Starting Fires

by Makenzie Smith

  “For your information, Charles, I’m only curious. Chill out. Yes, I think he’s attractive but I’m not interested in dating anyone right now. Last night, I was drunk.”

  “And? So?”

  “And. So, that’s the only excuse I have. What do you want from me? He’s hot.”

  “You skank,” he smiled.

  “Whatever.”

  We were silent for a few minutes, wrapped up in the show before Charles spoke up again. “Mark really hurt you, didn’t he?”

  I shrugged, not wanting to talk about that either. “I’m just trying to move on and forget about it all. He wasn’t worth the years I wasted. That’s the part that makes me the sickest.”

  “Lesson learned and all, I guess,” Charles sighed, “At least you get to take that with you. Now, you can recognize the signs in advance, and stop yourself from making the same mistakes. It’s not time wasted. It’s growth.”

  “Well, look at you,” I smirked.

  “Yeah, that was pretty deep.” He stretched out on the bed and groaned dramatically.

  I smiled, but deep down I knew he was right. If anything came out of my relationship with Mark, growth was it.

  The next day I went to an unaffiliated college bookstore and found all but one of the books that I needed. I had my laptop in my backpack and tried to find the last one online, but couldn’t get wireless in the store. The clerk pointed me to a coffee shop across the street. With my laptop in my arms and a massive bag of books, I walked over to it and dumped everything onto an empty table. After ordering a drink from the barista, I searched for the final book.

  While perusing some websites, I heard the laughter of two girls approach the table next to mine. I tried to drown out their conversation, but I did hear something about a girl named “Felicity” being a complete traitor when she hooked up with “Grant Michelson” over the weekend.

  Grant was apparently sort of dating a different girl named “Tabitha.” Tabitha and Felicity were friends, and Felicity knew about Tabitha and Grant even before she hooked up with him. When Tabitha found out, it completely broke her heart.

  I realized that I’d been staring at my computer screen during their entire conversation and hadn’t even moved from the search page. This story was just too engrossing. I shifted my eyes over to them and one caught me staring.

  “She’s a girl,” she said, pointing in my direction. “Let’s ask what she thinks.” I felt myself shrink a little, not wanting to be pulled into their conversation—but totally willing to eavesdrop.

  “Excuse me,” she said. “But what would you think about someone who hooked up with her best friend’s man? She’d be a skank right?”

  “She’d be something, I guess,” I said, hoping my answer satisfied her so I could get back to book buying.

  “See,” she said and gestured to her friend. “Even a stranger thinks so.”

  “I’m just saying,” the other one began, looking at both of us, “maybe there’s more to this story than we know. Maybe Felicity liked Grant, too.”

  “Oh, like it matters. If that’s true then she should have told Tabitha.” I didn’t want to get any deeper in their conversation, so didn’t voice my opinion on the matter.

  A silence filled the coffee shop and I looked at them. One had blonde hair pulled into a low ponytail. Her makeup was a little too dark for her features, but she was pretty, and looked friendly. Her friend’s hair was light brown and rested at her shoulders. She was wearing black rimmed glasses and pushed them up her nose as she watched me. The blonde pointed to my bag of books. “Do you go to school here?”

  “No, I’m taking online classes from a non-local college. I did just move here, though.”

  “Oh, cool. You’ll like it,” she said, giving me a kind smile. “I’m Nicole and this is Lacey”

  “I’m Marlowe.”

  The next thing I knew, they were getting up and sitting down at my table, asking me all kinds of questions. What classes was I taking? Where did I move from? Did I have a boyfriend? Did I want one? They knew somebody. They liked my hair. Where did I get my bracelet?

  It was all a bit overwhelming, and I wondered how many people they’d done this to and how many had told them they were freaks and left. But I reminded myself that I didn’t have enough female friends and even though these girls seemed a little strange, I kind of liked that they jumped in my personal space and were trying to get to know me.

