After (The After Series)

And you caught her straddling him with her tongue down his throat the first
time you met her, my subconscious reminds me.
And eventually all these thoughts get to me; I know I should stay put and keep
the door locked, but my feet have other plans and before I know it, I am taking
the steps two at a time to find Hardin.
When I reach the bottom of the stairs I spot Molly’s hideous pink hair and
barely there outfit. Much to my relief, Hardin isn’t anywhere to be found.
“Well, well, well,” a voice from behind me says. I turn to see Jace standing
less than a foot away.
“Hardin said you weren’t feeling well. He’s always lying, that one.” He smiles
and pulls a lighter out of his pocket. He flicks the top with his thumb, igniting
the flame, and brings it to the hem of his jean vest to burn off some of the fringe.
I decide to keep Hardin’s lie going. “I wasn’t, but I’m feeling a bit better
now.”
“So quickly?” He laughs, obviously amused.
The room feels much smaller now and the party crowd seems larger. I nod and
survey the room, desperate to find Hardin.
“Come, I want you to meet some of my friends,” Jace says. His voice never
fails to send a shiver down my spine.
“Um . . . I think I sh-should find Hardin,” I stutter.
“Aww, come on. Hardin is over there with them anyway,” he says and moves
to put his arm over my shoulder.
I take a step aside to pretend that I didn’t notice his gesture. I consider going
back upstairs so Hardin doesn’t know I came down in the first place, but I get the
feeling Jace will follow me or tell Hardin. Most likely both.
“Okay,” I say, giving in. I follow Jace through the crowd, and he leads me
outside to the backyard. It’s dark but for a few porch lights. I start to feel nervous

---

about following Jace out into the dark yard until my eyes meet Hardin’s. His
widen with surprise, then anger, and he moves to stand up but then sits back
down.
“Look who I found wandering around all by herself,” Jace says and gestures
to me.
“I see that,” Hardin mumbles. He is pissed.
I stand in front of the small circle of unrecognizable faces sitting around what
looks like a fire pit made from large rocks, not that there’s any fire going. There
are some girls there, but mostly it’s pretty tough-looking guys.
“Come here,” Hardin says and scoots over so there is room for me on the rock
that he is sitting on.
I take a seat and Hardin gives me a look that says if all these people weren’t
around he would be absolutely screaming at me. Jace leans over and says
something into the ear of a guy with a ripped-up white shirt and black hair.
“Why aren’t you in my room?” Hardin says quietly but forcefully.
“I . . . I don’t know. I thought maybe Molly . . .” I begin to say but realize how
stupid it sounds.
“You’re not serious,” he says with a hint of exasperation and runs his hand
over his hair. The attention is put back on us when the black-haired guy hands
me a bottle of vodka. “She doesn’t drink,” Hardin says and grabs it out of my
hands.
“Damn, Scott, she can speak for herself,” another guy says. He has a nice
smile and doesn’t seem as creepy as Jace or the guy with the black hair.
Hardin laughs lightly, though I can tell it’s a fake laugh. “Mind your own
business, Ronnie,” Hardin says in a light tone.
“So who’s up for a game?” Jace asks and I look at Hardin.
“Please tell me you guys don’t play Truth or Dare at parties too. Honestly,
what is up with playing games, anyway?” I groan.
“Ooh, I like her. Nice and feisty,” Ronnie says and I laugh.
“Who says there is anything wrong with playing a few games now and then?”
Jace slurs and Hardin tenses next to me.
“No, actually we were thinking of strip poker,” another guy says.
“Oh, no way,” I tell them.
“What about suck and blow?” Jace says and I cringe and blush. I am not sure
what that is, but it doesn’t sound like something I want to play with this group.
“Never heard of it. But no, thanks,” I say. I see Hardin smile out of the corner
of my eye.
“It’s a fun game, more fun when you have had a drink or two,” a male voice
says from somewhere.

---

I think about grabbing the bottle from Hardin and taking a drink, but I have to
get up early and I don’t want to have a hangover.
“We don’t have enough girls to play suck and blow, anyway,” Ronnie says.
“I can get some,” Jace says and disappears into the house before anyone can
protest.
“Go back upstairs, please,” Hardin says quietly so only I can hear.
“If you come with me,” I respond.
“Okay, let’s go.”
But as we stand up, a groan goes up from the circle. “Where you going,
Scott?” one of the guys asks.
“Upstairs,” he answers.
“Come on, we haven’t seen you in months. Hang out for a little while longer.”
Hardin looks at me and I shrug. “All right, fine,” Hardin says and guides me
back to the large stone. “I’ll be right back. Stay here this time. I mean it,” he tells
me and I roll my eyes, finding it pretty ironic that he’s leaving me alone with
what is supposedly the worst group of people here.
“Where are you going?” I ask him before he walks away.
“To get a drink. You may need one, too.” He smiles and goes inside.
I stare at the sky and the fire pit alternately to avoid any awkward
conversation. It doesn’t work.
“So how long have you and Hardin known each other?” Ronnie asks and takes
a swig of liquor.
“A few months,” I answer politely. Something about Ronnie is comforting;
my senses aren’t on high alert with him like they are with Jace.
“Oh, so not long, then?” he says.
“Um, yeah, I guess. Not long. How long have you known him?” I ask,
realizing I might as well use this opportunity to get as much information about
Hardin as possible.
“Since last year.”
“Where did you meet him?” I try to sound casual.
“Party. Well, a lot of parties.” He laughs.
“Oh, you’re his friend, then?”
“Nosey little thing, aren’t you?” the guy with the black hair chimes in.
“Sure am,” I reply and he laughs. They aren’t so bad, not as bad as Hardin
made them out to be. Where is he, anyway?
A few moments later Hardin appears with Jace and three girls behind them.
What the hell? Jace and Hardin seem to be in conversation and Jace pats Hardin
on the back and they both laugh.
Hardin’s hands are full with two red cups. I’m just relieved that Molly isn’t

