14. Elton

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Elton

I love living in Miami.

There’s always something going on. Whether it’s a new funky art exhibit or a music festival, the city is always bustling with excitement. It doesn’t even have to be at night either, which is pretty awesome, considering I now work at a club and those are mostly spoken for.

“Ah! I’m so excited!” Skylar shouts, bouncing on his toes, his bedazzled cheeks flushed as he hands our tickets to the bouncer.

Cassius smiles and throws his arm over his shoulder as he kisses the top of his head. “This was a great idea, sunshine.”

That’s an understatement. We all owe thanks to Cassius, he scored the XO crew tickets to the annual EDM festival. It’s not particularly my taste, but I wouldn’t say no to a chance at day-drinking with my favorite coworkers.

Behind the row of shot girls, who Cassius also got tickets for, are Rhys and Everest. Everest at least is dressed for the occasion in bright blue bike shorts and a see-through mesh neon green shirt. He has his hair all glittered and metallic war paint on his cheeks. Rhys, the buzzkill, is wearing his regular black sleeveless shirt and his backwards hat. The man has no creativity or enthusiasm. He fits in well with Butch, who I swear Skylar has to have bribed to show up today. Although, a part of me thinks maybe Davis sent him to make sure we all make it to work on time tonight.

It seems like every single XO worker is here minus…

“You didn’t invite Knox?” I ask Skylar, wrinkling my nose when I don’t see him.

Knox and I haven’t spoken since the night I left his apartment a few days ago. I haven’t caved and sent him any texts asking how he is because I’m not some needy mess who’s secretly upset about the fight I started. Definitely not. But I will admit that I have thought about him more than I should. Unlike him, I’m a good guy, and I care about people and how they’re doing. Thankfully, I’ve kept my pride and haven’t so much as said hello in passing at the club. The ball’s in his court. If he wants to keep hooking up, he has to give me more and, if not, then this experiment at being a no-strings kind of guy is over for me.

“Knox?” Skylar questions, as if dumbfounded by the question. “Why would we invite him?”

“Because you basically invited everyone who works with us and so does he,” I say, not understanding what Skylar isn’t getting. “It’s a little rude, isn’t it?”

Cassius snorts as he lets Skylar jump on his back. “So? Knox is the worst person ever.”

See, I know that, but I still argue as we make our way under the entry banner. “I know, but he’s going to find out we all went, and he’ll be hurt.”

“Let him be,” Rhys says, grabbing onto Everest’s hands when a gaggle of drunk girls get too close. “Don’t feel bad for him, Elton. Everyone gets what’s coming to them eventually.”

I understand where everyone’s coming from, but it still feels wrong for him to be excluded. Sure, Knox is…prickly. A douche, really. Absolutely insufferable because he never has a kind thing to say, but sometimes people like that just need a chance?—

Right. I did give him a chance. Many chances to be nice, and he shit on all of them. I shouldn’t feel bad that he wasn’t invited. Like Rhys said, you reap what you sow, and Knox has done nothing but make everyone’s lives miserable.

I try to brush off the unsettled feeling in my gut as we continue into the venue, all of us immediately going to the alcohol tent. I have a few drinks as all the different sets start, but the feeling of doing something wrong follows me the entire time. I find myself checking my phone far too often, not even to see if I have any missed messages, but to hover over Knox’s contact on my list. I could call him…

No!

Putting my phone on silent, I try to enjoy myself. I’m surrounded by my friends, lost in a sea of rollers, trapped in the haze that music festivals always carry, and I’m having the time of my life.

“You okay, Elton?” Everest screams in my ear, dancing right beside me, his eyes bright with joy when Rhys sweeps him off his feet. “Rhys! Put me down!”

Rhys shakes his head as he bends down and puts Everest on his shoulders. “No way. If Cassius can hold Skylar up, I can do the same to you.”

“I’m too heavy!”

“Enjoy the show, baby!”

