by C. Sunrise
“Oh, I’ll move along all right, move along your body with my-” He reaches out and grabs my arm, pulling me towards him. The bile rises in my throat, or maybe it’s this damn drink again, as I push back against his chest with my free arm, ripping my other arm from his grip.
“Finish that sentence and I will end you,” I warn as I take a step back, the situation sobering me up enough to steady my stance and prepare to defend myself. “Throat punch in three... two...”
“Oh, so you like it rough.” He smirks, reaching for my arm again. “I can give it to you ro-”
“One,” I say and shrug. “No means no!”
Okay, so maybe throat punching the poor old guy was taking things a little too far, but I bet he learned his lesson and hopefully he’ll think twice about pushing anyone too far again. Based on the reactions around me, most of the people here seem to agree with my actions.
“Clean-up on aisle three!” I call out and the people near me burst out into laughter. My defences immediately relax, and I return to my previous state.
Man, I’m hilarious.
I step over the man and make my way back towards the bartender to get a new drink since my last one didn’t survive my exciting interaction with Creepy McCreeperton.
“I think I’m in love!” A deep, husky voice says somewhere in the bar. I chuckle and continue to the bar.
Not trusting the bartender to pick my drinks anymore, I ask for my usual party drink—coconut rum and pineapple juice. I continue drinking and dancing the night away until closing time.
I wake up the next afternoon, partially regretting my decision to drink the night before and spend the afternoon recovering and eating hangover food.
By the time night falls, I’m good to go again. I pop over to Bel’s closet and find a suitable ensemble for the evening—a short, red plaid school-girl skirt paired with a short, tight, sparkly tank top. I throw on a pair of black heels, straighten my hair, and apply some makeup with dark red lipstick.
Voila, my transformation is complete.
I call a cab to take me to The Den and begin another night of drinking and dancing. The crowd is bigger tonight, but still not excessive—probably because it’s another weeknight.
Like last night and every other time I’ve been to a bar, there’s always a creeper there with some horrible pick-up line, who doesn’t understand the meaning of no.
“Hey baby, you’re looking good tonight!” Says tonight’s man with zero chance. “If women were boogers, I would pick you first.”
Can someone please teach men how to flirt with women? This is just sad. Entertaining to an extent, but mostly sad. What is wrong with me that causes me to attract the men with no game at all?
Not only that, but Mr. Zero Chance here is wearing bright green lipstick—definitely something I haven’t seen before. Aside from his lizard lips, he could come across as a normal man out having some fun. Unfortunately for him, the lizard lips just don’t do it for me.
“Look, buddy, I’m not interested,” I say with a polite smile. “So, how about you go over there and try your luck with someone else?”
“How about we both go over there and get lucky together.” He snakes his hand around my waist, pulling me into him while his other hand wraps around me and squeezes my ass.
Oh, hell no!
“I said no.” I push him away from me, my polite smile replaced with a glare.
“Come on baby, you know you want to,” he says as he steps towards me again.
“Oh, there is definitely something I want to do with you,” I say as I squint my eyes and my lip twitches. “Throat punch in three... two...”
He continues his approach, oblivious to what awaits him. “Wait, did you say thr-”
“One,” I continue. “No means no!”
Okay. I’m thinking maybe I have tolerance issues when I’m drinking. Did these creepers deserve throat punches for not listening? Maybe. Maybe not. Drunken me seems to think it is an appropriate response.
“Clean-up on aisle three... again...” I say as I step around another dropped man.
They should hire me around here; I do a good job of taking care of the garbage.
“Seriously, who is this woman?!” It’s the same husky voice as last night. I don’t know where the voice is coming from though.
“I like you!” A woman says as she draws my attention from the mystery voice. She’s a beautiful woman with long minty green hair and dressed head to toe black leather, except for her top, which is a small dark red leather zip-up crop top. She looks like she’s the type that skips throat punches and goes straight to stabbing people. I’m both terrified and intrigued.
“Thanks, I’ll be here all week,” I reply and we both laugh.
“Let’s go over there and chat, new best friend!” She says as she pulls me through the crowd into a less busy area—the smoking area.
“Here you go,” she says as she hands me a cigarette.
“Thanks, girl,” I reply, playing it cool.
I’ve never smoked before, but maybe this is something the new me does. She lights my cigarette and I take a big drag. And cough. And cough. And cough.
“Nope,” I say and scrunch my face. “It looks like the new Whoopsie isn’t a smoker.”
She chuckles at me, taking the cigarette from me. “I like you. You’re funny.”
We stand there talking while she finishes her smoke. Turns out her name is Craze—the name suits her. She’s in town with a few others for business and she doesn’t know how long they will be here for. Apparently, she knows the owner of the bar, so she said we get to drink for free. We spend the rest of the night talking, dancing, and drinking.
I go to sleep that night looking forward to going back to The Den. This has become a fun new adventure. Yes, there are a few annoying moments, but overall it feels good to get out.
The next day flies by and before I know it, it’s time to get ready to go out. I had fun with Craze last night and I know she’ll be there again tonight. I guess I’ve been lonely lately, which is all my doing, but it’s nice to spend time with someone who doesn’t know what’s going on in my life right now.
