Chapter Nineteen
     Earl lit the joint and tried to figure out what he would do next while holding the smoke in his lungs. He took the easiest, safest, and most logical choice and handed it to Perris.
     Perris hesitated, looked at Simone, and took it. He took a small hit, coughed, and began to hand it back to Earl. He was prevented from doing so by Simone, who intercepted the pass.
     "Since when do you smoke pot?" Perris asked her, relinquishing the joint.
     "Oh, I do sometimes," she said, a conspiratorial wink toward Earl punctuating her answer. "Just not very much." She took a deep lungful of the smoke and Earl could see the puzzlement on Perris' face. Earl kept his own face as blank looking as he could, but inside he was smiling at the little secret that he shared with the two girls.
     Simone passed the joint to Vicky, leaning forward as she did so and letting Earl look down the front of the loose top. He was right about her not wearing a bra, but he wondered if her hard nipples resulted from the cold or from excitement. He knew he was excited, and not cold at all.
     Vicky took the joint and looked at it. Earl gave her an encouraging smile. This was his world and he felt comfortable in it. He knew the rules and all the subtleties of getting high, and in this sliver of a domain, Earl felt powerful and in charge.
     "Should I take a hit?" Vicky asked, and it wasn't clear if it was a real question directed at anyone, or some sort of Shakesperian soliloquy. Earl decided it was the latter, and kept his tongue. If she were to join them, he wanted it to be by choice and not influenced by him.
     "Yeah, go ahead," Perris said.
     Vicky put the joint to her lips, glanced over at Earl, and did as Perris instructed. She coughed, waving the smoke from in front of her face, and handed the joint back to Earl. She looked around, saw the glass next to Earl on the floor, and reached out for it.
     Earl passed the drink over, congratulating himself on his decision to bring it along. The rest of the group was slowly oozing into his world, and Earl felt less an outcast and more the leader of the gathering.
     They continued to pass the joint, and Vicky continued to nurse the drink, until both were gone. There'd been a spate of giggling, started by the girls, and small talk, accompanying and chasing the joint around the circle, but now that it was finished, Perris sank morosely back in his chair.
     "Thanks, Earl," he said, and Simone echoed his remark. "That helped."
     Earl smiled at the two of them, and also over at Vicky who was getting to her feet. "I think I want to see if our radio works up here," she said. "Maybe we can listen to it if it does."
     She walked over to the nightstand and to the small clock radio that was in each of the rooms. She switched it on, changed the channel from the country one that Scott had evidently preferred, and rejoined the group.
     "Hey, Earl," Perris called out. "Got any more of that weed?"
     Earl smiled, indicating that he did. "Downstairs, yeah."
     "I know I sold you a bunch of stuff, too. Why don't you bring it up?"
     Earl checked with the girls, and they both looked resigned, if not encouraging. He got to his feet and started for the door.
     "Wait up," Simone called out. "I'll help you." Earl turned and Simone joined him and the tread single-file down the stairs and across the lot. When they got to Earl's room, she put a hand lightly on his shoulder and he turned around.
     "What is it?" he asked, and Simone gave him a quick hug.
     "What's that for?" he asked.
     "Thanks," she said. "For being so nice."
     Earl left his hand on her waist, where he'd placed it during the hug, and said, "I should be nice more often."
     Simone laughed, and they walked into Earl's room. As she passed him, Earl let his hand slip from her waist and brush down her ass, but there was no reaction from her.
     "What's in the bags?" she asked. "Is that what Perris was talking about?"
     "Yeah," Earl said. "I had to buy some stuff to cash my check, so I just got a little of everything."
     Simone looked in the bags and saw a few small bottles. "Anything else?"
     "There's some Coke and stuff in the fridge," he said.
     Simone pulled a small bottle of Sapphire gin out of the bag. "This is what I drink."
     "I know."
     "How'd you know that I was here?"
     "You weren't when I bought it," Earl said and began picking up his cigar box. "I guess I just hoped."
     She turned to look at him, a look of mock seriousness on her face. "And you don't think you're sweet," she said, pointing a long and well-manicured finger in his face. She glanced down at the box he was carrying. "Or dangerous." Her eyes shown with allure, with excitement. "Is that what I think it is?"
