Taking Risks

by Cassie Allee

  THEY CAN SEE IT ON YOUR FACE

  After our very heavy conversation, I played as the middle man as Risk asked Gray question after question. Some I had asked him over the years such as, “What happened to you?” “Do you have any family?” and “How old are you?” and some I had never even thought to ask like, “What do you look like?” “What does it feel like to be a ghost?” and my personal favorite, “Can you still get a boner?” Gray answered that one smoothly, throwing in some information that was relevant but not necessarily what Risk had asked. I listened to Gray explain it and relayed the information with blushing cheeks. “Well, I feel every emotion that you do; happy, sad, angry, but I don’t have any blood flow as I’m not a solid object and definitely not human, so no, I can’t get a boner…but I can still be aroused.” Ugh…That was embarrassing.

  When Risk was done giving Gray the third degree it was time for me to get ready for work. I went upstairs to take a shower and the damned boys followed me. I shot both of them a nasty look when they tried to tail me right into the bathroom and they retreated slowly across the hall towards my bedroom. Whenever I was done showering I hopped out and put a towel around my body while do my hair and makeup. When I was satisfied with the way I looked I grabbed my uniform that I had, thankfully, remembered to bring with me into the bathroom, and shimmied into the tight fabric.

  I was feeling playful and to reflect my mood I decided to put my hair into pigtails and wore thigh high purple stockings over my tights that matched my Ravens jersey. The thought of being a newly deflowered woman had me feeling confident and I sauntered across the hall into my bedroom. Before I entered the room I saw Risk sprawled out on my bed and he was spilling his life’s story to Gray. Gray was listening intently with a sad look on his face as he listened to the story. I knew Risk had had a rough life so far, but I didn’t know the details…and I didn’t know if I wanted to.

  When Risk looked up and saw me, his eyes started to smolder and he propped himself up on an elbow. “Um, pal…I know this is probably weird for you, but can you make yourself scarce?” I smiled at Gray when he got up to walk out of the room. I thought it was funny that he decided to take the slow way instead of simply vanishing like he normally did. When he passed me he looked at me disapprovingly like a father would look at his poorly behaving daughter and said, “This is really fucking weird. When did you get so old?” He raised his hand to my cheek briefly before continuing slowly out of the room. Whenever I turned back to Risk I nodded, telling him that Gray was gone, and he jumped up off of the bed. He grabbed me by my hips and lifted me into the air to twirl me around.

  “I’m never going to get used to seeing you in this uniform. Whoever owns that bar knows exactly what they’re doing.”

  I noticed as he picked me up that I was feeling a little sore from our night. There was something erotic about it though. I was as if it was a reminder of what we had done and I could remember all of it in vivid detail. My cheeks flushed as I was reliving it in my mind and Risk put me down. “I guess I’m a little sore, but nothing unbearable. It’s kind of…hot.”

  Risk smiled, but it was more of an apology smile than a playful smile. I knew then that he wasn’t going to touch me again until I felt normal. Damn, I shouldn’t have said anything. With Risk still holding my ass tight against him he pressed his lips softly to mine. I parted my lips to run my tongue against his bottom lip and a low groan escaped him. Just as I was getting ready to reach between us and grab his hard on, he pulled me away.

  “I don’t think so. You need time to…feel better, so that next time it’ll be better than the last.” He winked at me and walked out of the room as I was still standing in place scowling at him.

  I got to Rocktop and followed my routine of clocking in and grabbing my apron. I made my way out to the dining room and took a look around to see how busy it was. Saturdays were always busy, but it meant that the tips were good. When I locked eyes with Remi I blushed and turned to walk in the opposite direction. I would have to tell her about what I had done with Risk. She would see the evidence of my naughty escapades written all over my face. She and Jane were also my closest living friends and I valued the relationship that I had with them. Yeah, I would tell her, but I needed to find the guts to do so first.

