Chapter 27: Seis de Mayo

-- SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2006, SENIOR YEAR --

12:39 AM

"You're serious?"

"Deadly serious," Amber replied gravely. "The clock is ticking and the first opportunity is tomorrow night."

"And that's the best idea you've got?"

"It's the best I can come up with right now. If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears."

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Despite pissing out as much as I could at the Tri-Delt House, I still had a LOT of alcohol running through my bloodstream. My head was thick and whenever I moved my head it took a half-second for the world to focus, not exactly a mental state conducive to strategic inspiration. "No, I can't think of anything better right now. Not while still drunk, and not after midnight. Maybe in the morning, and if I do, I'll let you know first thing."

"But you'll do it?"

I took another deep breath and weighed the situation. As dire as Amber had made Cameron's situation out to be, I really didn't see much risk to myself. I'd been to Carter's place multiple times already without any sense of personal danger, I had a ready-made reason for going if Brooke and DJ were there, and I felt confident in my ability to figure out how to find her. Bottom line: Amber couldn't go herself, Cameron needed someone like me, and even though I didn't know her very well, she obviously meant a great deal to Amber. I'd meant it when I told Amber I would do anything she needed, and she'd made it clear that she needed this. So closing my eyes, I took another deep breath and replied, "Yeah, I'll do it."

"Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I have an idea. But if this works then you are seriously gonna owe me."

"Anything. Anytime. You know it." And from the tone in Amber's voice, she really meant it.

"Okay. Well, I'd better call my girls."

"I know you have to, but remember the less people who know the--"

"The better it'll be for everyone involved," I finished. "I know."

"Thank you, Ben. I already love you, but I'll love you even more for this."

I smiled. "I know. Love you, too."

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and tapped it against my knee a couple of times. I was just sitting on the porch steps outside my own front door, but I felt a shiver run down my spine from more than the night chill in the air. After a moment's thought, I held down Adrienne's speed dial and put the handset to my ear to listen to it ring several times before going to her voicemail.

Of course.

Sighing, I hung up and re-dialed. Apparently the system hadn't reset yet because the call went straight to voicemail without ringing. Hanging up again, I waited a full thirty seconds before initiating a third call, but again after several rings I was put through to her voicemail.

Already fucked every which way in every hole by yours truly AND three gorgeous Tri-Delts, my supermodel Energizer bunny was probably still going at it. I could only hope she'd eventually check her phone before passing out.

"Hey, it's me," I said into her voicemail. "I know you planned on crashing at the Chapter House, but I need you to come home tonight. I'm sorry but it's really important and I need to talk to you. Call me when you get this."

I hung up and started tapping out a text message as well: CODE BLUE. CALL ME ASAP.

After sending the text, I called Peyton as well, but she wasn't picking up either. I left her a voicemail too and took a deep breath, hoping that Adrienne would get ONE of my messages and call me back. But after nearly two minutes of waiting, I decided to get up off my ass and go inside the house.

Only then did I remember WHY I'd stayed out on the porch: Sasha was in there with Rod.

I trusted Sasha. I'd been with her near 24/7 for too long to worry about her cheating on me at any point in the recent past. For one thing, I knew a freshly-fucked pussy when I saw one and I'd never encountered hers in such a state unless I'd done the fucking. And I didn't seriously think she'd start tonight. True, I didn't know WHY Rod had come to the house, but I honestly wasn't worried about them. Whatever Sasha had going on with her ex-boyfriend was between the two of them, and I didn't want to interrupt. But I wasn't standing outside in the cold any longer.

Fitting my key to the lock, I opened the door and went inside. Poking my head into the living room, I waved and greeted, "Hey, Sasha. Hey, Rod, long time no see."

"Ben!" Sasha exclaimed in surprise. "Back from the party already?"

"Already?" I shrugged. "It IS after midnight."

"Time flies. Adrienne? Andie?"

I shook my head. "They're both still there. Misa gave me a ride home."

"Oh. Uh, Rod and I were just talking, and, uh..."

"No worries." I held my hands up. "Do your thing. I'm just gonna go upstairs and get cleaned up alright? Had way too much to drink tonight and lying down sounds really, really good right now."

