some point between the door and the bed. Paige's too. The minibar was untouched.

  He stared up at the ceiling for a moment, then closed his eyes. He had drunk a lot, and the bed was sooo comfy. Paige's little kisses felt so nice. Maybe he could just lay here for a little while longer. A vague feeling nagged at the back of his mind that he ought to get back to St Croix, but surely Brand had taken care of it. At least, he hoped so. He hadn't checked his phone for messages for a while.

  Paige kissed her way up from his stomach, over his chest, into the smooth dip of his neck, then onto his chin before meeting his lips. Jas kissed her back for a minute, then sat up and flipped her over so that he was on top of her. She smiled up at him, her black hair spreading out onto the immaculate white pillowcase. Man, she's hot, he thought to himself, and he immediately experienced a rushing feeling of guilt. A cold, hard truth. He was Mills' boyfriend, and he really, really liked Mills. If he was going to cheat on her, and cheat in such a huge way, he should have the decency and the cajones to break up with her first. It wasn't his style to run around behind a girl's back. But then, he'd never had a proper girlfriend like Mills to run around on. If he was honest, through the receding fog of the drinks, he felt awful about this. But still, it was hard to get past the fact that Paige was extremely hot.

  She sat up and propped herself against the headrest. Jas had suddenly stopped, and now he had this strange expression on his face, a faraway look in his beautiful sad eyes. She adjusted a strap of her bra that had fallen off her shoulder.

  "Something wrong?" She reached out and touched his cheek. He flinched.

  "No. Sorry. I mean, no, nothing's wrong."

  "Did I do something?"

  "Oh, no. I was just thinking of something."

  "Something, or someone?" She tried to look into his eyes, but he avoided her gaze.

  "It's not like that. It's just that I probably should get back. I could get in a lot of trouble if anyone notices I'm gone."

  "Don't let me stop you." Paige said coldly. She pushed herself up onto her knees and shuffled away from him on the bed. Jas watched her getting up, so sexy in her tiny black panties and lace bra. He sighed. What am I doing? He thought to himself, but the guilty feeling had wrecked his desire, and he only felt terrible. He sat on the edge of the bed, sobering up fast. Paige was buttoning her blouse.

  "So you'll come by tomorrow, with the money?"

  "Yeah, as soon as I can. You'll be here?"

  "I'll be here. Now go on back to your school."

  Jas hated being patronized, but he knew he had to go now. He'd probably never get a cab at this time, and the school was at least a twenty minute run from the hotel. He gathered up his shirt and shoes and headed for the door.

  "Listen, I'm sorry. It's not personal."

  "I don't take it personally. It would have been fun, though, Jas."

  As she stood there in front of the window, her hair tousled, her blouse half-buttoned up, and nothing else but her underwear, Jas couldn't help but think she was probably right.

  Mills sat brooding out on the fire escape outside her window with a fifth of Kettel One vodka. Sitting opposite her were three Freshman girls, all of them wrapped up in a large blanket. Mills passed the bottle to one of them, Chelsea Goldman, who took it and tipped it up, taking a small mouthful. She winced and passed it to her friend on her left.

  "I heard vodka was, like, so passé." She said, when she had managed to force the mouthful down.

  "Whatever, Chelsea. Just because you don't like it." Her friend took the bottle and chugged for a second. A small clear dribble of vodka ran down her chin.

  "I do, Brooke, I just prefer it when it has Coke or something with it. This is warm. And it burns."

  "So don't drink it." Mills took the bottle. Chelsea scowled at her feet. Now she was embarrassed.

  "Give it to me." Said her friend, a tall, athletic girl with wide-set eyes and a broad, flat nose. She took the vodka from Mills and drank several big gulps before passing the bottle back to Mills.

  "Way to show off, Alexis. It's not a competition or anything." Brooke said cattily.

  Oh. My. God. What an annoying bunch of bitches. Thought Mills to herself, as she watched the three younger girls argue. Was I like that last year? She had only invited them out here because she wanted some company and Tibby had refused to join her. Understandably, with her big meeting tomorrow, she wanted to get some beauty sleep, not stay out and pound a bottle of Kettel, even if Mills was her best friend. Still, Mills felt a little slighted, and now she was stuck with these three idiots, and she was getting more depressed by the minute. Why hadn't Jas answered his phone when she had called him, like, ten times? What was going on?

