Chapter Six

It’s already dark out. I am forced to get up and turn on the light in order to see because no light is coming in through the open blinds. Wow, how long did I sleep? Mal was already gone when I came back late this morning. Yeah, it was definitely morning. The entire night is a bit of a blur.

Good thing I found the spare key she had hidden—not so well—in her kitchen drawer before heading out yesterday. Otherwise, I would have been locked out. My sister really sucks at this hospitality thing.

Walking around the living room—naked—I see Mal decided to finally clean up around here. Good, it was getting pretty rank. Not something most people would allow company to stay in.

I need a shower. After last night—and this morning’s activities—I am feeling pretty rank myself. No need to reflect on what I did. It’s not going to happen again. Well, it’s not going to happen today. Okay, it might happen. I have no control over the future. Who am I, Aristotle?

There is a bathroom right outside the room I am staying in, but it is bare. And, of course, she locked her bedroom door again. Does she work nights or something? Is she in there asleep and scared I might barge in with an axe?

I check the skinny door next to hers. It’s a small closet with some sheets and a vacuum. Boring! What’s behind door number three? Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner: another bathroom. Two bedrooms and two baths; this place must be pretty pricey.

There is another door in the bathroom. The door must lead to her bedroom, but she has locked it as well. I’m trying my best to keep quiet; I don’t want to wake her and have her freak out about me being in her bathroom.

She has the good stuff in here. Bath and Body Works, Pantene Pro-V. She even has a loofah and one of those fancy shavers for sensitive skin. Oh, this is going to be the best shower I have had in a long time. The water pressure isn’t great, but it will do. Time to clean up the nether region. Can’t have what went down last night happen again.

I am still wearing the same scrubs my sister left discarded on the floor. They could use a wash but are better than what I arrived here in. I never got the opportunity to search her closet. Note to self: pull clothes out of my sister’s closet the first time I find the door unlocked. I’ll have to check it periodically.

It’s alright, I’m used to wearing the same shit for days, at least my body is clean. I need a clean body for what I have planned tonight. I ran into the oddest character yesterday. He thought I was Mal, and I played along. This guy was such a dweeb, and I’m pretty sure he was a virgin. Well, we cured that; he isn’t one anymore! Ha, I have to laugh; that guy was weird.

Anyway, I plan on finding something more adventurous for tonight. Peter, or Phillip, whatever his name was, will be my back-up plan. With Mal’s debit card, money is no concern. Tonight will be fun. I’ll have all the fun she is missing out on. Maybe when she sees her statement, she’ll realize how she is wasting her life away and thank me for letting her see the error of her ways.

I could stay uptown. There are plenty of places here, but my sister hasn’t caught on to me having her card yet, so I should take advantage of that now. Nope, we are going downtown; I want to see the dark side of Dallas.

With Mal’s card in hand, I wait outside the apartment complex to flag down a cab. I don’t have a phone, and everyone uses Uber or something else that requires an app nowadays. This could take forever. I just need an everyday cab. How hard is that?

After fifteen minutes with no potential rides showing up, I walk down the block and stand outside the Circle K by my sister’s apartment complex; I’ll have better luck catching a ride in a more communal spot. That’s the idea, anyway. With no prospects after half an hour, I get an idea. It’s eleven o’clock on a Friday night. Surely someone here is ready to party.

My attire isn’t the best; I get it. I’m in worn-out scrubs, but my hair and makeup are on point, thanks to my sister’s bathroom supply. It’s too late for shopping, so I can’t go and change my clothes, but I can make them more appealing. I slip into the gas station bathroom and doctor my outfit. I roll down the waist of my sister’s scrub pants, so they don’t seem so baggy, then rip the bottom of her oversized top and tie it into a knot. My mid-section now shows. It’s pale but toned, capable of bringing attention, and that’s all I need.

I walk out of the bathroom and wait. It doesn’t take long for me to find the perfect target. There is a group of guys gassing up and grabbing drinks. They look to be in their early twenties—frat boy type—not much younger than me. This is my opportunity knocking.

I walk up to the guy that was left pumping gas. “Hey, where are y’all headed tonight?”

He doesn’t care what I’m wearing. All he sees is a girl showing him interest and showing some skin.

“Oh, hey. We are gonna hit up some bars in Deep Ellum. Were you looking for a ride or something?” he asks.

“Funny, that’s precisely where I want to go. My lame-ass friends didn’t want to go there tonight, even though that was the original plan. They didn’t want to go because they thought it would be too crowded with classes starting soon. Losers! Do you have room for one more?” I question, while strategically strutting my hips and placing my body alongside his car.

“Chip. The name is Chip. Nice to meet you and welcome to our party bus.” He gestures to his SUV with one hand, Vanna White style, while holding the gas pump with the other. Is his name really Chip, or did he use a fake one like I did?

And an adventure it sure is. Chip and his three friends had planned on doing one last bar hop before returning for their senior year at Texas Tech. Chip didn’t know what hit them when I joined the party.

We shut the party scene of Dallas down. At first, the boys were all too generous. They refused to let me buy my own drinks. Then it came to the bartenders who refused to let me pay. At our last stop, Mallory’s debit card is burning a hole in my pocket.

There is no denying my gesture after the crowd cheers me on. They had little choice but to put it on my tab. Eighteen-hundred dollars later, I am carried out of the bar. Sure, it was all fun and games, but they didn’t need me causing a scene. Closing time came around and the boys need to get home.

They took me back to the same gas station at which they found me—because they are lame-ass gentlemen—and called it a night. So much for chivalry. Chip could have at least seen me home, made sure I was alright, or even offered to bend me over the back of my sister’s loveseat. No, they were too worried about curfew and rules; kids these days. Oh, and by the way, Chip: at twenty-one, you are an adult; you make your own curfew.

None of them even tried to take advantage of me. Not like Paul. Yes, that’s the guy’s name: Paul! Paul like wall. Oh, how I would have loved for them to take advantage. Everyone and their newfound morals can kiss my ass.

I stumble my way from the gas station to my sister’s apartment complex. Feeling my pocket, I ensure that the key to enter is still there. Okay, all is good. But honestly, it’s not all good. I still have to climb all those damn stairs. Can I actually do this right now?

It is three o’clock on a Saturday morning and I have no one and nothing. Stumbling into the complex, I am at a loss. Even if I had a way to reach my sister, she wouldn’t help me. Paul would help me, and he is close to the gate on the first floor. So that is whose door I knock on.