“I should have known Adele tickets were too good to be true. I tried to get some when they went on sale, and they were sold out before I could even log in.” Paige pulled her coat tight around her and ran her hand through her hair. “I’m gonna go find Meg and Gwen, so I can kill them.”
“That mean you’re going to stick around and actually watch me race?”
“You’re actually planning on racing this thing?” She laughed.
“Might as well. King and I put all the work in, might as well at least give ol’ Stool Runnings one race.”
Paige scoffed and shook her head. “I have to give you credit for a creative name, although I did see some other good names, too. Can Doo, Party Pooper, and Poop Coupe were in my top three until Stool Runnings crossed my path.”
“Well, I wish I could take credit for it, but that was also Meg.” I wished I could take credit for the name. I was desperate to do anything that would impress Paige.
“Hmm, well, I’ll see you around, Demon.” Paige headed into the crowd, and I panicked. She was leaving, and I had no idea how to get her to stay.
“Paige,” I called. She turned back around and propped her hands on her hips. “I’ll see you at the finish line?”
“We’ll see.” She shrugged her shoulders and slipped into the crowd.
“I thought she was supposed to sit on the toilet?” Hammer asked.
I shook my head and leaned back. That hadn’t gone exactly how I had hoped it would, but it definitely wasn’t a crash and burn. Paige had talked to me, and although she had left, it wasn’t like she was dying to get away from me.
I was making progress, and I hoped when I crossed that finish line she would be there. If she were, I would know that there was still hope for us. If she weren't, I would just have to step my game up even more.
Either way, I wasn’t letting Paige go again.
________
Chapter 12
Paige
“I’m not speaking to any of you.” We were all crowded around the finish line, and I was ready to run for the hills. I had been set up, and I didn’t appreciate it at all.
I was now the odd man out as King, Troy, Rigid, and Gambler were hanging out with us now, too. So much for a girls only day. Meg was curled under King’s arm, and she grimaced. “I’m sorry, Paige. Demon asked for help, and this seemed like a brilliant idea at the time.”
“We’re all sorry, Paige, but you can’t even imagine how I felt when Meg told me that you and Demon used to date.” Gwen put her arm over my shoulders and rested her head on my shoulder.
“Don’t you think you should have talked to me about this before you plotted against me.”
“Don’t you think you should have told me about Demon?”
“There wasn’t anything to tell.” Lie, lie, lie, but I didn’t want to tell Gwen anything at all. Demon and I were in the past, and that was where we were going to stay.
“Hmm, you’ll tell me.”
“Here come the shitters!” Cyn called. She leaned over the barrier and pointed down to the start line.
They were doing races two people at a time and Gwen had said that Demon was in the second race against Shitters Full. I couldn’t help but giggle at the Christmas Vacation reference.
It was a hundred-yard dash down the track, and whoever won went into the semi-finals. Sixteen teams were racing with the final race right before the fireworks started.
“I could so do this if I were the guy sitting in the shitter,” Marley mused.
Troy wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “I better not see you in any man’s shitter besides mine.”
Marley looked over her shoulder at him and rolled her eyes. “You’re such a charmer, Troy. I promise to never step foot in another man’s shitter,” she giggled.
“Well, these guys aren’t going very fast. I bet Demon will at least make it to the semi-finals as long as the shitter King and Demon made doesn’t fall apart.” Rigid chuckled under his breath and Cyn elbowed him in the side.
“His shitter falls apart, you better go out there and help him cross the finish line,” she threatened.
“Beautiful, no way in hell will you catch me pushing a shitter across the snow.”
“Hmm, we’ll see about that. I already signed you, Slider, and King up to race next year.”
“Bullshit,” Rigid muttered.
“Ha, ya’ll fuckers got thrown under the bus. At least my ol’ lady didn’t sign me up for shitter races,” Gambler taunted.
