The moon shone through the window as the alcohol began to loosen its grip over their hearts and minds.
Chad, who was sweating profusely after the night he had shared with Amber could not help but wipe it from his brow.
All the while she leaned over next to him and smirked as she whispered in his ear.
"That was amazing… We should do this again."
Having had the thought on his mind his entire night, Chad couldn't help but broach the subject no matter how taboo it might be, extending his arm around the woman, and wrapping her bare chest tight against his so that she had no escape.
"Yeah? Who was better, me or Trevor?"
Amber's reaction was not what Chad was expecting in the slightest.
She broke out into laughter immediately, and it was only after she saw the look of confusion the man was giving her that she choked on her glee.
"What? Are you serious? Why do you think I kept calling the douche a limp dick all night? He passed out before he could even get my panties off. A guy being a major lightweight is a huge turnoff, you know. I slept on your sofa that night. And I'm glad I did, because I got to meet you."
Chad sighed, looking over at his phone in his hand, not saying a word as he played the video. He had to post it, but he didn't know if he should, not after everything that had happened.
And then he looked over into Amber's eyes and asked her the immediate question on her mind.
The moonlight caused the sweat to glisten on her fair skin.
"Listen, Amber… I'm…. I'm kind of going through a tough breakup right now, and I don't-"
She cut him off instantly, placing a single finger to his lips, not with disappointment or wrath in her eyes, but with understanding.
"You don't need to say anything, Chad. I get it. Besides, I'm not looking for anything serious anyway, not now. I honestly don't think capable of that. I just wanted to blow off some steam while my mom and her prick of a husband were away… That's all, and I'm glad I did; I had a lot of fun tonight."
Chad couldn't help but sigh in relief, and that did not go unnoticed by Amber who nudged him in the shoulder with her fist.
"What? You're so relieved I'm not gonna try to force you to date me seriously? Wow.. Real chivalrous of you, Chad…."
Yet the words were not spoken with venom; instead they both broke out into laughter as Amber crawled out of bed and fetched herself another glass of whiskey. All the while Chad himself began to get dressed.
Being sober enough to drive back to his dorm, or at least he hoped so, he was quick to fumble through his clothes. All while making small talk to the best of his ability, as awkward as it may be.
"I thought I was a bit strange that in all your photos it was just you and your mother until the most recent ones. Did your mom remarry or something?"
Amber nearly choked on her drink, not expecting such a serious question. The liquor burned her throat, causing her to wince, and tear up ever so slightly.
And then she forced herself to swallow the fire, suddenly becoming flushed with what appeared to be anger as she wagged a finger in his face.
"Listen, man, I invited you here tonight, and we had some fun, but we don't know each other well enough for me to get into my family problems, not unless you want to share some trauma of your own…."
It was not an open invitation, more like a defensive barrier meant to immediately shut down any further conversation.
And then she noticed it; the dog tags Chad wrapped around his neck shimmered as the stars shone upon Chad's shirtless figure.
It wasn't the most muscular in the world, but there was definitely some noticeable tone. Which caused Amber to grow flushed with arousal once more while she looked away in guilt.
"You were in the army? I didn't know that…"
Chad scoffed as he placed a shirt over his body, concealing the dog tags beneath. And shook his head.
He didn't say anything at first, and then as he saw the chain around his neck, above his collar he stopped for a moment.
For whatever reason, he decided to take Amber up on her offer and began to speak of what ailed him.
"They were my father's. Or so I'm told. I don't really know; I never really knew the man. This is all I have to remember him by…"
Amber's voice caught in her throat while she was pouring herself another drink. She could tell immediately from the tone in Chad's voice that her attempt to shift the conversation had caught onto something far heavier than she had initially intended.
She wanted to end the conversation then and there, before she regretted it. But her mind wouldn't let her, nor would her body, as her mouth uttered a single word without her intent.
"Was?..."
Chad nodded his head as he sat down on the bed, placing his socks on his feet one by one. Sighing heavily as he recalled what he had been told.
"He died in Mesopotamia… Anbar to be exact. It was a long time ago; I was just a kid. These were brought back to my mother by the guys who fought beside him until his last breath. It's just been my mother, my two sisters, and me ever since. Well… And my 'uncles'…."
There was extra emphasis on that last word, which only compelled Amber to inquire further.
"Uncles?"
Chad smirked as he placed the shoes on his feet, tying their laces orderly, and neatly just as he was raised to do.
