Starting Fires

by Makenzie Smith

  At the store, I bought tons of easy food for the guys to make, drinks, cereal, all the kitchen necessities, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and paper towels. My jeep was loaded to the max. As I pulled into my drive, Lucas’ garage door was going up. He strolled out, dangling his keys in his hand. Noticing me, he waved, so I waved back before unloading my car. I put some bags on the kitchen counter and was going to retrieve the rest when Lucas came strolling in, a ton of plastic bags going down his arms.

  “Is that everything?” I asked him with surprise.

  With a grunt, he pulled them all up onto the island. “There were two in the front seat I couldn’t get.”

  I went out for them and returned to find him already unloading bags and putting food away. “Thank you. That would have taken me so much longer.”

  “It’s no problem.” He came and stood next to me, helping me unload. We maneuvered around the kitchen in silence, and I realized that he knew his way around it better than I did. As I was unloading the last bag, he came up beside me, putting an elbow against the island. “Where are your roommates?”

  “Charles is working, and Wally is… wherever Wally goes. I haven’t the slightest idea.”

  He chuckled and placed a hand against the small of my back, rubbing it back and forth, curling his finger under the waist of my pants. I loved it and turned towards him. His hand flattened out and ran against my back with the movement. My hands scanned his chest and slowly made their way around to his shoulders then all the way down until they rested on the belt of his jeans. Nothing between us had been decided, but I wanted him to know that I was interested.

  He leaned down and kissed me softly, pulling away sooner than I would have liked. “I gotta go to the bar,” he said. “I’ll call you later.” Before I could respond, he popped me on the ass and laughed when I jerked. As I watched him walk out of my house, I wondered if this some kind of game? Well, whatever—I wasn’t playing.

  It was already dark when Wally and Charles came in together. I made them dinner and then went up to my room for more homework. When my eyes were too tired to continue, I pushed the covers back and got under them, my schoolbooks still scattered across the bed. I checked the time on my phone and saw that I had a new text message.

  It was from Lucas, and it was over an hour and a half old.

  You up?

  My fingers hovered over the keyboard as I tried to decide how and if I would respond. Finally, I said, Nope, and turned off my desk lamp.

  A minute later, my phone vibrated.

  Liar.

  I smiled. I’ll have you know, sir, I am under the covers and in my pajamas. Definitely not “up.”

  He didn’t respond. I’d decided to stop waiting and was nearly asleep when my phone buzzed again. With too much eagerness, I grabbed it. Another message.

  I can’t sleep. Tell me something about yourself.

  I racked my brain trying to come up with something interesting, settling for My favorite movie is The Princess Bride. Yours?

  “As you wish”. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

  I wondered what specifically he liked about it, because that movie was crazy as hell.

  I felt my phone buzz again, If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?

  That one was tough, Greece. I think. Might need more time to contemplate.

  Over the next hour, my phone kept going off with texts from Lucas. I told him everything from my favorite food to my favorite band. He told everything from his favorite author to his favorite color. Red. For some reason I’d figured him a green sort of guy.

  When I finally fell asleep, my phone was still clutched in my hand.

  For the rest of the week, we texted each other constantly, asking random questions, but nothing serious. He asked me if I had any siblings, and I told him that I had a sister, but didn’t talk about her death. It felt too serious, and I wasn’t ready to share that part of me. His only sibling was Mia and she had just turned 21. Our birthdays were five days apart at the end of April—him turning 30 the week after I would turn 27.

  If we saw each other, it was only in passing—in our driveways or when he was hanging out with Charles or Wally. I was usually busy with schoolwork and didn’t go out of my way to engage him. But on Friday night, I had finished all my homework and was free for the weekend. I called Lacey and Nicole and told them to meet me at Lucas’ bar. Charles agreed to be the designated driver and he, Wally, and I piled into my Jeep to head there before their show.