"Okay. I'll be up in a bit."

I smiled and head-nodded. "See you later, Rod."

Perplexed, the guy just sort of stared dumbly at me. But after a second's pause he managed to burp out, "Uh, bye."

I waved again and headed for the stairs.

Lying down sounded good, but a shower sounded BETTER.

1:06 AM

My bedroom was empty when I emerged from the bathroom, and I dressed in my pajamas before sitting down on an armchair, pondering my next move. Amber had given me a lot to think about, and I desperately wanted to talk things over with someone, but my options for someone to talk to were really limited right now.

Adrienne? Not answering her phone.

Sasha? Downstairs with her ex-boyfriend.

Andie? Back at the Tri-Delt house, and besides, our relationship had always been about sex and having fun and never really about the serious stuff like this. While our physical intimacy couldn't become any closer than it already had, our emotional intimacy had always been lacking, and that more than anything exemplified the limitations of our relationship.

In times like this, I often talked to my sisters, but Brandi was off living her own life and as for Brooke, well she unfortunately fell into the category of "the less people who know the better".

But just when I started to consider taking the motorcycle back to the Tri-Delt house and fetching Adrienne, even if I had to drive while intoxicated, a knock sounded at my open door.

I looked up and saw Sasha standing there, wearing her pajamas but with her makeup and hair still done from the party. "Hey, you," I greeted before adding with raised eyebrows, "Rod?"

Sasha blushed and pursed her lips. "He left."

I nodded and raised my eyebrows questioningly again.

Sasha's blush deepened, and she nervously pulled a lock of hair behind her right ear.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I said gently.

"No, no. It's nothing. Just wasn't sure how to start." She walked into the room and dropped down onto the armchair in front of me. "Rod called me a couple of hours ago while I was still at the party asking to talk. I told him I was out but he said he'd wait all night if he had to, so I came home early and asked him to meet me here. I sorta figured you'd be at the Tri-Delt house a while longer tonight."

I shrugged. "Sorry if I interrupted."

"Don't be. It was fine. We were just about done anyway."

"So what did he want to talk about?"

Sasha took a deep breath, fidgeting with her fingers for a moment before explaining, "Rod's met someone. Well, he met her a while ago, but he only found out tonight that there's mutual interest and he ... ah..."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "He wanted to ask your permission or something?"

Sasha gave me a tight smile. "Not exactly. He needed closure, I guess. He wanted to clear the air and make sure he and I were ... well that we were really done-done before he started something new. From the way he talked, I gathered that he'd been in love with me for so long – really, the majority of his adolescent life – that he couldn't move on to the future without being dead sure that I was in his past."

I blinked, thinking about how hung up on Dawn I'd been for ... well ... all YEAR really. Truth be told, one of the biggest reasons why even now I still couldn't start a seriously-committed relationship with anyone was because of the still-lingering pain from Dawn breaking up with me. "I can relate," I stated somberly.

Sasha eyebrows popped and she nodded quietly.

"So what did you tell him?" I asked.

Sasha took a deep breath and grimaced. "I told him ... well at first I tried to soft-pedal it, to not be so ... blunt about my feelings, or lack thereof. But he got a little indignant and eventually it all came out that I never really loved him and always felt obliged to be with him because of his family taking me in. Thing is, he knew all that anyway; he just needed to hear me say it out loud. To kinda drive that last nail into the coffin of our old relationship. Only then could he really move on."

I briefly thought of my own "last nail", that fateful New Year's Eve phone call where I'd told Dawn to go the fuck away. She had done so, not contacting me ever since, not even on my birthday, and I hadn't done anything to stay in touch with her, either. Oh, I knew that our lives would intersect again someday, but I still felt like I could point to that moment and say, 'THAT was when our old relationship was done and buried.'

