Escaping Trouble

by Dee Bridle

  I was sure his eyes twinkled at me, and I realized he was waiting for a response. If I didn’t move or say something soon, he was going to think I was weird. But maybe he needed to know that I was.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I mumbled looking away, but not before seeing his tattoos up his neck, making me suddenly wonder if they were all over his body, too.

  “I’m Noah,” he said in a warm husky voice.

  I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t lose focus. My brain had shut down a moment ago at the sight of him and I didn’t like it. I was the girl who did not make friends at college, especially with drop-dead gorgeous ones who looked like they would promise the world and then drop me on my ass.

  “Good for you,” I returned coolly, shoving the door open and making my way inside without even a glance back at him.

  I ignored the professor’s frowning stare and found an empty row of seats, quickly getting my notebook out. I glanced over to see he hadn’t followed me in, and I refocused on the professor. Did he even go to this class? I tried to concentrate, but it wasn’t long before my thoughts wandered. I was annoyed at spending money I didn’t really have on cafeteria crap, which half was now on the floor outside. I was annoyed that this guy had turned me into a gushing mute before I woke up to my stupidity. I did not have space in my life for guys, especially desirable, hot, tattooed ones with expensive aftershave and shoes. I wasn’t that type of girl.

  The door opened and the professor paused in annoyance as Noah walked in, scanning the seats quickly before his gaze stopped at me. I glared for a second and then looked away, ignoring the thumping of my heart. The professor made his annoyance known, and Noah smiled with fake apology, unperturbed as he headed towards me.

  I didn’t look at him. I focused hard on the professor and his whiteboard, until my eyes burned. He headed down my aisle of seats, coming towards me and I bit down hard on my pen in my mouth. A small brown paper bag was placed on my small desk, and then he climbed over the seats to sit somewhere behind me.

  I stared at the bag in front of me like it was a foreign object that didn’t belong on my desk. My eyes darted up and around the room to see if anyone was watching me before I tentatively opened it. I drew in a breath at the sight of a muffin, my eyes filling with unwanted tears. His kindness was foreign but nice, and it was so not something that I was used to. I felt a little agitated as I thought of my next move. I wanted to eat it, but I also wanted to put it in my bag for later. More than that, I wanted to turn around and give it back to him.

  The lecture continued and I didn’t hear a word as I focused on the muffin in the bag. What did he want from me, now that he had given me this? No one gave something without wanting something back. I didn’t want to start a friendship here. I couldn’t afford to have anyone get close.

  I was sure he was looking at my back, from wherever he had decided to sit, but I didn’t want to turn around. He needed to stay away from me. He wouldn’t like the real me…no one did.

  Noah

  I watched her get up as the professor finished. She quickly shoved her things into her bag. She was deliberately not looking at me, and I smirked to myself, wondering why. The muffin went into her bag, and she walked away with a determined frown. I didn’t know if she would take the muffin, but I was secretly pleased that she had. I packed my stuff up as I watched her leave the hall, her head down, making her slender figure look even smaller.

  I got up and checked my phone as the small bit of paper on her desk caught my eye. I climbed over the seat and took it.

  Thanks.

  One word.

  I shook my head, smiled, and walked out of the lecture hall, still holding the note in my hand. I had to admit that I had been watching her for a while now, wondering what her story was.

  She was one of the hottest girls I had seen here, and I had no idea why she didn’t seem to have any friends or guys hanging around with their cocks out. She obviously kept her distance from everyone, including me.

  I loved a girl with tattoos and her arms were covered with them. I wanted to know more. Who was this intense, dark beauty, and why didn’t she want to even look at me, least of all speak to me? She was a beautiful mystery that I wanted to solve, preferably with my cock.

  I walked across the grounds, the girl now long gone but still not far in my mind. Her deep troubled eyes called to me, and I longed to know why she didn’t speak to anyone, especially me. I had my pick of girls, every day and night that were only too keen to giggle and flirt back with me. I had never seen this girl smile in the three months I had been here. How could she look so streetwise, tough, and vulnerable all at the same time? It got me hard just thinking about it.

  My phone rang in my hand and I looked to see it was Ava, the girlfriend of my best friend, Zac. She was the one girl who had changed him for the better, and they were still going strong. She had been the one to put me onto the idea of starting college. After taking a few years off from doing anything worthwhile, I knew it was time to do something with my life, other than party it away. Even though I still partied…hard.

  “Stop stalking me,” I answered with a grin.

  “You wish,” she laughed. “Are we meeting up for lunch later?”

  “Sure,” I said heading to my next class.

  “Only because I was going to a study group, if we weren’t.”

  “You are such a nerd, Beautiful Ava,” I teased, using the nickname that my other best friend, Will, had given her.

  “Sure thing, Mr. Clever. Some of us actually have to study to get their degree, you know.”

  “It does hurt to be so smart,” I agreed. “Where was your other half last night? I can’t believe the soft cock bailed on Will and I.”

  “Working,” she said. “Some big project. He hasn’t slept in two days.”

  “I’m at my next class. Catch you at lunch,” I said, ending the call.

