The Stand Off

by Z. Stefani

  “I’m more amused,” he admitted.

  “How?”

  “Your audacity is almost addicting. I’m always waiting to see what you’ll do next. The harder you try to make me hate you, the more I want you. So by all means, keep trying; my cock’s never been this hard.”

  She stood there for a moment, a silent battle waging in her head. She wanted to slap him, there was no doubt about that, but what she’d do after that was what had her conflicted.

  “Slap him and then slap him again or slap him and then kiss his smug fucking lips?”

  She couldn’t even trust herself at this point. This guy was too charming and too disarming for her to think rationally. She needed some air.

  “Fuck this,” she headed towards the door.

  “You should lift that skirt when you’re walking away from me; I want to see that beautiful ass again,” he said.

  Refusing to respond, she huffed silently as she stormed out of the room, slamming the rickety door behind her. She walked down the hallway and opened the back door.

  “Everything alright?” Pixie asked when Lux stormed onto the back porch.

  “Will you keep an eye on him for a minute? I need a little break.” She asked.

  “Of course,” Pixie agreed and walked in to the house. She walked into the living room and sat in the fold out metal chair in front of Dean.

  “I have to know what you said to Lux to get her all flustered like that,” Pixie smiled in good spirits.

  “I told her the truth.”

  “Must have been the sex thing again. Do tell.” She smiled and got comfortable in the metal chair.

  “Ask Lux.”

  “I should while I have the chance, before we all go to prison. But in her defense, she hasn’t slept, she hasn’t eaten, and she’s been drinking wine… lots of wine. Trust me, she gets a little intense and can be very driven, but she’s not really the abduction type.”

  “It’s not abduction if I’m here voluntarily.”

  “Do you mean,” she started to ask, but he cut her off.

  “Yes.”

  “You would do that for Lux?” Pixie was blown away by his admission.

  “Where is she?”

  “On the back porch.” She took out a fresh stick of gum and tossed the wrapper into the garbage can.

  “Go get her,” he said in an authoritative tone, despite the fact that he as tied to a chair.

  “Like I could, she’s not coming until she’s ready. I can’t make Lux do anything she doesn’t want to do; no one can. You should know that by now.” She grinned knowingly.

  “You could untie me, and I could talk to her myself.”

  “Nice try, but I would rather face you and the cops then Lux when she’s mad. She gets way too intense. Besides, I can’t lie; I would like to see if the two of you could work out this little dilemma. I think a big dose of Dean is just what my sister needs.”

  To that comment he raised his right brow. They heard the front door open and watched as Kiki walked into the living room.

  “What a beautiful day for an abduction,” Kiki joked as she walked over to Pixie.

  “Sure is.” Pixie smiled.

  Graves walked in behind Kiki and asked, “Where’s Lux?”

  “On the back porch with a fresh set of pinch marks, I’m sure,” Pixie answered and Dean looked at her for a moment, analyzing her words.

  “What happened?”

  “She needed a little break from the wrecking ball man.”

  “You must have been hinting about sex again.” Kiki raised her eyebrow.

  “More than a hint, I think.” Pixie corrected her.

  “Really? Oh, do tell.” Kiki got excited.

  “She was too flustered for it to be just a hint,” Pixie explained.

  “Well, well, well… Mr. Blake.” Kiki sat in the chair next to Pixie. “You’ve got our little Lux in a tizzy. I’ve never seen her so frazzled… it’s refreshing.”

  “Refreshing?” he asked.

  “To watch that icy shell of hers… slowly-shatter,” Pixie answered instead.

  “She needs to let loose.” Kiki nodded.

  “We’ve been telling her that for years,” Pixie added.

  “Cupid, much?” Graves scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Ms. And Miss Obvious.”

  “Says Ms. Morose.” Kiki grinned.

  “Don’t back out now Gravely Gloom; you know the plan,” Pixie reminded her.

  “What plan?” Dean asked.

  “No plan.” Pixie smirked and turned back to Graves.

  “I don’t agree with it.” Graves crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You’re out ranked.” Pixie batted her lashes and smiled dramatically.

  “Remember that when the wrath of Lux comes down on you,” Graves warned them.

  “She’ll be thanking us,” Kiki said with a smile.

  “Bullshit, it’s not going to work, especially after what she’s just done. She abducted him!” Graves tried to get it through their heads.

  “It will work.” Pixie nodded with confidence.

  “Did you forget who you’re dealing with?” Graves raised her arms in question.

  “You just have to have a little faith. It’s so obvious, I know it will work,” Pixie tried to explain.

  “You know your sister better than anyone. She’s not giving up,” she stopped and whispered the next three words low, “the big V in exchange for property. She kidnapped the dude instead, isn’t that enough evidence.”