I chuckle beside them, but it’s a bit empty. To my right, Rheverest is being couple goals. To my left, Skylar and Cassius are so absorbed with each other, far too much for just friends, especially with the way Cassius puts a tab on the tip of his tongue and gives it to Skylar by slamming their mouths together. Butch is off somewhere being…Butch, I guess. The shot girls are fun to be around, and the rest of the crew are having a good time. The song in the background vibrates through the grassy field, the lyrics hitting me deep. Amongst all these people, no one knows who we are, and we’re all connected in this singular moment in time.

But then why, in a sea of thousands, do I still feel so very alone?

“Going to get another drink!” I yell, even though I don’t think anyone is paying attention.

I make my way toward the back of the crowd, needing a bit of breathing room, some air that isn’t caked in dust and smelling of B.O.

I think for a second that Cassius might have snuck a tab into my drink when I see Knox by the drink cart. I double check that I didn’t actually text him earlier today and see that our most recent text was over a week ago.

He’s just standing by the drink cart with a beer in hand, minding his own business, his head bobbing to the beat of the music. He hasn’t spotted me yet, so I take a step forward, but stop short when someone approaches him. It’s…

Well, it’s a really fucking hot guy.

Something gross bubbles in my stomach as Knox up-nods the guy and they disappear behind the drink cart. My mind immediately jumps to the image of them hooking up right now, and I don’t know why I hate that thought so much. It’s not like Knox is mine. He was the one who made it very clear we were just fuck buddies, and I was the one who made it even more clear that we wouldn’t be until he got his shit sorted. Still, where’s the common decency? If he is hooking up with this guy, I deserve to know. We had the talk about being safe and said we’d only be with each other, so I have the right to see what’s going on.

Or at least that’s what I tell myself as I march over to the drink cart. My hands are balled into fists by my sides, my jaw clenched. This motherfucker?—

But I thankfully don’t see this extremely attractive man on his knees servicing Knox’s dick—or vice versa—but something equally shocking. The guy is handing Knox a thick wad of cash while Knox holds in his hand a bag that’s filled with pills.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

“You’re still doing this shit?”

Both the guy and Knox startle at my appearance. The guy immediately freaks out, taking the money back, and running away from the scene of the crime. Knox’s eyes widen as he does. “Hey—” He turns to me, his jaw set in anger as he comes up and shoves my chest. “Nice, Elton. Thank you very much. I just lost that fucking sale. Do you have an idea how much money I was about to make?”

“I can’t believe you’re selling drugs!” I yell, maybe a little too loudly when he shushes me. “Why, Knox? You have an actual job?—”

He raises his tattooed hand to stop me. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Either way, what I do with my life is my business.”

I see red. Knox’s history with selling drugs is long and, admittedly, I don’t have much of the high ground here. When Knox used to deal in high school, I’d buy weed from him every now and then. But after Rhys was arrested for carrying drugs that weren’t his, I stopped cold turkey. I thought that maybe Knox had grown up a bit and realized that selling drugs—while oh-so-cool —is both illegal and dangerous.

“What are you even doing here?” he spits out, shoving the pills back in his pocket as he tries to change the subject. “I didn’t think you were into this type of music.”

I try to ignore the way my cheeks flush at the fact that he knows my taste in music. “Oh, Cassius bought everyone at work tickets?—”

I cut myself off when I realize what I’ve done. It takes Knox a second for my words to hit and, when they do, I don’t get the reaction I expected. I thought that maybe he’d laugh at the ridiculous attempt at work-place bonding. Or maybe he’d sarcastically tell us to enjoy our day before heading to the club.

No, instead, I get sadness.

It’s quick and fleeting, but it’s there. It’s the way his dark gray eyes widen in shock for a split second. How his jaw drops slightly as he lets out a sharp breath. The way his fingers tremble only slightly.

But it’s gone in an instant, replaced by what I’m now starting to suspect might be a mask. “Wonderful. Well, you all have a great fucking time, then.”

Then he stomps off, leaving me feeling like the asshole here, even though I did nothing wrong.

Is it possible that Knox Sanders was…hurt?