by Jasmine Walt
"FIFTEEN MINUTES, PLAYERS. IT'S TIME TO GET ORGANIZED. I STILL HAVE T-SHIRTS FOR 'CHILLER THRILLERS'; YOU CAN'T START WITHOUT THEM. PHONDA PETERS, PHONDA PETERS, I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU FROM FULLER WHOLE. HE WANTS YOU TO CONTACT HIM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE."
JoAnn shot me nasty eyebrows. "Go find a frigging bathroom and stay out of my head, damn it," I said out loud.
Would you like me to block your sister's intrusions? Marcus injected with a grin.
"Susan, can you pull your goddamn eyes from that man for one minute so we can get on with this," my mother growled at me, handing Resi a pink T-shirt.
Paul stepped forward, trying to get Dorius' attention because he was back to glaring at Zaire.
Resi turned to Marcus as she pulled her team shirt over one that read, 'Nobody knows I'm a lesbian'. "So what do we do now? Because we're not leaving this alley until this is settled."
"I'm sorry. I seem to have been lost in thought. I believe you were going to do some explaining, Mr. Forrest?" Everyone turned to Paul except me. I stood glaring at Marcus.
Lost in thought, my ass.
Marcus favored me with a quick dicey little grin and turned back to Paul. I heard my mother sigh obnoxiously and shot her a nasty look as Marcus pushed himself back into my head. Your sister will not be mentally bothering you again tonight. You can thank me later, my sweet.
"ALL RIGHT NOW HERE'S A BLAST FROM THE PAST. IS EVERYBODY HAVING FUN?" The DJ hit the switch, sending 'Boz Scaggs' off and running with, 'Lowdown', reverberating around the alley as the crowd clapped.
"Here, put this on and go get some shoes. Then we talk." Mom handed Dorius a pink T-shirt.
"I am not putting this on. Let's all just stroll out to the car and we can have our discussion there." Dorius tossed the shirt over the little desk that was used to keep score. The pink shirt was projected to an overhead screen, the word, Immortal, glowing purple, displayed for all to see. It didn't stay there long before one of 'The Gay Blades', picked it up and threw it at Dorius. It wrapped itself around his left shoulder.
"There is no need for hostility…" Dorius said, glancing at the name printed across the thin blond man's chest. "…Terrence."
Terrence smiled, snapped his fingers and answered, "Keep it in your own yard, stud muffins. But if you want to meet me in the men's restroom later, I'd love to swap spit with you."
Dorius was livid as his cell phone beeped. He pulled his eyes off Terrence and walked away from the chairs, his phone against his ear. "What have you got, Peter?"
"We found one of the mortals sleeping in a Volkswagen on the beach. He told us Christopher's headed for Cuba on a surfboard."
"He's what? I don't have time for this shit. Get the BAMVC copter and head out to find him. When you get back, call me. There's going to be hell to pay when I get my hands on him. I haven't heard from the team yet. Any idea on their ETA?"
"They should be arriving soon. They have orders to touch base with you when they get there."
"Good. It’s turning out to be a fiasco here. Never mind. When you get the little fucker, do not, and I repeat, do not let him out of your sight."
"Got it boss. Is that 'Creedence Clearwater Revival' I hear in the background?"
26
"Susan, darn it, stop ignoring me!" JoAnn yelled. I sent a look her way that shut her up in a heartbeat.
Marcus glanced at me with knowing eyes and a sassy grin. I wondered how Marcus was keeping my sister from blasting me with her comments.
Dorius walked onto the lane and Marcus picked up his shirt and handed it to him. "I think we should get suited up. If the ladies want to play, I say we play."
My stomach did a little flip and the hair on my arms tingled. I ran my eyes over his square jaw that had just the right amount of stubble.
Dorius was not amused. "If you think I'm going to toss a ball down an alley wearing a pink T-shirt with 'The Immortals' printed across my chest, you're out of your mind."
I am out of my mind, brother dear, and I intend on staying there, Marcus pushed at me, his eyes on Dorius. "Look around, brother. Do you think we have any other choice?"
Dorius flinched as two teams started a full-fledged fight near alley seven. They were swinging fists, tossing obscenities and climbing over chairs to get at each other. Beer bottles broke, a pizza box went sailing across the lanes and hit the alley; pizza flying all over the place as one man dragged another down the lane toward the pins through all the mess.