"So anyway," Sasha continued, flicking her eyes to mine after staring a thousand yards into the distance for a little while, "we talked a bit more about our old relationship and then we sort of segued into talking about his family. He said they all miss me, especially his little brother Kit. And if there's one good thing about our conversation, it's that I feel like they don't blame me for breaking up with him. I always felt like I'd never be able to face them again, but now I think it wouldn't be so bad if I went back there and visited. For better or worse, they're the closest thing I have to family – even more than you and the girls – and it's reassuring to believe I haven't completely lost them."

I nodded. "That's great. And how about this new girl? Did Rod tell you about her? Do you know her?"

Sasha shook her head. "Heard of her, but I didn't really know her. She's only a Junior. Friend of a friend. But she's cute, and he got this dreamy look in his eyes when he talked about her. Rod lined up a job in San Ramon, so he won't be too far away. I hope they work out."

"Cool. So your ex-boyfriend has met someone. Good for him," I said a little too cheerfully.

Sasha blinked and gave me a coy smile. "Do I detect a note of jealousy in there?"

Now it was my turn to blush as I averted my eyes. Wincing in embarrassment for a moment, I replied carefully, "Let's just say that Rod moving on would be one less complication I might have to deal with down the road."

"Worried I might still have feelings and gone back to him?"

I snorted. "More worried he'd want to kick my ass for being with you."

Sasha smiled. "At first he wanted to, once he realized my relationship with you was becoming more than that of project teammates. Actually, he could tell I had feelings for you even before I did."

"And when was that exactly?" I teased with a smugly arched eyebrow.

"Well before YOU figured it out," she teased right back.

I raised my hands defensively. "I can be dense sometimes. I get it, I get it."

Sasha looked down at her fingers and smiled mysteriously. "He asked if I was your girlfriend and I told him honestly that I wasn't, but that we were more than friends. He asked if we were exclusive, and I admitted that we weren't. Rod didn't like that. He scowled, and I think for a little bit he thought about beating you up again."

"'Thought', past tense? Or currently 'thinks', present tense?"

Sasha giggled. "Past, I think. He asked if I was in love with you, and if I'd told you I was, and whether or not you loved me back. I told him that all three of those things were between you and me, but I assured him that I was comfortable with the status of our relationship and that we were working through things together."

"Just 'comfortable'?" I teased with a smile. "I thought we'd gotten past 'comfortable' and were moving forward beyond that."

Sasha hesitated for just a second, her eyes unfocused as if she were still lost in thought about something. But she quickly turned to me and put on a smile. "Right, right. We are, of course. Anyway, I had to assure him you weren't taking advantage of me and that the wild rumors swirling around about you were greatly exaggerated. I think in the end he accepted that. Really, I think I'll always have a piece of his heart, as his first true love, and even though things didn't work out between us, he'll always want what's best for me."

Of course I started thinking it, silently and to myself. But Sasha went ahead and added aloud, "Kind of like you and Dawn, I guess."

I bit my lip and took a deep breath, holding back the moisture that threatened to invade my eyeballs. "Yeah," I replied thickly.

"Anyway, that was that," Sasha finished. "I've moved on. Rod's moving on. And I think we both got a feeling of closure out of it."

Pushing aside my own thoughts of my lost first love and focusing on Sasha, I smiled and opened up my arms invitingly. She grinned and quickly got out of her chair, dropping into my lap and laying her head down on my shoulder while I pecked her forehead and rubbed her arm.

But our embrace only lasted a few seconds before Sasha squirmed and complained, "Ugh. I need to go take a shower. It's been a long day and I feel all grimey."

I chuckled and released her while she stood up. "Can I watch?"

"You're still in the mood?" Sasha gave me a sly grin and raised the hem of her pajamas up to the underside of her bra-clad breasts. "I'd have thought the Tri-Delts would have fully drained you before letting you out of that house."

I sighed and raised my eyebrows. "They did, although if you're feeling unsatisfied tonight, well I'm sure I could manage for you."

"Take my breath away why don't you?" Sasha deadpanned with a smirk. "It's alright. Unlike some people, I'm fully capable of going a day or two without an orgasm."

"It's not that I'm not interested; it's something else. Amber called me tonight and she's asked me for a pretty special favor. It doesn't involve you or anything, but you deserve to know about it. And to be honest, I would love to have someone smart and less drunk than me think it over."

