by C. Morgan
“What? Are we not cool enough to party with college students?”
Kayla smirked. “I never said that.”
Kayla and I found a rocking bar not far from campus where we were probably the only people the bouncers let in without checking their ID. It made me feel only slightly too old to be there.
We pushed through the crowd and made our way to the bar, where I ordered us each a cocktail and a shot to get the night started.
Kayla leaned on the bar and looked up at me. “Did you just order a shot?”
I nodded and nudged her shoulder with mine. “I want to dance with you tonight and something tells me we need something to take the edge off.”
The bartender placed two shots in front of us and began making our cocktails. Kayla lifted her shot glass up to the light and peered at it. “Why does it look like candy corn?”
The shot had layers of orange, white, and yellow, just like candy corn. “I thought we should do something Halloween inspired, you know, to stay on trend for the night.”
Kayla grimaced. “I feel like tequila would have been better. Sweet shots are dangerous recipes for hangovers.”
“Don’t be a baby.”
“I’m not a baby,” she said, shooting me a glare. “I’m a princess.”
I laughed. “All right, princess. Pull it together. Bottoms up.”
We tapped our shot glasses together before throwing them back. She was right, of course. The shot was dangerously sweet. It was heavy on my tongue and I swallowed it as quickly as I could, resenting the cream liqueur as it inched its way down my throat.
Kayla shook her head and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she set the shot glass down. “See? Gross.”
“You were right. Mistakes have been made.”
“Nothing we can’t fix.” Kayla caught the bartender’s eye when he set our cocktails down. “Could we please have two shots of tequila?” She pulled a five-dollar bill out of her purse and tucked it in his tip jar. “Thank you.”
Based on the way he hustled to make our drinks, I suspected he didn’t get many tips there. It made sense. Most of the customers were half-broke college students who could hardly afford to buy their own drinks, let alone give away money to the bartender. When our tequila shots were ready and we had our lime wedges in hand, we did our second round of shots.
Kayla’s cheeks puckered as she sucked on the lime. She squeezed one of her eyes closed and let out a soft moan that did things to my man parts.
She put her half-sucked away lime wedge in her shot glass and left it on the bar. We ducked back into the crowd with our cocktails in hand and stood along the edges of the dance floor while we drank. Almost everyone was out in their Halloween costumes. The dance floor was packed with nurses, maids, vampires, fairies, werewolves, and monsters.
“Sometimes, I feel like I missed out by not having the college experience,” Kayla said to me over the music.
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Not all the time anyway.”
She shrugged. “I think I would have liked it.”
I smiled at the beautiful girl beside me as she sipped her drink and bobbed along to the music contently. “Yes,” I said. “I think you would have liked it too.”
She flashed me a charming smile. “Care to dance, loathsome pirate?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to ask me.”
Kayla giggled and handed me her drink. “Wait here. I just have to use the ladies’ room.”
“I’ll be right where you left me.”
Kayla balanced herself on the tips of her toes to press a kiss to my lips before turning and vanishing into the crowd. She was a head shorter than most of the people in there, so I lost sight of her almost immediately. As soon as she was gone, however, several young women in the place seemed to catch sight of me.
I was approached first by a nurse and a girl in a costume that was basically just lingerie and bunny ears.
“Hi, handsome,” the nurse purred. “What’re you drinking?”
“Where did your friend go?” the bunny asked.
I pried an arm free from the nurse, who’d taken to trying to wrap herself around me like a snake. Alcohol made people stupid.
“She’s coming right back,” I said lamely.
The nurse giggled. “You should dance with us.”
“You’re so sexy.”
“Are you a professor?”
“What do you teach?”
“Do you want to teach us something?”
I backed up with a nervous chuckle. “Ladies, I appreciate the flattery but I’m just not interested. I’m sure you could have any guy in this room you wanted. That guy just isn’t me.”
The nurse winked. “It could be.”
The bunny turned and pressed her ass into my crotch. “We could show you a better time than that prudey princess you’re with.”
I extracted myself from the women with a shake of my head. “Leave me alone,” I growled, and much to my relief, they didn’t follow me into the crowd as I headed toward the back of the bar to look for Kayla.
She’d been gone longer than I expected.
And I needed to be saved from these women.
Chapter 32
Kayla
When I pushed through the swinging door of the women’s washroom, it got stuck and I walked straight into it. I smacked my nose on the door, quickly followed by my forehead, and stumbled back cursing my own clumsiness as someone out in the hall opened the door the rest of the way and apologized.
He was a young man, maybe twenty-five or twenty-six, and he wasn’t wearing a Halloween costume. He wore a blue and white striped polo shirt and jeans, and he was flanked by two friends. All three of them had the look of football players, and all three of them looked me up and down as I massaged my aching forehead and stepped out of the room.
“Sorry,” the guy in the stripes said. “The door jammed on my boot.”
“It’s all right,” I told him. “I’m kind of clumsy anyway. I shouldn’t have come out so enthusiastically.”
He looked me up and down for the third time and I was thankful I’d worn a kid-friendly costume that showed no skin. “What are you supposed to be?”
