Bad Intentions

Chapter 5

I was wrapped in a towel in the passenger seat as Justin drove through the streets of Tuscan, Arizona. He drove fast but I didn't mind, I was the same way. Partynextdoor played through his sound system vibrating the car. He put on a lot of songs I liked and it made it him even hotter. We had a similar music taste and that was a big dealbreaker for me.

"Where to next?" I asked. He stared at the road ahead of him as if he was thinking hard. After a few moments he said, "Are you hungry?"

"Starved."

"Italian?"

"My favorite."

We pulled into a half full parking lot. He parked his charger in one of the front spots and began to turn the car off when he stopped to look at me. He was so handsome, so... pretty to look at. A toothless smile curved his lips and I returned it. We then proceeded to step out.

He put his arm around me as we walked together toward the front doors. He opened it for me and I stepped inside, wearing one of the baggy shirts from his car. My wet bra left wet stains on my clothing and the chilly air conditioning gave me goosebumps. A hostess greeted us and led us to a booth towards the back corner of the building. I sat down and Justin slid next to me, leaving the other side of the table empty.

We spent the evening talking about ourselves, our likes and dislikes, telling stories about our college lives, sharing memories and exchanging smiles. He was interesting, not what I expected out of him at all. He grew up in Canada, moved to California for a music career. He didn't get far, although he did work with some big artists. He just never blew up enough to make a living. He was in college for journalism, which I thought was cute. You wouldn't look at him and guess such a thing. As for me, I study graphic design. I work within the electronic music community and as an exotic dancer. I kept this from him, though, because I didn't want to tell him just yet. It's something I knew I had to bring up eventually and could potentially cause an issue with what we have going on but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Waiting for Justin in the bathroom, I pulled out my phone from my light pink Tory Burch purse. Scrolled through my Twitter feed and checked any texts I had. When he came back, he scooted back next to me. We already paid the bill, which he took care of, and were gonna chill for a minute or two before departing. He was sniffing his nose, more than usual. He wasn't before and I began to speculate. Was he doing cocaine? Why is he sniffing? Flashbacks from my past flooded my mind and I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

"Why are you sniffing like that?" I scrunched my eyebrows.

"No reason," He said, getting stiff in his seat. Then it hit me, he was doing coke, in the bathroom on our dinner date.

"So you're gonna do drugs and try to hide it from me?" I spat.

"Relax. I just did a little, I don't do it often. Just tired and wanted to be able to stay awake for you."

"Sounds like gaslighting to me," I said, before pushing my body against his trying to get out from the cushioned seat. He budged and I stood up, grabbing my purse and rushing to the parking lot. I knew this was too good to be true. He hurried after me, not saying a word. We met back at the car and he tried to grab me softly, to get me to look him in the eyes. I refused.

"Just take me back home, please, I can't be around that," I said, still refusing to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry," He pleaded, putting his hands up in the air in front of him and walking backwards towards a nearby trash can. He reached in his pocket and took out a small baggy of a white substance as I watched him toss it.