  Over the next thirty minutes, I answered all of their questions and we shared a few laughs. They even helped me find a site to buy my last book for super cheap. As I was leaving, Lacey smiled and said, “Congratulations, Marlowe. You’ve passed our test. We’re friends now.” I chuckled because I had no idea what to say to that. We exchanged numbers and agreed to get together for lunch later that week, and surprisingly, I was looking forward to it.

  By the time I began heading back home, it was around four in the afternoon. The sun was blazing and the air was humid. My A/C was still out, so the drive was utter torture. At every red light, I felt like I was going to die of dehydration. Of course, there was no wind either. Things cooled down when I was able to get on one of the main highways, but the damage had been done. My shirt was already damp. First thing tomorrow, I was taking her to a mechanic.

  When I finally made it to my driveway, I could have kissed the grass. I was sweaty and my hair was a mess. Without looking in a mirror, I knew my face was flush. No doubt any make-up I was wearing had smeared or melted away. A pleasured groan left my mouth as I stepped into my nice, cool house. The TV was on and I could hear that some type of video game was being played. “Whew!” I yelled as I kicked off my shoes. “It is hot out there. I’m so glad to be…” I trailed off as I stepped into the living room.

  All four guys were sitting around the TV, including Lucas. His hair was perfectly styled, and he was wearing a tight, white t-shirt, jeans, and no shoes. Noticing me, he smiled. Embarrassingly, I released a mirthful sigh and let my body sag, becoming completely lost in his gaze.

  “You just get done working out or something?”

  I shook myself out of it and turned to Wally. “What?” I asked.

  “You. Working out? You look all sweaty.”

  “Oh.” I’d forgotten about that. Here I was thinking that Lucas was the most beautiful man to walk the face of the earth and I most likely looked like a cavewoman. Awesome. “My air conditioner is still out. Know any place I can get it fixed?”

  “I’ll take a look at it tomorrow,” Ian said, not taking his eyes of the TV. “Would do it tonight, but we’re playing at the bar in a bit.”

  “You gonna come?” Charles asked.

  Eh… I wanted to see them perform, but not right now. I felt gross, in desperate need of a shower, could think of nothing to wear, needed to unpack some boxes, and I probably should call my dad. “Maybe next time. I’ve got too much to do,” I said, making my way towards the stairs.

  I glanced over my shoulder as I passed Lucas. His head was turned in my direction as he rubbed his neck, his eyes firmly planted on my backside. Immediately, my face heated and I sped up. As embarrassed as I felt that he was checking me out, I still couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across my face as I made it to my room. Hell, I may have even giggled.

  After they left, I took a dip in the pool, showered, and called my dad. He didn’t have much time to talk to me but was pleased that everything had worked out so far. By the time I went to sleep, the guys were still gone.

  Girly giggles echoing down the hallway roused me from sleep around 3 a.m. I heard Wally laugh with the mystery girl. As they crept to his room, he loudly shushed her. Moments later I had to endure more, uh, noises. I would have preferred the giggles.

  I wondered if Lucas had brought home a girl, too. He most likely had. They were all single, all bachelors, all attractive, and all in a band. Everybody was probably enjoying some sexy time tonight. Even Charles. However, if he was, his girl was being much more discreet than the screamer in Wally
’s room.

  Jealousy and curiosity got the better of me and I crept to the window at the front of my room. I peeked out of the blinds and looked to Lucas’ house. All the lights were out. No strange cars were in the driveway, but that didn’t mean anything. I doubt he was alone. Huffing, I got back in bed, pressing the pillow over my ears as I tried to go back to sleep.

  The next day, Ian looked at my car. He came over in nice jeans and a polo. His blonde hair was styled as if he was about to take a walk on a runway, not work on my air conditioning. The man hardly spoke and when he did, his voice was quiet and he never looked directly at me. I had to lean into him just to hear what he was saying. As soon as he was finished, he came into the kitchen and washed his hands. And I mean really washed his hands. He scrubbed and scrubbed, steadily talking the entire time, but the sound of the running water drowned out his quiet voice. All I understood was ‘Order part… Thursday.’

