by Joy Eileen
I was talking to Ryan, Jessie, and Denise, when a group of business men came in. They were well dressed, so we assumed Bambi would pounce on them like the gold digger she was. None of us bothered moving as we gossiped about Denise’s new man.
One of the men gave us impatient glare at the same time I looked up to make sure Bambi was taking care of them. When our eyes connected, he made an irritated what the hell gesture with his arms.
I shrugged off the bar and walked toward him since Bambi had magically disappeared. When I reached them, Mr. Impatient rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed. “About fucking time,” he glowered, making his friends laugh uncomfortably.
“Sorry, the waitress who handles this table has disappeared. What can I get you?” I asked, wanting to placate them.
“Nice, blame it on some invisible person, because you're too incompetent and lazy to do your fucking job.”
It astonished he would say something like that in front of people. I was used to Jason pretending to be a good guy in front of people, seeing an organic asshole in the wild took me by surprise.
“I'm sorry. What do you guys want?” I asked, looking around for Bambi.
“Ok, I get it, if I talk to you like the piece of shit you are, I get you motivated enough to take my order,” he sneered, smirking at me.
Turning around, I refused to deal with him. Tears formed not because of the way he was talking to me, but because I was letting him. I wished I had the gumption to turn around and tell him off, but instead, I allowed myself to back down.
I was so busy trying not to let my emotions take over, I didn’t see Kill standing behind me until I ran into his chest.
Once again, I was the damsel-in-distress and he was going to fix it for me. Why was I so pathetic? I hated myself for being so weak.
“Is there a problem here, Faith?” he asked. His voice was menacing. I pulled away from him and plastered on my fake smile, sick and tired of having to be rescued.
“Nope, I was just helping Bambi by taking one of her tables, but she should be back soon enough,” I said, wondering if the guys at the table had enough sense to keep their mouths shut while Kill was staring them down, ready to maim.
“Are you sure, because it didn’t look that way from where I was standing.”
I took his arm and escorted him away from the table, done with the drama. Kill relented, and let me steer him toward his table. “Where are the boys?” I asked, noticing the table was empty, and I hadn’t heard Jet enter with his usual exuberance.
“They're still at home. Jet and Amy were….doing what Jet and Amy do. Van was moping around because Jessie had to call her parents, and D was on the phone. I decided to come over early and get some food.”
His face was tight, and the whole time he talked, he stared at the businessmen, who were now giving their orders to Bambi, and from the look on her face, they seemed to be behaving toward her under Kill's scrutiny.
“Well, what can I get you?” I asked, trying to pull his attention from the table of douchebags because nothing good could come of it.
He didn’t answer me, because he was busy keeping watch. I snapped my fingers in front of his face.
“Hello,” I said, finally getting his attention.
“What do you want to eat?” I asked, exasperated with the situation as a whole, and taking it out on him.
“What?” he asked, trying to keep his attention on me, but his eyes keep flitting away.
“Nothing, let me know if you decide to order,” I snapped and turned on my heels.
“Hey sexy beast, what are you doing?” Ryan asked when I slid up to the bar. She didn't move her eyes to look at me. She stayed steady as she poured a drink with different layers of purple.
“What the hell is that?” I asked, mesmerized at her pouring, like everyone else at the bar.
“It’s a purple haze,” she said, finishing the different layer's and standing back to admire her creation proudly.
“Put it on the tray for me, hun. I don’t want to mess it up,” Denise said, eyeing it with worry.
Ryan laughed at her wariness and put it on the tray, she walked away slowly, trying not to jostle it. Ryan noticed Kill sitting at the table by himself, or as by himself as he could get. There were a couple bar floozies surrounding him, tossing their hair and pushing their after markets in his face.
“When did Kill get here?” Ryan asked. “Did he come in here alone?” She questioned when she had searched the whole bar and didn’t locate the rest of the JackholeS.
“Yeah, the guys were busy, so he decided to come in early to get something to eat,” I explained.
“What does he want? I will put it in for him,” Ryan asked, and I realized my mistake too late.
“He didn’t know just yet,” I said, as nonchalant as possible.
“You mean to tell me a guy who's in here all of the time doesn’t know what he wants?”
I squirmed under the look she shot me.
“What's going on with you two?”
“Nothing!” I exclaimed, wishing my voice didn’t sound as guilty as I felt.
“Be careful, Faith. He isn’t a one girl kind of guy, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
We stared at Kill, who removed his attention from the table of douchebags.
“It isn’t like that,” I said, walking over to him.
“Have you decided what you want yet?” I asked breathlessly.
He smiled widely at me, and I melted a little. “Yeah, but I'll settle for a patty melt, Kill style, for now,” he said, pulling me closer to him.
The bar skanks bristled at the attention I received and I had to suppress the smirk.
“What exactly is Kill style?” I asked, letting my body press into him while ignoring the death glares.
I was testing my ability to handle the fan-girls, and the uneasy feeling in my stomach was showing me I wasn't handling it well at all. Kill whispered in my ear, making chills explode all over my body. My nipples hardened, and my inner thighs quivered as the hot air ghosted over my neck.
“If I told you, I would have to kill you, and what a waste that would be.”