  I walked in and sat down, getting my notebook out again. It took less than a minute for the girl I had screwed four different ways last weekend to find me and sit herself down next to me. While I had fun, some girls just didn’t get it. I wasn’t after a relationship or small talk after the act. I distinctly remember telling this one that I wasn’t interested in anything other than a good fuck. Just like I had with the one from last night that had ended up sleeping over. These girls always agreed to my rule, but then treated it like a challenge, expecting they would be the one to change my mind.

  That was never going to happen.

  My phone vibrated with a message. Zac.

  Zac: Hey soft cock

  Noah: Hey ass face

  Zac: About to finish big job…want a few drinks tonight?

  Noah: Sorted

  Ivy

  I stood at the tram stop, waiting with all the other students and wondered how we were all going to fit on the tram once it arrived. I put my ear buds in and scanned through my playlists on my phone. My mother’s ex-boyfriend had given it to me before he had gone to jail. I knew it had been stolen, but it was the only way to have one, so I had taken it. The music collection on it was vast and had quite a lot of metal, which made me happy.

  Once I got to the apartment, my heart dropped with disappointment as I saw the front door slightly ajar. Either my mom and her boyfriend were back, or we had been robbed. I knew a thief would be disappointed with the lack of anything worth any money inside. I heard my mother’s voice and rolled my eyes as I stepped in. I knew I should have stayed at the library until it was time for my shift at the bar. Here we go.

  “Ivy, is that you?” she asked, coming out of the room that I slept in. “Hey, we need money.”

  No shit. Same story, different day. I looked into my room to see my clothes bag upturned, including my sleeping bag.

  “I don’t have any.”

  “Bullshit! You work every night. Where are you hiding it?” she asked, rubbing her eye in part exhaustion and part desperation.

  Both eyes were bloodshot, and the bags under them would soon
need their own postcode. Her blonde hair had turned a dirty shade of yellow and lay limp on her head. She was a far cry from what she used to be. Drug abuse worked that way.

  “I’ve spent it on books and stuff for college,” I lied.

  “Why the fuck would you go and do that?” she screamed. “Jesus, Ivy! You need to start paying rent.”

  “What?” I asked in disbelief. “I already pay the rent!”

  “Don’t fucking back chat her,” said Rick at the small kitchen counter. He was sipping a bottle of beer and looking a little worse for wear as he let out a burp.

  I bit my tongue, wanting to tell him where he could shove that bottle, but I knew it wouldn’t get me anywhere. Last time, he gave me a split lip for my trouble.

  “Are you working tonight? We’ll come and get the money after you finish,” she said next.

  “They don’t pay me like that,” I lied. “They pay me once a week.”

  My mother let out a sudden frustrated growl and slapped my face so hard, my ear started to ring. I stumbled back and put my hand to my face.

  “For fuck’s sake, she’s useless,” Rick said, shaking his head in disgust. “We should pimp her out like I said at the start. She’d make us a fucking fortune.”

  I gritted my teeth as I held my stinging face, anger whirling inside of me. They were both pathetic, and at that moment, I wanted to hurt them both. I tried not to be a violent person, but the two of them made it impossible not to be. How could Rick even think of something so ridiculous? Did he really think he had a say about my life? What the hell was I still doing here? The streets would be better than this.

  I counted to three and then bypassed my mother and went into the room. I collected my clothes bag, and quickly picked up all the dirty clothes that had been pulled out and searched. I went back out and headed to the front door.

  “Where are you going?” my mother called after me. “Bills are due. You better get some money fast, girl.”

  I gulped back a retort, slammed the door behind me, and quickly headed down the corridor. I had to hold my breath from all the revolting smells as two guys walked past and stopped, propositioning me with a good time. I walked faster. This wasn’t me. I had to get out of here. I had to find a place of my own…somewhere, anywhere, away from here.

  Noah

  I punched the bag in front of me, my knuckles tingling from the impact as I kept going. Sweat started to form as I went at it, releasing my pent-up tension.

  I was in my favorite place, an underground gym, full of fighters needing to let off steam. I knew the owner, Harry, an old war veteran who still had the fighting instincts you needed in the ring and the knowledge to teach. He had taught Zac and I a lot over the years. His underground fighting rings had made him a lot of money. Zac and I alone had made his bank account fat over the years, and he still hounded me to fight.

  He appeared in front of me, holding the bag as I hit it.

  “You know, Cobra’s coming back to town,” he said in his familiar raspy voice.

  “You mean he’s out of jail,” I grunted, as I hit it again.

  “He’s looking to make some money—a showdown with you would make us all a lot of money.”

  “I’m not fighting at the moment, you know that,” I said, as I concentrated on the bag.

  “Think about it, son,” he said.

  I turned at the sound of Will’s entrance, hearing his laughter before I actually saw him. He was well liked in here, especially with the amount of bets he brought in on fight nights. He liked to have a few fights in the ring himself, had the power and muscle to prove it, but was always on the other side of the ring during the big showdowns.

  “Is that the black beauty in the car park?” he called out to me as he walked into the main room.

