Fight of Life (Perception Book 3)

by Shandi Boyes

  “Jealous, hmm sure Jacob, whatever you say” he replies while shaking his head and walking out of the kitchen.

  “I’ll get Marcus to drive me” Noah yells from the lounge room.

  I gently shake my head while smiling. I should have known Noah would have found a way to be able to drink. He isn’t an alcoholic by any means, but a majority of their ‘pay’ for performing at Mavericks Bar is supplied in free beers. I can’t blame him for wanting to take full advantage of the unlimited free cold beers. I have watched Noah’s band ‘Rise up’ perform every Friday night since they secured the gig there. I have been asked several times the past few months by their rapidly growing fan base why I am not a part of the band. One, I can’t play an instrument to save my life. Two, I am fucking tone deaf. And three, I have dreams of my own that I want to pursue and I don’t need to ride on the coattails of my best mate to achieve those dreams. ‘Rise Up’ is Noah’s passion and fighting is mine. Not that anyone knows that.

  Noah has been my best friend since the day we first met in grade six. He was walking home in the pouring rain when my dad stopped and offered him a lift. I had seen Noah a few times around the school grounds, but he hung out with a different crowd than the guys I hung out with. Noah, back in grade six would have been lucky to weigh fifty pounds ringing wet. There was nothing to him but skin and bones and my dad must have noticed this. Instead of driving Noah straight home, my dad took him back to our house and fed him a whole heap of the pastries and tarts that he had cooked the day before. Ever since that day, Noah has been a part of our family. My dad doesn’t even blink an eye when he helps himself to the food in the fridge and he even smiled when Noah finally accepted the spare room in our house as his own bedroom.

  Don’t get me wrong, my dad was, and still is, a hard ass and he disciplines me and my brother Patrick sternly. But, he has a good heart and he knew Noah needed a positive male role model in his life, so he stepped up. Noah’s dad was a drunk and his mom was barely in the picture. My mom died when I was three years old, so I knew what it felt like to not have a female influence in my life. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for Noah not having either a male or female role model.

  I would like to say that I remember my mom, but the only memories I have of her are the ones in the photo’s my dad still has displayed around our home. There is one thing I do remember though, my dad fucking loved my mom with all his heart. He loved her so much that even now eighteen years after her death he is still single. I don’t know if he dates, but if he does he is very discreet about it.

  “So who is the lucky girl?” Noah asks as he walks back into the kitchen.

  He looks like he has just gotten out of the shower as his dark hair is wet and shaggy on the top of his head instead of its normal messy spike design.

  “Lola” I reply excitedly. Even the way her name rolls off my tongue is fucking sexy.

  “Nice name” Noah laughs.

  “Where are you taking her to?” he questions while putting two slices of bread into the toaster. Noah is no longer skin and bones, but that isn’t surprising with how much he now eats.

  I don’t answer his question straight away as I haven’t even worked that part out yet. Lola said it wasn’t a date, so I don’t think she would want me to take her out for dinner. But I have already been inside her panties, so I think I should put in a little more effort than just driving her straight back to Bronte’s Peak.

  “Well she said it is technically not a date so I don’t know where to take her” I reply truthfully.

  Noah lifts his head out of the fridge to look over at me. His eyebrows are pulled together tight and his dark eyes stare directly into mine. He stands up and closes the fridge door, before he walks over to stand in front of me.

  “Is she the girl you slept with the other night?” he questions as he cocks one of his eyebrows into his hairline. I nod my head to answer his question, which causes Noah to start laughing.

  “Let me get this right. You fucked a girl, then you asked her out. She accepted your cock, but she won’t go on a date with you?” he questions while laughing loudly. It isn’t a little chuckle either, he full on laughs loudly and isn’t even embarrassed when tears start springing in his eyes.

  “What the fuck did you do wrong? You didn’t blow in your pants, did you?” he questions. He is laughing that hard, I have to strain to hear the taunting words coming out of his mouth.

  “Whatever” I mumble angrily as I move away from the breakfast bar and start to make my way out of the kitchen.

  “Jake…Jacob…I was just joking” Noah yells as he runs after me. When he catches up to me, he places his hand on my shoulder.

  “Sorry Jacob, I was just joking” he informs sincerely, but I can see the smirk on his face and his eyes are still glossed over from the tears that had formed there.

  “She isn’t like the other girls I have dated” I reply. Lola isn’t even close to the other girls I have dated. As Noah stares deep into my eyes, his smirk changes from being arrogant to understanding before he slaps me on the shoulder.

  “Bring her to Mavericks. It’s not a ‘date’ type of place, then I can meet her” he suggests sincerely. I did mention to Lola that we could have a beer together and Mavericks sells beers so it could work. I slightly nod my head at Noah’s suggestion.

  “Then I can see why she has your panties all up in a twist” he chuckles while waggling his eyebrows.

  Noah never stays serious for long. It is just the way he is. It’s one of the reasons we get along so well.

