Counterpart (Succubi & Incubi Assn.)

  “You ever touch her again, and I will make sure you don't live to regret it.” Tristan held the guy by the collar of his neck. He was much taller than him—by a good half a foot—and definitely had more muscle mass then the guy.

  I should've known this was going to happen—oh wait, I did. I just wanted to slap my forehead at my own stupidity. Pushing your lust into an open crowd was definitely going to lead to trouble.

  Then it got worse.

  “If I ever touch her dude,” the unknown guy stared directly into Tristan's eyes, a smirk pulled across his lips, “you’ll be the first to know what it was like.”

  Now I just want to slap my forehead for his stupidity.

  Wrong move.

  Tristan's fist flew through the air faster than I could say anything, and it landed right on the cheek of the guy who then fell to the ground. That turned out to be a bad move too. A group of guys came storming through the crowd, their sights set on Tristan as he knocked down their friend. They didn't get far before people blocked their paths, Noah being one of them.

  All of a sudden it was brawl. Screams broke out as everyone ducked for cover, not wanting to get hit by the rampage that was starting to grow rapidly. Fists were flown. I saw security coming from all sides of the crowd.

  Tristan seemed oblivious to it all though. His fists were clenched at his sides and he continued staring down at the guy who was cradling his face with one hand, staring wide-eyed at Tristan. I even noticed his eyes had gone back to their normal color.

  I wanted to go over to Tristan, tell him it was okay. The muscles in his back were tight. The veins in his forearms protruded from his skin. I always liked when a guy got angry. Tristan was definitely someone who could make that emotion look sexy.

  I can't believe all I’m doing is admire.

  I shook my head from my thoughts. I felt eyes burn into my skin and I looked over to Melinda. A single brow was cocked, and she had the most emotionless expression playing on her face. She shook her head slowly, sighing as she leaned her hip against the side of the ring.

  “What did I say about starting trouble, Maya?”

  Four – Drunk Maya And Alcohol Do Not Work Well Together

  “I still can't believe you managed to start a brawl,” Melinda said as we walked into my dorm. She shrugged off her jacket and threw it over the back of the couch. “It's your fault they postponed the last match.”

  After the brawl broke out, security came in and separated everyone. It was lucky no one had called the cops. Melinda and I managed to sneak out without being pulled in for questioning.

  Turned out we weren't the only ones that ditched either. After a few attempts at trying to get his attention, Tristan had finally looked to me, a questioning look on his face. A few seconds passed and the look turned into a glare. I was taken-back by the expression, but once it was there, he was gone. It was like he was mad at me for what he did. It's not like I couldn't have handled the situation myself, because I would've eventually got around to it.

  “Actually, I'm going to tell him that,” I stated, storming into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of vodka. I had a feeling I was going to need it. Not that I wasn't already feeling the effect of the last alcoholic drink I had.

  “What?” Melinda asked.

  I paused as I walked back into the lounge. She had a brow arched and I was momentarily confused by her confusion. “I'm going to call Tristan,” I said, heading towards my handbag on the floor, searching for my phone.

  “Why?”

  I found it lying at the bottom and I walked over to sit across from Melinda. “Because.” I didn't carry on explaining to her why. She was going to find out when I spoke to him.

  I unscrewed the cap off the vodka bottle and scrolled through my contacts, finding Tristan's name seemed easier than I thought and I pressed dial. I took a swig of the liquor and felt the burn rush down my throat. It wasn't the greatest taste, but it was either this or the tequila, and I wasn't really in the mood to get tequila wasted. It usually ended up with me happy, not caring, or horny.

  “Hello?” Tristan sounded sleepy when he answered, which shouldn't be right considering he was just at the arena almost an hour ago. The thought soon slipped my mind when I remembered why I was calling in the first place.

  “I could have handled that myself, Tristan. That had absolutely nothing to do with you.”

  There was a short silence and I heard him sigh. “Maya, it's Daniel.”

