by Sarah Adams
“Awesome,” she said and her smile broadened.
“Well, I don’t need you to have a panic attack on the back of my bike, Bookworm,” he chuckled.
“Just let me grab my purse and we can leave,” Clarissa said.
“Shoes,” Skull said.
“Huh?” Clarissa asked confusedly.
“Shoes,” he said again, pointing down at her feet this time.
“Oh, yeah, those things,” she laughed.
Clarissa blushed furiously as she walked back into her room to retrieve her purse.
“Calm down,” she told herself, “It’s not a big deal. Just go out and have fun.”
After taking a few deep breaths and slipping into her flats she met Skull at the door.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Come on,” Clarissa said as she locked the door and sprinted off to the steps. She didn’t want to experience another elevator ride with Skull. Her thoughts went to lustful places when she thought about being in such proximity to him.
Outside, Skull helped Clarissa with her helmet. He fixed it over her hair and fastened the straps. Clarissa blushed as his hands brushed against her cheek and she had to fight the urge to lean into his touch.
“So where are we going tonight?” she asked.
“I told you the bar,” Skull grinned.
“I know that,” Clarissa said, “What I meant was, which one?”
“You’ll see when we get there,” Skull said, climbing onto his motorcycle.
“It’s not like a biker bar or something is it?” Clarissa asked.
“What makes you think that?” Skull laughed and held out his hand to help Clarissa onto the bike.
Ignoring his outstretched hand she clambered onto the bike and settled against his back.
“Well, I don’t know,” Clarissa rolled her eyes, “Maybe the bike.”
Clarissa waited for Skull to assure her that their destination wasn’t a biker bar, but he didn’t. Instead he revved the bike’s engine and pulled out onto the street. Clarissa’s stomach tightened and it felt like her heart dropped down into it. What did people do at bars anyway? She knew there would be alcohol, but she wasn’t worried about that. She had never been tempted to drink. Clarissa had witnessed Julie hung-over too many times to ever want the experience.
Clarissa had also been exposed to enough television against her will to know that most bars and clubs had dance floors. Clarissa didn’t think Skull was the type to enjoy dancing, because she didn’t think she’d survive being dragged onto the dance floor. She had never been coordinated enough to follow a beat. Julie said it was because she was too self-conscious, but Clarissa thought it was just the result of being her father’s daughter. Thankfully, she wasn’t as clumsy as he could be at times.
As they drove Clarissa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed to clear her mind. Worrying about what awaited her at the bar wasn’t going to make her feel any better. Instead she found herself concentrating on how good Skull smelled and how his back felt against her stomach and breasts. Her nipples were hard again and Clarissa bit her lip. Skull had a way of undoing her and Clarissa couldn’t stay away from him.
No other guy had ever affected her this way. Justin had tried more than a few times to talk her into going all the way, but she always refused. She had always known deep down that Justin was a real jerk, because he’d bring it up again and again, pushing the limits of their make-out sessions closer and closer to Clarissa’s limits, like he hoped she’d forget her morals while she was lost to the passion of the moment.
After pulling away from Skull the previous evening, Clarissa had thought that she’d never see him again. She half expected that he would leave while she was in the kitchen, but he had stayed. More than that he had asked to see her again. Maybe her first impression of him had been wrong. Maybe Skull was just running late for class or something that day at the grocery store.
The bike came to a stop and Skull killed the engine, but Clarissa didn’t move. She wanted to state in motion forever, because stopping meant that she had to face what would come next and she wasn’t sure she was ready. After a few seconds she forced herself off the bike and removed the helmet, then ran her fingers through her hair hoping it still looked as good as it had when they set out.
Clarissa nearly squeaked in surprise when Skull took a hold of her hand and entwined his fingers through hers. His palm felt warm against her and the intimate gesture made Clarissa blush. She tried to look nonchalant about it, like guys that she was really attracted to held her hand all the time. Every day in fact.