"I NEED A FEW MEN ON LANE SEVEN. CLEAN UP AND SECURITY GET YOUR ASSES OVER TO LANE SEVEN! WILL THE TWO TEAMS RIPPING EACH OTHERS HAIR OUT ON LANE SEVEN STOP IMMEDIATELY OR YOU WILL BE ESCORTED FROM THE PREMISES!"
Marcus patted the seat next to him as he looked into my eyes. Come here my pet; let's get to know each other a little.
I raised one brow, put my hand on my hip, my nether parts all a thunder as I pushed back. Certainly, you do not think beckoning me like a small animal has my body all a-tingle. Maybe you should cruise the alley. I saw a blonde woman with most of her teeth lingering in the bar.
Marcus' laughter roared in my head.
"TEN MINUTES BOWLERS. EVERYONE BOWLING, THROW YOUR LAST BALL AND GET OFF THE LANES." Mike announced in a reverberating squeal.
Oh, Suzie Q screamed John Fogerty as my eyebrows met in a kiss.
Nadine turned from the ball sailing down the alley, a confident look on her colossal face. She winked when all ten pins came crashing down behind her.
Jeni whispered to Paul, pointing at Marcus' feet, then walked toward the front desk.
Paul cleared his throat and got Marcus' attention. "After talking to the ladies this evening, it seems they misunderstood my directions. Evidently they felt contacting you by email was enough to set your minds at ease. Especially when their…(ahem) order was delivered the next morning."
Will you get those damn sexy eyes off my ass? I didn't hear a thing Paul said.
I am afraid it's hard to remove my eyes from your ass when you stand there swaying it around in front of me. Marcus reluctantly turned his attention to Paul as he pulled his pink shirt over his head.
"You assholes gonna play or are you gonna stand around all night?" Nadine asked. The other three women sat awaiting instructions. The men were huddled together listening to Terrence with what appeared to be the attention span of three gerbils as he gave them orders in a flurry of animated hand gestures.
Jeni walked up with two pairs of size ten bowling shoes, laying them on one of the chairs by Marcus.
Mom strutted toward Nadine. "Look, just back off lady, before I lose my bowling ball in that cave you have decorated like a mouth on your fat face."
She turned to Dorius before Nadine could come up with a rebuttal. "You, Mr. Hot Pants, get your ass in that shirt, put on those shoes, and get on the lane. You, Zaire, Susan and me are first up. Marcus and Paul can spot us."
She looked at JoAnn with a scowl. "We don't use her unless we get really desperate. She can keep score. Jeni, you can help her. She doesn't have her calculator with her." Mom pointed to the chair in front of the small desk. A short sassy woman in spandex sat in the other chair. She looked like Cyndi Lauper, her hair in about thirty multiple colored ponytails sticking out in various angles around her head. She smiled as JoAnn sat next to her and Jeni moved up behind them.
"I did not receive an email from any of them, Mr. Forrest," Marcus said as he slipped on his shoes. He looked so totally in control and my damn clitoris was now zinging with the hair on my arms.
"That's because we didn't send you one." I glared at him, at the same time trying to get my libido under control. "And none of you want to be bothered by a phone call, either," I spat. Paul and Gibbie let out a sigh in unison.
Marcus' eyes judged my statement, his lips curving up ever so slightly as my damn sister started yelling at me.
"Okay, if you want to be a bitch and not listen to me, I guess I will have to say it out loud," JoAnn snapped. "We're letting Paul handle this, remember!"
Dori
us swaggered onto the lane, donned in shirt and shoes, with a ball in his hands, glaring at Nadine as she searched for hers.
"JoAnn, why don't you go pee or something so I can keep track of the game. Jeni can keep score," Mom ordered, waving her hands around in front of her.
Gibbie flitted over everyone's head, dusting frantically.
JoAnn, eyebrows slammed together, said, "I don't have to go now."
"IS EVERYBODY READY? FIVE MINUTES, FIRST BOWLERS TAKE YOUR MARK. AND I DO NOT WANT TO SEE AN OUTBURST LIKE THE ONE ON LANE SEVEN OR THE GAMES WILL BE CALLED!"
The crowd gathered behind the chairs with mixed wagers. The lanes fell silent as players ambled up to get ready for the first game. Bob Seger started wailing, 'Rock And Roll Never Forgets'.
"Get out of the friggin' way, dick-wad. I bowl first." Zaire pushed Dorius, grabbed her ball, her eyes daring him to say anything.
