Finding the Line Between Love & Hate

"She's inebriated, Heddon. She's in no shape for that. And you have a girlfriend." Tristan sounded very angry.

"She's not your concern, is she Gage? So back off."

Wanting to join in on the action, I managed to rise up a bit and twisted my head around.

"Trissss, see my panties?"

His face was a bit blurred at that moment, but then it became crystal clear. It looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. He shook his head in the negative. My face fell but I was determined to give him a glimpse of my panties. So like the cute, horny drunk I was, I reached back and pulled up my skin tight skirt in one quick yank. Just as quickly, I felt James pull the hemline back to its respectable coverage.

"Dis you see?" I couldn't see him because I was again hanging over James's back but I heard them talking again. Suddenly, the whole world starting spinning and then I was on stationary land. Actually, I was sitting in the passenger seat of James's sports car and across from me was Tristan's Plymouth Barracuda. A few of my dirty dreams had started off in the backseat of his 'Cuda. When had we gotten to the parking lot? Tucking myself in and strapping myself with the seatbelt like a good girl, I waited patiently for James to take us home.

"Baby, you good?" I opened my eyes and saw James's concerned face swimming in and out of my vision. I smiled widely and grabbed his face to plant a big fat kiss on his lips. When I pulled back, I didn't see a red lipstick print on his lips. I remember putting on bright red lipstick so it was supposed to mark him. I tried again and again, but his lips stayed the same, soft pink color. Even after another kiss, it remained disappointingly pink.

"Your lips not red? Why isn't your lips not red?" Hey, I sounded clearer this time.

"Hey, Heddon, I saw you downing more than a few glasses of alcohol. I'll call a cab." Tristan was suddenly besides James and even though his offer sounded nice, his voice and face didn't. I blindly reached for him and kissed him on the lips to see if James's lips were defective. Nope, Tristan's lips stayed pink too. I rubbed my thumb over the full, lower lip and leaned in to try again but James wrenched me away and shut the door of his Bentley on my face. With a shrug, I slumped back and promptly closed my eyes.

Thinking back to what Tristan had said, I thought that James shouldn't be driving either. He had a lot more tolerance for alcohol than I did (I'm pretty sure a twenty first year old trying beer for the first time had more tolerance than me). But he had had like six or seven glasses of beer but then again he was a pretty good driver.

Just then I felt a bone jarring shove that lifted me off my seat and I would have gone headlong into the windshield if I hadn't had my seatbelt on. As it was, my head banged on the dashboard and I swear a few tendons ripped from my neck. It was so painful to open my eyes but I wanted to make sure that James was okay.

Oh, fuck!

He was bleeding and he was slumped over the wheel. I tried to move my arms but they felt weighed down by a thousand bricks. I needn't have bothered because James moaned from across me and moved his head off the wheel. He looked across at me and asked me something but I couldn't hear it. I blinked, hoping that was enough for him. I must have just shut my eyes because the next time I opened my eyes I saw moving street lights. Hadn't there been an accident? There was some dark stuff coating James's head but I couldn't be sure. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a very smart drunk. But mind you, I'm the only one allowed to say it, with the exception of James.

"James?" I croaked?

"Everything's alright, Riv. It's gonna be all right, just trust me baby. Just hang on until we can get home. Just trust me baby. You'll be all..." His voice began to fade away but I trusted him. We were the kind of friends that went to jail together (we haven't been to jail, just saying), not the kind where one had to bail the other one out. Thick as thieves, thicker than blood, that was what we were. He'd never let me get hurt and I trusted him, as much as I could anyway. So I closed my eyes and let sleep overtake me.