  “So, Thursday? You can fix it then?” He nodded. “Alright, thanks.” He stared at me a moment, walked to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and then walked out the door. Hmm… Ian was strange.

  By the time Thursday rolled around, I’d made plans to go out with Nicole and Lacey for lunch. Since Ian hadn’t been by to tell me that the part had come in, I suffered the heat and met them at a local restaurant. This time I dressed more appropriately.

  As we waited for our food Nicole asked, “Do you live by yourself or do you have a roommate?”

  “I have two roommates, actually. Wally and Charles. They’re in a band.” I noticed Nicole’s eyes expand a little at my news.

  “Where do they play?” she asked.

  “I think it’s a place called Burns. It’s a bar the lead singer owns. I haven’t had a chance to hear them yet.”

  Nicole grinned. “We pass that bar all the time! We should go see them, right Lacey?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “When do they play again?” Nicole asked, bubbling over with excitement.

  I smiled at her enthusiasm. “Tomorrow night, I think.” The three of us made plans to meet and have drinks—though Lacey seemed much less enthusiastic than Nicole.

  Luckily, it wasn’t as hot on the drive home as it had been a couple days before. I wasn’t sweating nearly as bad when I pulled into my driveway. About an hour later, Lucas and Ian came over to fix my car. I was grateful and it didn’t seem right for them to suffer in the heat while I was in the air conditioning so I joined them outside. Hovered really.

  There was no point to me being there. But I liked watching Lucas work on my car. Sweat shone on his forearms and every once in a while he would raise his shirt to wipe his forehead. I could see the beginning of black ink stretched across his ribs, but couldn’t quite make out the tattoo. A thin trail of dark hair traveled from his navel then disappeared under the waist of his pants. His jeans were resting low enough on his hips that I could see the beginnings of the V shape of his lower abdomen.

  They had just finished when Lucas rose up his shirt a final time to wipe off his face. My mouth parted and I stared, trying my best to hold on to every second of this moment. Realizing that perhaps that might not be the best idea, I looked up to his face. He was already looking at me, so I knew that I’d been caught.

  “We good, Ian?” he asked.

  Ian nodded then walked towards his house. “Thank you!” I called after him. He didn’t turn around but threw a hand up in the air. Looking back at Lucas, I said, “And thank you,” more quietly.

  “You’re welcome.” We stood in my driveway for a moment, a silence stretching between us. He fiddled with a wrench in his hand, and I kicked invisible pebbles into the grass. Just before it became too uncomfortable to bear he asked, “Are you gonna be able to come to the show tomorrow night?”

  “Do you want me to?” I responded, not telling him that I already planned on it.

  “Yes,” he smiled. “I’d like that.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there.”

  “Good.” He walked towards his house, and once he made it to his side of the street, turned back towards me. “You look beautiful today,” he yelled over.

  My stomach flipped, and I didn’t know how to respond. “You, too,” was the best I could come up with.

  He chuckled. “Thanks. See you tomorrow, Marzy.” I watched him wave before he walked through his front door.

  Then, I floated through mine.

  Chapter 4

  Busy acquainting myself with my new home and town, I didn’t dwell on Lucas for the rest of the day, or the next. But that was then and this was now. It was around 7 p.m. and their show started at nine. Wally and Charles were leaving in about thirty minutes and I was riding with them. I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, biting my nails, not having a clue what to wear or do with my hair. I was a bundle of nerves. I wanted to look good, but not like I was trying to look good. My hair was a big, frizzy mess, so I decided to start with that.

  “Marlowe! Fifteen minutes!” Charles yelled from the end of the hallway.

  Shit—I still had to get dressed. “Almost done,” I yelled back, frantically running to my closet. My light jeans caught my eye and I quickly pulled them off the hanger and up my legs. They were a little snug in the thighs, so I squatted to loosen them. I searched for a top. I knew that I needed to be comfortable, otherwise, my nerves would be even worse. I grabbed a black tank, and a pair of hot pink pumps that sucked in the comfort category, but made my legs look longer and miraculously thinner. Quickly, I ran into the bathroom and applied minimal makeup. Once finished, I rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping in my heels, but recovered as I walked into the living room.