He carried his ball off the lane with a rumble in his chest.
Resi and Jeni watched them with amusement.
Marcus cleared his throat, finally ready to address my statement. "I assure you, I was not made aware of your call or your email, Ms. Stech."
"Then why in the hell don't you educate your staff to make sure you get called to the phone when you're asked for?" I asked, hands on my hips, nostrils flaring.
JoAnn let out a sigh. "Oh, for heaven's sake. Can't you let the men talk? No one can get a word in edgewise when you're around."
I ignored her, glaring at Marcus waiting for his refutation.
"Are you saying you did or did not contact someone on the council? I'm sorry, Ms. Stech, but I seem to be having a bit of difficulty in understanding you." His boyish grin made me seethe with anger.
"Oh, here she goes! I've got one simpleton for a daughter and one loud mouth. If I ever have another kid, it's gonna be a boy. I can bitch-slap the hell out of a frigging boy," Mom announced, swinging at Gibbie who was dusting her with silver flakes.
"What I'm saying, Mister Morizzio, is that I did not contact you because your receptionist at BAMVC told me that you did not take calls from just anyone. None of the council did. So, Mister Morizzio Sir, we went to your website, and only found an email address for Dorius and we did email him about your concerns. I ordered… fertilizer… from the only voice I was allowed to talk to, and when it was delivered the next da-ay, we thought Dorius and the rest of you were fine with our explanation." Then I mentally pushed, So take that, Fang-Boy!
"Well, she certainly made herself clear that time." Mom wore a devilish grin.
"Jesus, Susan," my sister whined.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ONLY TEAM MEMBERS ON THE LANES. THE GAMES ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN. EVERYONE NOT WEARING A TEAM SHIRT AND BOWLING SHOES, MOVE BACK FROM THE LANES AND GIVE THE BOWLERS ROOM, PLEASE."
"Shit!" Dorius, flustered, strutted off the lane and sat in one of the chairs, waiting for his turn.
Marcus' eyes followed him with a smile.
Resi tossed Zaire a grin. "Make me proud baby."
"Yep, I'm a real ball buster." Zaire shot Dorius a snide grin as she picked up her ball from the return rack and readied herself on the lane.
"LET THE GAMES BEGIN."
Zaire stepped up to the mark, eyeing the pins as a hush came over the crowd. She took three long steps, letting the ball sail down the alley at a speed that was clearly not human.
"Ooops!" She turned to Nadine, mimicking her walk earlier, winking at her as ten pins literally exploded at the end of the lane in shards of wood.
The crowd went crazy.
"CHRIST, WE NEED CLEAN UP ON LANE THIRTEEN. CLEAN UP ON LANE THIRTEEN, PRONTO! DAVE, YOU ON IT BUDDY?"
Dave's hand fell from the end of our lane, waving. The rest of his body dropped into the pile of busted up pins and he started picking up wooden shards as the tone of the wages shifted dramatically and pins cracked up and down the alleys.
John Denver started ringing out, 'Rocky Mountain High' as Dorius got up and stepped onto the lane. He shoulder butted Zaire as she walked by.
"Put your ball where your mouth is asshole," Zaire remarked with a saucy smile, waving at the crowd as they cheered her on.
The shards of broken pins were replaced with new ones and Dorius shook his butt to the ball return while 'The Gay Blades' eyed his swaggering posterior. He selected his ball, flipped his long hair over his shoulder, pulled Zaire's jeans out of his ass and threw a gutter ball. He turned to Zaire with a big smile. "We're on the same team, asshole. How'd you like that move? Do I know how to bring down the numbers or what?"
The crowd booed. Zaire fumed. Terrence eyed Dorius with wet lips.
"I say we go out in the parking lot and F'n end this right now!" Zaire snapped.
"I couldn't agree with you more." Dorius took the seat beside her and placed his hand on her knee with a squeeze that wasn't at all friendly.
She viciously dragged it away, grabbing him by the hair.
"Oh goodie, two down and six to go," Nadine said.
Gibbie zipped toward them so fast my eyes hurt. "Little black woman, you are about to get squished. Let go of the thousand-year-old vampire’s hair," Gibbie screeched in her ear.
"I am not your little black woman," she spat, giving Dorius’ hair a good tug.
Everyone held their breath and looked at Dorius.
Dorius yanked his hair out of her hand with a growl.