  Just as my blush was finally fading from my cheeks I heard Remi squealing behind me. “Holy shit!” She screamed almost directly into my ear. “Oh my God! You did it!”

  I tried to play it off like I was confused. “Did…what?”

  She gave me a huge grin and came close to whisper in my ear, “You got laid!”

  I stood with my mouth hanging open and dropped my pen to the floor. I couldn’t believe how she could just know that! Did she have an “I had sex” radar or something?

  “Uh…what?”

  “Don’t play stupid with me, chick! You have it written all over your face. Don’t be shy about it, it’s about time!”

  I was blushing so bad that my cheeks felt like they were on fire. I didn’t know what to say, but I knew saying nothing at all was making me feel like a total loser so I blurted out, “Um yeah…I guess I did.”

  “It was the hottie that was in here the other night, right? Are you guys like, an item now?”

  “Uh…I guess… I don’t really know, I didn’t ask.”

  Remi kind of just raised her eyebrows at me in question before smiling and taking her drink orders to Jane and serving them to the correct tables. I stood for a moment in shock before shaking it off and getting to work. I was halfway through my shift when I realized I had been grinning like an idiot the whole time. I kept recalling my evening in such perfect detail that I could almost feel Risks hands on me and his lips brushing mine. No matter how hard I tried to stop grinning, it would always sneak back up on me moments later, however the customers were loving my energy, and they showed their gratitude for my good service in their tips. I was never opposed to good tips.

  I was only about ten minutes away from being able to go home and wrap my arms around Risk, and I was starting to get antsy. I was up by the bar to order some drinks for my last table when I felt a hand harshly tug one of my pigtails backwards. I squealed before a hand clamped over my mouth but it was too busy in the bar for anyone to have heard it. Jane was busy putting drinks together and she wouldn’t notice me either. I could feel that I was close to someone’s breast and then I smelled the stench and knew who the person was that had me.

  “You’re starting to be quite the trouble maker, aren’t you?” Risks mother tugged my hair sharply to show that she was in charge. “I’m going to show you exactly what it’s like to be shown the disrespect that you’ve shown me, cunt.”

  She started leading me away from the bar as inconspicuously as possible. She had turned my face towards her so that it probably looked like I was upset and she was consoling me. I started to try and force myself away from her before she pulled me too far away from the crowd, but then I felt a piece of cold hard steel poking into my side. I gasped into the hand that was over my mouth. I had no idea what I could do to stop her. I was praying that she was just pissed and that she wasn’t going to actually try and kill me. Somewhere in the middle of my panic I realized that Risk was supposed to go and talk to her and I hadn’t talked to him since.

  I turned my head just enough so that I could see a sliver of my surroundings and my heart grew lighter as I saw where she was leading me. She took me down the hall, past the bathrooms, and to the back where the employee room was. I knew that no one would be on break and so no one was likely to be in there, but I did know that Ben, the bouncer, was just outside the door that led to the back of the building. He was a guard for that area and spent most of his time sitting in an old metal chair smoking weed or cigarettes. A guard was appointed to that door because employees and customers were sneaking out back to party or have sex. It was a loading dock that provided plenty of privacy from the street, and not many people even knew it was back there. I was counting on her to take me out of th
at door.

  Sure enough, Risks mom pushed me past the door to the empty employees room and then towards the exit on the other side. She turned us around so that she could keep her grip on me and open the door as she backed into it. As she backed out of the door she turned and threw me to the concrete floor. She hadn’t even noticed Ben who had been sitting right outside the door, taking a hit from his bong.

  Ben was a huge man. He was well over six feet tall and I’m sure he weighed every bit of three hundred pounds. He was intimidating in every aspect of the word from his angry looking face to his huge combat boots. That’s why he was paid to guard a rarely used exit, but in all realty, he was a sweetheart. Ben didn’t hesitate to grab the crow bar that was at his side as he saw the commotion between Risks mother and me. He stalked up behind her as she started to screech at me.