His lips turned up into a grin as a shiver ran through me. I wobbled away, talking to him over my shoulder. “Fine, have it your way, Killer, but I like to live on the wild side.”
He laughed as I walked away, and I could feel the death glares climb to annihilate from Kill’s table skanks.
“So, did you get his order, or were you to busy pissing off most of the girls in this place?” Ryan asked when I walked up to the bar.
I snickered, and told her Kill's order. She yelled over her shoulder toward the kitchen window.
“I could have done that,” I said, as Jessie and Denise made their way over.
Ryan looked at me like I said something highly offensive. “Nobody gets to yell at Dax except me,” she said, turning around slightly and telling him to hurry his ass up to prove her point.
“Got it,” I replied, making Jessie and Denise giggle.
“Where are the guys?” Jessie asked.
“They'll be here later. Kill wanted to come in early and eat,” I said, not wanting to get in the middle of Jessie’s relationship.
“Didn’t you cook dinner?” she asked suspiciously, like she had just caught me in a lie to keep Van out of trouble.
“I did, but you know how boys are; they're always hungry. Why don’t you text Van and ask him when he will be here,” I suggested.
“I'm not his keeper. Obviously he has something or someone better to do than come and hang out with me,” she snarled.
Ryan opened her mouth to defend Van, but Jessie stomped away. “She seriously needs to get her head out of her ass. Van's head over heels in love with her. She's just looking for an excuse to push him away,” Ryan said, as we watched Jessie walk around the bar with a fake smile on her face.
“I know, but she isn’t going to listen to any of us. She has to get over her issues and be truthful to Van,” I rep
lied.
Dax yelled at Ryan, and asked if it was fast enough for her bossy ass. After they traded a couple more jabs, I finally got Kill's food.
Most of the table skanks had cleared since they couldn’t seem to entice Kill. I sat Kill’s food in front of him, and turned, but he snatched my hand, pulling me toward him.
“Stay for a while. The bar isn’t busy, and I'm lonely,” he said.
I made a point to look around the table at the girls still hanging around. It made me laugh he said he was alone when there were three girls hovering around ready to do anything to entertain him.
“Fine, but I get a bite,” I countered, eyeing his plate.
Kill style was a patty melt on sourdough with avocado and lots of melted cheese, and it looked delicious.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he replied, handing me half of the sandwich.
“Oh my, this is amazing,” I moaned, taking a bite.
Kill laughed, and I felt the rumble of his body sink into my core. After polishing off the half the sandwich, I felt full and content.
“I don’t think I've ever seen you eat that much; it was kind of was hot,” he whispered into my shoulder.
I rolled my eyes, trying not to let him see how badly I wanted to attack him. Just then, the bell rang, and Jet walked through with Amy on his back. “Miss me motherfuckers?” he yelled, and the bar patrons clapped as he galloped to the table with Amy giggling on his back.
Van walked in hesitantly and spotted Jessie as she was refilling one of her tables. He stopped and D ran into him, since he was looking at his phone. D frowned at Van before making his way toward the table. Van kept looking at Jessie, waiting for a clue of how his night was going to go.
Jessie smiled at him, and after she finished refilling her table, she went over to him and kissed him lightly on the lips. Van pulled her back in, kissing her soundly while the bar cheered and whistled. When he let her go, he put his arm around her waist and walked her to the table with a smile on his face.
I drove home by myself since Kill had driven his car to the bar, and as silly as it was, I missed him.
Even with Ryan, Jess, and D warning me away from Kill, I had to admit, in the time I had been living with him, he hadn’t done anything to confirm that their warnings should be heeded.
When we got home, I started to cramp from the impending civil war reenactment that would happen in my pants. I hunched over as I went upstairs, and put on my baggy sweatpants, and a tank top.
Everyone was in the living room when I came in. Kill's jaw was flexing with frustration. I quirked an eyebrow and he shrugged. I loved he was just as annoyed as I was that he wouldn’t be able to hold me. I sat down next to him, as the boys argued about what to watch.
Jet ended up winning and put in the newest scary movie. D sat next to me, and I was uncomfortable by how close he was.
Kill moved his hand behind me and wormed his way under my tank top so we were touching skin to skin. I jumped when the murderer came out of the shadows and hacked his victim in two.
Kill laughed at my reaction, and I elbowed him in the side. He moved his hand out of my shirt and put it around my shoulders, pulling me into him.
“Come here Slick, I'll keep you safe,” he whispered in my ear, so he wasn’t disturbing everyone else.
D saw me reclining on Kill, and his eyes flashed with anger as he got up from the couch. “I’m going to bed,” he said, glaring at us on the couch.
“Are you scared? Do you want me to tuck you in?” Jet asked in a sing song voice.
I internally groaned. This was not the time to make fun of D. He flipped Jet off, before glancing at us one more time and stomping upstairs.
“Night D,” I said, unsure if I was making it better or worse.
When the movie ended, Jet and Amy went upstairs, and Van and Jessie followed shortly after. I stayed reclined on Kill, as he tried to find something to watch.
“Are you ready for bed?” Kill asked when I started to doze off on him.