Sasha frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. "A favor? What did she ask you to do?"

// Where'd you go? I miss you so. Seems like it's been forever, that you've been gone...

I blinked and looked over at my dresser drawer where my cell phone was. "It's Adrienne," I announced as I got up and quickly walked over. "I need to talk about this with her, too, and I left her a couple of messages asking her to come home right away."

"Um, okay..." Sasha said. "Why don't I go take a shower, and then all three of us can talk when she gets home. Sound good?"

I nodded my agreement and answered the phone.

2:13 AM

"Hold up, hold up." Sasha raised a hand for me to stop talking for a moment, grimacing as she tried to work what I'd just said around in her head. "Isn't this like... dangerous?"

I shrugged. "It could be, I guess. But apparently Cameron's in a desperate situation. I don't think Amber would be asking for me to get involved if she could avoid it."

Sasha grimaced. "But you could like... die or something."

I shook my head. "I honestly don't think it would come to that. The absolute LAST thing Carter would want would be any police scrutiny on his house."

"You really going to risk your life on the notion that Carter might not want police scrutiny? And there are lots of bad things he could do short of killing you."

"I think you've been watching too many movies. Seriously, let's not blow this out of proportion. I've been to the place three times now already with no fear for my safety. Plus, with Amber's plan, there shouldn't be any tangible thing connecting me to Cameron."

Sasha leveled me with a look. "Except that the plan calls for her to walk out the door with you, and everyone will know it. Especially since Amber told you he's got security cameras on the perimeter."

"Not out the door. She'll do that on her own," I insisted. "Amber said that Cameron insists there aren't any cameras inside the house; too risky for exposure if that footage got into the wrong hands. Not even closed-circuit stuff; Carter is paranoid about people spying on him. Really, all I have to do is talk to Cameron, to deliver the message that Amber is waiting outside with a car. As long as we separate before she gets to the front door, nobody will be able to connect her to me."

"Ugh, okay, rewind," Adrienne complained, pinching the bridge of her nose and wincing in pain. "This is all a little too much for me to process right now."

"Too much to process after having too much to drink, I think," I commented.

"It's Cinco de Mayo," Adrienne growled as she paced around a bit before dropping onto the armchair across from me and smoothing her china poblana skirt over her legs. "I drank a fifth of tequila all on my own and I wasn't expecting to need to think this hard, especially after 2AM."

"I'm sorry. I wish it could be helped."

"So let me make sure I have this all straight," Adrienne continued. "This Carter guy that we met like two years ago seduced MY ex-best friend Elyse into crystal meth addiction and abused her for years before kicking her skeletal butt to the curb to the point where she called ME for help. Helping this depraved asshole all that time was his equally messed-up stepsister, Cameron, and we're supposed to rescue the bitch?"

Sasha scowled and explained, "According to Elyse, Cameron wasn't all that bad. Carter's got her under his thumb somehow, but she did a lot to help Elyse and the other girls. If Ben's friend Amber says she needs a rescue, well ... Look, I've never met this Carter guy, but if he's even half as evil as Elyse made him out to be, then I can totally believe that Cameron is in real danger."

Adrienne scoffed, "But she's his stepsister. Would he really hurt her? And did you even know they were related before?"

That last part she directed to me, and I shook my head. "No, I didn't. Amber said she didn't know either for the longest time – apparently they don't advertise that part of the relationship."

"Well if they're fucking, I can understand why," Adrienne sighed, before raising her eyebrows at me and darting a sideways glance at Sasha.

But Sasha was looking away and shrugged. "Stepsister or not, if Cameron is in danger..."

Adrienne grimaced. "But do we KNOW she's in real danger? All Amber got was what, a text message? C'mon, Tiger. You should know better than to put all your faith in a text."

I nodded tightly. "I know, and there's wiggle room in the plan to account for the possibility that nothing's going on. Presuming I find Cameron, I'll be asking her myself if she wants to get out of there, and if she doesn't, I simply walk away. But Amber said that the text pretty much read 'Get me out of here, please!' Now that in and of itself could be interpreted to varying degrees of urgency. But apparently she and Cameron had been in semi-regular contact for a while, with a pattern of the situation worsening. But Cameron has been completely out of contact for nearly two weeks, save for this one text message that got through, and there's been no other contact since. We have no idea if Cameron is safe or not. And if Amber believes Cameron needs a rescue tomorrow, I'm inclined to believe her."