  “I’ll teach you some manners yet, slut! I’ll show you who controls my boy!” I saw that Ben still wasn’t within grabbing distance of her as I watched the knife she wielded getting closer and closer to me. She pulled her arm back in attack ready position, and just before she brought the blade down on me I heard a hollow thunk. The sound made me giggle because it made me visualize that her head must have actually been empty. Ben looked worriedly at me as I stood up, still giggling to myself. I’m sure I should’ve been crying or something like that so that I didn’t look crazy, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of victory. I rubbed my head to sooth the place where she had nearly ripped my hair from my scalp and thanked Ben. My life was a horror show and that woman couldn’t scare me, especially when I knew that there were much scarier things out there.

  I stuck around while Ben dialed 911 on his phone. He told the police that there had been a situation and gave the operator our location. After answering a few short questions he hung up. “Are you okay, Marlee?” He asked me and looked a little frightened, which was a funny emotion to see on such a big man’s face.

  “Oh I’m fine. She had a knife to me, but thanks to you she didn’t hurt me. I don’t know where the knife has gotten to.”

  “Okay, well, you need to stick around until the police get here so they can take your statement. So, you know this woman?” He lost his scared look when he started to cuff Risks mom up.

  “Um, yeah…she’s my boyfriend’s mother. She doesn’t like me.”

  He looked at me with a cocked eyebrow but didn’t say a word.

  “Hey Ben?” He looked up at me again. “You need to stash that bong and your supply before the cops get here.” Ben laughed and said “Good idea.” Before he went to tend to his…things.

  I called Risk from the employee’s room right before the police arrived. To my surprise, he was already in the dining room waiting for me to clock out. He had been out there the entire time his mom had me hostage, but he had no idea that she was even there. Word traveled fast through the bar and he already knew a little about what had happened when I finally spoke to him. He met me in the back where I was giving my statement to the police. Risk listened intently to my story and I watched the fire building in his eyes. I was worried about him being angry with me for calling the cops on his mom, but I was also relieved that I wouldn’t have to be looking over my shoulder while she was in jail.

  The police finished up with me and then moved on to Ben after asking me to call them if I could remember any more details. Risk and I stood hand in hand as we watched his inebriated mother shoved into the back of a squad car. I watched as Risk and his mother locked eyes with each other and was surprised when I didn’t see a look of love or worry, but instead saw a look of hatred that chilled my bones. The feeling of contempt was clear on both of their faces, and I wasn’t worried that Risk would be angry with me anymore. I knew he hated her even more for what she had tried to do to me, but that also made my heart ache for him. He knew too much hate for his short lifetime and I hated that he had to harbor feelings like that for someone when he was so kind hearted.

  I sighed heavily as I looked around the bar. I spotted who I was looking for standing in a corner, away from the crowd. Gray was dressed in brown dress boots and a nice navy blue sweater that was unzipped to the middle of his chest to expose the white t-shirt underneath. His jeans were snug and dark colored, which was different than the light wash jeans that he normally wore. He looked like an Abercrombie model that had actually decided to wear some of the clothes that he was advertising. Even though he was definitely dressed to impress, he looked sad. His face was cast down towards the floor and his brow was drawn down so that the place between his eyes was wrinkled.

  I gave Risks arm a little tug, letting him know that I was going to talk to Gray. Instead of waiting for me to return, he followed me, never releasing my hand. He looked directly into the corner at Gray, but I knew he couldn’t see him standing there. It was all feeling for Risk. I flashed Gray a cocky grin to try and show him that I was okay, but his solemn expression remained the same. I couldn’t keep up with my act for too long. I was angry and concerned for Risk, but mostly, I really just wanted to head home and pass out on my amazing bed. I told Gray that Risk and I would be at the house and asked him to ride with us, but he declined and vanished after saying goodbye. As soon as Gray was gone I felt a tension release from Risks grip that I hadn’t realized was there before.

