“That sounds lovely and all, but there’s an after-party tonight. I have to at least make an appearance. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I’d like you to be there.”

An hour later, I was at a party full of college students, alcohol, and the smell of smoke. It felt like home and I found myself mixed in with a bunch of dudes I didn’t know and hitting a blunt every time it was passed to me.

The pain in my arm was forgotten as the night got lighter.

“Hey, I know you!” a girl with curly blond hair slurred in my ear. “You’re that guitar player from Blow Hole, aren’t you?”

She was dressed to get fucked. Some girls were like that. Her shorts were easy-access short and her top could be worn at the beach. Those hip-hugging jean shorts made it possible to see the strings of her black thong and she made sure to bend over enough to catch the attention of the guys around me.

I pushed her back from me a little and chuckled as I took a swig from my red Solo cup.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

She ran her finger down my cast and frowned. “I was sorry to hear about your arm. Hopefully it’ll be all better soon and you can use your fingers again.”

She was flirting. Very obviously flirting. I looked around the room for Patience, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Yeah, hopefully soon,” I said quickly as I pretended to not catch her meaning.

She moved closer to me and laid her hand on my knee.

“So what’s a guy like you doing here?” she purred.

If I were the same guy I used to be, I’d already have this girl spread open on the nearest bed. It’s crazy how things change.

“I’m here with my girlfriend.” I stood and walked away, but not before seeing her eyes go wide.

I walked through the party, looking for Snowflake, unsuccessfully. I went through the kitchen and grabbed another drink on my way through. After searching the entire downstairs, I took it step by step until I was on the upstairs landing.

The hallways of the brick house that housed some of the girls on Patience’s team were pretty slim and I wasn’t sure if it was the pain pills mixed with weed and beer, but my shoulder kept brushing the wall as I walked down the hallway full of people. I bumped into a couple who was making out against the wall and turned quickly to get the hell out of the small space. Patience wouldn’t be up here where everyone was making out and shit anyway.

I was almost to the stairs when the door across from the stairs opened. Everything stopped around me as Patience stepped out with a tall, gangly guy. He looked like a dirty rat and the way he sized her up from head to toe made my blood boil. He reached out and took her hand with a smile. He was saying something to her, but I couldn’t hear them from where I was standing.

She smiled up at him and mouthed, “Thank you.” Without even seeing me, she took the stairs to the first floor. The guy looked around the hallway and then went back into the room, closing the door behind him.

Images of me beating the door down and ripping him from the room ran through my mind. I could practically feel my fist against his face, and with my cast, I could do some serious damage, like face-altering damage.

No way had that just happened. She wouldn’t cheat on me, but it sure as fuck looked like it. My blood boiled and my vision got blurry. I wanted to rip the door off the hinges and choke the life out of the fucker. Instead, I took the stairs two at a time until I was on the bottom floor again. I felt like a mad man. I wanted to know what the fuck was going on and I wanted to know right then and there.

I searched the bottom floor again, and again she was nowhere to be found. I rampaged through the house like a wild animal on the hunt for raw meat. In the final room, I found her friend Hope talking to a group of guys by the front door. Pulling her to the side, I didn’t say anything, and when I realized how hard my fingers were digging in her arm, I let go a little.

“Dude! What the fuck? Are you always this rude?” She ripped my fingers from her arm.

“Always. Have you seen Patience?” I looked around the room again.

“Yeah. She went outside. I think she was looking for you.”

I didn’t even say thanks. Instead, I went straight for the front door. I made my way through the wet grass of the front yard until my boots sank into the muddy spots, making loud sloshing noises. I was halfway across the yard when I saw her leaning up against her car. Time seemed to slow down as I made my way over to her.

“Where have you been? I was looking all over for you?” She smiled innocently.

She was far from innocent. I knew that now. She could play that naive trick on some other dumbass because I wasn’t falling for that bullshit anymore. She was the biggest player in the game. I mean, she had to be; even I fell for her shit. Maybe she really was a sweet innocent girl when I first met her, but that was no longer the case. I was the one that got to break her in and other fuckers were taking advantage of that fact.