I nodded my head yes. He turned off the T.V, and carried me to bed. When he placed me down on the bed, we heard D’s door open. Kill put his finger to his lips, signaling me to keep quiet. I nodded my head showing him I understood.
He walked out of my room and shut the door. I faintly heard him and D talk, but couldn't make out the words. After they were done, they went into their respective bedrooms, and I slowly let out the breath I was holding.
I turned on my music and waited for Kill. It seemed like forever before my door cracked open, and he crept in. I lifted the covers up, and shut my music down.
“You're awake?” he asked, as he pulled me to him and we got situated in our sleeping position.
“I don’t know if I can sleep without you anymore,” I admitted into the darkness.
“Good,” he responded, and rubbed my back, lulling me to sleep with his gentle strokes.
Chapter 30
My impending visit from aunt Flo moments away when I crawled out of bed. I made my way sluggishly into the bathroom to plug everything up, discovering I only had a couple of plugs left. Downstairs, Kill reclined on the couch looking as delicious as ever, and I wanted to throw something at his perfect head. He looked down at my night clothes.
“No run today Slick?” he asked.
I shook my head, walking to the refrigerator and pouring what was left of the chocolate milk and guzzling down the chocolaty goodness. I mentally added another gallon to my rapidly growing shopping list.
“Are you feeling alright?” he asked, getting up to get closer to me.
D came in, and although I didn’t mind Kill knowing my monthly curse had returned, I wasn’t ready to share with D.
“Yeah, I'm not feeling very good. I'm going to lounge around to see if I can kick this,” I said, rinsing out my glass and putting it in the dishwasher.
“You don’t have to practice with us today if you don’t feel good,” D said worriedly.
“I'll try; I don’t want to let you guys down.”
“Go lay back down, and I'll come up and check on you later,” Kill said from behind me as he rubbed my shoulders with his strong hands.
I didn’t move, letting his magic hands massage the knots out of my tense shoulders. D cleared his throat. I was barely able to open my eyes with the amazingness that was happening.
“Don’t worry about it, we'll practice tomorrow,” D responded, closing the refrigerator door, and walking past us.
When D had retreated out of the kitchen, Kill stopped rubbing my shoulders and pulled me into his chest, putting his chin on the top of my head.
“Why'd you stop?” I whined, sounding like a tired two year old.
“Sorry. I thought I heard you snore, so I figured my unpaid labor was no longer required.”
“I don’t snore,” I replied, elbowing him in the side.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
Jet made his way downstairs, with Amy around his waist. They didn’t seem to notice us, because they were too wrapped up in each other. Kill took my hand, and we went right by them as they made out against the banister.
Once we made it into my room, I couldn’t hold back the laughter at Jet and Amy’s love-a-thon.
“Ahh, there’s my girl,” Kill grinned. “I was worried about you. You didn’t look so hot this morning,” he said, getting comfortable on the bed.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I swear if you aren’t rescuing me, I'm not feeling good. It is kind of annoying,” I pouted as we got into bed.
“Enough. You need to get over this hang up you have about me rescuing you, and you've been feeling fine for the past couple weeks. It's hard on your body when you're constantly going as much as you do, and I don’t even want to think about what it's going to be like when you start school, so give yourself a break. Hey I forgot to ask you, what happened last night with those guys anyway?” He went back to searching through the channels as if he didn’t care about my answer, but the tick in his jaw gave hi
m away.
“Nothing,” I replied.
The glare he shot me told me he wasn’t going to let my answer slide.
“He was just being a macho ass in front of his friends,” I answered, snatching the remote, needing to do something with my hands.
“Why didn’t you tell him off?” Kill asked, taking the remote back.
“He wasn’t worth it,” I responded, shrugging like it was inconsequential in the bigger scheme of life.
“You're worth it.”
His words shot through me, sending energy straight to my shattered heart. We continued to watch T.V. as the Midol made its way into my system.
I got up, testing my body to see if I was ready to face the world. Kill stayed where he was, eyeing me and waiting to pull me back down if I showed any signs of pain. I rummaged through my closet and pulled out a pair of capri pants and a tank top.
“Where are you going?” he asked, still not moving from his position on my bed.
“To take a shower. I can’t bum around all day,” I responded, making him smile at my implication.
“Need any help?” he asked, his eyes went bright with mischief, and if my uterus wasn't purging itself like it was auditioning for the role of the bucket in Carrie, I might've taken him up on the offer.
“I got it,” I said, walking to the bathroom. After I was showered, I emerged out of the bathroom feeling better.
Kill was still on the bed, the remote tucked under his chin, fast asleep. I studied him while he slept, and once again I was struck by his perfection. Ryan and Jessie's warnings were on repeat in my head.
My heart stuttered as I wondered what he was going to do when I relented to his charms. It was only a matter of time before I couldn’t think of a reason to keep him at arm’s length.
How fast would he walk away when I surrendered to him, and how would I live without a heart beating in my body? Because when he inevitably walked away, he would take it with him.
An evil plan hatched in my head, and I laughed under my breath, right before I jumped on the bed and let out my best warrior cry. He startled awake, trying to get his bearings. He blinked as I bent over him, our noses almost touching.