  It was around eight when we arrived. On Fridays, they played for an hour, and Mondays for thirty minutes. It was true that they only did it for fun, they weren’t even being paid, but Lucas did let them have a free bar tab those nights.

  I didn’t see Lucas, but didn’t look for him either, figuring he’d come find me if he wanted to. Lacey and Nicole were already there, sitting at a table with Ian and a cute guy I didn’t recognize. Charles and Wally left to mingle while I pushed my way through the maze of tables. I huffed and sat down in the empty chair across from the unknown guy. Nicole and Lacey walked over to give me hugs.

  “This is my cousin Michael,” Nicole said. “Michael, this is Marlowe.”

  I smiled at him and he gave me a little wave. Michael and I were sitting at one end of the table, Lacey was at the head, and Nicole and Ian were turned towards her while they talked, putting their backs to Michael and I. Pretty soon their conversation booted us out.

  I looked at him and shrugged. Charles walked by, placing a draft beer in front of me, and then walked to a table across from us. Wally and Lucas were there, too. A girl with long, blonde hair was sitting next to Lucas, and I couldn’t be sure, but I thought her hand might be on his leg.

  From my seat, Lucas and I were facing each other, but so far, he hadn’t made eye contact with me—either because he didn’t know I was here, or he was purposefully doing it. When he put his arm around the back of her chair and leaned in to show her something on his phone my eyes narrowed. He could be a serial dater all he wanted, but I wasn’t going to be part of his “harem.” Apparently, his hiatus from other girls had ended. Maybe it was because he thought I was a sure thing. Well, I had news for him.

  The girl laughed at something and he grinned. Still smiling, his eyes drifted up and found mine. I looked at him for only a moment before turning to Michael. He was watching the people around the bar, and while he was distracted, I analyzed his features. His dark hair fell just above his ears in a wave. In the dim light of the bar, I couldn’t be sure what color his eyes were, but they might have been green. His features were the kind that didn’t immediately pull you in. They were more of subtle draw.

  “Well,” I said to him with a smile. “We might as well talk about something.”

  His shoulders jumped in slight chuckle. “Yeah, we’ve been backed.”

  “Don’t you hate that?” I leaned across the table and pointed my finger in our friend’s direction. “It doesn’t matter if it’s three people or fifteen, I seem to always get backed.”

  He chuckled again, but then we both fell silent. He started reading the label of the beer bottle in his hands. This was absolutely no fun. I had nothing to do for the whole weekend, and wanted to celebrate. “Let’s do a shot,” I said and stood from the table.

  He look dumbfounded for a moment but stood, too. “Uh, sure,” he said. We walked towards the bar, and once the shots were in hand, clinked them before tipping them back.

  “I needed that,” he said.

  “Again?” I asked. He smirked, nodding his head with eagerness.

  We ended up sitting at the bar over the next hour, and I learned that his girlfriend had just broken up with him. Nicole dragged him out because she’d said that he needed to stop moping. In fact, all he could talk about was his ex-girlfriend, but I didn’t mind. I was able to sympathize with him, and he let me interject with my own comments and even asked me questions about myself.

  As the guys started playing, he walked towards the stage a
nd I followed. Even though I was aggravated with him, Lucas was still godly in his stage presence, and I felt my knees get weak every time his voice strained as he gripped the microphone. He spotted me in the audience and smiled, making me feel warm all over. As he carried out a long note, his eyes held mine. Jokingly, I put a hand to my forehead as if I was fainting. His smile stretched wide as he continued to sing.

  On their last song, I noticed that his eyes kept drifting to one corner of the audience. Following his gaze, I noticed the blonde that had been sitting next to him. It was obvious by her facial expression that she was in utter awe and her panties were about to incinerate.

  I looked back at him and watched him give her a sexy smile. My stomach fell and I felt a sting of jealousy. I started thinking of ways I could get his attention back to me, but then realized how fucking stupid that was. I shouldn’t have to compete to hold his attention. Either I had it or I didn’t. And if I didn’t, his loss. During my internal struggle, he looked back at me. To show him that I was completely unfazed by his actions, I smiled. Their song finished and the crowd cheered. As soon as he jumped off the stage, the blonde went straight to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. His hand touched her shoulder and I turned away.

