1: Whispering Smoke - Evan Peters

Cocaine

It has been a month since I was face to face with Evan. We were approaching the full-swing of winter and the days were short, and cold. I was sitting on the edge of my bed deciding whether or not I shoulder answer him. Evan stopped messaging me about a week ago, saying again that he was sorry and that he'll wait for me to want to talk to him again.

Our group was going out clubbing tonight, my first time in St Louis, as a spontaneous weekend plan. I have been hesitant to drink since the start of year party, but tonight there was no hesitation at all. Curtis's friend from high school, Kyle, owned the nightclub we were going to, and he was also single. I think I have developed a type for older men, although it hasn't worked out for me in the past, it might be worth a shot if it meant I could begin to rid of the feelings I still held for Evan.

In my head I was still giving him and myself time to sort our shit out. Warren had gone to jail for 30 days upon violating his restraining order after my report. I was anticipating when the 30 days were up he'd try at me again, but Dana had convinced the college board to change our dorm room on the down-low. We had a much nicer view of the school stadium, and the lake by the tennis courts. In the last month I'd spent a lot of time by the window, reading, journalling and distracting myself from reality with my college work. Work had me bending over backwards with all of the overtime work they needed us to do in preparation for the festive season.

If I'm being honest, I've hardly had time to think about Evan, meaning my coping mechanisms were working.

"Lex, hurry up, Uber is here," Dana said, putting in one of her earrings and grabbing her bag off her vanity.

"I've been ready for like 10 minutes," I laughed and Dana rolled her eyes.

We both rushed downstairs where we met Lucas on the street where the Uber had pulled up. I gave Lucas a big hug. He has really been there for me the past month, always encouraging me to get my work done and to keep going, despite how awful I feel some days.

We all slid into the car, squished like a pack of sardines in the backseat. We chatted to the driver about his night as he drove us to the club. When we pulled up outside, we saw Curtis and Elliot, and what looked like Kyle, smoking cigarettes at the entrance.

"Hello party people," Elliot teased, giving us all a hug and stepping back into his spot.

"Guys this is Kyle, Kyle this is Alex, Lucas and Dana," Curtis introduced us to Kyle and I gave him a smile and a small wave.

I saw his eyes scan from my feet to my face and back again. Kyle was super attractive, tall, black hair, beard - a completely different type of attractive to Evan. He was sharp and intimidating, Evan was soft and warm.

"Come guys, let's get you some drinks," Kyle offered, walking us inside. He appeared next to me, and placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me through the crowd of people. When we approached the bar, he whispered in my ear asking me what I'd like to drink.

I turned to the lady behind the bar and asked for a vodka lime soda.

Kyle's hand remained on the small of my back, my stomach twisted in small knots as he ran his finger tips softly across the exposed skin.

After getting our drinks, we all turned to a VIP booth, to sit and chat. I was in next to Kyle closely, I could feel his minty cool breath fan my cheek as he spoke to me.

"Alex, what's your story?" Kyle asked me, taking a sip of his whisky on the rocks.

"College student, waitress, amateur artist," I listed, giving Kyle a smile, "'nothing like nightclub owner, entrepreneur," I said.

Kyle laughed, tilting his head back slightly. He looked back at me with a small smile. His fingers came up to my face to brush over my cheek.

"You're really beautiful you know that?" Kyle said, and I bit lip in shyness from the compliment. I could tell he was slightly intoxicated, I could smell the whisky on his breath. I didn't think Kyle would be onto me so quickly, but I think I have been preparing myself all day for the chance.

"You're not too bad yourself," I replied, I almost could feel Kyle's lips brush my cheek.

"Let's go dance," Dana reached over the table and grabbed my hands, pulling me up to stand and I shimmied past Lucas to my left to get out. Everyone got up to follow and soon we were in the middle of the dance floor.

I danced with Dana, just as Kyle came over and offered us all a shot. I got nervous, I didn't know if I would take it, but Dana took the one he offered me and I got one off the tray. She smiled at me and squeezed my hand she was already holding reassuringly. We all cheers and took the shots.

"It's a wet pussy shot," I heard Kyle tell me, followed by a seductive wink. He was very sexy.

He came up behind me and started dancing, holding onto my hips with both hands. I felt his lips on my ear, then he trailed kisses down my neck. His hands moved towards the hem of my black skirt, lifting it up slightly, ghosting his fingers along my thigh.

I thought of Evan, but knew it wasn't because he didn't smell like Evan, his fingers didn't give me the same chills Evan's did. I needed to forget Evan.

I turned in his arms and our noses touched, as he leaned down, his lips ghosting over mine. I felt euphoric, the music ringing in my ears, my heart pounding in my chest.

I turned my head when I felt another hand on my back. Curtis was behind us, he had a bag of cocaine between his teeth. Kyle pulled away and laughed, grabbing my hand to drag me back to the VIP booth.

We all huddled around the table, Lucas leaning over and cutting the cocaine into 7 straight lines with his bank card. I bit my lip and thought about whether I wanted to do it. Kyle pulled a $100 note from his wallet, and rolled in into a tight cylinder.

"I taught you those rolling skills," Curtis laughed, as he took the note from Kyle and brought it up to his nose. Curtis leaned down towards the table and inhaled his line through his nose.

He threw his head back as he sniffled, rubbing his nose and laughing.

"The best coke in St Louis," Curtis yelled, passing the note to Elliot. One by one, everyone did a line, until it was my turn.

I held the note reluctantly in front of me, feeling the pressure of everyone's dilated pupils. Dana's arm intertwined with mine, and she leaned over towards my ear.

"You don't have to do it Lex," she reassured but i shook my head.

"Fuck it why not," I replied, and leaned over to join everyone else on cloud 9.

My head spun as I looked out at my friends. I heard Kyle's laugh right before I felt his lips on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. His hands squeezed my ass as his tongue entered my mouth. We kissed feverishly before he pulled away.

"My apartment is just upstairs, I'd love to see you with your clothes off," Kyle whispered into my ear, biting down on my earlobe and pulling me into him. He grabbed onto my hand softly, and guided it towards the growing erection in his pants, so big and hard.

I almost let him take me right there. With the fire in my heart and between my legs ignited, it felt so good to feel wanted, to be touched.

I nodded my head feverishly, and that's all it took for Kyle to drag me outside into the cold to take the fire escape up to his apartment. When we got outside, he trapped me against the wall, kissing me hard and fast.

"Fuck you're so sexy I can't wait," Kyle mumbled between kisses. He pulled away, when I heard my name being called.

"Alex! What the fuck are you doing?" I turned my head to see Evan, standing there, his fists clenched by his sides.