  Huh? I froze and pulled my phone down to see that it was indeed Daniel that I called and not Tristan. “How the fuck did I fuck that up?” I said, pulling the phone back to my ear. “Sorry, Daniel.” At least that explains why he sounded tired.

  Melinda perked at the sound of Daniel's name and I heard a squeal come from her. She was quick to join my side and I was instantly detached from my phone. “Daniel! Oh my God. I haven't heard from you in forever.”

  It was a lost cause to even think about getting my phone back off her. Once she wanted to talk to someone, she could be a while.

  “Oh, I know. Maya and I should totally come over to Florida some time.” There was a short silence. “Why did Maya call with an angry tone?” She turned to face me and I waved my hand in the air. “You'll actually never guess.” Another short pause. “That's exactly what she did.”

  “Fuck you, guys.” I raised my middle finger. “I'm not that predictable.”

  “Hang on I'll put you on speaker.” Melinda came and sat by my side, taking the bottle from my hands and placing the phone on the coffee table. “Okay, you're on.”

  “Maya,” Daniel said, his tone like one of a disapproving parent.

  “Daniel,” I mimicked.

  “Why must you continue to get in trouble?”

  “What's that supposed to mean? I'm not that bad.” I looked to Melinda, my eyes pleading for her to be on my side. “Am I?”

  She hesitated. “Well there was that time when you seduced the guy at the casino to let you place bets.”

  “And there was a time when you used your... abilities to seduce your way into a free hotel room for the night,” Daniel finished off.

  “You guys are not supportive. Tonight was not my fault. Okay, I used a little seduction. That was it. I didn't use enough for him to go into a lust coma.” I remembered his eyes dilating, and the reaction he was having, even when his hands weren't on me. “This may sound crazy, but I don't think we were the only ones there.”

  “Well duh, I was there,” Melinda said.

  “No, that's not what I meant. Someone was there—someone else was pursuing his lust. I don't think Melinda and I are the only ones in town, unless they're from Santa Barbra.”

  “Could you gather a scent?” Daniel asked.

  “No. If they were in the room, they were freshly vitalized. I couldn't get a single piece of scent. But it didn't help that there were over a hundred people there tonight.”

  “Most of us can be quite civil,” he continued, “but I know there are a few succubi and incubi that like to do things their own way. You guys going to be okay? I can catch a flight over—”

  “No, no, you stay in your mansion. I think Melinda wants to make the trip over there one day. We'll call you if anything comes up. Goodnight, Daniel. Love you!” I hung up the phone and Melinda switched her attention to the TV, curious to see what was on at midnight. I could already tell her that it was nothing but my mind was concentrating on calling the right number this time.

  “Hello?” The familiarity of his voice confirmed I dialed the right one.

  I was finding it really hard to remember why I was angry at this guy. “Hey,”

  “Hey.” I was taken back by how flat his tone was, and apparently tipsy Maya didn't like this.

  “Well, it was so great to talk to you too, Tristan. Thank you for tonight, by the way.” The hardness in my voice surprised me momentarily. Apparently, I could be angry at him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. You didn't have to do that.
You shouldn’t have gotten yourself involved. Now, you’re blaming me for something that I could’ve handled.” This was the alcohol speaking, then part of it was the sober side of me speaking—well, what was left of it.

  I heard him sigh. “Maya, why are you getting angry?”

  “Because you're being weird,” I said. It wasn’t entirely true, but his voice was letting it off. “Your voice is all dull, like you don't even want to be on the phone. You even stared at me like it was my fault that you did what you did. Why am I getting angry? It should be why are you getting angry?”

  Another sigh. “I'm not angry at you, and I’m also not blaming you.”

  “Then what's wrong?” I almost sounded like I was pleading to know.

  There was a short silence and I wondered if he had hung up, or maybe I had, then I heard him take a deep breath. “I don't know what came over me tonight. I saw his hands on you and I felt like ripping them out of his sockets. The actions I did tonight caused my match to be postponed. But they're starting to consider if I should even be able a rematch. They think that because I caused a brawl, that I might have… issues.”