  Michael walked back to the bar with me. “They’re pretty good,” he said.

  “Yeah. The drummer and bass player are my roommates,” I told him feeling proud.

  “You live with two guys? Are you, uh, dating one of them?”

  I rolled my eyes, not hiding that the question irked me. “No, and I’m not sleeping with them either. We’re just friends.”

  He nodded his head and smiled. “Good,” he said as we sat.

  We continued to talk as we drank and I ended up liking his company. He was easy to share things with and seemed genuinely interested in the things I had to say.

  After we were nice and drunk, he grabbed my hand, leading me to the dance floor.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, in surprise. I dabbled in dancing, but mostly looked like a big goof. Zydeco music was playing. I had no idea how to dance to Zydeco.

  “Trust me,” he said. “All you have to do is follow me.”

  “Follow you where? I don’t dance, Michael. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “It’ll be easy.”

  On the dance floor, he jerked my body away from him. I twirled and then he pulled me back to his chest. I knew the move looked good, and I hadn’t done a thing to make it that way. “Don’t blame me if I step on your toes,” I said. He smiled and brought one of my hands to his shoulder, grasping the other. He placed a hand at my waist and started moving to the music. Terrified, I held his eyes.

  “Relax, Marlowe,” he laughed. “Just let your body move to the music.” I looked down at his lower half and tried to make my hips move the way his were. Soon, we were dancing around the floor in perfect harmony.

  “I’m going to spin you now,” he said. I nodded quickly, scared and excited.

  He flicked me away from him, spinning me in a circle, and then pulled me back. Without warning, he flung me again, stretching our arms all the way out and then made a little circle with his finger, telling me to spin back. I did and landed on his chest with a thump. Realizing how fun it had been, I threw my head back and laughed. “More!” I gleefully cheered.

  Throughout the song, he led me around the dance floor, spinning me, dipping me, and shimmying me around. Just as it was nearing the end, he spun me again, pulling me back to his chest on the last beat of the drum. It was perfect timing.

  People cheered around us and I was smiling from ear to ear. Our breathing was heavy, and our chests were rising and falling in exertion. I realized that our hands were still wrapped around each other’s bodies and our faces were extremely close. Something lingered behind his eyes. Something that I knew wasn’t behind mine.

  “Thank you,” I said and stepped away from him. “That was so much fun.”

  “It was,” he grinned.

  To get away from the situation, I went to the bathroom. After I finished washing my hands, I checked my phone. It was after 1 a.m. and I realized that I should probably head home. As I came back out, I found Charles sitting at a table with everyone—including Michael and the blonde.

  “We’re all leaving,” he said.

  I nodded and followed them out the back exit. For a moment, we stood in the parking lot, and I realized that the blonde was standing next to Lucas. Was she coming home with us, too? If she did, he would never lay another hand on me. Sensing my stare, he looked at me and worked his lip between his teeth.

  Michael walked over while we held our silent conversation. “We’re gonna go get something to eat before heading home,” he said. “Wanna come?”

  In my current mood, I wanted to say yes. Especially with that girl hanging on every one of Lucas’ words as if he was God or some crap. But Michael was sweet and his eyes looked so hopeful. He was hurting and needing something to cling to. He thought that something was me. If I went with him, I’d only end up adding to his hurt. I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. He was nice, and attractive, but I wasn’t going to be the one to replace his girlfriend.

  “Actually, I’m pretty tired,” I said. “But thank you. Really.” I hoped my smile would help ease his disappointment.

  “Sure,” he said, his face looking crestfallen. “Maybe we can get together another time?”

