The Hedonist (11 page)

“Hell no, he’s not going to stop me! But I can tell he’s going to be a pain in the ass.”

“Maybe we can off him?” Dr. Daniels jokingly suggested.

“Nah, I’m not going to have anyone’s death on my hands.”

Dr. Daniels told him, “I’ll do what I can.” And Shawn decided that he was done with Friday night at the Country Club. It wasn’t until he was making his exit through the receptionist area that he remembered Michelle.

“Shawn! Am I still coming with you?” Michelle asked.

“Oh, of course!” he smiled.

“You okay?” she asked.

“A little mishap, but nothing to ruin a terrific night.”

“I hope you saved me a few lines!”

He tapped the briefcase and told her to rest assure.

She excitedly clocked out and a half hour later, she arrived at Shawn’s house for the second time. But this was the first time that she had ever met Lauren and Jessica, who had just returned to the house after spending time with a few friends.

“Lauren, Jessica… this is my friend, Michelle,” Shawn introduced her.

They greeted one another when Shawn opened the briefcase. Instead of making small talk or asking them if they were okay with group sex, he skipped straight to the drugs. Up to his bedroom they went and all four of them were using straws to snort the white powder that would fuel their wild night. Things became hazy yet wiry from each of their perspectives.

Shawn left the bedroom to look for alcohol. He returned within minutes with several bottles of champagne stuffed in his grasp. And when he returned to the bedroom, the girls were all undressing.

“Who wants a bottle?” Shawn asked them eagerly. “Make out and it’s all yours.”

Lauren and Jessica began passionately kissing one another, rushing their hands through each other’s hair.

“Now grab each other’s asses, put on a show!”

They did as told and Shawn used a cork to pop open a bottle of champagne. Lauren stopped making out with Jessica in order to snatch one of the bottles from Shawn’s hand. She took huge gulps and was ready to down the entire bottle until Jessica took it from her and began drinking the rest.

Michelle hopped close to Shawn and unbuttoned his shirt as he reached for another small bag of manic ‘white pony.’

“Shawn, give me another line of blow and the rest of my clothes come off,” Michelle said.

“Fuck those underwear!” he said as he handed her the rest of what he was snorting.

Michelle placed her entire nose in the bag, sniffing up as much powder as she could. Then she licked her fingers, making sure every speck had been consumed.

“Yes, yes, yes!” she yelled.

Minutes later, they were all naked as Shawn placed three lines of coke on Lauren’s torso as she lied on the bed. He, Jessica, and Michelle then proceeded to snort the lines off of Lauren’s body. “Could it get more fun than this?” Shawn hazily thought to himself as he compared his uninhibited spree to that of “American Psycho.”

Jessica continued to lick Lauren’s torso as Shawn grabbed Michelle. He mounted her on the bed, grabbing her by the shoulders as he commenced intercourse. While nearly out of her mind, she began yelling excitedly as he went in and out. The lasciviousness had reached a new level in the bedroom and Shawn’s excess only led way to further excess.

CHAPTER 10

Shawn Stevens awoke the next morning with three young women in his bed, bottles of alcohol lying across the floor, and a briefcase full of money that once held two kilograms of cocaine. It was one o’clock in the afternoon when they awoke. Lauren was spry while Jessica and Michelle were still tired from the night before. Shawn was as untidy as ever when he jumped out of the bed, placed on a pair of pants, and reached into the drawer of his nightstand.

“Alright girls,” he called for all of them to get up. “Time for your responsibility.”

“What’s that mean?” Jessica asked, rubbing her eyes.

“That means it’s time to take your morning-after pill.”

He gave all three of them a pill which they each swallowed without question. And all four of them could only recall segments of what took place the night prior.

“I always have a blast at your place,” Michelle said as she got dressed.

“I’m still recovering,” Lauren told him. “But I’ll be good to go for tonight’s party. It’s gonna be big.”

“Yeah, you can come if you want,” Jessica told Michelle.

“That’s an excellent idea,” Shawn agreed. “When’s the partying starting, girls?”

Lauren told Shawn that the party was scheduled to start at ten and would last the entire night. So Michelle left by taxi for the second weekend in a row but this time, she promised to return for the Saturday night party.

