“Ava,” I rasp.
He smiles, flashing two rows of perfectly straight white teeth as twin dimples sink into his cheeks. “Nice to meet you, Ava. Now, do you want some of this, or what? It’s the good shit, straight from Toronto.” Bryce extends his arm, offering me the joint again as a wisp of smoke curls up from the tip.
I’ve never done drugs, but suddenly, I can’t think of a better time to start. Shoring up my courage to put one foot in front of the other, I approach him and take the joint from his fingers, bringing it to my lips. I suck in a deep inhale, the skunky taste of marijuana coating the inside of my mouth. As soon as the smoke hits my lungs, they seize up, sending me into a coughing fit.
Bryce claps me on the back, plucking the joint from my hand and laughing as I sputter to catch my breath. “Easy, killer. I told ya it was the good stuff.”
My eyes water, throat burning, but I finally manage to stop coughing, my brain going a little fuzzy as I swallow hard to coat my windpipe.
“You a transfer?” Bryce asks, relaxing back against the building again as he takes another toke.
“Yup,” I reply, popping the P.
He nods. “Cool.”
“You’re not gonna ask me where I transferred from?”
He shrugs a shoulder casually, blowing out a cloud of smoke. “What difference does it make? You’re here now.”
I smile softly, nodding. I like that he’s not prying, unlike everyone else I’ve encountered on campus thus far. Every time I’ve had to utter the words ‘community college’, I get looked at like I’m some sort of charity case.
“You want another hit?” he asks, offering me the smoldering roach of the joint.
I shake my head, showing him my palms. “I’m good.” My head’s already swimming, a warm buzz settling in my veins. My muscles feel more relaxed, my errant thoughts calming.
So this must be what all the fuss is about when it comes to weed. Too bad I didn’t meet Bryce before entering the library this morning.
He finishes off the joint, tossing the roach on the ground and stubbing it out with the toe of his sneaker. “I’m gonna go bake in the sun for a while, try to fight this hangover with some vitamin D,” he says, raking a hand through his unkempt hair. A platinum strand flops down over his forehead, catching in his eyelashes. “Wanna come?”
“Where?”
He points up, and I furrow my brow in confusion, looking around. Then my eyes snag on an old metal fire escape attached to the side of the building, the rusty rungs of the ladder lookinga little worse for the wear, and I glance back at him with a brow raised in question.
He nods, grinning.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I mumble, chewing my lower lip nervously.
The last time I went upstairs with a boy didn’t end well.
“I promise I don’t bite,” Bryce chuckles, kicking off from the wall and striding toward the fire escape. “Unless you’re into that sort of thing, in which case…” he trails off, shaking his head. “Nah, still won’t happen. I’m strictly dickly. Doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, though. You look like you could use one.”
“Am I that obvious?” I ask with a wince.
He pauses with his hands resting on the rung of the ladder, flashing me a smile. “Nah, girls are hiding between buildings crying all over this campus.”
“You saw that?” I croak, completely mortified.
He just shrugs. “Hey, it’s none of my business.” Gripping onto the ladder, he pulls his body up, starting to ascend. “You coming?” he calls back to me as he climbs.
I should probably know better, but what Bryce said is true– I could use a friend. And right now, he seems like my best option. Emboldened by my high, I spin around and walk over to collect my backpack, hauling it up onto my shoulders and turning back for the ladder.
“Okay,” I agree, looking up at him as I approach. “But I’m warning you, I’ve had a really shitty day, so if you’re enticing me up there just to try to pull something, I won’t hesitate to throw you off the roof.”
Bryce barks out a laugh, not pausing his climb. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Reaching forward, I grip onto the metal rung, blowing out a slow breath as I pull myself up.
Here goes nothing.