I arrive at The Den showing off my Craze-inspired look. Leather pants, a small red leather bustier with gold studs outlining the chest area, and red leather high heel ankle boots with gold zippers. I left my hair wild to finish the look.
It’s quite crowded tonight and after a few laps I can’t find Craze, but that won’t stop me from getting my party on. I drink and dance with random people for a couple of hours. The lineup for drinks is long, so I head down to the lounge area and get a drink there.
It’s quiet down here, quite a contrast to the rooftop. There are a few people scattered throughout, sitting at booths, dancing on the dance floor, and waiting at the bar.
“What the heck does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?” I ask as I wait at the bar.
I don’t even see a bartender anywhere. Weird.
“Hey there, sugar” a deep, sexy voice says from beside me. It’s not the same husky voice from the last two nights, but it causes a flutter in my sensitive regions. “Maybe I can help get you a drink?”
“Listen, buddy, I’m going to stop you right there because I’m so not in the mood for cheesy pick-up lines tonight,” I reply, smirking as I recall my track history with men at this place. I really don’t want to be three for three with nights of handing out throat punches. “So how about you just move along and leave me alone?”
He laughs. Like his voice, it’s a deep, sexy laugh that make me tingle in all the right places.
“Sorry, sugar,” he says as he steps closer. “But men like me don’t need cheesy pick-up lines to get what they want.”
Great, here we go again.
“You don’t understand what is about to happen to you, but I guarantee it’s not what you were hoping for.” I warn him, still refusing to turn and face him. I don’t trust my ability to control my fist and its incessant need of late to
connect with throats.
“Oh, I’ve seen what happens to people who flirt with you.” He chuckles, and it takes all my effort to fight a smile from forming on my face. “But the problem is that none of those people were me.”
Who is this guy? And who does he think he is? Talk about a God complex.
I turn to my right and find myself staring directly into a beautiful, muscular chest peeking out from a partially unbuttoned black shirt mere inches in front of my face. I don’t have to look at anything else to know who this chest belongs to—it’s one of the men in black that I’ve enjoyed eye-fucking the last two nights. I’ve seen him watching me too, but this is the first time he has approached me.
He’s gorgeous. Unnaturally gorgeous. He kind of reminds me of someone else who makes me weak in the knees—except a much cockier version of him.
“Look here, spice-” I begin, but I get distracted by his perfect, sexy smile.
“I see you agree with me, since you haven’t hit me with a throat punch yet,” he says as his smile twists into a smirk.
Play it cool, Whoopsie. Make him work for it. Don’t give in.
“Sorry, I just haven’t danced enough tonight yet and I don’t enjoy throwing punches before I get warmed up,” I say with a shrug. “Wouldn’t want to pull a muscle or anything. But don’t you worry, it will happen... when you least expect it.”
I wink, and he laughs.
My God, that laugh does naughty things to me.
“Then we should get you warmed up,” he says, and I feel my cool facade crumble to pieces. “But remember, sugar, I’m always ready.”
I stare at him for a few seconds, noticing the mischievous look in his eyes. I laugh, and his face relaxes before he chuckles. It’s good to know that he has a sense of humour and isn’t just an arrogant ass.
I should spend some time with this man and see what other surprises he has for me.
Once you get past that giant ego of his, it turns out he is a decent guy. He has quite a talent for making me smile and laugh. He’s friends with Craze, and the other guy he’s been hanging around with is Laze. They all work together and seem like a good group of people, from what I can tell, anyway. They call themselves the Aze-Team and that is when I knew we’d all get along well.
I didn’t end up seeing Craze that night. I guess she got busy with work. That’s okay though, because I had a fun time with Blaze.
I’m feeling again. Good feelings. Happy feelings. But, like the rest of my life, nothing is ever quite that simple.
TWELVE
My aching feet pull me from my trip down memory lane. I sigh as I side my back down the cold wall, wishing there was a chair in this room to save me from sitting on what is possibly a disease infested floor. The smells and what little of the room I can see don’t exactly scream ‘world’s best sanitary practices’.
I pull my knees into my chest and tilt my head back, leaning it against the wall as I stare at the dark ceiling above. I close my eyes, my thoughts drifting back to what could have led me here. I honestly thought being lied to was the worst thing that could happen to me—how wrong was I? But who really considers being kidnapped as a potential event in their life?
If I knew then what I knew now, perhaps I would have worked harder at healing my relationships instead of avoiding them. I was being reckless. I wasn’t dealing with my issues. I wasn’t considering how recent events were impacting those around me. I wasn’t the only one struggling during this time. A tear streams down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away with the back of my hand.
While I was busy not dealing with being thrust into this new world where everyone lies and turns into creatures, others were also trying to deal with deep feelings of guilt, shame, and concern. Of course, I wasn’t aware of this at the time and relied on the willingness of others to share their experiences with me after the fact. Kace, for example, was very detailed in his recollection of what he went through after seeing me at the market.
I take a deep breath, my attention drifting to recalling Kace’s story, filling in some of the unknowns with bits and pieces Bel told me and let my brain do the rest.