  He dropped his bag near mine at the lockers and then whistled in appreciation as he walked over to me, already strapping his hands. He had obviously seen my new car in the car park.

  “Please tell me it’s a manual transmission,” he said next, taking Harry’s place and holding the bag.

  “It is,” I answered. “She’s very powerful.”

  “Just how I like them,” said Will with a gleam in his eyes.

  “Get your boy’s head in the right place. Cobra’s back. I want something to look forward to before I’m dead in the ground,” rasped Harry.

  “Interesting,” said Will, eyeing me.

  I shook my head. Will was a master at managing Zac and I over the years with the bets and getting the underground ring full.

  “I’ll work on him, Harry,” he said with a wink at me.

  “Work your magic, and quickly,” said Harry walking over to the ring where there were two guys sparring.

  “Forget it,” I murmured to Will as I started to punch the bag again.

  “Why? It will make us a shitload of money.”

  “Nope,” I said, hitting the bag hard again.

  “Thanks for the extra breakfast treat this morning,” he said next, swiftly changing the subject. I knew he would be at me about fighting again soon enough.

  I shook my head and then took a step back from the bag and kicked at it.

  “There are so many things wrong about that,” I grunted, kicking the bag again.

  “So wrong, it’s almost right,” he returned with a chuckle. “She was left standing there this morning, unfulfilled. What could I do?”

  “Call her a cab.”

  “Oh I did. Just a little later, after we were all finished.”

  “Isn’t there something in the guy code about that?” I asked, starting to hit the bag again with my fists.

  “If there is a girl, that you are truly interested in, yes. But for ones that are brought home for fun, no.”

  “Did you work today?” I asked.

  “Yep. So how about that fight?”

  I rolled my eyes and then hit the bag hard. He never liked to talk about his life that didn’t involve us. We knew he worked for a construction company during the day but had no idea as to why. We all knew he really didn’t need to.

  “I’m not doing the fight,” I said.

  “Where have your balls disappeared to?” he asked. “No wonder she wasn’t fulfilled this morning.”

  “For your information, she was so fulfilled last night, she passed out from exhaustion. And my balls are just fine, hanging low and heavy, thanks. I’m just not interested in doing a fight right now. I’m trying to concentrate on college and do something. Fuck, I was given a car this morning, Will. I can’t go back there just yet.”

  “Fuck the car! After the fight, you can damn well buy your own.”

  I paused. I wanted to make my own life, away from my father. It would be nice to hand the car back at some stage and prove to him that I didn’t need his money and expectations.

  “I’ll think about it,” I said, hitting the bag once more.

  Will grinned and said, “Don’t hurt yourself doing that.”

  “Eat a dick,” I said and laughed.

  Ivy

  I poured a beer from the tap and passed it to one of the regulars as he sat down at the end of the bar. He nodded his thanks, passed me the money and told me to keep the change, just like he did every night.

  Glory, the other bartender I worked with each night, started to fill the fridge with beers and shook her head.

  “I’ve been keeping an eye out for you, but everyone is charging more rent than you can afford.”

  I sighed in frustration and said, “I know.”

  “I told you if it gets bad, you can have my couch. Lou wouldn’t mind,” she said looking over at her boyfriend who was the one and only doorman of the small bar.

  “I can’t do that,” I said wiping down the bar. “It’s not fair to you or Lou, but I’ll keep it in mind for an emergency.”

  Lou held the keys to the bar due to the owner being away a lot, so some nights, I snuck upstairs and slept on an old couch in the office. It was our little secret. As long as I climbed out the window
in the morning before anyone saw me, it was okay for me to crash there.

  The side door swung open and tonight’s band started to walk through with their instruments. I glanced over and caught the eye of one of the band members who was tattooed, sexy, and totally knew it. No thanks. He delivered a knowing smirk over to me, and I turned the other way. Didn’t matter if he had looked, I wasn’t interested. It was one more headache that I didn’t need.

  I didn’t want to think of the other tattooed six-foot god from earlier on today who had gone out of his way to buy me the muffin. I also tried not to think of his muscles stretching underneath a band T-shirt that I just so happened to like, too. Or his arms, full of ink and stories. I had spent so much of my time at college entirely shut down from enjoying any delights of the male community. But here I was now, letting my mind wander. I was curious about what he was doing right now. Maybe he was getting ready to go out with a girlfriend who was probably a gorgeous sexy thing with equally expensive perfume.

  “So, are you the angel who’s going to be serving me drinks through the night?”

  I focused on the same band member, now standing in front of me with his cocky arrogance.

  “If you come to the bar…sure,” I said straightening empty beer glasses in front of me.

  I was the wrong girl if he was looking for me to flirt back with him.

  “But I tip really well for one-on-one service,” he said next.

  I barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes and said, “Keep your money. I’m not interested in ‘serving you.’”

  He pulled back with a huff and said, “Nice attitude.”

  I kept busy, heading to the other end of the bar so I could get away from him before I said anything to make it worse.

  “Don’t know what you’re missing, babe. Besides, it looks like you need it.”

  “A small cock and five seconds of grunting, no thanks,” I murmured. “I’ll live.”