  The anger inside me diminished and the want to comfort him was unbearable. But it angered me at what I was hearing. How dare they think that? “That's not true. I'll go to them. I'll tell them that you were protecting me—”

  “It won't work, Maya,” he said, his tone going hard, “they'll be making their decision in the next few days. Until then, I'll just have to sit and wait.”

  I felt defeated. I even wanted to do something that would help cheer him up. “Want to come hang out? Mel and I are drinking.”

  He let out a short laugh, but even I could tell it was forced. “As much as I would, I can’t. Tori's coming over, maybe another time?”

  My mood dropped. Of all names he could have said, he had to say her. “Yeah, sure.” Now my voice was flat.

  It was either he was ignoring my mood altogether, or he just wanted to get off, because all he said next was, “I'll see you around, M.”

  When the call ended, I looked down at my phone. Did he just tell me he'd see me around? What does that even mean? He doesn't plan on talking to me tomorrow or something, but he'll see me around? I know if I told someone that, I'd secretly be saying, 'I'll see you when I randomly bump into you on the street or something'. Or I could just be over-thinking things. As drunk as I am, it's probably that. Plus I'm a girl—we look into these types of things.

  It still wasn't helping me, and the fact that Barbie was going over only let out the immature side. “Tori's coming over,” I mimicked his words. “We're going to have PG-13 foreplay and watch cartoon porn.” So maybe I added a few words in there. I threw my phone onto the couch, not wanting to see it until I woke up. “What the hell does he see in her anyway?”

  “Blonde hair, fake books, probably ass implants. Something you'd get from a thrift store,” Melinda said, the vodka bottle resting between her legs.

  “There has to be something else.” Could there be something else? “Maybe they're having secret sex behind the scenes.”

  “Yeah, because that's it,” she replied sarcastically, “or maybe you're just jealous and over thinking it?”

  “I'm not jealous,” I replied oddly quick.

  “You are.” Melinda held the bottle towards me. “Here have a drink. Drunken thoughts tell sober truths or some shit like that.”

  “I'm not,” I mumbled, taking the bottle from her hand and drinking back half of what remained. I wasn't jealous was I? I mean, yeah I disliked Tori, and yeah there are times when I want to just have Tristan all to myself, but that didn't mean I was jealous. Right?

  I don't even think I have a jealous bone inside me.

  An image of Tori and Tristan having sex flashed in mind and it sent an off feeling in the pit of my stomach. It literally felt like my whole body sunk. It was unfamiliar. And, I was honestly too drunk to even process it. My demon didn't like this new feeling and she let me know. I leaned forward and pressed my fingers against my temple, trying to soothe the headache that had suddenly appeared.

  Could you please stop it? I'm not in the mood for your shit, demon.

  The headache expanded, pounding against my skull and I cringed.

  “Shit, Maya. Your lust scent is stinking up the place. I thought you killed it in the bathroom.”

  “I did,” I grumbled, “she wants another round.”

  “Well, it's lucky I know a good place to go. Come on.” She pushed off the couch and pulled her jacket on.

  The headache was still pressuring against my skull and I stood. If I wanted to get a decent amount of sleep tonight, I needed to please the bitch inside.

  ****

  The club we arrived at was packed with drunks. It was the closest one to the campus, so there were a few students here and there. It was a different atmosphere than being at the arena. The air smelt like sex and alcohol—two things that were practically handed to you. My demon had stopped giving me a migraine on the way here, making my concentration better. Usually when she gathered the idea that I was going to do what she wanted me to do, she fucked off.

  “They look like liable subjects,” Melinda whispered suggestively. She nodded her head across the room and I followed her line of sight to spot two guys sitting at a table. They were watching the crowds, their eyes traveling to places they knew they couldn't get. I noticed one of the guys had his hand under the table, resting it on the bulge that had constricted at the sight of the female population in here.

  Gross. “Really? Look closer.”