     Earl shrugged his shoulders. "I guess."
     "Do we have time?" she asked.
     "For what?" Earl asked. He thought about a quicky, but couldn't give that any more credence than his other idea.
     Simone sidled up next to him and seductively stroked the arm that was holding the cigar box. "You know."
     "You want to get wired?" he asked, and Simone just smiled. "What about Perris?"
     "I won't tell him if you don't."
     Earl waited a moment, deciding. "We can do it quickly," he said. "But you know that you're gonna be crazy for a couple minutes after."
     "I know," she said. "I remember," but Earl wasn't sure that she remembered just how physical she'd become the last night. "Perris won't notice."
     Earl doubted that. From what she'd said the night before about the short leash he kept her on, as well as how the speed had stoked her fires, if they were gone for five minutes Perris would certainly wonder what was taking so long. Then, when she was unable to control herself, he would know that something was up.
     "I'd love to," Earl said. "But I don't want to come between you and Perris."
     "I told you I wouldn't tell him."
     "You wouldn't have to," Earl said. "He'd know something was up. Did you know that last night you were rubbing yourself?"
     Simone blushed and lowered her head, dropping her hand from Earl's arm. "I did?"
     Earl laughed and assured her that, yes, she had. "I'll shoot you up," he said, "but not right now. Let's keep it a secret at least a little while longer," he joked.
     Simone still couldn't look at Earl, but excused herself to go the bathroom. While she was occupied, Earl loaded up the bag with some of the things from his fridge. When she came out, Simone had regained her composure. "I'm sorry about last night," she said.
     "Oh, I'm not," Earl answered. "C'mon, let's go join the party."
     When they got back to Vicky's room, nothing had changed. Perris was still slumped in a corner of the loveseat, and Vicky acted glad to see them come back. "What's in the bag?"
     "Just some things to drink," Earl said. "What would you like?"
     "Can I have another rum and Coke?" she asked. Earl noticed that when Vicky was asking for something, she looked entirely docile and demure, as if she didn't think she deserved whatever it was she was requesting. It was touching, but was in sharp contrast to her demeanor when she was in control.
     "You can have whatever you want," Earl said, and began mixing her a drink in the kitchenette. Simone joined him and ordered a martini and told Earl that Perris would want one, too.
     He finished making the drinks and opened a can of beer for himself. He handed the martinis to Simone and carried the rum and Coke over to Vicky. They toasted, and within a few minutes the conversation was lively and Perris was acting much happier.
     For the next hour, the four of them chatted about music and the motel, and Earl rolled another joint which they all shared. Earl was telling them about a band he knew when Perris glanced at his watch and announced that he had to leave.
     "I've got a Saturday class," he said. "And I have to be there early." He stood up and thanked Earl, again, and reached out to help Simone to her feet. She passed a look at Earl as she joined her boyfriend, but Earl couldn't figure it out.
     Simone thanked Vicky for having them over, and complimented her on her new place. Vicky gushed thanks, and walked them to the door. Earl was standing behind her, and waved when Simone said, "See ya later."
     When the couple had gone, Vicky turned to Earl and said, "That's too bad about Perris."
     "Yeah, I know."
     "I wonder if he's gonna be all right."
     "I'm sure he'll be okay," Earl said. "He's a pretty smart guy."
     "I hope so," Vicky answered, but it wasn't clear to Earl if she was hoping he was smart or if it was just that he'd end up all right.
     Vicky looked at Earl, and gave him a spontaneous hug. "What's that for?" he asked.
     "Just because," she said. She held onto him a moment, her head resting on his chest. "I didn't get much studying done tonight."
     Earl laughed, and Vicky's head bounced with the effort. "No, I guess you didn't." He stroked her hair, and wondered which Vicky he was holding. He reached down and began touching her breast.
     "I think you'd better go now," she said. She let the caress continue a moment, then took hold of Earl's hand and kissed it. "I still have a lot to do."
     Earl kissed her on top of the head and let go of her. "All right," he sighed. It was *that* Vicky he was holding, he thought to himself--the one that never seemed to be sure what to do with Earl or with her thoughts.