THIRTEEN
*Kace’s POV*
I replay the day at the market over and over in my head.
Every.
Single.
Day.
My heart almost leapt out of my body seeing her that day. But instead of running to her and holding her like every cell in my body was begging me to do, I froze. I just stood there with a stupid smile on my face, not even breathing. I saw the pained look on her face and my heart stopped. Seeing the hurt on her face and in her eyes was too much. Then she turned and walked away, and I still just stood there.
Why didn’t I run after her? Why did I stay standing there like a fool? Why did I just let her go?
That is all I see when I close my eyes—the pained look she gave before walking away. All I see when I don’t keep my mind distracted.
That is what I am... I’m a goddamn fool.
Tears stream down my cheeks. I’m not sure if they are tears of sadness, anger, disappointment, or frustration. Probably all the above.
I told her I would always be there for her. I’ve never been the type to break my word. Ever. I vow to tell her everything. No more secrets. She deserves to know everything. She deserves the truth.
I’m so sorry, Kitten. I have failed you. Please forgive me. Please talk to me. I just want you to be happy. And safe. I... I... I lo...
The sound of my phone ringing brings me out of my depressive state. I take a deep breath and look at the caller ID before hitting the answer button.
“What’s up, Jay?”
“Hey man,” Jay replies. “We are finally on our way and should be there in thirty. You can tell everyone to blame Bel because she was taking her sweet ass time getting ready.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Bel pipes in. “Do it Kace and it will be the last thing you ever do!”
I chuckle before replying, “Sorry, Jay. I’m too young to die. The world is a better place with me in it. Besides, I don’t think you could handle things here without me. I mean, Rebel could, but I’m not sure about you.” I chuckle again and Bel hums in agreement.
“Whatever, man,” Jay replies. “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” I ask.
“Oh, so you think I’m beautiful,” Jay says, and I roll my eyes. “Bel heard it. She’s my witness.”
“I’m hanging up now,” I reply. “See you soon, beautiful.”
I chuckle again as I hang up the phone. As annoying as he can be, I’m grateful to have a friend like Jay. Every minute I’m listening to his nonsense is a minute I’m not worrying about Kitten. And that is exactly what I need—a distraction until Kitten is ready to come back to me.
I know I’m not the only one hurting right now. Jay told me that Bel goes into Sie’s room every day hoping she will magically reappear, and things will go back to the way they were. He often watches her from the doorway as she holds a frame with a picture of the two of them and talks to it as if she’s speaking to Sie. Jay may seem like an animated, goofy character but he has a heart of gold and I can see it breaking him watching the love of his life struggle. The hope that Sie will come back keeps her going.
I laugh as the security camera pings my phone, notifying me that someone has entered our property. Our family takes the safety of our pack seriously, but I often think my parents went a bit overboard with the security system being that we are in a relatively isolated area. So far, it has only proved useful in spying on our own pack and the occasional invited guest. I pull up the app on my phone and watch as Bel and Jay approach the house.
“Uh, Jay, where the hell did you bring me and why did we park so far away?” Bel asks as they walk down the massive tree-lined driveway. They get to the end of the trees and approach a large gate—similar to the one they parked at about a kilometre into the driveway. Jay punches a code into the keypa
d and the gate opens, revealing the huge brick-covered mansion. I chuckle as Bel’s jaw drops. “Is this seriously Kace’s house?”
“It’s not Kace’s house, it’s our house.” He huffs and mumbles something under his breath. “I live here too, you know. Less talking and more walking towards the food.” He grabs her hand and pulls her towards the front door.
With a loud creak the large door opens, and they walk into a massive foyer, stopping in front of the grand staircase that divides the house in half.
“Holy shit!... Shit!... Shit!” Bel exclaims, mimicking an echo. “Look at this place! I think I picked the wrong guy at the beach that night.” She giggles, and Jay rolls his eyes.
I close the app on my phone, placing it in my back pocket, exiting the office and walking to the front door.
“So, size matters,” Jay says while rubbing his chin. “Good thing I’m such a big boy then.”
“Meh, you’re all right I guess,” Bel quips and winks at me as I enter the foyer just in time to watch their conversation in person. I wish I had waited a few more minutes.
“You are so mean to me,” Jay replies. “But I know that you’re just kidding. I make those toes of yours curl and those pretty lips scream.”
“Keep talking like that and we will skip straight to dessert.” Bel looks at Jay and bites her lip.
I sigh, rubbing my forehead. “Seriously guys? Can you not keep it in your pants for ten minutes?”
They both look at each other and look back at me, shaking their heads.
“Are we turning you on, Kace?” Jay teases. “Would you like to join us?”
He winks at me, and I cringe at the thought. After what I heard coming from Bel’s room the other night, I’m honestly quite terrified of what they do behind closed doors. I have no interest in experiencing fifty shades of Jay, thank you very much.
“Well, if you two are busy flirting, then I guess you mustn’t be hungry,” I reply without missing a beat, using Jay’s other weakness against him—food. “I’ll go get rid of your lunch.”