  “Maybe,” I shrugged, knowing we probably wouldn’t. Suddenly, I felt uncomfortable. ‘Maybe’ hadn’t been the best thing to say there. But ‘yes’ sounded too much like I wanted to start something and ‘no’ was too harsh. He gave me an awkward smile and walked off with Lacey and Nicole. “I’m a horrible person,” I said, looking through my small purse to find my keys.

  “Naw,” Charles said, dangling them in his hand. I’d forgotten that he’d driven “Honesty, babe. Best policy or some shit.”

  “I guess,” I said and pushed the guilt away. Going with him would have done more harm than good anyway.

  Lucas was standing off to the side of the group talking to the blonde. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but she walked off in a huff, clicking her heels across the parking lot.

  “You guys need a ride?” Charles asked Ian and Lucas. “Marlowe’s Jeep has the room.”

  “Yeah,” Lucas said. “Ian was supposed to drive my car home, but I saw you drinking, asshole.”

  Ian shrugged. “I knew Marlowe’s car was here.” he said… I think. It had been so quiet I felt my body lean towards him as I tried to hear his words.

  Ian sat in the front seat, and Wally took the backseat behind Charles. Lucas held the door open for me to climb in. I settled in the middle and felt Lucas stretch his legs wide, pushing into mine—almost as though he was trying to be annoying. I didn’t look at him, but huffed and pulled my leg away, leaning my head back against the seat.

  As we started driving, Wally said, “Didn’t know you had moves like that.”

  “Neither did I.”

  “Yeah, normally when you dance, you look like someone having a choking fit.”

  “Shut up,” I chuckled and felt Lucas’ arm come down around the back of my head. I had to raise it so he could sit it on the top of my seat. When I lowered down, his arm rested just at the base of my skull. If I moved one way, his fingers would be touching my shoulder. If I moved the other, I’d be snuggled into his shoulder. So I stayed exactly where I was.

  “Bird, you’re almost outta gas. Want me to stop and put some in?” Charles asked.

  “If it’s okay with everyone else,” I said. No one voiced any complaints so he pulled into a 24-hour gas station. I handed him my debit card and he got out to pump it. Ian went inside for some water, and Wally went in to ‘take a leak.’

  Lucas and I sat in the backseat, alone. The car was quiet until he tersely said, “Did you have fun dancing with that guy all night?”

  I scoffed. “Don’t be stupid. It was literally one song. And I only s
tarted hanging out with him after you had that girl all over you. Cut the double standard.”

  “So you were trying to make me jealous?” he accused, turning his body towards me.

  “Please,” I rolled my eyes. “Every time I hang out with a guy, it isn’t to make you jealous. But obviously it did. You should think about that the next time you let a random hug all over you. If you think I’m gonna walk over and try to extract some girl from your leg, you are completely mistaken.” Ian jumped in the car just as I stopped talking, and I turned to the window. Lucas inhaled noisily as he gripped the back of the seat.

  Once everyone returned, I put my head back where Lucas’ arm still rested, and we drove home in silence. In my driveway, everyone vacated the car, leaving us alone. Annoyed, I moved to reach for the door but Lucas grasped my arm, stopping me.

  “Stop trying to make me jealous,” he said forcefully.

  “Stop trying to make me jealous,” I returned just as fiercely.

  Our angry breathing was the only sound in the car, before he said, “Who was that guy?”

  “Nicole’s cousin. Who was that girl?”

  “A friend from out of town.”

  “Were you going to take her home with you?”

  “Only if you left with him.”

  “That’s so stupid! You were with her first! Her hand all over your leg and everything. Did you expect me to just be fine with that? Un-fucking-believable.” I huffed and moved to get out.

  “Wait,” he said, grabbing my arm again.

  I turned towards him and narrowed my eyes. “She’s part of your harem, isn’t she?”

  “My harem?” he huffed like that was ridiculous.

  “Yeah, your harem. Your group of girls that you date or do whatever with.”

  While he contemplated how to respond, he worked his lips back and forth between his teeth. “Yes,” he quietly admitted.