A few hours after having breakfast and taking a moment to unwind, Shawn found himself helping Lauren and Jessica arrange the party that was scheduled later in the night.

He moved the furniture around to fit a few pong tables in the middle of the large living room. At the suggestion of Lauren, piñatas were filled with an array of different pills and strung to the ceiling. Lauren went through one of Shawn’s cabinets and made sure there was good choice of Vicodin, Demerol, Percocet, Oxycontin, Palladone, and her favorite, Adderall.

“Are you planning to get everyone fucked up?” Jessica asked.

“Yeah, that’s definitely the plan!” Lauren told her.

Decorations were sloppily thrown about, blow-up dolls were placed in various rooms, flashing lights littered the house, and a DJ table was set up for Jessica to play whatever music would get the crowd in the vibe to party like mad men. And ‘mad’ was precisely the word to describe Shawn’s ridiculous forays.

After the house had been decorated, Shawn drove to the closest package store to purchase as much alcohol as he could fit into his automobile. When he left the shop, the owner was undoubtedly happy from a hefty payday. So hefty, in fact, that the liquor store owner could have closed shop for the rest of the day and still would have made more cash when compared to an average day’s sales. Shawn packed everything into his SUV and drove off with liters of rum, kegs of various brands of beers, caseloads of vodka, and huge amounts of liquor that came packaged in cheap boxes.

This was all in addition to fact that the party was intended to be BYOB- or “Bring Your Own Beer.” The text messages that were discreetly passed around were supposed to specify this but Shawn knew that: 1) The party would consist of a few students under the age of 21 who’d be hard pressed to show up at a party with cases of alcoholic drinks and 2) Many people forget to bring their own drinks even when it’s specified.

When Shawn arrived back at his place, Lauren and Jessica helped him lug the crates of drinks into the house once his car was parked in the garage. While the neighbors generally kept to themselves, Shawn had no intentions of letting them learn that he was planning a wild drug and alcohol fueled party. And it was along that very thought process that he recalled the visit from the police that he received during the last big outing at his place.

If this party was meant to be even bigger than the last, then surely meddling neighbors would attempt to intervene if they saw too many people entering Shawn’s house of if the music were notched up to levels they considered uncomfortable. This was all despite the fact that the large homes in the neighborhood were separated quite amply.

After a moment of contemplation, Shawn picked up his phone and dialed a few different numbers while Lauren and Jessica were taking out shot glasses from the kitchen and distributing alcohol evenly throughout the various rooms. First Shawn phoned Dr. Daniels. He wanted to ask her for someone else’s number and her phone went to voice mail the first two times he called. Upon the third try, she answered her phone and slurred her way through the entire conversation. Shawn was able to get nothing out of her and concluded that Dr. Daniels and her lover were likely stoned out of their minds. (The rehab must not have gone well, he thought.) That or she had just gotten a great deal of dental work done.

So without the help of Dr. Daniels, he sifted through many different contacts he had written down and finally came across the number of Thomas O’Hare. O’Hare was the local chief of police, and like many of the card carrying members of the Wilmot Country Club, he purchased cocaine by the grams from Shawn.

Shawn was initially hesitant but when he called O’Hare’s number he remained collected and cool. It was the only attitude he believed could truly accomplish anything. He considered an attitude of freight, hesitancy, or fervor to be first class tickets to failure. So he phoned O’Hare with pure confidence.

“Hello? Who is this?” O’Hare said.

“Hi, Tom O’Hare. This is Dr. Stevens from the Wilmot Country Club. We’ve brokered certain deals, so to speak.”

“Why hello, Dr. Stevens! How may I help you?”

“Well, you see, Chief O’Hare… I’m hosting a small party at my place this evening. And my neighbors can be a little stuffy. Any hint of music and they’re ringing up your department.”

Shawn gave O’Hare his address and told him that calls diverted to that area for noise complaints should be ignored.

“Absolutely, Dr. Stevens! I’ll consider them nuisance calls. And about next week, I’m going to need you to double my dosage, if you get my drift, Doc.”

“Of course. Consider it done, and at a fraction of the cost.”

“Terrific!” said O’Hare excitedly.

“Just a little show of appreciation for your cooperation.”

