NINETY-TWO

Lolita

The plenty of time Jarrod made reference to was just an hour. Twenty minutes in, Hayden was beginning to sweat, and it was not because of the happy hour confession they were having. He realized now that Jarrod truly was not bluffing, and that the alcohol was poisoned. He tried to condition his mind to stay awake and alert, but the noises from the girls behind him weren't helping. He glanced behind him and saw that one of the girls had her head down at the other. They swirled in his vision. He turned quickly to Jarrod and blinked.

Jarrod ransacked the top of the table, searching for something. He finally brought out a pack of cigarettes and passed a stick to Hayden. Hayden shook his head and stuck his own hands in his pocket, extracting his neatly wrapped weed. Jarrod smiled at the sight, amused to see that his brother wasn’t taking another chance with him.

“I didn’t poison the cigarette, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Hayden placed his wrap on his lips and lighted it. “Th