“I may not have signed you up for the outhouse races,” Gwen said, “but I did sign you up to go on a dog sled ride with me.”
“What? A dog sled? Have you lost your mind, doll?”
Gwen cuddled into his side and looked up at him. “Please?” she pleaded.
Gambler shook his head no, but we all knew his ass would be on that dog sled even if he didn’t want to be there.
The first two teams crossed the finish line, one almost tipping over, but they made it. Holy Poopers had made it to the semifinals while Shit Shack was out.
“OK, I bet Stool Runnings wins by ten shitter lengths.” Gambler pulled a twenty out of his pocket and held it up. “Who’s in?”
“I’m surprised you’re actually betting in Demon’s favor,” King laughed as he pulled out a twenty and handed it to Gambler. “I’m not betting against Demon.”
Everyone put a twenty in, with Rigid the only one betting against Demon.
The flare gun went off on the other end, and Stool Runnings took off in the lead with Shitters Full trailing behind. Hammer tripped, almost going ass over tea kettle but managed to keep it together.
Demon was yelling from inside the outhouse for Hammer and Turtle to run faster. Hammer and Turtle were huffing and panting when they slid by, and they were beating Shitters Full by a good twenty feet.
They crossed the finish line, Turtle tripping over his own feet, falling into the outhouse and almost knocking it over with Demon inside.
The crowd cheered and laughed as Turtle stood up and took a bow. “Never a dull moment when Hammer and Turtle are around,” King chuckled.
“Come on!” Gwen called. She grabbed me by the hand, tugging me over to the finish line. I dug my feet in, trying to stop her, but she was more than determined to get me over to Demon. “Just tell him good race, Paige, and then I’ll buy you cotton candy.”
I rolled my eyes and silently decided she was going to have to buy me a hell of a lot more than cotton candy to make up for today.
Demon was standing next to the outhouse that had been pushed off to the side to make room for the next race.
“So you didn’t leave,” he said.
“Gwen and Meg refused to let me. Going up against those two is impossible to win against. I’m waiting for them to get distracted by King and Gambler so I can make a break for it.”
“Well, while you wait for that break, how about we head over to the bar and get a drink.”
“Um, hot chocolate sounds better right now.” I wrapped my arms around myself and ran my hands up and down my arms.
“I think I know what would be perfect for you right now. Just one drink with me, Paige, and then I’ll personally drive you home.” Demon held his hand out to me and winked. “One drink won’t hurt, baby.”
I hesitantly reached out, his fingers lacing through my fingers. “I can’t afford to trust you, Demon.”
His eyes connected with mine. “And I can’t afford to lose you again, Paige. I’m going as slow as I can with you. One drink, that’s all I’m asking for right now.”
I nodded my head slightly, and he tugged me to his side. “One drink,” I whispered.
We all headed over to the bar that was on the shore and Demon, and I brought up the rear. “I’m a different man than I was back then.”
“And I’m a different person, too.”
“Then I guess we should get to know each other again, don’t you think so?”
He
glanced over at me, and I couldn’t help but feel the same tingle deep in my stomach that I used to get when he looked at me. I quickly beat the feeling down, knowing that what happened between Demon and I wasn’t going to be fixed over one drink and everything would go back to the way it was seven years ago.
It was never going to be the way it was, and now it was time to find out if the person that I was is ready to be with Demon again. Because the girl Demon hurt back then, was yelling at me to run away as fast as I could.
It was time to see who won, old Paige, or grown up Paige.
________
Chapter 13
Demon
“Just try it. I promise it’s not that bad.”
Paige lifted it up, taking a sniff and wrinkled her nose. “I have to say that a hot chocolate smells much better than this.”
“Come on. You live in Wisconsin you have to try a Tom & Jerry or a Hot Toddy at least once. It’ll help keep you warm when we go back outside.”
“I thought you were taking me home after this?”
