by Kevin Breaux

Ashley turned the latch on the door locking herself and her new friend Sarah in the bathroom. Her heart pounded, nearly matching the beat of the techno music shaking the floor beneath them. Brushing her slightly sweat-moistened strawberry blonde hair off her sticky brow she drew a deep sigh of relief.

Sarah's heavy breathing echoed in Ashley's ears. If she was to think, to evaluate this situation, no matter how bizarre it was, she knew she would have to calm her friend down.

"Breathe slowly," Ashley told her friend as their eyes locked.

"I'm trying, but why is this happening? Where did it come from?" Sarah's voice shook.

"I don't know."

In the three months they had known each other Ashley had witnessed Sarah have two bad cocaine highs that triggered small panic attacks. Taking Sarah's hand in her own, Ashley drew her attention up to her eyes.

When Sarah called her cell phone that day from her job at the local tanning salon, she remembered erupting in deep laughter. Sarah's new boyfriend called it an "End of the World party." What a joke Ashley thought, but deep down did not care. Sarah's boyfriend was rich, and there would no doubt be an endless supply of alcohol and social drugs. "I'm so there," she recalled saying.

Sarah's breathing began to slow. Unsure whether it was the cocaine she had been snorting off and on all night or the panic attack that made her light headed, she rested her butt on the cool tile, placing her head on her knees.

Since locking the door Ashley had only looked at two things; that door latch and Sarah. Suddenly, she realized the vastness of the bathroom. Joshua's family lived in what Sarah called a mansion. When Ashley saw it for the first time she had to agree with her friend that her boyfriend's home was very large, yet she also quipped that her perspective was off, since she had spent the better part of the year living in a sophomore dorm room.

Ashley's eyes moved around the pink and purple colored room, starting back at the door and moving towards the toilet to what she figured must be a bidet. Next to the amenities was the largest shower stall Ashley had ever seen. She walked past Sarah to the door, opening it up to gaze inside. It was so spacious she imagined she could fit the whole girl's volleyball team in it at once with plenty of room to spare. Circling around, her eyes skipped over a large walk-in closet and right to the small cable TV that hung from the ceiling.

"Look, a plasma TV!" Ashley pointed.

"Yeah, Joshua's bathroom has one too," Sarah commented as if it was normal. "Cool, right?"

Before Ashley could finish her thought, she saw herself in the mirror. A tiny droplet of blood had dripped from her lip down her chin to her new white tank top. The smear of cheap lipstick and the blood drew her mind back a moment not twenty minutes ago.

***

Ashley lifted the glass to her soft, supple lips. She had never been to a rave that offered its drinks in glasses, let alone one with a full bar and professional bartender. Of course she had never been to one hosted by a rich kid in a mansion before either. The orange juice cooled her lips before the taste of alcohol reached her tongue. Ashley watched her friend dance with eyes cast in jealousy. Sarah moved atop the pool table with a sensual fluidity she only had when high. A mixture of sweat and scented oil made Sarah's body glisten in the flashing strobe lights the DJ must have bought from a party store. Her outfit, a smutty version of a schoolgirl's uniform showcased her figure in a way Ashley knew was meant to drive the boys at the party crazy. After all, Sarah was the host's girlfriend; she had to dress to impress.

Looking across the room at Sarah, Ashley realized that her friend had her eyes closed while she danced. It was an odd habit of hers, one she said made her feel weightless, as if she was floating in water.

The song changed, turning to one of Ashley's favorites from a band called Delirium. Her hips swayed back and forth uncontrollably, as she nearly mimicked her friend's pool table dance. One boy who had been staring longingly at her most the night approached Ashley from across the room. She knew he was approaching; she had kept her eye on him. He was big, another football player most likely and she knew alcohol and football players were a dangerous mix.

"Hey, sexy!" he yelled over the lyrics of her favorite song.

"Hey."

"How come I never seen you around school?"

"I'm in more intelligent classes than you are."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep," Ashley tried to ignore him, sending him as many not interested signals as she could.

"Well, maybe you could educate me orally."

Snapping her hair like a blonde whip, Ashley's head twisted to the side. Raising her hand to the jock's face she extended her middle finger with a carefully annunciated, "Fuck off."

"Fucking dyke!"

"If you only knew, asshole!"

With her hand stretched out, Ashley walked away from the boy, never once looking back. Instead her eyes stayed locked on Sarah's sexy moves.

"You coming up?" Sarah smiled as she reached down to lend her friend a hand.

With a quick tug, and an almost effortless jump, Ashley was atop the pool table too. Screams erupted from the crowd; a kind of hooting and howling one might expect from a gentlemen's club. Dancing together, the two girls drew attention to themselves. Ashley found Sarah's perfume intoxicating and alluring, drawing her in closer to her friend's face to inhale it deeper. With their faces near, Sarah leaned in, stealing a quick kiss which ended in a playful love bite.

"Joshua and I want to share you tonight Ash. Cool, right? What do you think?"

While rubbing her lip where Sarah bit her during their brief kiss, she stared at her friend.

"No! No fucking way!"

Sarah smiled, then closed her eyes again. Perhaps it was the deafening techno music that drowned out her words, Ashley thought or maybe Sarah did not hear a word of her answer.

***

Ashley looked down at Sarah, who seemed to be feeling better by the way she had stretched out her arms and legs; Sarah was once again breathing at a normal pace.

"Are you OK?" Ashley asked while turning on the water.

"Yeah, feeling good, thank you," Sarah said warily. "Are you still mad at me?"

"Huh," Ashley exhaled with a sarcastic smile, now knowing her friend could easily hear her answer. "You asked me to sleep with you and your boyfriend, Sar!"

"Well, I thought you wanted me," Sarah attempted to defend herself.

"You, Sarah! I want you! Not some dumb, rich jock!"