"Then why doesn't she do the rescue?"

"She is. She'll be outside with the car. But Amber can't go back inside the mansion; she's been out of the scene for a long while and it would be too suspicious for her to suddenly return. Plus, whoever is in control of Cameron's phone must have seen the flurry of missed calls and worried texts Amber's been sending. She's on their radar."

"But you, on the other hand, have visited a few times recently," Adrienne said in understanding. "You could show up and nobody would be the wiser."

"Especially if the froshlings are there. I've made it clear that I'm looking out for them."

"Then I'm coming too."

My eyebrows popped. "Wait, what?"

"You really think you're going there alone?"

"No, no way. I HAVE to go, but there's no reason to risk anybody else getting hurt."

Sasha eyed me coldly. "Thought you said there WASN'T any real chance of getting hurt."

"There isn't. It's just..."

"C'mon, Tiger," Adrienne insisted. "Besides, what if the froshlings aren't there? You'd need some other excuse for showing up, and what better excuse than bringing a special guest? Like ... say ... a certain famous Sports Illustrated model?"

I frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be keeping a low profile? AWAY from parties like this?"

"My presence would deflect attention from you being there. You haven't shown up to watch over the froshlings every time, so your sudden arrival could raise alarm bells. But the very reason I'm supposed to be keeping a low profile is because I'm a visible party girl in the media. I have a reputation. And besides, you say Carter's this big voyeur. I suppose the chance to watch somebody famous like me get fucked would be QUITE the carrot."

I held up my hands. "Whoa, whoa. Now I might agree that your presence would give me an excuse to be there, but I am NOT letting you have sex in Carter's Showroom."

"Why not?" Adrienne raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Sasha piped up. "You DID say Amber claimed the most surefire way to get you downstairs was to be in Carter's Showroom."

"She did, and I agree," I replied with a sigh. "I have to get downstairs somehow, but I honestly thought I'd volunteer to do it with someone else. The two times I've been back Carter has asked me to do it, and according to Amber, Carter has told Cameron he really wants to see me perform again, even without bringing Adrienne along. That's why Amber came to me in the first place; Cameron told her I'd shown up there again and that Carter still had an interest in me."

"You'd do that? Use some random slut for a sick pervert's twisted pleasure as a means to an end?" Sasha winced.

I frowned. "It sounds really bad, I know. But really, it's nothing I haven't done before, albeit under very different circumstances."

Adrienne flicked her eyes over to Sasha. "Would YOU be okay with that? Ben having sex with some random crystal meth skank? I realize that you're technically not Ben's girlfriend, but let's face it: that's only a technicality."

Sasha made a face but shook her head. "Well I've never asked him for fidelity, if that's what you're getting at."

"No, she's right," I said with a tight nod. "As much as I want to do this as a favor for my ex-girlfriend, I barely know Cameron. And if the fidelity aspect of this plan bothers you, I can find another way."

"No, no..." Sasha shook her head. "I saw what happened to Elyse. I don't know Cameron from Jane Doe, but no girl deserves that. If you believe she honestly needs to get the hell out of there, I'm not going to balk at you porking a random slut or two to do it."

Adrienne grinned. "You've got a keeper there, Tiger."

I broke out a genuine smile. "I know it."

"Besides, you won't have to bang any random crystal meth skanks if it's me with you," she added.

"Back to this again," I sighed. "I still don't like the idea of you even coming with me. I DEFINITELY don't want to put you in a position like that."

Adrienne grinned. "A position like what? Exposing my body for a creepy guy on the other side of a one-way mirror so he can jack off while watching me? Tiger, that's really not so different from modeling, and now that I've got two sex tapes out there I'm not exactly shy about it. If anything, my reputation makes it MORE believable."

"I still can't believe you're trying to talk me INTO putting you on display for a sicko pervert."