"Well, I call them that, but we're not related by blood. The guys I told you about, the guys who my father served with, they did their part in helping me grow up. Hell, I was practically raised by a pack of feral marines. Anyway, I dumped my trauma on you like you asked, so I think you owe me some in return, wasn't that the deal?"
Amber was stunned into silence… She had just walked into this man's trap. And she had done so without even realizing it, she stammered, and stumbled over her words.
Yet Chad was already on the move while she tried her best to figure out how to respond. He walked right up to her and snatched the drink from her hands. Drinking its remaining contents in one swig, he sighed in relief.
He then placed the cup on the wardrobe where she kept the bottle and patted her on the head.
"I'll take a rain check on that, though. Tell me all about it the next time we hang out, deal?"
Amber couldn't help but stare at Chad in an entirely new light as she nodded her head silently in agreement.
Chad then walked out the door of her room, and it was only then that she mustered the strength to call out to him.
"It's… It's a date!"
Chad could only smirk and shake his head as he left the house entirely, preparing to drive off to his dorm, while Amber sat in silence for quite some time before going back to bed.
---
On the other side of town, in a far wealthier neighborhood, lay a pristine and luxurious estate.
It was one of many within the gated community that protected the city's more well-off residents.
Claire sat in her room and sighed.
Her phone was in her dainty hands as she rested on her bed in a pure white nightgown.
It was modest in design, yet was still made of exceptional quality. Fine silk and lace trim, despite not being overtly seductive.
She read the messages Chad had sent her the night before. Seeing the painful pleading in his words for the first time since their breakup.
She was just about to text a message back when she heard the bone-chilling voice emerge from behind her.
"It is bad enough you lied to your father and me, and chose to apply to that disgraceful and foul institution you call a university just so you could be with that ill-bred degenerate. But now I find you trying to run back to him after I deliberately told you to cut ties? And breaking into the family safe just to gain the means to do so? Have you no shame, Claire? This was not how your father and I raised you to be!"
Claire did not even get to press send before her overbearing mother swiped the phone from her hand and stared at the text.
Which expressed sorrow, regret, and a desire to get back together with Chad, even going so far as to blame her mother for her actions that night at dinner.
While mostly true, this only served to outrage the graceful, but cold mature beauty who stood in front of her daughter with bone-piercing rage in her ice-blue eyes.
She tucked the phone in her silk robe pocket before slapping Claire across the face. Leaving a visible red print across her finely sculpted porcelain cheek.
"This is the last time I will suffer such insolence. Your relationship with that mangy mutt is over! Do you hear me, Claire! You will no longer try to throw away your future for him. Once this semester is over, you will transfer to Eale University where you belong with the rest of the alumni in our family, do you understand me!?!"
Claire however was far from submissive, her eyes were filled with defiance as she tried to defend Chad yet again to her mother.
"You're wrong about him! He's not as bad as you paint him out to be! He might be in a lower tax bracket, and he might enjoy drinking and gambling a bit too much for his own good. But he's not some amoral degenerate like you seem to believe he is! He's a good man; he just… God is testing him!"
Another smack. And the handprint grew twice as bright, tears now forming in Claire's eyes as she lowered her head in deference to her mother.
The woman immediately went from stern to comforting as she hugged her daughter tightly, as if she had mastered the art of manipulation before the girl was ever even born.
Her voice turned soft and motherly as she assured the girl that none of this was "her fault."
"Claire… I know you are fond of the boy. But it is time to grow up and realize that he is not the one for you… Focus on your studies, get your degree ,and when you've graduated, I'm sure your father will have found a man worthy of your hand in marriage. Forget about that boy. It's not your fault he's such a mess, and it is not your responsibility to save his rotten soul…."
As Claire cried into her mother's shoulder, and promised she would finally behave herself, while apologizing for being "weak," a sneer curved upon her mother's perfectly chiseled bow-shaped lips.
---
By the time Chad returned to his dorm, he found that his roommate Trevor was nowhere to be found.
He immediately crashed into his bed, exhausted from the night, and the "exercise" he and Amber had engaged in.
He almost forgot to post the video until the app sent a notification. Reminding him that the clock was ticking.
Too exhausted to worry about the consequences that may result from his actions, he opened the app and saw that the video was in its library, and not that of his phone.
With an option that simply said "upload."
He pressed the button, and then closed his eyes.
Passing out, but not before he let out one final whisper.
"I don't even care anymore…"