And like that, Shawn had taken care of prying neighbors. The conversation lasted three minutes and demonstrated the power of contacts that Shawn had made as the high class drug dealer of the Wilmot Country Club. He knew that asking favors from those who wielded power was something that should only be done sparingly; otherwise it creates the appearance of dependency. But in this case, it was worth the small effort in order to guarantee an unmitigated party.

Around mid-day, he thought back to the prior evening when he was confronted by the maniac in the cowboy hat and green shirt that roughed him up in the restroom of the Wilmot Country Club. Lauren asked him what was on his mind when he told her and Jessica exactly what happened.

“What an asshole!” Jessica responded angrily.

“Who does he think he is screwing with you?” Lauren agreed.

“Eh, I don’t think it’s a big deal. As long as he doesn’t try any shit like that again,” Shawn said.

“No,” Lauren demanded, “What’s his name?”

“Eric Pitts. Why?”

“I just wonna know what that asshole’s name is.”

Shawn asked them to forget the conversation and they obliged as the sun eventually dipped below their horizon. Dark skies entrenched the city and ten o’clock seemed to arrive at a record pace. Almost instantly, a dozen or so students followed by a second dozen of young students made their way into Shawn’s house for the ultimate party. The music was cranked up and drinks were served during the night.

Vodka was served in shot glasses while beer was served in plastic cups. As their habits began to escalate, many of the young students, particularly the brazen guys, decided to forgo drinking cups in favor of gulping down large quantities of alcohol directly from the containers, jugs, and spray hose that Jessica rigged up to the largest container of beer.

Lights flashed from room to room in a manner that would have caused an epileptic seizure in an unassuming person. Balls were being tossed into large red plastic cups during games of beer pong while girls got shirtless, lied on tables, and allowed tequila shots to be served off their bodies. Some of the college students were in various rooms making out together while others were so drunk, they were unaware that they were making out with blow-up dolls by midnight.

The music was notched up once more and the drinks that were lying on tables began to vibrate due to the music blaring from the speakers. Some students were rushing to the bathrooms to puke while others continued their chaotic partying. The piñatas were beaten open as pills splashed all over the floor. Students scrambled about to pick up pills of varying colors while Shawn himself continued drinking from two cups at once after schooling an 18 year old during a game of beer pong. He then made his way into the kitchen when one of his half-drunken students, a guy named James, waved him down.   

“So James,” Shawn said as he finished one of the cups and wafted it to side, “How are you enjoying things?”

“I’m drunk and it’s like midnight… but I still feel like I’m just getting started! You know you’re pretty damn awesome to pull this off.”

“Believe me, I know.”

“No, I mean it, man,” James said. “You know… you’re like the coolest dude ever and the craziest dude ever, combined together.”

“I’m certainly no F. Scott Fitzgerald creation… but I do my best.”

Shawn turned around, looked into the hall way, and noticed several students playing hockey. They had the proper sticks but were using a tennis ball as the puck. They tripped over one another and laughed as they fell down. Shawn told them to enjoy another round of beers before entering the living room and taking control of the pong table.

“Everyone listen up. I’ve got a new game! Join in if you like.”

While Jessica and Lauren were at the DJ table, five other students decided to join Shawn for another drinking game. Shawn pulled a pack of playing cards out of his pocket and began to shuffle them.

“This is called Blackjack Drinks,” he told them. “And this is how it works. Like in a normal game of Blackjack or Twenty-one, everyone gets two cards. Now in regular blackjack you would add your cards together but in Blackjack Drinks it works the opposite way. The total you end up with is the number of shots you drink… Lauren, bring us some shots!”

Lauren quickly left the DJ table and grabbed a handful of shot glasses. She passed them around the pong table and agreed to be the server.

“Alright,” Shawn grabbed their attention and returned to the rules of the game. “So that means if you have a seven and a three then you subtract and have to take four shots. If you have a ten and a four then you take six shots. If you have a bad hand and have to take way more shots than you want then you can freely withdraw from the game at any time. Also, King and Queen cards trump the others cards, so you negate the other card you have and only have to take one shot. If you get a King and a Queen together, then they cancel each other out and you don’t have to take any shots at all. Lastly, an Ace is immunity so you don’t have to take any shots on that round. Now who’s ready to play?”