“This is a biker bar!” Clarissa frowned looking up at the sign that read ‘AlleyCat Pub.’
“Don’t worry about it,” Skull shrugged, “You’ll be fine, Bookworm.”
“Please quit calling me that,” Clarissa sighed.
She hated how conflicted Skull’s attitude made her feel. Last night he was the sweet guy who didn’t try to talk her into going farther than she was willing to, but today he was the jerk who was taking her somewhere he knew she didn’t want to go and lied to her. Clarissa was beginning to hate the word bookworm. Before it hadn’t bothered her, she had even dubbed herself that on more than one occasion, but when Skull said it, the label carried a sarcastic jab.
“Let’s just go inside,” Skull said and led her to the door.
Clarissa took a deep breath and dread filled her belly. She wasn’t looking forward to being surrounded by sweaty men, most of which were likely to be felons. When Skull opened the door Clarissa took a deep breath and held it as she waited for a cloud of smoke to waft out the door.
Clarissa blinked and cocked her head to the side. The bar’s interior was much cleaner than she had expected to find it and the air wasn’t stale with beer, piss, r smoke, either. Instead it smelled of chips and salsa although a few of the guys at the bar were throwing back beers. Many of the men were dressed like you’d expect bikers to be and looked just as intimidating as they did in the movies. On the left arm of every man was a star with a bold black X over it. The matching group tattoos made Clarissa think that the men might be part of a gang. What Clarissa couldn’t understand was why would the Goth-at-heart Skull would want anything to do with these guys.
“Hey, Skull, you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?” one of the men at the bar called out.
“I’m not his girlfriend,” Clarissa said, putting her hands on her hips.
“Not yet,” one of the other guys laughed.
“So, Skull’s not-girl-friend, do you have a name?” the first man asked.
“Clarissa,” she answered.
“Hey, kid, I’m Hugo,” the guy said and lifted his beer into the air, “and that’s Boss and Lobster.”
“Lobster?” Clarissa asked arching an eyebrow.
“Yea?” he asked.
“Where do you guys get these names from?” Clarissa laughed.
“There’s a reason I shave my head,” the guy laughed, “Why don’t you kids sit down and I’ll tell you about it?”
“Sure,” Clarissa grinned and moved towards the bar.
“Actually, Lobster, we’re here to play pool,” Skull cut in.
“Oh,” Clarissa said, “I don’t know how to play.”
“I’ll teach you, come on,” Skull said and took her hand again.
Hugo winked at her as Skull led her to the other side of the bar where a shabby-looking pool table stood. Clarissa tried to pay attention to what Skull was saying, but someone had turned on the jukebox and she couldn’t quite make out his words.
“What?” she called out over the music.
“Here, just let me show you,” Skull said and handed the cue and stepped up behind her.
Clarissa’s heart skipped a beat and she swallowed hard. He stepped closer and she could feel him pressing against her body.
“Hold it like this,” Skull said and carefully guided her hands to the appropriate places, “and then like this.”
Skull leaned forward sl
owly guiding Clarissa into the proper position to take her shot. Clarissa bit her lip and tried to concentrate on the white ball in front of her, but all she could think about was how close she was to Skull and how good it felt. She allowed Skull to move her arms and aid her in striking the cue ball. A second later the white ball crashed into the others and sent them scattering across the table. She waited for skull to move, but he stayed where he was. Clarissa turned her head and looked up at him.
“Good, now try it again, but by yourself this time,” Skull said, but Clarissa could tell he wasn’t as focused on the game as he was pretending to be.
“Okay,” she said and looked back to the table, but before she could even take aim her cellphone vibrated in her back pocket.
“Shit,” she said, jumping and pulling the phone from her pocket. For a moment she stared at the vibrating cellphone and hesitated. It was Maggie which meant she was being called into work. She didn’t want to leave.
“Just a minute,” she said and turned away, walking to the far wall, “Hello?”