I pointed at my tiara. “A princess. Obviously.”
One of the other young men turned around to face me. He had a beer in his hand and his cheeks were rosy, a suggestion that this wasn’t his first, second, third, or fourth beer, but more likely his eighth or ninth. “I haven’t seen you around here before. What’s your name?”
I turned sideways to squeeze past them and the wall so I could get out of the cramped hallway and find Lukas. “Sorry, I have to go. Someone is waiting for me and—”
“Have a drink with us, sweetheart.”
I shot the guy in the stripes a dark look. I did not appreciate strangers calling me sweetheart. Hell, I didn’t appreciate pet names from anyone who wasn’t my partner. “No thank you.”
“Oh shit.” One of them snickered, patting Stripes on the shoulder. “She’s feisty. I like that in a woman.”
“I’m leaving,” I said firmly.
“In such a hurry?” Stripes pressed. He stepped in front of me and blocked my path. “Stay a while. Tell us about yourself.”
One of the others raised an arm over his head to brace it against the wall. “Yeah, tell us about yourself. Why’d you pick this dress? You’ve got a hot body. Why not show it off?”
I glared darkly up at them. “Get out of my way.”
The three men snickered.
“Let us buy you a drink, babe,” one said.
“Or two,” another added.
“Let us show you a good time,” Stripes added for good measure.
I held my ground. “If you don’t get the hell out of my way, I’m going to scream bloody murder and I swear to God at least one of you will know the pain of having the toe of my shoes rammed so deep into your dick it will be inverted. Now move.”
They didn’t move.
Ap
parently, my grit and threats meant nothing to them. I was sharply aware of how small I was as they stepped toward me. Sharply aware of how poorly lit this hallway was, how far away from Lukas I was, and how a situation could go from bad to worse in the blink of an eye.
A familiar voice cut through my panicked thoughts.
“Hey!”
Relief rippled through me when Lukas broke through the tight wall of three men. I reached for him on instinct and he caught my hand so he could guide me behind him. I tried not to cower and instead peered around him to shoot dirty looks at the men.
“This your girl, man?” Stripes asked, nodding past Lukas at me. “We wanted to buy her a drink. We liked her costume. But she got all up in arms and—”
“You’re very obviously making her uncomfortable,” Lukas said, seething. He moved forward and closed the space between him and Stripes so that they were almost nose to nose. “When a lady says no, you back the fuck off.”
“We just wanted her to loosen up,” one of the guys said.
“No harm in a drink or two,” the third added.
Lukas’s eyes flicked between them. “Do you know who the fuck I am?”
None of them answered.
Lukas jabbed a finger in Stripes’ chest. “I’m Lukas Holt, and if I hear so much as a whisper of you behaving inappropriately with any woman tonight, I’m going to have you arrested. Do you understand me?”
“Holt?” one of them breathed.
“Shit,” Stripes said, backing up several paces. “We’re sorry, man. We didn’t mean any harm. We were just trying to have a good night.”
“Go have a good night somewhere else,” Lukas growled.
Just like that, the three guys took off running like dogs with their tails between their legs.
Lukas turned to me and put his hands on my shoulders as he looked deep into my eyes. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Yes. Thank you for coming to find me.”
He pulled me in and kissed my forehead. “I’ll always come find you. Now, about that dance. Are you up for it, or do you want to get the hell out of here?”
I nuzzled against his chest. My cheek met his bare skin where his white pirate shirt was unbuttoned. “It would be a shame not to dance to at least one song.”
Lukas led me back out to the dance floor where we took a spot underneath a slow-turning disco ball that painted our cheeks and shoulders with fractures of light and rainbows. The music faded from an upbeat rock song to a slow ballad as if right on cue. He pulled me in close and we swayed together while singles left the dance floor and couples took their places. Lukas rested his chin on my head and I wrapped my arms around his waist.
I didn’t want the night to end.
Every year before this, I’d gone home after working the Halloween town. I’d stop on my way to pick up some discounted Halloween candy if it was in the budget for that year and I’d overindulge by myself back at my apartment.
This was a far better way to spend the evening.
It was magical. I felt like a real princess in his arms. With any luck, I’d end up in his bed tonight, experiencing the intense pleasure that only Lukas could give me.
I tilted my head back and gazed up at him. He’d saved me from more than just three drunken idiots. He’d saved me from myself.
He caught me admiring him and smiled. “What is it?” he asked softly.
“Nothing,” I whispered.
When the song ended, I was sad for it. I could have stayed in his arms swaying on the dance floor all night long. That wasn’t in the cards apparently. The music picked back up and the dance floor flooded with young students looking to dance their hearts out.
I tipped my head to the door. “Should we get some fresh air?”
Shortly after, with bottles of water in hand from the bartender, we spilled out onto the sidewalk. There was a pleasant buzz in my head from the cocktail and the two shots, and I giggled about how much of a lightweight I was.
“When all you do is work, I suppose it makes sense that you’d have a low tolerance,” Lukas said. He nodded at the unopened water bottle in my hand. “You should drink.”
