When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

Your parents must have been some amazing bartenders, because you are the most beautiful cocktail I have ever laid my eyes on— and I’m an alcoholic at heart.”

She blinked, her body torn between laughter and curling into a ball and disintegrating into the bench. It took a moment, but she did in fact recover from what had to be the worst pickup line she had ever heard. Despite the horror, however, she couldn’t tear away from the sharp edges of his jawline. Her attention then drifted to the long, dark lashes that he was likely oblivious women would kill for.

“Well, I guess you’re not too bad yourself,” she said airily, then reached over to squeeze his strong bicep.

Avia internally cringed. What the actual fuck am I doing? She didn’t even act like this when she was drunk. But still… She eyed him over again and felt a tingle of excitement jolt through her chest.

“Heh, thanks.” He tried to subtly flex but at that point, any pretext of subtle was out the window.

So maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world…

“Okay, so spring break officially starts tomorrow,” Noah said, suddenly all business. “Derek’s throwing the party. Him and some guys rented this huge house for their senior year and we’re going to try to keep the party going all week. You in?”

Avia was on the brink of declining. The words started to form, but she paused, catching how tightly his t-shirt clung to his sculpted chest. A rave wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world… Plus, she’d been able to easily fade into the aether at the last frat party.

She remembered Leo’s spring break bash perfectly— it was just a different experience than Noah’s. She, Cheshire, and various other spirits had gone on a two-day mountain climbing exposition, though Cheshire had cheated most of the trip by floating or misting past the hard parts. This “celebration” would probably be just as good. The alcohol alone could check her out for a few days.

“Hell yeah,” she said finally. She sat up and pumped a fist. “Sounds fun.”

“Awesome! Give me your number and I’ll text you the address. It’s getting kinda late so I’m gonna head back. Wanna be well rested for the coming chaos.”

“Or…” she offered, placing a hand on his lap. “We could start our own party a bit early.”

“What?”

Avia smirked at the confusion and excitement fighting for control on his face. “I’ve had a pretty shitty few days, but I think you might be able to change that.”

“Wait, are you saying—”

“Are you as stupid as you are beautiful?” She leaned in and gently kissed him on the lips. Standing up, she grabbed his hand before pulling him to his feet. “Come on, we’re going back to my place. It’s about two blocks away.”

As she led him by the hand back to her condo, she could barely believe what she was doing. While he would not be the first guy she brought home, she had never slept with a complete stranger. He was hot, funny, and surprisingly smart—but at the end of the day, she knew he would never be anything more.

It never crossed her mind what it meant or, rather, what it didn’t mean. She was a slave to her subconscious and, for right now, her subconscious demanded she leave her body. She wanted her throne of candy. She wanted birds singing. She wanted to get out of her skin. Noah was simply her drug of choice for the night—her key into the aether.

A drug she knew would have no problem seeing its way out in the morning.

She made sure to fumble with the key and bump the door a few times to give Cheshire a heads up. They practically fell inside, hands tugging clothes and bodies striking walls as lips and tongues fought for dominance. In one motion, Noah pulled her shirt over her head and threw it across the room, then kissed her again. She giggled against his lips, taking a small step back to quickly unfasten his belt and slide his jeans down. As their clothes began to trail to the bedroom, Avia’s mind calmed. Her body wanted him, needed him to fill what she had been longing for the second she had woken up. They collapsed in her bed and she began to drift. Her mind emptied until reality faded away to the soothing nothingness.

The repeated banging of the headboard transcended into the chorus of birds. The smell of sweat gave way to the sweet scent of lavender that flowed throughout the Spirit World. His hands on her body grew more and more distant until she opened her eyes.

She was finally home.

Waking up in the morning, Avia was relieved to find that she was alone. She rolled over and smiled, seeing a note from Noah lying on the other pillow.

[Hey, last night was awesome! Sorry, had to run, but I’ll see you tonight! Oh, here’s the address—]

While she would have been in no mood to wake up to find him suggesting they get breakfast or share a shower, it was nice to see he cared enough to leave a note. Manners were a trait most men had devolved out of, the process quickening when sex was involved.

She grabbed her robe on the way to the bathroom and took a long, scalding hot shower. It was Saturday, so she had nothing planned. She would probably just sit around and watch T.V. until it was time to go to the party.

Drying her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom, Avia made her way to the kitchen. Halfway through pouring milk into cereal, the room started to shake. The walls stretched and pulled like clay in the hands of a sculptor. Vertigo quickly overtook her senses. It felt like she was falling, dropping into an