  “Was that supposed to be a whisper? Cause that didn’t sound like a whisper,” Pixie pursed her lips as she asked.

  “That was way too loud to be a whisper,” Kiki said as she shook her head.

  “Did you forget about the hostage tied to the chair who happens to have a set of perfectly functioning ears?” Pixie asked.

  “Oh shit.” Graves turned to Dean and boldly lied. “V means Virginia; that’s one of her old stage names. Sometimes she refers to herself in the third person, so we do too sometimes.”

  Kiki and Pixie burst out laughing as Dean once again raised his right brow.

  “Looks like you’ll get a little of that wrath too,” Pixie shot back at Graves.

  “Hopefully he can’t decipher your mumbo jumbo,” Kiki joked.

  To that Pixie turned to Dean and smiled as she said, “Just remember the sullen, little blonde told you.”

  “Told him what?” Lux asked as she walked into the room.

  “That we need supplies,” Pixie lied quickly.

  “I’ll go get them; I saw a store on the way here. It’s not far.” Kiki offered.

  “I’ll make you a list.” Lux grabbed a pen and looked around for an old scrap of paper.

  “I called Lolo; she’s going to bring a bag of clothes for you. She even got a t-shirt and gym shorts for Dean,” Pixie said.

  ***

  The sun was beginning to dim and the large living room was overpowered with shadows. The candles cast an eerie glow across the room and everyone in it. Kiki had gone to the store, and Graves was in the basement trying to fix the power issue. Dean was still tied to the chair, and he was openly staring at Lux. Lux sat in the metal fold out chair next to him, trying desperately to avoid his penetrating stare. Pixie was sprawled out on the loveseat across from them, watching the quiet exchange between Dean and Lux.

  “This really is a nice house. Too bad someone didn’t buy it and redo it. It’s a shame to see it go to waste,” Pixie said.

  “It is beautiful,” Lux agreed as she carefully avoided Dean’s intense stare.

  The lights began to flicker for a moment before they came on.

  “Thank you Graves,” Lux whispered to herself as she breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Let there be light,” Pixie cheered with a huge grin as she clapped her hands

  “I’ll blow out the candles,” Lux said as she rose from her chair, avoiding eye contact with Dean as she extinguished them. She could feel Dean’s eyes on her, and her skin was heati
ng up accordingly.

  Graves walked back into the room with a huge smile on her face. “It worked.”

  “Gravely Gloom, you are a genius.” Pixie stood up and bowed in a gentlemanly fashion.

  “A complete genius,” Lux added.

  “They had an old backup generator in the basement; I just hooked it up.” She shrugged as she sat down next to Pixie. “It’s old, but it’s powerful.”

  “We finally have light; now it’s time for the refreshments.” Pixie grinned as she pulled a bottle of red wine out of her oversized purse.

  “Are we going to drink out of the bottle?” Lux raised her brow.

  “You mean bottles? She brought enough wine for the neighborhood,” Grave said as she pulled another bottle out of a duffle bag.

  “You know I always come prepared.” Her smile deepened when she pulled the disposable plastic cups out of her purse. “I also have a bottle of tequila.”

  They watched as Pixie pulled a bottle of liquor out of her purse. She then reached back in and grabbed a large lemon, a salt shaker and a knife.

  “What else do you have in there?” Dean asked her.

  “You don’t want to know,” Lux shook her head.

  “I can’t believe you’re actually going to spend the night in this creepy, old house,” Pixie said as she filled the plastic cups with wine.

  “Maybe it’s not such a great idea. What about squatters or transients?” Graves asked.

  “Or wild animals,” Pixie added with a dramatic shiver.

  “What wild animals? This is New York,” Lux scoffed.

  “Let’s not forget the rats; some of them are as big as cats and as you know, they run in pacts,” Pixie clarified.

  Graves turned to Lux with a grim look on her face. “What if this place is like haunted or something? I mean why else would someone abandon such a beautiful house and all of their expensive furniture?”

  “Maybe the ghosts are trapped or something, like they were murdered here.” Pixie turned to Lux with a look of horror. “You can’t stay here Lux.”

  “It’s not haunted, and we will not be over powered by a pact of cat-sized rats,” Lux snapped with a frown.

  “What about squatters? If a squatter is desperate enough, they might try to kill you to keep their place,” Pixie said looking around nervously, “I mean this place is a palace to a squatter.”

  “Sounds like you Lux; you’d kill me for your property,” Dean said with a dry chuckle.

  “If I could get away with it, you’d already be dead.” Lux glared at him for a moment before she turned to her sister. “That’s enough… I’m staying here, you can’t talk me out of it.”