  I briefly explained to Remi about what happened and she gave me a friendly hug. I wasn’t used to female camaraderie so my return hug was a bit stiff, but I loved the friendly affection. I asked her to explain to Jane for me and she agreed and told me to go home and get some rest.

  Risk followed me to my house in his junk car that he and his parents shared. I was surprised the thing could make it five miles without overheating, but it seemed to get him everywhere he needed to go. Risk was also a hell of a mechanic (or so he said) so having a junk car was probably worth the money to him. Risk was reluctant to leave me alone for the short ride home, but he checked in my back seat and trunk to make sure no goblins were hiding there. After that, he seemed satisfied enough that I could make it home without dying.

  We pulled up to my house and before I could even get my stuff together, Risk was opening my door for me. I muttered a “thank you” and stepped out, trying not to drop anything. Before I reached for the door knob Risk blocked me from entering. I looked at him, a little annoyed because my arms were full of junk, but quickly noticed that he looked…guilty.

  He took a deep breath, “I’m so sorry Marlee. I went and talked to my mom earlier today, and she seemed fine with us dating. I was actually surprised by her reaction, but I should’ve known better. That woman is a conniving bitch and I’ll never hand either of my parents another dime.”

  “Risk…where are you going to live? You know if you’re not supplying them with booze, and whatever else they want, than they’re going to kick you out on your ass!” I didn’t want to sound harsh, but I did, however, want to keep him from making any silly decisions. Even though it meant that he would still be living with his father.

  “I know babe…I’ll figure it out. I’ve been through worse.” Risk flashed a smile, obviously trying to lighten the mood, and it worked. I was putty in his hands with that smile. I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought his lips down to mine so that I could plant a soft kiss on him.

  “I’ll help you in any way that I can, and my mom is always working so you can always stay with me the nights that she’s gone.” I winked at him and hoped that I was getting my point across. I wanted him to take me up to the bedroom. After the night that we had together I could think of nothing other than his lips on my body.

  “Well you know your mom’s going to be back in the morning.” He said and smiled at me.

  It startled to me that he knew that. I thought that he had somehow talked to my mother behind my back, but then I remembered that she had left a note in plain sight that had said that she would be back on Sunday morning so we could go dress shopping. I got excited as I thought about how my mom and I were going to be spending some much needed girl time
together, but I really wanted Risk to stay with me another night. If he wasn’t going to stay with me than where could he possibly go?

  “I guess you’ll be sleeping on the couch, than. I’ll explain it to Mom in the morning.”

  I stood with my arms crossed over my chest and a stern look on my face. Risk laughed at me, but I stood my ground.

  “I’m not doing that Marlee. Besides… I have to go talk to my dad. We don’t have a phone at the house and he’s going to be wondering where Mom is.”

  I had a serious pout plastered on my face. I knew he was making a good decision, but I hated that he was doing it for them. His parents purposely broke him down to a shell of a person so that he felt that he was only deserving of the kind of love that they would give him, and it was a shitty kind of love. He felt completely loyal to them. I thought about the exchange of looks between Risk and his mom at Rocktop. I realized that it wasn’t a look of hatred for his mother that I saw on his face, but maybe it was directed at himself, rather than the woman who had threatened to kill me. That was something that Risk and I would eventually have to discuss.

  Risk and I went inside where we found Gray. I played the middle man as they exchanged some pleasantries, then I excused myself to talk with Gray alone. I wanted to find out what was bothering him so much, and honestly, Gray and I hadn’t spent much time together since Risk and I had gotten close and I was seriously missing my best friend.

  We left Risk sitting in front of the TV and Gray followed me to my room. Since I actually had to walk, Gray turned it into a race and of course he beat me there. I was jealous of his ghosty teleportation thing. When I reached the room, I closed the door behind me and watched Gray for a moment as he stared out of my window. He was wearing the same solemn look as he had at the bar.

  “How’s it going, punk?” I smiled and made a swing at the air that made up his arm, but my fist passed right through him, like I knew it would. Gray turned to me and smiled a sad smile.