  She stared out into the black night, over the trees, at the low moon. If Jas didn't like her anymore, wouldn't he just have told her? It had certainly seemed like he was still into her when they had had that little fumble between classes, and he had said they would be together on Saturday. Yeah, he had definitely said that, but now it was close to midnight on Friday night, and he'd been avoiding her all afternoon. What did he have planned? Anything at all? She sighed and turned back to the three girls, who were all looking at her quietly.

  "What?" She said, staring at them. God, she'd think twice before inviting these girls outside again. None of them said anything for a moment. Then, finally, Alexis spoke up.

  "So, we were wondering, are you sleeping with Jasper Genovese?"

  "Oh my God, Alex, I can't believe you asked that." Chelsea hissed.

  "What? He's like, totally legendary. Everyone knows it. If Mills is fucking Jasper Genovese, that's awesome. Good for her"

  "He goes by Jas, actually." Said Mills, "Not that you'd be talking to him or anything."

  "Have you, though? You know, done it with him?" Alexis played with the thick braid of brown hair that hung over her shoulder. She looked Mills directly in the face.

  "Jas and I haven't been together that long, you know." Mills suddenly felt cornered. The three Freshmen girls were intently focused on her.

  "Well, shit! How long do you need?" Brooke chimed in. "I'd do him in a second."

  "That's because you're a dirty slutbag, Brooke." Muttered Chelsea under her breath. Brooke slapped at her playfully and grinned broadly, showing her braces.

  "Seriously, though, we're all dying to know, Mills. Has Jas slipped it to you yet?" Alexis pressed the question again.

  "Well, not that it's any of your business, but actually we're going to do it tomorrow." Mills took a long pull of vodka.

  "Oh my God you are like, so lucky." Brooke gushed. There was a pause in the conversation while the girls let their imaginations run wild for a moment. Brooke reached into her cardigan pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, taking one and then offering them to the others. Mills and Alexis took one each and leaned in to the small flicker of Brooke's lighter. They smoked quietly until Chelsea broke the silence.

  "Aren't you even a teeny bit nervous?"

  Mills didn't respond for a minute. She sucked on the filter tip of her cigarette and then blew out a slow stream of smoke into the chilly night air.

  "Why would I be nervous? She said at last, looking at all the girls, then smiling. "There's nothing to be nervous about. Jas is, like, my best friend. We understand each other." She knew the minute she had said it that it wasn't true. If he was her best friend, he wouldn't have left her hanging all day. If he was her best friend, he would have returned her fucking calls. She didn't know if she felt nervous about the prospect of actually doing it with Jas. It would be her first time, but she usually felt so safe with Jas.

  And, really, he was her dream guy. They made a great couple. Having sex with him was the obvious thing to do, wasn't it? Is that why she didn't feel nervous? Or
was it because she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe it wasn't going to happen after all? If Jas still intended to take her somewhere Saturday night, when was he going to let her know?

  Tibby rolled over and looked at the clock. The glowing blue letters read 1:27am. She had been trying to get to sleep for three hours without any success. The thought of tomorrow's lunch with Etienne Girard was making her stomach perform acrobatics, and her mind was buzzing with nervous anxiety. She thought about calling her dad. Would he be awake now? Probably not, but she could try. Her parents always said that she could call them any time, anywhere. She was their little girl, and they never wanted her to feel scared or alone. She flipped on the bedside lamp and reached for her cellphone on the table.

  There was a new text message waiting for her. The sound had been turned off so she hadn't heard it come in. It was from Brand.

  ABMan: Hey Tibby...how's it going...this may seem totally random, but I was just wondering if you would let me buy you a drink tomorrow...if you're free that is...any time or place you like.

  Tibby frowned. She liked Brand just fine, but they were strictly just friends. He had never indicated to her even once that he might want to spend time alone with her. Did he have some special information she might need? Some good news, or bad news? Talk about random. I wonder if he's still awake, she thought, as she typed a reply.

  Brand paced up and down quietly in his boxer shorts. The light in his room had long since been switched off, but the moon was bright and it dropped a pale glow across the carpet and bed. His feet made a shuffling sound as they went back and forth. He was most definitely still awake.