“Hey, kiddo, I hate to do this to you,” Maggie said, “but I need you to come for a few hours.”
“Can’t,” Clarissa said.
“Um.. why?” Maggie asked.
“Because I’m busy,” Clarissa rolled her eyes.
“Doing what?” her manager asked.
“Stuff,” Clarissa said.
“Is this ‘stuff’ important?” Maggie asked.
“Maybe,” Clarissa said, glancing back over her shoulder at Skull who had joined his friends at the bar.
“It’s only for a couple of hours, Clarissa,” Maggie sighed.
“I want double pay,” Clarissa said.
“Will it put you into overtime?” the other woman asked.
“Nope, but I want it anyway. You’re interrupting my day off,” Clarissa said.
“Not going to happen, kiddo,” Maggie laughed, “When can you be here?”
“I have to go all the way home and change, then take a taxi over,” Clarissa said trying her best to sound exasperated.
“I can pick you up,” Maggie said.
“When did you get back in town?” she asked.
“This morning,” Maggie told her, “I’ll tell you more when I see you. Where are you by the way?”
“I’m only about a couple blocks from the shop, I’ll meet you there,” Clarissa said.
“That’ll work. You don’t need your uniform. I just need someone to do inventory,” Maggie said.
“Kay,” Clarissa sighed, “See you soon.”
Clarissa hung up the phone before she told Maggie to do the damn inventory herself. She had been away in Vegas for two weeks and it was time for her to get back to work.
“I gotta go,” Clarissa told Skull, “That was my boss. She wants me to do inventory. It doesn’t take long so we can hang out again later if you want.”
“Wanna meet me back here?” Skull asked.
“Okay, then you can finish teaching me to play,” Clarissa grinned, “but I gotta go because I stupidly told her how close I was.”
“Later,” Skull grinned, “Oh, one more thing.”
“What?” Clarissa said and turned back to face him. His lips moved against hers hard and fast. Skull’s tongue quickly parted Clarissa’s lips and danced with her own. When he pulled away Clarissa was blushing again.
“Later,” she said and ran out of the bar.
Clarissa’s pulse was still racing when she arrived at work.
“Hey, Maggie,” she sighed and clocked in, “How was Vegas?”
“Loud and bright,” Maggie laughed.
“Did ya have a good time?”
“Yeah, it was fun, but I’m exhausted,” Maggie laughed.
“Too bad,” Clarissa teased, “You don’t get a vacation to recover from your vacation.”
“I still have sick time,” Maggie laughed, “So you know the deal, kiddo, inventory reports.”
“Yeah,” Clarissa sighed.
“Clarissa?” Maggie called after her.
“Yeah?” Clarissa called back.
“Just one more thing, quit going to biker bars,” Maggie laughed.
“Are you stalking me?” she asked, feeling that Maggie was getting more involved in her personal business than she had the right to.
“No, I was just driving in when you got off the bike. Who was the guy anyway?” she asked.
“A friend,” Clarissa said and stormed off into the store room.
“Be careful,” Maggie said following behind her, “I’m not trying to tell you what to do or anything, Clarissa, but guys like him can be trouble. If he’s hanging out there, he’s most likely trying to join their little gang bullshit and that’s bad news.”
There was an awkward pause.
“Why am I telling you this?” Maggie laughed, but Clarissa could tell that it was fake, “You’re a bright girl. You already know these things. So I’ll leave it alone for now, but promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I’m always careful,” Clarissa sighed, although she wasn’t sure she was telling the truth. She had been a little reckless recently, but not too much. She hadn’t done anything too dangerous and the guys at the bar didn’t seem like criminals. Her mother would tell her that she was just being naive, but since when did she actually listen to her mother’s advice? Well, sometimes she did, but it wasn’t something Clarissa liked to admit.
Two and a half hours later Clarissa had finished the inventory reports and mopped the floor of the storeroom after spilling a box of those little plastic creamers that she hated. A few of them had been crushed by the fall and turned the floor into a milky mess. Sighing, Clarissa clocked out and headed into the restroom to wash the sweat from her face.