I took his advice and twisted the cap off. I drained half the bottle, only realizing how thirsty I was after the cold water touched my tongue. Some of it dribbled down my chin and throat and dampened the neckline of my dress. I caught Lukas staring at the trail of water glistening on my chest.
I smiled. “Like what you see?”
“Always.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
He stepped in close and ran a finger along the neckline of my dress. “I’m going to take you home and have my way with you.”
I giggled and hiccupped. “Don’t you mean take me back to your ship?”
Lukas’s brow furrowed.
I prodded him gently in the test. “Pirate, remember?”
“Ahh, yes.” He chuckled deeply. “Prepare yourself for a terribly uncivilized night with this rogue.”
I bit my bottom lip. I was ready. I was so ready.
Lukas moved to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a cab. As full ones passed us by, his phone started to ring. He frowned. “Who’s calling me at one in the morning?” He fished his phone out of his pocket and lifted it to his ear. “Lisa? What’s the matter? Why are you calling me so late?”
I couldn’t hear what his sister was saying, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good. Lukas’ face fell. Color drained from his cheeks.
“I’ll be right there,” he said. He dropped the call and turned to me. “I’m sorry, Kayla. I have to go. You can take the first car home and I’ll catch the next one. I’m sorry.”
“Wait,” I said, shaking my head. “What’s going on? What happened? Is Lisa okay?”
“My mother is having a bad night.”
“Oh.” I cursed myself. That was the best thing I could think to say? Oh?
Lukas hailed the next cab and it pulled over. He twisted around to me after opening the door. “The facility tried to call me but I didn’t hear the phone ringing in the bar, so they called Lisa. They can’t get her to calm down. I have to see if I can help.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said simply.
“Sorry?”
“I’m coming with you,” I said again as I slid into the back seat of the cab. I patted the seat beside me. “Come on. Let’s go. Your mom needs you and you need someone in your corner. That’s me. Get in.”
Lukas got in the back seat. He told the driver the address and we pulled away from the curb as we put our seatbelts on.
I reached over and took his hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s going to be okay.”
Lukas looked at me like he never had before. I saw deep sorrow in his eyes and my heart constricted painfully in my chest. “My mother hasn’t been okay for a long time,” he said softly.
I swallowed. “I know.”
“Ever since the car accident… well, she hasn’t been the same since. She had a few good years after her recovery, but things went south pretty quickly after that. She started forgetting things. Weird things at first, you know? Like food in the oven or bills that needed to be paid. In the beginning, it was easy for me to step in and help with that kind of mundane stuff, but soon, I realized it wasn’t just the little things. She’d forget to shower for days at a time. She’d miss appointments and meals. At first, we thought it was a side effect of the accident and her brain injury, but when I took her to see some specialist…” He trailed off. The rest of the story was clearly too painful for him to say aloud.
“You found out it was dementia,” I finished for him.
Lukas nodded. “Yeah.”
I unbuckled my seatbelt at a red light so I could move into the middle seat. I snuggled in close and didn’t let go of his hand. “Lukas?”
“Yes?”
“I know you’ve been carrying this by yourself for a long time. But I want you to know you don’t have to anymore. I’m here for you. And for your mother. Whatev
er you need. Okay?”
He closed his eyes and rested his cheek on my head. “Thank you, Kayla.”
Chapter 33
Lukas
We arrived at the facility around two in the morning. The cab driver drove off as soon as our feet hit the asphalt, and it started raining as we made our way up to the front doors. Kayla held my hand and I was surprised by how I felt supported by her, not pitied.
A huge reason why I never liked to talk to people about my mother was because of the way they would look at me. I never wanted people to feel sorry for me. But Kayla didn’t look at me that way. She looked at me like she understood, like she wished things were different, and like she was determined to help. She looked at me like she loved me.
As soon as I opened the front doors to the facility, I heard my mother screaming. It was shrill and furious, and it instantly made my shoulders bunch up with tension.
Kayla squeezed my hand. “It’s okay. If I was her, I’d be angry too.”
Miraculously, her words helped me relax.
The night nurse working the desk knew who I was immediately. She bustled out from behind the desk with urgency in her steps and motioned for us to follow. As we made our way down the hall to my mother’s suite, she gave me an update.
“Your mother had a really good day today, Mr. Holt,” the nurse explained. She had shocking red hair and wore black scrubs with white cats all over them. “She was quite lucid and came to movie night, where the group watched that Halloween Charlie Brown movie. What’s the name of it?” She looked over her shoulder at me.
I shrugged. “Beats me.”
Kayla chimed in. “The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown?”
“Yes, that’s the one.” The nurse nodded. “After the movie, everyone started getting ready to turn in for the night but your mother insisted on watching it again. We didn’t realize that she’d had an episode, you see. She couldn’t remember watching it in the first place. She felt ripped off, which made her furious, so we let her watch it again in her room. I’m afraid the cycle has repeated itself. She’s furious, Mr. Holt. Nothing any of the nurses are doing is calming her down. Our last resort would be a sedative but there’s the notation on your file not to—”