Page 9 of Tasting Innocence
“Think she died here?” Jayden whispers jokingly.
“I think more than one person died here.”
“What did you say?” Monique questions, her eyes wide.
“We were just kidding,” I say with a laugh.
When we get to the second floor, we find that it’s only lit by candle wall sconces.
“There better be electricity here,” Trevor complains.
“Who wants what room?” I ask. “The keys don’t have specific numbers.”
“The doors aren’t really marked either,” Vi says.
“It doesn’t look like a motel,” Renzo adds. “Looks like an old mansion.”
Trevor examines a couple keys in his hand. “These look exactly the same. Old skeleton keys.”
He tries one on one door we pass, and then uses the same key on a different door.
“It works for both,” I say.
“What good does that do?” Vi questions. “None of y’all perverts better try to get in my room at night.”
“We’re rooming together, right?” Monique asks her, clearly scared.
“Let’s all find whatever rooms we’re staying in, and then we can wander around and see what we can see until lunch is ready.”
“What the hell did you get us into, Dex?” Vi asks after everyone searches for their room.
“What? It’s gonna be fun.”
She glances around and makes a face at the peeling wallpaper. “Not the usual thing I think of when I think of fun.”
“What do you think’s fun?”
“Last weekend was fun,” she says with a grin.
“Oh. You hookup with that douchey guy or what?”
“Why do you assume I have to hook up to have fun? I’m not you.”
My jaw drops. “I don’t think that.”
She smirks before she turns to walk away. “Sure.”
I jog to catch up. “Hey. You think I’m some dumb jock who hooks up for fun and that’s it?”
Vi angles her head over her shoulder and smiles. “Of course.”
I twist my mouth. “You’ve known me forever, though.”
“Why do you care what I think?”
I wait a few seconds before I respond. “I’d like to think someone who’s known me for so long would see more than that.”
She bites down on her lip, staring down at the scratched wooden floor as we walk. “You’re a good guy, Dex. I know that.”