We were all gathered around the bar, taking up three-quarters of the area. Paige was sitting next to me, her ass perched on the edge of her stool as she gently swirled the liquid in the glass. I had ordered her a Tom & Jerry, and she had yet to take a sip. I figured eggnog and brandy were a safe bet. Evidently, I was wrong. “First, you have to have a drink with me. All you’ve done is smell it and give it the evil eye.”
“I’ve never had a warm drink with alcohol in it before.”
“You’ve never spiked your coffee with Bailey’s in the morning?”
Paige’s eyes bugged out, and she shook her head. “Are you crazy? I’m pretty sure if I drank before noon, I’d barf.”
“After you live up north for a while, you’d be surprised at the things you’ll do to stay warm. Drink up. I’ve got another race to win.”
She hesitantly took a sip, and she looked up at me, surprised. “That's pretty good.” She took another sip and set it down on the bar. “You can’t even tell there is alcohol in there.” She eagerly picked it up again and took a long drink.
“OK, baby. Maybe not so fast.” I figured from the way Paige talked, she wasn’t a big drinker. “It’s this kind of drink you need to watch out for. They sneak up on you fast and knock you on your ass quick.”
She waved her hand at me then motioned to the bartender. “Can I get another one of these but in a to-go cup.”
“Now that’s my kind of girl,” Meg called. “Asks for a to-go cup in a bar.” Meg high fived Cyn and motioned to Lo that she needed her own to-go cup.
“Drink up, baby. I think you just got the official seal of approval from Meg.”
“This is the best thing I got for a to-go cup.” The bartender set down a Styrofoam soup bowl with a lid in front of Paige, and I laughed.
Paige looked it over and nodded her head. “It’ll work.”
The bartender shook his head and started working on filling the large soup bowl. “Make that four,” Meg called.
“Can I ask how you are going to drink out of a soup bowl without spilling it all over yourself?”
Paige finished off her first drink and set it down. She grabbed her purse, fished out a pair of nail scissors and grabbed the lid to the soup bowl. She made the small cuts in the lip then grabbed a straw and stuck it through the lid. “Like this.” She held up the makeshift lid with the straw in it, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You always were an inventive one.”
Meg ran over, plucked the lid out of Paige’s hand and climbed into King’s lap. “This is mine!” she called. “We need to take her drinking with us more often, Lo. I was just going to slurp the damn drink out of the bowl like Blue.” Meg spun the lid around the straw and smiled at King.
Paige grabbed three more lids and cut holes in them, making room for the straws.
By the time the bartender had all four drinks made, the girls had snapped the lids onto their bowls and we all bundled up to head back outside. Paige stood up from her stool and stumbled into me. “Easy,” I mumbled as I steadied her.
“Maybe this second drink isn’t a good idea,” she giggled as she took a sip from the straw.
“Once we get outside you’ll be fine. You need the booze to keep you warm. Just hold on to me.”
She wrapped her arm around mine, leaning a bit into me and we headed out the door, once again bringing up the rear.
“You know, I guess I never realized how cold it got here. This is fun, but what else do you do when it’s this cold. I don’t think I could hang out all day outside drinking without a toe or two falling off.”
“There’s other things to do. Like, drinking inside.”
Paige giggled and shook her head. “Is there anything that doesn’t involve drinking?”
“Well, you did move to Wisconsin, where we consume 40% of the national average of Korbel.”
“What’s Korbel?”
Proof that Paige was not a drinker. I could only imagine the headache she was going to wake up with tomorrow. “Brandy, baby. That’s what is in your drink.”
“Oh. Wow, 40%? That’s a lot.”
“That’s Wisconsin.”
Paige slipped on a patch of ice and clung to my arm. Thankfully she had a lid on her drink, so she didn’t spill as her cup went sideways and her arm flew into the air. “I guess I still haven’t gotten used to walking in snow yet,” she laughed. “Now, I’m going to need more examples of what to do in the winter here, or I’m going to become a raging alcoholic in no time.”
