Chapter 6:
So the two friends were back together, despite Taylor's disappointment in Raya's change. It was worth it just to have her around again though. They hung out as much as they possibly could around their working schedule and it just all felt right. Those 2 were supposed to be in each others lives.
One Friday evening a few weeks later Raya and Lindsay headed out to a bar for a friends birthday bash. Raya told Taylor that he and his brothers should stop by to say hi and meet some of her friends. He gladly excepted the invitation not knowing exactly what he was getting himself into.
When Raya partied, she partied hard. Lots of alcohol, lots of men, lots of crazy drunken stories. When Taylor and his brothers first arrived they spotted Raya and Lindsay at the bar with a small group of guys around them taking body shots off of the girls. That was an interesting sight for Taylor to see. He hadn't come face to face with this side of Raya yet.
“Hey!” she called over the music and the crowd and pushed her way over to the Hanson boys, “I'm so glad you guys made it!” Raya had already done a handful of shots and was a bit tipsy. She kind of tripped into a hug with Taylor. Then continued down the line to say hi to Isaac and Zac.
“Come on guys, do you want a drink?” Raya asked grabbing Taylor's hand and pulling him over to her crowd of friends, “Everyone this is Taylor, Isaac, and Zac some old friends of mine, guys this is every one!” she introduced.
“Here Ray,” a tall blonde, surfer looking guy said handing Raya a shot.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I don't know, just take it,” he said.
Raya shrugged and downed the shot, much to Taylor's surprise. Who drinks something without even knowing what it is?
Lindsay made her way over with 2 beers in her hand and handed one to Raya. “Hi, I'm Lindsay,” she said to the guys.
“Linds, this is Taylor, Isaac, and Zac,” Raya officially introduced. Surprisingly, Lindsay had yet to meet the guys.
“It's so nice to meet you guys, I've heard a lot about you,” she said keeping her eyes glued on Taylor.
“You too,” he said politely.
As the night rolled on, Taylor saw just how crazy Raya actually was. She had a greater alcohol tolerance than anyone he had ever met and just kept going and going. People kept handing her drinks and shots and she would just take them without question. She was clearly drunk, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as a normal person who had drank that much.
Taylor and his brothers kind of just hung out at the bar as Raya flitted around the group from the bar, to the pool tables, to the small dance floor, and back. Guys were all over her and she was all over them. It was as if she had no inhibitions, nothing was off limits, not even climbing up on the bar, or flashing the group.
At some point in the night Lindsay plopped herself down at the bar next to Taylor.
“Hey, are you having fun?” she asked.
He smiled politely, “Yeah I am.”
“Good, so how long have you and Raya known each other?” she asked trying to make small talk.
“Since we were babies practically,” he said sipping his beer.
“Then didn't you guys like not talk for a long time?”
He nodded, “About 7 years I think.”
“Is she just as you remembered her?”
Taylor looked across the room. Raya was perched on the edge of a pool table talking and smiling at the blonde surfer guy. She jumped off and as she did, he smacked her butt playfully. She just laughed and walked over to a different group of guys sitting at a table.
“No not at all,” he eventually said.
“Really?! I can't imagine her as anything else!” Lindsay said only knowing the crazy Raya.
“Can't imagine who as anyone else?” a brunette guy wearing a baseball cap said walking up next to Lindsay.
“Raya, can you imagine her as anything other than what she is now?” Lindsay asked.
“Like what?” he asked.
“She used to be a really good girl. Very strict morals and everything,” Taylor explained.
“She was a goody two shoes,” Zac added.
“No way! That's impossible! Raya? Our Raya?” Lindsay asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, when I last saw her we were 16 and she hadn't kissed a guy, hadn't had a boyfriend, hadn't done anything and didn't plan to until she was married. She was totally against drinking and all that kind of stuff too,” Taylor said kind of sadly. He was missing that Raya more and more as the night went on.
“Well she's broken all of those morals with like every guy in this room,” the brunette guy said with a little laugh.
“What do you mean?” Taylor asked.
“Raya isn't exactly a monogamous kind of girl. So I guess with the exception of the no boyfriend thing, shes definitely made her way around our group of friends. I think we've all slept with her at least once after a drunken night. By the looks of it, I think tonight is Sean's turn,” he said.
“Who's Sean?” Taylor asked.
“That blonde guy over there,” Lindsay said pointing to the surfer dude, “She's been all over him tonight.”
“And she does this a lot?”
“Yeah! She's like the queen of partying,” Lindsay said.
“And an incredibly good lay too,” the guy added.
Taylor couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Raya had changed, but he couldn't believe that she had turned into such a ... slut. What on earth was she doing? How did she go from one extreme to the other and act like it was no big deal. Taylor didn't really know how to feel about it. Confusion was definitely the dominate emotion with disappointment a close second.
Why was she throwing her life away like that? Taylor couldn't say that he was a perfect angel and definitely had an occasional one night stand under his belt, but he didn't have a reputation for it and it really bothered him that Raya did. That's not who she was.