Blood Red

“Oh yeah, baby. We’re the ones.”

“I’m glad you woke me up after all. Now I’m all tingly and excited.”

“Don’t go there. I don’t need to think about you that way.”

“My sister’s number is area code—”

“Shut up. Dickhead.”

“Oh, now you’re just being bitchy.”

IV

The boys were beyond excited. They were also discreet. There was a party going on and a lot of girls had already been invited to attend, but tonight was a special occasion, because Ray Lima, one of their own, was twenty-one today. Ray was the pet bookworm; he was also a confirmed virgin and needed to be placated from time to time. So it was party time and they decided to send Ray off in a big way. Three women, all class, and as a bonus, they got to have fun when he was done with his business. In the meantime, there were girls downstairs to talk to and enough booze to make even the ugly ones seem interesting for a few hours.

Doug Clark was done setting everything up. Three rooms had been prepared and each of them had little but a bed in it. They were normally guest rooms for when the partying got too rough. Tonight, anyone passing out had to stay elsewhere.

Tom Pardue was a god. He wanted to be just like the supplier when he got older, only not so ugly. The erection he was sporting felt like it might go away sometime next week and he wanted to score hard with all three of the girls. Hell, he’d tried to score with each of them in the past and had been shot down. Now he would get his wish and that was just gravy.

But Ray got to go first. That was the rule. After tonight, Ray would be a little less awkward around the girls.

He slapped Ray on the shoulder and smiled. “Go get some, Ray.”

The way the kid was acting, you’d think he’d asked him to suck off a shotgun. “Dude, it’s all good. They’re paid and they’re yours. Go have fun and no one will ever hear about it. Okay?”

“You sure, Doug?”

“Yeah, man. Go have fun.”

He walked to the first room like a condemned man, while several of the guys made sure no one came up and ruined the surprise.

Ray spent a good fifteen minutes in the room with Liz Montclair. When he came out he was grinning like a baboon. Doug winked to him while several of the guys made comments and cheered him on. Next up was Maggie Preston. The original ice queen and now he knew why she was always so distant.

The second Ray entered Maggie’s room, Doug went for Liz’s. He made it first and closed the door. Liz was looking a little sleepy, but she was willing and he was definitely able.

He took his time and went for the trifecta. When he was done, he’d forgiven Liz for dissing him all those times.

Lloyd Tanner was after him and left the door open. Lloyd liked to put on a show; before much time had passed, half the guys were in there with him and they probably weren’t waiting.

Someone was moaning long and loud in Maggie’s room, and it sounded like it was Ray.

He was just starting to grin at the thought of what she was probably doing to him when the screams started.

V

Maggie came to full consciousness with a complete stranger groping her left breast and trying to shove his hand into her panties. Whoever he was, he’d already rolled her jeans down to her mid-thigh level.

“What the hell?” She grabbed his hand and pulled it away from her underwear. He flinched as if he’d been slapped, but his other hand was still kneading away at her breast.

“Get away from me!” She slapped his other paw aside and started pulling her jeans back up.

Then the pain hit. Deep, dark pain that started in her skull and ran through her entire body. It wasn’t incapacitating, just annoying.

So was the guy standing in front of her with his mouth open and his pants around his ankles.

“You, you’re bought and paid for. I can do what I want to do.”

“You come near me and I’ll hurt you. I shit you not.”

He wasn’t looking like all of the circuits in his head were working. The erection in front of him had probably taken too much of his blood. He came for her again and tried to cop a feel.

There was no thought in the action, merely reflex. Maggie backhanded him and watched in shock as he spun a half circle and fell down on the ground.

The pain flared again, growing in strength. With each wave of rising discomfort, her anger grew as well.

Monkey Boy had done this. Tom had gone too far. The twerp got back up and stared, shocked at her. “You hit me.” His eyes were wide and outraged and she could tell he was on something. Every time some asshole around her decided to start frying brain cells, he seemed to want to come after her.

“I told you to stay away.”

“Fuck you. You’re my birthday present.” He seemed to think that made everything all right. What he didn’t understand was that she wasn’t in the mood for him or anyone else to touch her. The pain was annoying now and getting worse.

“You stay away from me and we’ll get along fine. You can go get a refund, loser.”

“No. I want you.”

“I. Don’t. Care.”