  Chapter 4

  Lola

  “Does this outfit say, I like your cock but I don’t want to be your girlfriend?” I question.

  Emily looks up from her pink floral bedspread she is currently sprawled on. Her eyebrows are pulled together tightly as she stares at me dumbfounded. I love teasing Emily, she is so shy and timid and she blushes on cue. We are sisters, but I swear one of us must be adopted as we are total opposites. For one, she has dark tan skin and I have beige skin. She thinks studying is fun and I prefer to party. But more important than anything else is the fact that Emily is a prude and I am not.

  “Ummm, I think you look nice” she replies cautiously.

  “Nice wasn’t the look I was going for” I reply while diving on her bed, causing her to giggle. That is the one thing I do love about Emily. She has the cutest little giggle. Sometimes she even snorts when she giggles too much, not that she would ever admit that.

  “Where are you going tonight?” she questions, as I lay down next to her to join her in staring at her white ceiling.

  “I met a guy last week. He offered me a lift home and we ended up at Bronte’s peak and oh my god Emily the size of his co…” Emily slaps her hand over my mouth before I get to finish telling her my story.

  “I get the picture” she replies as she moves her hand away. I pull my hands apart to indicate the length of Jacob’s cock, triggering Emily’s cheeks to get a pink hue as she shakes her head in disgust.

  “You have to go to Bronte’s peak one-day Em, oh the fun you can have there” I state cheekily, while recalling some fond memories.

  I notice Emily stiffens next to me and her eyes open wide in shock.

  “You have been there before haven’t you?” I question, leaning against my elbow to look her in the eyes.

  Emily is one of the world’s worst liars, so even though she is shaking her head no, I know she has been there before.

  “What base did you get to?” I interrogate while lifting my eyebrows into my hairline, as Emily’s eyes open even wider in shock.

  “Emily Faye McIntosh” I sternly state. She bites down on her bottom lip and her guilty eyes stare into mine. My little timid innocent sister isn’t a virgin, no way! Maybe she is more like me than I had realised.

  “You little hussy” I giggle while tickling her under her ribcage. Emily hates being tickled, but today she instantly stiffens and gives me a stern look. Her face morphs into sadness over my little
tease.

  “I am not a hussy” she replies harshly. Making me instantly halt my tickling onslaught on her ribs.

  “Who stamped your V card Em?” I question sincerely. Emily and I are complete opposites, but she is my sister so I automatically love her and I don’t like seeing her upset.

  “No one important” she whispers as her eyes shoot back towards the ceiling.

  “You can’t let them get to you Emily” I reply, as I observe some small tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

  “No guy is worth making you feel like a piece of shit. No matter how much you think you love him” I declare directly into her sad brown eyes.

  This is one of the reasons I am the way I am. I use to let things get to me too, just like Emily does. But not anymore. If you don’t allow yourself to become attached to anyone, you won’t end up disappointed. I wouldn’t recommend that Emily should grow up to be just like me, but I can only hope she starts to live her life a little. She needs to stop worrying about what everyone thinks of her all the time and just be happy being the person she wants to be.

  “Well anyway, I have to go and finish getting ready for my non date” I declare as I lean over and give Emily a quick brief hug.

  “Have fun” she whispers into my ear while she hugs me back.

  “You know I will” I giggle before removing myself un-lady like from Emily’s bed. I roll off onto the floor, forcing Emily to giggle again. I am happy that I have managed to make Emily smile before I headed out for the night.

  As I walk out of Emily’s room, I try to work out who she had given her virginity too. She doesn’t seem like the type of girl that would just hand it over to anyone, so it would have had to have been to someone she thought was special. I didn’t even realise that Emily was dating. I might have to start paying more attention to my little sister’s love life.

  Around thirty minutes later, I had finally finished placing the last of my make up on. I don’t even understand why I am putting in so much effort. I was the one that had told Jacob it was not a date, but I am the one that spent the last hour getting ready for our non-date.

  At exactly 8pm, Jacob knocks on the front door. I stand behind it for a few seconds silently praying that he doesn’t have a bunch of flowers or a bottle of wine to pick me up with. Once I take in a deep breath, I pull open the door and sigh in relief when I realise he isn’t holding anything in his hands. He looks handsome in his dark washed jeans and a long sleeve button down shirt. The past week had made me forget just how tall Jacob is. I have to stand on my tip toes to greet him with a kiss on his cheek.

  “Hi Lola, are you ready?” he questions as I slowly close the door behind me.

  “Sure am” I reply, walking towards Jacob’s car.

  Jacob walks quickly in front of me to open the passenger side door. I nearly comment that we are in the 21st century and that I can open my own door, but I hold in my remarks when I see his gentle smile on his face. I need to try and lower my bitch factor with Jacob. He seems like a genuine nice guy, who just happened to pick the wrong girl to find attractive.