  Wally and Charles were waiting in the foyer. As I walked out the door, one of them smacked me hard on the ass, and I glared over my shoulder. Wally shrugged and pointed in Charles’ direction. “Yeah, right,” I mumbled.

  From the outside, Burns looked like a run-down warehouse. Inside, it was anything but. To my left were pool tables. To my right was a bar that ran half the length of the wall. On the other side of it was a door that read employees only. In the middle of the room were a large number of tables, many already full. An open space was directly in front of the stage that looked like a dance floor. Some people were already utilizing it, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as I watched an older woman saddle up to a young guy, grinding her behind against him.

  Wally disappeared and Charles draped his arm around my shoulders. “Welcome to our home, Bird,” he said and began leading me through the crowd. Burns seemed like a friendly neighborhood bar—a place that I would’ve enjoyed even if I’d discovered it on my own. We approached a table, and I saw Wally out on the dance floor with that same older woman, showing her the time of her life. “I’ll go get us some beers,” Charles told me as I sat.

  While I waited, I had the feeling that I was being watched and discreetly searched for the culprit. Leaning up against the bar was a man with dark, spiky hair. He was wearing a tight, black t-shirt and jeans that hung low enough on his hips that I could see his white boxers. He took a drag off his cigarette and smiled at me. Reactively, I politely smiled back, but looked away thinking he might get the wrong idea.

  In my peripheral, I saw him leave the bar and walk towards me. “I’ve never seen you here before,” he said when he approached. He wasn’t a bad looking guy. I’d even say he was attractive. Up close, I could tell that he was wearing either mascara or black eyeliner and had gauges in his ears. He was a little heavy around the middle, but attractive nonetheless. Still, I didn’t like the way he was staring at me. The sexual gleam in his eyes made me feel uncomfortable.

  “It’s my first time,” I said and looked around him for Charles. “I’m here to see the band.”

  “Really,” he smirked then, without an invitation, sat down at the table. “What’s your name?” he asked, leaning into me.

  “Uh.” For some reason I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to know it, but I didn’t want to come across as a bitch, so I told him anyway. �
�Marlowe.”

  “Marlowe,” he drew out and smiled in a way that I’m sure he thought was super sexy. It wasn’t a bad smile. As I said, he was attractive, but from the way his eyes kept darting to my cleavage, I got the impression that he was only after one thing.

  “I’m Fontenot. If you like music, I play a little, too.”

  “Are you any good?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I’d said them with a courteous smile, but he probably thought I was being flirtatious.

  Fontenot leaned in further and whispered, “Oh, I’m very good.” Yikes. I was about to excuse myself when I felt a hand at my shoulder. Lucas was standing behind me with two bottles of beer. He sat down in the chair to my left, scooting it close to mine. Once he settled in, he placed a beer in front of me and draped his arm along the back of my chair.

  “Fontenot,” he said before taking a swig from his bottle.

  “Hey, Lucas,” Fontenot replied, glancing at the arm around me. He laughed without humor and stood. “See you around, Marlowe.” As he walked away, I felt a tension I didn’t even know I had leave me.

  “Who is that guy?” I asked, watching him head back to the bar.

  “A dick,” was all Lucas offered. I couldn’t question him further because Charles, Ian, and Wally joined us. As he talked with them, Lucas leaned forward, putting his forearms against the table. I frowned, almost wanting Fontenot to return so he would put his arm back around me.

  The three of them were deep in conversation about some sci-fi video game. Something about a shepherd and reaping, I couldn’t follow. Using the distraction, I leaned into Lucas, brushing my shoulder against his arm. “Thanks for the beer,” I said.

  He looked at me and a slow grin spread across his face. “You’re welcome,” he replied then leaned in, closing the distance between our faces. “Are you driving tonight?” I shook my head. “Then you can drink all you want. On the house. I better not see a single dollar come out of your purse.”