Alyssa's Secret by Raven DeLajour Page A

loving me. Does it even matter anymore?
Probably not. But after I grew up without a father, I know how
difficult it can be for a kid to see their parents separate. That’s
the last thing I want Dylan to go through.
    I get to the hotel rather quickly
since it’s right near my house. I consider backing out before I
enter the nice hotel, but then I remember everything that’s going
on at home and it propels me to move forward. I’m the only one in
the elevator as it takes me up to the third floor, where I quickly
find room 303. After knocking on the door, it opens slightly until
I see Adam’s clean-shaven face.
    “ You made it!” he cheerily
says. “We thought you were going to back out.”
    I can’t help but smile at his infectious good
mood. “You better have something good for me waiting.”
    “ Oh, don’t worry. We
do.”
    He opens the door all the way to let
me in. So far, I see nothing out of the ordinary. I see Greg
stretched out on the bed, completely enraptured by his phone, while
I spot an unopened bottle of Jack Daniel’s resting on the
nightstand next to a bottle of Coke. Greg finally sees me in the
room and gets up from the bed with a smile.
    “ Hey,” he says enthusiastically.
“Are you ready for your surprise?”
    I slowly look over at Adam. “Surprise? What
surprise?”
    Adam grins and whips out his phone.
“Well, you see, I heard that you were having a hard time lately at
home, so I figured why not surprise my good friend Erick? Do you
remember how we talked about the three of us hooking up with a
girl?”
    I stare at him. “Yeah, that was like ten years
ago. When I wasn’t married.”
    The grin remains on his face. I
don’t like where this is headed to, but I patiently wait for him to
continue. “Why don’t I pour you a drink? You should get
comfortable.”
    I sit on the unoccupied bed as I watch Greg
pour a substantial amount of whiskey into three red plastic cups
along with soda. He hands me a cup and I tentatively take a sip of
it, almost wincing at how strong he made it.
    “ Okay,” Adam says once he has taken
a thorough sip of his mixed drink. “So like I was saying…we always
wanted that fantasy, right? Well, tonight we’re making it
happen.”
    I stare at my friend blankly. “You’re
kidding.”
    “ I’m not.” He grins as he passes me
his phone. “I posted an ad online and I got a few replies. She
sounded the most promising. Tell me what you think.”
    It’s a good thing that I’m not drinking from my
cup because I would have spurted it all out. Because I’m looking at
Alyssa’s picture except it’s a different Alyssa. Gone are the
glasses and the shy smile. Her wavy hair is all sleek and straight
and she’s wearing black eye shadow along with black eyeliner, which
makes her deep blue-green eyes stand out. There is a sheen coat of
lip-gloss on her pouty lips and she’s sporting a sexy smile. There
is an undeniable, playful, vivacious energy dancing in her eyes.
Along with her bright red dress, she looks like a completely
different person.
    “ You like her, don’t you?” Adam
excitedly says. “I knew you’d like her. You have a thing for
brunettes. So do I.”
    “ And me,” Greg adds. “Shouldn’t she
be getting here soon?”
    “ Any minute now.” Adam grins at me.
“She said we could do whatever we want to her. I can’t wait to fuck
her pretty face.”
    I hand Adam back his phone in a
state of mild shock. I can’t really say anything. Numbness has
settled in my body, making it impossible to move, really. I can’t
do this to Alyssa. What if she thinks that I planned all of this?
What if she tells Miranda? Dread congeals in my stomach until I
feel dizzy, like I’m about to sway. But there isn’t time to back
out because there’s a knock on the door.
    “ I need more whiskey,” I quickly
say as I frantically stand up and grab the bottle on the
nightstand. “You want some more, Greg?”
    “ Sure. Besides, I do better when
I’m drunk, anyway.