---

among the group of girls trailing them. He sits back down on the rock with me
and gives me a playful little look. At least he seems to be more relaxed than he
was before he walked away.
“Here,” he says and hands me one of the cups.
I stare at it for a second before grabbing it from him. One drink won’t hurt. I
recognize the taste instantly; the night that Zed and I kissed we had been
drinking these. Hardin stares at me and I lick my lips to collect the taste of the
drink.
“Now we have enough girls,” Jace says and gestures to the newcomers.
I look over to them and fight the instinct to judge. They are scantily clad in
skirts, and their shirts are identical except the colors. The one in the pink shirt
smiles at me, so I decide that I like her the best.
“You aren’t playing,” Hardin says in my ear. I want to tell him that I will do
whatever the hell I please, but he leans into me and puts his arm around my
waist. I look up at him, obviously surprised, but he just smiles.
“I love you,” he whispers. His lips are cold against my ear and I shiver.
“Okay, so everyone knows how this works,” Jace says loudly. “We all need to
get in a smaller circle. But first, let’s really get the party going.” He smirks and
pulls something out of his pocket. His lighter appears again and lights the small
white object.
“It’s pot,” Hardin tells me quietly. I figured that it was, even if I haven’t
actually seen marijuana before.
I nod and watch as Jace brings the joint to his lips and lets out a large puff of
smoke before holding it out in front of Hardin. Hardin shakes his head and
declines. Ronnie grabs it and inhales deeply, coughing loudly.
“Tessa?” Ronnie says and holds it out.
“No. No, thanks,” I say and lean farther into Hardin.
“All right, then, let’s play,” one of the girls says and pulls something from her
purse as everyone moves from their rocks and forms a smaller circle on the
grass.
“Come on, Hardin!” Jace groans, but Hardin shakes his head.
“I’m good, man,” he says.
“We need one more girl then, unless you want to take the chance of having
Dan’s tongue down your throat.” Ronnie laughs. Dan must be the guy with the
black hair. A quiet redhead with a lot of facial hair takes a hit from the joint and
passes it back to Jace. I finish the last sip of my drink and reach for Hardin’s. He
lifts a brow at me but lets me take it.
“I’ll grab Molly. God knows she’ll be down,” the girl in the pink shirt says.
When I hear her name, my hatred for Molly takes over my common sense and

---

I blurt out, “I’ll play.”
“Really?” Jace questions.
“Is she allowed?” Dan asks with a smirk and looks at Hardin.
“I can do what I please, thank you,” I say and give him an innocent smile
despite my bitchy tone.
I know better than to look at Hardin; he already told me not to play, but I just
couldn’t keep my big mouth shut. I down the rest of his drink, then take a seat
next to the girl in the pink shirt.
“You have to sit in between two guys,” the girl tells me.
“Oh, okay,” I say and get up.
“I’m playing, too,” Hardin grumbles and sits down. I sit next to him
instinctively, but still avoid eye contact. Jace sits on my other side.
“I think Hardin should sit over here to make things more interesting,” Dan
says, and the redhead nods in agreement.
Hardin rolls his eyes and moves across from me. I don’t get the point of this
seating arrangement—why does it matter who sits by whom? When Dan moves
to sit next to me, I begin to feel nervous. Sitting between him and Jace is more
than uncomfortable.
“Can we start?” the girl in green whines. She is sitting between Hardin and the
redhead. Jace grabs what looks like a piece of paper from one of the girls and
puts it to his mouth.
What?
“Ready?” he asks me.
“I don’t know how to play,” I confess and hear one of the girls snicker.
“You put your mouth on the other side of the paper and suck in; the point is to
not let the paper fall. If it falls, you kiss,” he explains.
Oh no. I look over at Hardin, but he is focused on Jace.
“Start this way so she can see,” the girl on the other side of Jace says.
I don’t like this game at all. I hope it somehow ends before it’s my turn. Or
Hardin’s. Besides, they seem a little old to be playing these ridiculous games.
What is it with college kids wanting to kiss random people every chance they
get? I watch as the paper is passed between Jace’s and the girl’s mouth; it doesn’t
drop. I hold my breath as Hardin retrieves the paper from the one girl, then
passes it to the other. If he kisses one of them . . . I let out my breath when it
doesn’t fall. The paper falls between the redhead and the girl in the yellow shirt
and their lips meet. Her mouth opens and they kiss with tongue, making me look
away and cringe. I want to get up and leave the circle, but my body stays still. I
am next.