  She narrowed her eyes on them and studied until she found what I had. “Ew perverts. They're never fun.”

  Unfortunately, I had grown sober. Another bad thing about having a demon was that they had a high tolerance for alcohol, so I didn't stay drunk for long. It sucked because we didn't know anyone at this club which meant we couldn't get drinks. Well we could, but we wouldn't want a repeat of earlier on. There was always the alternative though.

  I scanned the floor. Bodies moved against each other simultaneously, make out sessions were at every corner while a few people kept themselves in the dark. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to know what they were doing. They couldn't get a room for that, seriously?

  My eyes continued moving over the heads until they stopped by the bar. “Bingo.” Two males stood over at a table, each of them holding some sort of drink. They looked to be in their early to mid-twenties. Tall and broad, our favorite.

  “My demon likes the one on the right,” Melinda stated, picking her dibs before I could even tell her who I was looking at. I looked to the one she referred to. The guy had an aroma about him that instantly said man, while his companion seemed more civil, yet disclosed, defensive and alert. He was obviously going to be a bit harder to convince than Melinda’s choice.

  Damn her and her secretive dibs.

  “Well, your demon's a bitch,” I mumbled as I led us over to them.

  “What do you expect? She's a demon.”

  Walking over wasn't a problem. It was actually getting them out of their shell that became the problem. And I was only speaking for myself. Melinda had her guy in the palm of her hand. She was already letting off her scent, and I could tell by the way she captivated him that it wouldn't be long before they disappeared.

  My guy however, wasn't very co-operative, and it didn't go along with the shitty mood that I was in.

  “So, are you from around here?” he asked.

  A brown complexion with brown eyes and short black hair was the only thing I managed to notice about him. Other than the fact that he held a strong yet lean build, there was nothing about him that satisfied me. Maybe because I was annoyed or maybe because I just wanted to go home, but I just wanted punch him for talking so much. He would have been considered a jackpot, if he didn't stop asking questions. He had asked me things like 'What's your name? How old are you? Do you want a drink?'. I answered every question simply, not even bothering to ask the same—it's
not like he'll remember it in the morning—and I was grateful for the last question.

  “Yes, I am.” I picked my glass up and drunk more of the liquor than I would normally intend.

  “That's cool.” He nodded and looked back out at the crowd. “It's a packed crowd tonight.”

  “Please stop talking.” The words quickly and quietly left my mouth and I inwardly cringed that I even said it out-loud.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” I quickly said. I could feel my demon losing patience and I gathered a great idea. “Hey, why don't we talk about something else? Do you go to college around here?” I don't know what my plan of action was but maybe if I acted like I cared then maybe tonight will be easier than five seconds ago.

  “No, I'm actually from Santa Barbra. I came here for a fighting event, but it got canceled pretty fast. There was a brawl and everything.”

  So much for that.

  “How interesting,” I mumbled, finally coming to the conclusion that my drink will probably give me more action than this guy. Melinda was mere inches away from sealing the deal with her pick, and I could see her hands starting to trail over his shirt.

  I knew I needed to get this scent off me, and I knew Melinda wouldn't let me cock-block her if I don't get rid of it, so I reverted to the emergency plan. Which was a high risk, but it never failed.

  “Hey.” I looked towards her. “I think I left something in my car.” She snapped her eyes open and glared towards me. A curious brow arched at what I wanted and I gave her a knowing look—one only she became familiar with.

  “I'm busy,” she mumbled, waving her hand in my direction.

  I sighed, feigning annoyance. “Come on, Mel.”

  She waved her hand in the air again and closed her eyes, ignoring me for the rest of the night. That was stage one complete of the plan, now all I had to do was wait.

  Three, two, one...

  “I'll go with you.” I refrained from smirking when I heard his voice.

  I put my best innocent look on my face, turning my attention towards him. “Oh, you don't have to. I'm pretty sure I can find the car by myself,” I made a show of looking outside, “even if this place is crawling with perverts.” I was really hoping the damsel in distress thing was working.