Pusher

eleven.

"Hurry up, would ya? It's been ages since we've gone shopping and I can't wait another minute," Ellie said. Her voice crackled as it traveled through the speaker of my phone.

It was my best friend's diagnosis that I was exceptionally more stressed than usual. Her proposed treatment was the same cure she prescribed for everything else: a trip to the mall. I certainly didn't need to be spending any more money, but I figured there was no harm in just walking around for a little while, especially because some time spent outside the walls of my own skull would do me good.

"I'm leaving my house right now," I lied. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

A thin cloud of guilt passed over me as the words shot through the receiver, but I figured the fewer details Ellie knew about my less-than-legal side business, the better. We said our goodbyes and the line went dead.

I cut the engine and got out. My purse was clutched tight to my side as I walked up the path to Raven's front door and waited for her to answer my knock. She didn't. A boy, just a couple of years older than me, stood in the doorway with sleep clouding his eyes and his hair tossed up into a nasty case of bedhead. He was shirtless and a pair of pajama pants hung low on his hip. He squinted down at me.

"Uh, is Raven around?" I shuffled under his gaze. It took every fiber of my being to meet his eyes instead of letting them roam all over his toned chest. They slipped a few times.

He twisted around and called back into the house, "Raven! Someone is here to see you." His voice was still low and gravelly from sleep. He turned back to me, jerking his head to the side. "Come on in."

He retreated into the living room and pulled on one of the stray shirts tossed across the couch. I stayed rooted on the landing, just a few feet from the door. This guy might look like an Adonis in the flesh, but there was something about him that spelled danger.

I could hear rummaging behind the walls of another room, and I desperately hoped that was Raven.

"How do you know my sister?" he asked, drawing my attention back to him.

"We're friends from school."

"Just friends?" He asked, an eyebrow arched. There was an amused tilt to his lips.

"Yeah, just friends." My cheeks heated and eyes scanned down the hallway. Come on, Raven. Where are you?

"You're out of her league anyway," the boy said. The comment caught me off guard and I gawked at him a moment. Coming out of his mouth, I couldn't be sure that it was an actual compliment.

Raven's bare feet padded across the carpet as she entered the room. She wore an oversized sweater that draped down to her thighs. I couldn't be sure if she was wearing shorts underneath or not.

"You got it?" She asked. I hesitated, sending a sideways glance at her brother. "Logan is cool. Don't worry about him."

I reached into my purse and pulled out the bag of weed. I passed it over to her.

"I have to say, sis, your new dealer is a lot better looking than the last one. You really traded up," Logan said. His gaze flitted over me but I avoided his eyes. More attention from boys with a dangerous smile and a drug problem was really the last thing I needed right now

"Piss off," Raven said. He disappeared into the kitchen, throwing back a glance at me.

"Sorry about him," she muttered, passing me a handful of crinkled bills. I fingered through them to double check the math.

"It's alright," I said and then shuffled my feet. "Did you get a chance to talk to any of your friends?"

"I gave one your number. The rest aren't interested unless you can start slinging at school. None of them want to have to make sketchy deals at parks or have you showing up at their house to make deliveries."

"Thanks anyway." I kind of expected this. I had been having trouble arranging deals outside of school It was just too inconvenient when Maverick could pass it out in the boy's locker room or the cafeteria. And his threats to any disloyal customers didn't help me out much either.

I turned to leave but Raven's voice held me anchored there.

"There is a party this Saturday. It's not really your scene but you might be able to make some money. I'm going to be there." She grabbed a pen off the side table and caught my wrist. She scribbled an address onto my skin. Her grip dropped. "You should come."

"Alright," I nodded. "I'll see if I'm free."

"I'm going to be there too," Logan said, leaning his shoulder into the doorframe. His arms crossed across his chest. He sent me a suggestive wink.

Why did I have to be the punchline of every joke?

"In that case, I'm pretty sure I'm busy," I said cooly, and let myself out.

Raven followed me to the door, yelling through the screen with her lips pulled into a tight smirk. "What kind of plans could a girl like you possibly have on a Saturday night?"

"Goodbye, Raven."