Once she the task was complete and she had brushed her hair, Clarissa decided that she didn’t look much worse for wear. She walked past Maggie without telling her goodbye. The sky looked dark so Clarissa decided to take the back streets back to the bar in an attempt to beat the rain. She hoped that Skull had really waited for her, because she wanted to see him again. A small part of her wanted to just climb onto his bike and cling to him. Clarissa was beginning to enjoy the feeling of riding on the back of Skull’s bike. It made the world take on a surreal quality as her worries were left in the dust.
Clarissa turned into an alleyway hoping that it wasn’t a dead end, because if she could cut through she’d come out right next to the bar. She froze when the sound of knuckles cracking against flesh reached her ears. Clarissa had been lost in thought and watching her feet as she walked. It took effort to take a deep breath and look up, because she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to see the blood and gore, but more than that Clarissa didn’t want to admit she knew the owner of the boots she was staring at. The boots the attacker was wearing.
Clarissa forced herself to look up and gasped in opened mouth shock. Skull drew his fist back and hit the guy again. He had his victim pinned against the brick wall of the bar and the guy was struggling, but couldn’t get away from him.
“Skull!” she finally managed to say, but her voice cracked and barely sounded above a whisper.
Clarissa backed away slowly as Skull froze and lowered his fist that was just above to collide into the guy’s face again.
“It’s not what it looks like, Bookworm,” Skull said.
He had a bruise on his cheek and the knuckles of his free hand were swollen and spotted with blood, but Clarissa couldn’t tell whether it was his or the other guy’s.
“Don’t follow me,” Clarissa said, clutching her purse to her side, “I mean it, Skull, don’t follow me. This is done! This through! It hasn’t even started, but I can’t... I just... Don’t follow me!”
Clarissa turned and ran as quickly as she could. She could hear Skull following her, but she didn’t slow down. She was sure that he would concoct some bullshit story that explained it all if she gave him the chance, but she wasn’t going to be that girl. Clarissa wasn’t going to be the naive girlfri
end. Her feet moved of their own accord and she soon arrived back at the shop. Maggie was locking up for the evening and looked up when she heard Clarissa approach.
“You okay, kiddo?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Clarissa said forcing her feet to stand still, which proved difficult with the adrenaline that was pumping through her veins, “Can I get a ride home?”
“Sure,” Maggie said, but didn’t ask any more questions.
Clarissa leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes to hold back the hot, angry tears that were threatening to make her dissolve. She inhaled slowly and deeply feeling her lungs with as much air as they would hold and held it until they burned then she exhaled. The deep breathing granted her a few minutes of composure, but that was all she needed, just long enough to thank Maggie for the ride home and sprint up the stairs to her apartment. She locked the door behind her before collapsing onto the sofa.
Clarissa was angry at Skull for being a jerk, but that didn’t seem fair. She knew he was a jerk from the beginning. He was a bully and she had still allowed him to get close to her. Why had she been so stupid? How was it even possible? Hadn’t she carefully guarded her heart closely since Justin left her for the possibility of loose college chicks? Why had she allowed this to happen? Skull had fooled her and she had been stupid not to see it coming. Just because he was semi-sweet when they were alone didn’t mean he was a nice guy nor a good person. She retrieved her cellphone and dialed Julie’s number.
“Hello?” Julie answered.
“Julie,” Clarissa cried into the phone.
“OMG, Rissa are you okay?” she asked.
“No!” Clarissa said and shook her head even though her friend couldn’t see her, “I’m so not okay.”
“What happened?” Julie asked.
Clarissa quickly brought her up to speed on what had happened since their fight at the mall.
“I told you he wasn’t good for you,” Julie said.
Clarissa bit her tongue, Julie had told her, but she hated that her bestie sounded so smug about the situation. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t want to get into another argument with Julie.