Mom stepped onto the lane with Terrence.
"What'cha got, small stuff?" Terrence asked.
"More balls than you, Grace." Mom walked up to the diamonds embedded in the wood, wiggled her left shoe on the second mark, eyed the lane, swung her arm back, pranced toward the pins and tossed the ball. It hit the gutter. She pointed at the ball and it bounced out, heading for the pins, dead center. She flicked her finger and it sped up, smacking the head pin and knocking all of them down with a loud crack.
The crowd exploded again, drowning out the background music as the DJ passed out gifts with a weary smile.
Her finger action did not go unnoticed by Zaire.
"What the hell was that hand jive shit?" Zaire asked."
"Nanna, did you move that ball with your mind?" Resi whispered in Mom's ear.
"Just a little something I've been practicing in case the vamp-brigade shows up again," Mom answered with a smile.
The three men and the fairy exchanged looks.
Marcus got up and changed the subject. "Did you get an email from them, Dorius?"
"I did, and immediately deleted it. There is no explanation. The rules are the rules," Dorius said in a smug tone, then waved his hand at Marcus, signaling he was up next. But his eyes were on Mom. I could feel my teeth extending slightly and clamped my lips down.
"You prick! Just who the hell do you think you are?" Zaire blurted out, her face in his again.
"I'd say a hubris filled blow-hard," Jeni offered, surprising me.
"A cute one, though," my mother said, batting her eyes at Dorius.
A wiry man with black hair in an out-of-date pageboy and tight leather pants sauntered up, grinning at Marcus. "You gonna bowl sweetie, or should I?"
Marcus smiled back and gracefully waltzed down the lane, bowling a strike.
The crowd behind the chairs yelled their approval.
I watched the anger wage a war with his senses as Dorius glared at my mother. "I know exactly who I am. You girls, on the other hand do not."
"All right, ladies. I understand your frustration. Dorius, why did you not tell me they tried to explain themselves?" Marcus asked. He sat in one of the chairs and watched me as I picked up my ball. I nodded at a tall woman with bleached blonde hair dressed in a short tight jean skirt. She picked up her ball and stood back with a smile, her eyes on my chest.
"I have a copy of the email, Mr. Morizzio," Jeni told him sweetly, disengaging herself from the group to dig in her purse.
I turned back to see Marcus smiling at me. Get your eyes off my ass. I felt self-conscious as my arm went back, my legs carried me toward the
line, and I let the ball go. It rolled down the lane, bounced off the back wall and took down seven pins.
I eyed the slim woman, her hair falling in her face. She shook her head, giving me a 'too bad' look and took aim. She let the ball go and waited with anticipation as it curved close to the gutter before heading toward the pins. She left four standing.
I shot her a smug smile as I picked up my returned ball and got in place. I took in a deep breath.
My, you have great form. I could watch you bowl all night, my sweet.
I clenched my teeth and hammered the remaining pins against the back wall.
The crowd yelled their approval.
"IT LOOKS LIKE 'THE IMMORTAL'S' ARE WORKING IT. BUCK UP BOWLERS, IT SEEMS THEY ARE CLEARLY IMMORTAL TONIGHT!"
The crowed agreed.
I heard Marcus in my head again. Susan, you are a treasure and every one of the other women you brought into our immortal world will make us feel alive again. I long to put a smile on your cute little face.
I jerked my head in his direction. Yeah, well good luck with that.
He grinned at me, eyes sparkling, legs crossed, as he leaned back in the plastic chair dressed in his pink t-shirt, his beautiful body relaxed. Only a matter of time, my love.
I glanced at my sister. JoAnn was adding up numbers with all ten of her fingers, completely ignoring us. Why the hell can't you hear me, JoAnn! I pushed at her. She didn't budge.
Mom was on the lane again. Terrence jumped up and down beside her after bowling a strike.
"Easy sweetie, you wouldn't want to muss that Elvis hairdo you're sporting," Mom said, resuming a bowling stance.
She tossed the ball at the pins and it sailed in the air landing mid-lane, heading straight for the head pin. I could see her fingers wiggling in front of her chest. The pins fell, leaving two standing. One on each side, hugging the gutters. A split.
She huffed off the lane, waiting while Terrence bowled.
Silence fell over the room as Mom stepped up to the ball return.
Terrence turned to her after leaving only the nine and ten pin. "Wanna bet who gets the spare?"