“Well, I work on my bike. Get it ready for the spring.”
“You’re telling me that every person here works on their bike in the winter and drinks. That’s it? You go out on a date, and you drink and work on your bike. There had to be something else to do.” Paige stopped walking and put her hands on her hips.
I ran my hand through my hair and shrugged my shoulders. “Well, baby. There is a lot of other things you do in the winter time.”
“Well tell me. I’m going to blow through my TBR pile in no time if all I have to do is read and work.”
“What the hell is a TBR pile?” She was talking fast and now abbreviating her words.
“To be read. I’ve got a shit ton of books I want to read.”
“Oh.” I looked around trying to think of what there was to do around here, but the only thing I could think to do during the winter was the thing that led to so many babies being born in the summer. Sex. Lots of sex.
“Hey, are you guys coming?” Gwen called. She was standing at the finish line of the track next to Gambler. “You’re up next, and you still need to push your shitter to the other end of the track.”
I looked at Paige, and she shrugged her shoulders but pointed a finger at me. “You’re not off the hook on this one, Demon. I want a detailed list of the things I can do during the winter here, or I seriously might consider vacationing to Florida November through April.”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you get feisty when you drink?”
“I would have to have been drunk more than two times in my life for someone to tell me that.” She put the straw to her lips and took a long drink. “This makes three.”
“Well, baby. You are definitely feisty when you drink.”
“Feisty is good, right?”
“On you it is.” I reached up and cupped her cheek. “Stay with the girls and I’ll take you home after the race, OK?”
“No.”
“No?”
“No. Meg said that there were fireworks tonight. I haven’t seen fireworks in person for at least ten years. I want fireworks.” She stomped her foot and took another drink.
She was going to have that bowl of Tom & Jerry gone in no time. Hopefully, she wouldn’t want another one. I would walk across town to get her a damn hot chocolate if she wanted it because I knew any more booze and she would end up on the ground. “All right, baby. How about I win this shitter race and then we can hit up the fireworks?”
&
nbsp; Paige held up her glass and looked at it. “Demon, I just stomped my foot like a little kid. What in the hell is in this cup?”
“Booze. Lots of it, especially when you’re not used to drinking.”
Her eyes grew huge, and she looked at me. “I’m drunk. I got drunk, and I’m being nice to you. I told myself when I saw you in your shitter that I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t be with you again, but here I am, drunk and demanding to see the fireworks. I’m a hussy. A complete and utter hussy who gets one drink in her and forgets everything.”
I grabbed the bowl from her and tossed it in a nearby garbage. “Calm down, Paige. It’s not like you’ve slept with me or we got married. All we’ve been doing is talking.”
“I know, but I vowed to myself that I would never speak to you after what you did to me. You hurt me and acted like you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You’re right, I did do that back then, but now, now I know what a complete dick head I was, and now I want to make it up to you.”
“You can’t change it.”
“I can’t, but I can make up for it.”
“How?” Paige slurred. I hadn’t taken her drink away from her soon enough.
“Take you to the fireworks tonight.”
“It’s gonna take a whole lot more than fireworks to make up for jerking off to two girls.”
I cringed at her words. I fucking hated remembering that. “It’ll probably take my whole life to make it up to you, Paige. So, why not let me start right now. I win this race, I give you my beer can trophy and then we watch fireworks from the back of my truck.”
“You’re not playing fair. I’m drunk, you’re still hot, and I want to see fireworks.” Paige sidestepped, stumbling a bit and I grabbed her arm. How in the hell was she getting drunker? Apparently, the full effect of the booze was kicking in.
“I’m playing as fair as I can. You’re still beautiful, and I want to spend as much time with you as I can.”
Paige leaned forward and stuck her finger out, pointing at me. “That, right there, is shit from one of the books I read that would make me swoon and throw my clothes off.”
Fighting Demon: Devil's Knights Series Page 7