  "Why on earth did I send her a text message? A fucking text! Why couldn't I just wait until tomorrow morning and ask her then? Or sleep on it and realize what a dumb idea it was?" He cursed himself. Maybe he should just write to her again, apologizing for being so abrupt, and recommending that she just forget the whole thing. Or would that make him seem even more stupid. Or worse, she might think he was some kind of psycho nutjob. No, the damage had been done. He had to wait and see what would happen now.

  At that moment, Brand's cellphone vibrated suddenly on the desk, making a high-pitched buzzing sound. His heart dropped into his ankles, and he leaped over and grabbed it.

  MsTibbs: Hey Brand...R U still awake?

  Brand quickly tapped his reply and sent it.

  ABMan: Yeah, still awake...did u get my txt?

  MsTibbs: Yeah...that's really sweet of you...is something up?

  ABMan: No, nothing...just thought I would see if you were busy or anything.

  Tibby paused. It might be nice to have someone to chill out with for an hour or so after she met with Etienne. And she could have a couple of drinks to calm down, too. Good idea, Brand.

  MsTibbs: I'm having lunch with my mom and a friend...wanna get a drink after?

  ABMan: Sure! Where?

  MsTibbs: How about the bar at the Imperial? That's where I'm having lunch.

  ABMan: Perfect. Meet you there, then?

  MsTibbs: Three o'clock?

  ABMan: Okay...CU there.

  MsTibbs: Okay, l8r

  ABMan: l8r

  Brand flopped down onto his bed and opened his mouth, forming a silent yell of excitement and terror. Then he started to laugh quietly. It had worked! She didn't think he was a loser, or a stalker. She wanted to meet him for a drink, and not at some secretive hideaway, but at the Imperial, where everyone could see them together. He pummeled the bed with his fists and sat back up. He need to celebrate with a cigarette. He reached over for his jacket when his phone vibrated again. Oh man, he thought to himself. She's changed her mind. It didn't take her long to realize it was a mistake. For a moment, he couldn't bring himself to look at the message. When he finally did, he was surprised to see it was from Jas.

  JasGen: Yo B...I'm fucked.

  Brand momentarily forgot his excitement about Tibby and tapped a quick reply.

  ABMan: Where RU?

  JasGen: Downstairs, man. The door's locked.

   

  Brand looked at his watch. It was almost two o' clock in the morning. Of course the door was locked. Brand had assumed Jas had snuck back in before they locked the entrance and exit. He'd been busy working up the courage to text Tibby, and he hadn't thought about where Jas might be. Where the hell had he been all this time?

  ABMan: I can't unlock it, dude. The housemaster has the key.

  JasGen: I know. Fuck. I thought you might have an idea. I'm down here outside in the courtyard.

  ABMan: Don't worry, Jas, we'll think of something.

  Brand paused and ran his hand through his tight curls. Somehow, he needed to get Jas up to the third floor, then he could come in through a window. Unfortunately, there were no exterior fire escapes on this side of the school. The boys' boarding house was a newer addition, and had fireproofed interior escapes in case of an emergency. Those doors were unlocked, but if they were opened an alarm would go off and wake the entire school up.

  The only building with access from the outside was the girls boarding house, which was located on the opposite side of the courtyard, connected to the other school buildings by a row of classrooms and administrative offices. Brand thought about the logistics of it, and realized it was probably the only way Jas was going to get back in before morning.

  He's fucking crazy, thought Jas, but I like it. He read the text again, then looked over at the shadowy hulk of the girls' boarding house on the other side of the courtyard. Most of the windows were dark, with their curtains drawn. A dim security bulb burned outside the main entrance. The fire escape was on the other side, so he would have to get around the building first, then climb up to the third floor, pull himself up onto the eaves, drop down into the gully between the front and the rear roofs, then walk all the way around to the boys' boarding house, drop back down to the eaves and let himself in through his window. It was a good plan, but it wasn't going to be easy.

  Jas's lungs were burning from the twenty-minute run back to St Croix from the Imperial. He was cold, too, despite having his heavy coat pulled tight around him. He wasn't keen on the idea of sitting out here for another five hours, waiting for the housemaster to come down and unlock the door. He probably could have slipped back in, unnoticed, when the house was getting up and dressed, but that would have meant a long time waiting here in the damp, chilly air. And anyway, Brand's idea was right up Jas's street; just enough adventure to keep him interested.