  “I hope you have more protection than that stun gun,” Dean interjected.

  When they heard the door open, Pixie gasped. Lux rolled her eyes at her sister but had the stun gun ready.

  Kiki walked in holding an oversized picnic basket and a few bags.

  “What the hell happened?” Kiki asked, seeing the look on Pixie’s face.

  “She was trying to scare Lux out of staying here tonight,” Graves explained.

  “All she managed to do was scare her own self.” Lux shook her head.

  “Hey, this house is extra spooky,” Pixie said.

  “You got tequila,” Kiki purred with a smile.

  “Let’s do shots,” Pixie said as she began to cut up the lemon.

  “Only one for me, I’m driving,” Graves said as she pulled out more cups and began filling them.

  “You don’t have to drive; Lolo is coming to get us so we can leave the car here for Lux,” Pixie told Graves as she handed her a slice of lemon.

  “Are you doing a shot too, Lux?” Kiki asked.

  “Why not,” Lux answered.

  “And one for Dean?” Pixie asked.

  They all looked at him, and he nodded.

  “I’ll help him with his,” Lux said as she took the salt and a piece of lemon.

  “I don’t want all that, just the liquor,” Dean said.

  “Seriously?” Lux asked as she got closer to him with the shot.

  “Yes. It’d be easier if you just untied me,” he said.

  “You wish,” she said and held the cup to his lips. He tilted his head back and took the shot.

  Pixie attached a speaker to her cell phone and cranked the music. Kiki and Graves began to dance and sing along while drinking.

  “Lolo will be here to drop off your clean clothes soon, so we might as well party until she gets here,” Pixie said.

  “We might as well; we’ll all be in prison by this time next week.” Kiki chuckled before she took another sip of wine.

  “We’re not going to jail.” Pixie smiled.

  “Wishful thinking,” Graves retorted.

  “No, I heard it from the horse’s mouth,” Pixie pointed at Dean.

  “Really?” Kiki said as she turned to Dean.

  “Yes,” Pixie smiled.

  Lux turned to Dean with a look of surprise. “You told her we’re not going to jail?”

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “You’re not going to turn us in?” Lux couldn’t believe it.

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “You know why.”

  “Tell me,” she whispered as her eyes locked on his.

  “I want to punish you myself,” he informed her in a deep, hushed tone.

  The front doors swung open, and everyone turned to see Lolo.

  “You’re partying without me?” Lolo snorted.

  “No, we were just having a few drinks until you got here,” Pixie answered.

  “I brought your clothes Lux. I picked out a really comfy outfit for tonight and something super cute for tomorrow,” Lolo said as she sat the duffel bag on the loveseat.

  “Thanks,” Lux said.

  “I also brought your ballet flats, tooth brushes, toothpaste, an air mattress and your birth control,” Lolo pulled the black slippers out of the duffel bag.

  “Perfect. Keep an eye on Dean for a minute while I go change into something more comfortable,” Lux said as she grabbed the bag and headed out of the room.

  The moment she was gone, the girls grabbed every available chair and circled around Dean.

  “So you’re seriously not going to turn us in?” Kiki asked.

  “He’s not going to turn us in? Really?” Lolo asked him.

  Every one of them was staring at him intently, waiting with bated breath for him to answer.

  “No,” he finally said.

  “You like Lux don’t you?” Pixie asked with hope in her eyes.

  “Of course he likes her, why else wouldn’t he turn her in for abduction,” Kiki stated the obvious.

  “Is that why?” Pixie insisted.

  Dean hesitated before he answered, “Yes.”

  “I fucking knew it,” Pixie clapped her hands. “Okay, so here’s my advice; forget about that little building exchange deal.”

  “Trust us, that’s a problem,” Kiki added.

  “One that she will never forgive you for and trust me, Lux can hold a grudge,” Graves informed him.

  “You should ask her out on a regular date, like a fresh start,” Lolo advised.

  “That’s a really good idea,” Kiki agreed.

  She had no more then finished her sentence when they heard the door down the hall open. The girls immediately jumped up and went back to what they were doing as if they hadn’t been huddled around Dean. Lux walked into the room with a frown on her face. She was wearing a skimpy white tank top with black polka dots that was cut low enough to show her bra. She also wore a black mini skirt that barely covered her ass.

  “Since when do I sleep in tank tops and skirts?” Lux asked Lolo.

  “Oh, sorry, I guess I thought it was a bed clothes.” She shrugged and put her head down.

  “Sexy sleep wear is in,” Kiki said with a grin.

  Lux shot her a death look, obviously realizing what she was up to.