"You say you gotta do this. I'm doing what I can to help. If performing in his Showroom does the trick, then why not me?"

"Well you never know how far I might get if I just wander around acting like I belong. And hey, Carter seems to like me, so I could always just ask him."

"Yeah, right," Sasha replied with her eyelids half-closed and a doubtful look on her face.

"Getting you a gig on stage ... well on BED ... is like the crux of your whole plan to get downstairs, right? And having ME in there would make the suggestion irresistable, wouldn't it?" Adrienne waggled her eyebrows.

I sighed. "Probably yes. Even so, I've kinda told him I don't do one-on-ones. Habit, really. Last time Carter set me up with a threesome, so I'm betting he'd throw in some crystal meth skank anyway."

Sasha took a deep breath and volunteered, "Then I'll do it."

I blinked before popping my eyes wide open. "Wait, WHAT?"

"I'd do it," she repeated. "For you."

I shook my head. "No. NO. Absolutely not. I don't want you going anywhere NEAR that place."

"What? You're letting Adrienne go. And don't tell me it's because of the whole 'putting my body on display for sicko perverts' thing, or did you forget what I do for a living?"

"She's a blonde. Carter's got a thing for gorgeous brunettes."

"All the more enticing to put me in the Showroom with you."

"NO! I am NOT putting you in the line of fire!"

"But Ben--"

"NO. And that's final." I wiped my face for a moment and took a deep breath. "That's the part that freaks me out the most, and makes me want NEITHER of you to participate. If I go down there alone, I don't have to worry about being separated from you. The LAST thing I want is to find out I got back upstairs with Cameron only to find that one of YOU is still stuck downstairs unable to get away. Adrienne, you've been around this kind of scene before, and you already know how to handle this. Plus, you're famous and for anything to happen to you would invite scrutiny which, again, Carter doesn't want. But you, Sasha ... Unfortunately, you're just another anonymous brunette who could disappear like Elyse. I won't have that happen."

Sasha blanched and stared at the floor, a hollow look in her eyes. I could only imagine that she was envisioning herself in Elyse's place.

"This whole idea is crazy. You know that, right?" Adrienne muttered while rubbing the bridge of her nose again.

"It's not that bad. I get in, I get downstairs, I tell Cameron that her escape vehicle is waiting outside, and she simply has to make a run for it. Amber will take it from there."

Sasha sat up straight. "Wait, if she can run outside of the house, why doesn't she just go to the neighbors and call 911?"

"Amber says it's too far. The house is isolated. Carter's goons would catch her."

Sasha frowned. "Then steal the keys to a car and drive out herself!"

"If she could have, she would have. Look, I'm not saying there isn't a better way of doing this. If anything, Amber kept cursing that Cameron didn't bolt weeks ago before whatever happened, happened. But she's convinced that Cameron is in danger and can't get away without inside help."

"Meaning YOU go in there and rescue her. Tonight."

I shrugged. "It's all I got."

"Well then maybe WE should call the cops," Sasha suggested. "They ARE the authorities. Tell 'em it's a crystal meth house and let them raid the place. Then you and Amber can go find Cameron afterwards."

"And what if Brooke and DJ are there?" I asked with a shrug. "At best they get rounded up for drug use, which would go on their permanent records. At worst, the presence of police might escalate the situation and the whole thing could turn violent. I'm not risking their safety."

Sasha shook her head. "Then warn them that you're sending police there tonight and they shouldn't be there."

"And have them tell Lexi? And Lexi tell Carter?"

Even Sasha grimaced, but a moment later she perked up and slapped herself on the forehead. "The froshlings won't be there until tonight. Send the cops in NOW. Or at least during the daytime."

"Still might not work," Adrienne spoke up, "guys like this often have connections to the local authorities. If he's operated for this long out of the same house throwing these parties, he's probably got someone who would tip him off before the heat came. At the very least, he'd have protocols in place to stash things away – which might include Cameron – to get through a cursory search. There's only so much the police could do on an anonymous tip – maybe send a single squad car to investigate – and you wouldn't get a full raid without proof."