  He quickly runs around to jump into the driver’s seat before firing up his car, causing it to rumble loudly.

  “I thought we might go and watch a band perform at Mavericks, if you want to?” he questions nervously.

  “Sure, sounds great” I reply smiling.

  A few girlfriends have mentioned about a band of hot guys who perform at the Mavericks every Friday night. I have not yet seen them perform, but from their descriptions it sounds like a boy band I could really appreciate.

  Approximately thirty minutes later, we pull into an old rusty looking bar that looks like it was built in the sixties. When I peer around at my surroundings, I soon realise that the band must be the only thing that attracts people to this shit hole every Friday night. The carpark is full to the brim, but Jacob pulls into the manager’s spot before he turns off his ignition.

  “You’re the manager of Mavericks?” I enquire curiously, he doesn’t seem like the business type of guy.

  “No, Ollie only lives a block over so he normally walks here. He doesn’t mind me using his carpark” Jacob chuckles as he opens his door and steps out of his car.

  I quickly open the passenger side door and jump out before Jacob has the chance to open it for me. His face looks slightly disappointed when he realises that I had beaten him to the door.

  “I would have gotten that” he sighs while he moves over to stand in front of me.

  “I know” I respond, rolling my eyes at him. Jacob watches me curiously before he shakes his head.

  “You’re not like other girls” he half questions.

  “I know” I reply again, causing Jacob to laugh.

  Jacob has a wonderful laugh. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside when you hear it. What? Oh Jesus Lola, get a grip. I need to try and distance myself from Jacob as soon as possible.

  When we walk into the bar the first thing I notice is the strong scent of tobacco filtering in the air. The floor space is heavily crowded with a mostly young group of partygoers, which I find interesting, considering how old and run down this place is. Jacob starts to head towards the large wooden bar and I follow closely behind him.

  “What would you like to drink?” Jacob questions kindly.

  My eyes roam over the large selection of alcohol bottles that are displayed on the glass shelves behind the bar, but nothing sparks my interest.

  “Maybe a beer?” I reply. Jacob orders two beers from an elderly lady that is working behind the counter. They appear to know each other as they friendly banter back and forth. For an older lady, she has a rocking body. She is wearing a pair of skinny white full-length jeans and red short sleeve shirt with Mavericks written across the front.

  “I will be back in a minute” advises Jacob as he hands me a beer, before casually walking over to a group of good looking guys that are standing in the middle of the dance floor.

  “Hey Maggie, can I grab a beer?” requests a deep voice to my right.

  I turn towards the voice and my vision is rewarded by seeing a gorgeous, tall, dark and handsome man who is wearing dark jeans and a white cotton v neck shirt. His muscular arms are on full display as he leans against the counter talking to the barmaid. His isn’t the build of Jacob, but I can still appreciate his impressive guns. The elderly barmaid smiles at his request as she hands him a cold bottle of beer.

  “Hi” I introduce while taking a step closer to the mysterious stranger. He isn’t the type of guy I would normally be interested in as my tastes lean more towards blonde haired, blue eyed men. So he is a little too dark and mysterious for me, but there is something about his allure that makes me want to talk to him.

  “Hi” he greets before taking a swig out of his beer bottle.

  “Do you come here often?” I question into his dark intense eyes. He smiles against the rim of his beer bottle before taking another large gulp.

  “You could say that” he replies smiling even larger, allowing me to see that he has dimples.

  “I’m Lola” I introduce, offering him my hand to shake. He nods his head, while wiping the beer condensation off his damp hand down his jean covered thigh, before accepting my handshake.

  “Nice to meet you Lola, I am Noah” he replies. Noah also has nice large hands, although they don’t look quiet as large as Jacob’s.

  I can’t work out what has sparked my interest in Noah. I know it’s not sexual, although I am sure he would be a fantastic romp in the bedroom. But there is something about him that I just can’t seem to place my finger on.

  Chapter 5

  Jacob

  “She sure is fine” declares Slater as his eyes wander over Lola’s body.

  Tonight she is wearing a pair of super short denim shorts, that are that short the pockets hang lower than the actual material of the shorts and she has on a red spaghetti strap singlet top. We had just arrived at Mavericks and I had ordered us both a beer, when I spotted Noah ap
proaching the bar. I told Lola that I would be back in a minute before I bolted towards Slater, Marcus and Nick as I wanted to watch her interact with Noah. I needed to see if she was going to become all flustered, like nearly every other female around here does, when they talk to him. She seems to notice him straight away and moves closer to him as Maggie serves him a beer, but she doesn’t flutter her eyelashes or perk her lips at him like I would normally witness. My excitement soars when Lola manages to pass the little test I had placed on her with flying colours.

  After they finish shaking hands, I walk back over towards them. Lola is looking at Noah with her eyebrows pulled together and she seems a little bit confused.

  “Hey Noah” I greet as I finish the last few strides.

  “Jacob” he greets back, smiling brightly.