     He gathered up his cigar box, but left the bottles and things over in Vicky's kitchen. He had most of the beer and some whiskey back in his room, and he could drink that. He kissed Vicky good night, but it was as if he were kissing a mannequin. She was already gone, he thought, buried back inside her head where who-knows-what is going on.
     She did walk him to the door and when Earl reached the bottom step he heard the door behind him close. He walked back to his room, sat down on the bed, and pulled out his phone.
     "Yeah, Gerry, it's Earl. I'm home now and you can come over if you want. I'd like to see you." Earl hated leaving messages, and when he did they were short and often confusing. This one, he hoped, would be easily understood.
     He pulled out a beer and filled his little pipe and sat back to think about what had happened with Simone earlier that night. It was obvious to Earl that she was attracted to him, but it didn't feel like a healthy, normal attraction. She was like Vicky in that she acted one way sometimes and totally opposite another.
     When she was with Perris, or even with Vicky, Simone was aloof, haughty even, Earl thought. At those times there was no question about who was in charge, and Earl wondered if Perris was pussy-whipped. Simone, he thought, would be just the woman to do that to a man, and Earl wondered if he would take it from her. He was attracted to her, but that was mostly because of her looks and the way she carried herself, sensual and exacting, catlike with no wasted motions.
     Her personality Earl could take or leave. She was high maintenance, to say the least, and Earl knew that he would quickly grow tired of jumping through the eternal series of hoops that she would set up. He wasn't interested in being with someone with whom he had to constantly prove himself, and Simone fit that description to a T.
     She did have a great little ass, though, Earl thought as he rose from the bed and went to take a leak. He wouldn't mind at all getting some of that.
     When Earl entered the bathroom, he immediately spotted a note written on his mirror in maroon lipstick, Simone's shade. "Call me Sat AM," it read, and below that a number and the letter S was written. Earl stared at the message, his jaw slightly ajar and let his mind run with wild and wanton ideas. He forgot about the piss, and reached out tentatively to touch the writing, to see if it was real.
     His hand jerked when there was a knock at the door, and Earl slightly smeared the first digit of the phone number. He hurried from the bathroom and shut the door carefully behind him and answered the knock.
     As he'd expected, it was Gerry.
     "Hey," Earl said, letting his friend and dealer in.
     "'Sup?" Gerry answered.
     Earl pulled the money he owed Gerry and handed it over. Gerry took it, counting it quickly, and tucked it in his pants pocket. "Anything else?" he asked.
     Earl thought of the note on the mirror, and asked Gerry if he had any more, and if he had some weed.
     "Sure," Gerry said. He slung off the backpack that he was wearing and laid the stuff on Earl's nightstand. "It's the same crystal, but the weed's new. Want a taste?"
     Earl nodded and pulled a beer from the fridge and handed it to Gerry.
Gerry pulled a thin joint from his bag, stuck it in his mouth, and lit it. He took a small hit, and handed the joint to Earl.
"You won't believe what's been going on," Earl said as he exhaled and passed the joint back to Gerry. "It's fuckin' crazy."
As they smoked the joint and drank their beers, Earl told Gerry about Vicky, "this Scientology chick," and about the fight with Scott.
"So that's how you got all fucked up," Gerry said. "I was wondering."
"You shoulda seen me a few days ago," Earl said, forgetting that Gerry had. "I was all messed up, man."
He went on to tell Gerry about Perris, and about the trouble with the fraternity, but never mentioned Simone. She was something that Earl didn't want to share, a dark-haired vixen whom he obsessed about, and who seemed to be just on the other side of reality.
"Fuckin' A," Gerry said. "So you wasted this dude, and now Perris gets burned for it?"
"That's the way it looks," Earl said. A little smile twisted the corners of his mouth. "Pretty freakin', huh?"
Gerry just shook his head and stood up. He shouldered his bag and grabbed the doorknob. "Good luck, man. You'll need it."
Earl laughed and wished Gerry a good night. When he was gone, Earl opened his cigar box and dropped the drugs that Gerry had dropped off inside. He picked up the old vial, nearly empty by now, and the syringe and walked into the bathroom. When he was done shooting himself up, Earl looked again at the message on his mirror. The effect of the shot was still increasing and Earl was breathless as he looked at the mirror.
From what he could tell, it just read "fuck me."