We both stared at Aaris like she’d suddenly sprouted three heads.
“You can’t just throw a killer in all willy-nilly. You build up to it with a random mention or run-in. And I’m pretty sure that Stephen King would have something to say about me using Pennywise as the villain.”
Jake nodded. “I agree. It’d be a slap in the face to the readers if she phoned it in on this.”
“Oh, look. You two are finally on the same page about something.” Aaris waved the spoon at us with a grin.
“Same page? Sweetheart, we aren’t even in the same library.”
I ignored the barb that seemed to land in the vicinity of my heart at his words and forced a smile onto my face.
“Still complete enemies. There’s no need to worry about that.”
Jake’s eyes went dark, but he nodded again. “Absolutely. I’m just trying to get my life back.”
“Is there anything on the menu that has some fucking meat in it? I’m a growing boy.” Jake looked up from the menu he’d snagged as he followed me through the throngs of sweaty bodies in search of the bar.
I kept my word. We’d shown up for VIP night.
LED lights pulsed to the beat of the music. The bass reverberated through my skin and into my bones, leaving me with what I assumed would be permanent hearing loss.
I couldn’t fathom how Aaris had managed to deal with the noise night after night without resorting to shouting like an elderly person in need of hearing aids.
The tip of Jake’s boots brushed up against my heels and I rolled my shoulders to ward off the shiver that worked its way up my spine. It was the most contact we’d had since our nearly naked yoga session after his date with Kamdyn.
I’d gone to work the next day, expecting her to vomit up the details of the entire night onto my desk. Surprisingly, she’d stayed in her booth, avoiding me until I couldn’t take it any longer.
When I demanded that she tell me everything that had happened, she’d given me a strange look before closing the door behind me.
“Jake couldn’t be less interested in me—all we talked about was you.”
I reassured her that he absolutely did not have feelings for me, but her words continued to ricochet around my head like a pinball.
Needless to say, it had been a weird week of dodging each other while living under the same roof. Not that it bothered me or anything. I had a book to write and a job to go to… plenty of things to keep me busy.
In another world, with a completely different person, I might’ve been up for more. But, this was Jake ‘I’m A Real Boy’ Hopkins and any interest he had in me was strictly case related.
I flagged the bartender down. “Um, hi. I was wondering if I could order an old fashioned? My friend told me all about them—”
“Is your friend eighty?”
I laughed and nodded; further proof that my backbone all but disappeared in social settings.
My friend was actually seventy-eight and came in every six weeks to the salon for a cut and color. She was lovely. The bartender, on the other hand, not so much.
Jake moved into my line of sight and yelled over the music, “Did you get me something?”
I shook my head. “Dude, I barely know how to order for myself, do you think I have any sort of clue how to order whiskey?”
I deepened my voice to sound like his and bellowed, “Hello, my good chap, I would like a whiskey with rocks in it. On the double.”
Jake’s nostrils flared and he ground down on his back teeth, accentuating his fantastic jawline. “Who says I wanted whiskey? Maybe I’m in the mood for beer.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure. Okay. You don’t drink anything but premium whiskey. I’m not an idiot, Jake.”
The bartender dropped off what I presumed to be an old fashioned and Jake ordered a beer.
“See. Unpredictable,” he yelled over the music.
I was quickly reaching the point where I wanted to thump him right on his pouty lips every time he opened his mouth. Instead, I grabbed a miniature drink straw from the caddy on the bar and turned away to enjoy my old fashioned in peace.
It was surprisingly good—sweet and spicy rolled into one.
“It’s weird, but I pegged you as a fruity cocktail drinker.” Jake tipped the beer bottle back and, despite looking like he’d just sucked on a lemon, somehow managed to keep the liquid in his mouth.
“Really?”
He gave the room a once-over before returning his attention to me. “Well.” He ran the pad of his thumb across his lower lip. “Maybe more like a Shirley Temple.”
“Prick,” I said under my breath before turning away. Keeping my back to Jake, I scanned the crowd for Aaris.
“She’s just to the left of the wall of TVs,” he noted.
I looked over to the wall and found her immediately. Reluctantly, I turned back to him with a frown. “How’d you find her so fast?”
“It’s my job to know where people are,” he matter-of-factly stated in that low voice of his. The same voice that made me act irrationally.
I discreetly clenched my thighs together in a warning and turned back to study the crowd.
Most of the women were wearing elaborate dresses or sleek jumpsuits while I was hanging out at the bar in my I’m feline fine right meow t-shirt and ripped jeans.
Well, the joke was on them because mine was the only ensemble that allowed me the freedom to pee without getting fully naked.
Music filled the entire building, yet only a few braved the dance floor. The majority of the ‘VIPs’ loitered around tables, continuously glancing up at the screens to see if their social media account was on display yet.
They weren’t even talking to each other.
I pushed my glasses up onto my head and rubbed at my eyes before checking my watch. I’d promised Aaris no more than an hour. Given that only five minutes had passed since we arrived, it was going to be the longest hour of my life.
Without crystal clear vision, the club appeared to be a living, breathing thing. The walls swayed back and forth to the music, making the room appear much smaller. Even the television screens seemed to be reaching toward the hapless guests beneath them.
If the club was alive, then we were all trapped inside its stomach, just waiting to be digested. I settled my glasses firmly back on the bridge of my nose and watched as the room reverted back to normalcy.
Well, what constituted normalcy in a place like this.
Nope.
Knowing I’d never make it, I slipped a chocolate bar from the pocket of my purse and popped a small square of it into my mouth.
“What was that? What did you eat?”
“A piece of chocolate—I’m hungry.”
Jake held out his hand. “I’ll have one too.”
I shook my head, ready to battle him if necessary. “They’re special um, vegan chocolates. They ground up these… plants and extracted the plant’s internal organs to mix with the chocolate. It’s really an acquired taste. You’d hate them.”
His eyes narrowed. “Weed, Hayden? Really?”
“Weed, Hayden?” I mimicked in his deep voice. “Fine. Yes, there is a chance that there might be some form of marijuana in these. It’s for medical reasons. If I have to stay here for an entire hour, then I will do it comfortably.”
“Drugs will kill you. You do realize that, don’t you?”
“I’m not drunk enough to have this conversation with you.” I downed the rest of my drink and signaled for the bartender. “Can I get a dirty martini with vodka?”
He nodded. “Leaving the old fashioned to the over-sixty crowd?”
To avoid yelling over the music, I stepped up onto the metal foot rail under the bar and rested my arms against the shiny metal surface. “It wasn’t that bad. I just thought I’d stick with what I know I like.”
“Do you like it extra dirty?”
Sensing my utter confusion, he held up the shaker. “Your martini, I mean.”
Where Jake’s attractive
ness was instant and overwhelming, the bartender’s was a gradual recognition. When he smiled, one corner of his mouth had a slight quirk to it. I pictured him spending his days off in a bookstore or coffee shop. The guy in the corner, too shy to approach anyone. Maybe I didn’t despise him after all.
I gave him my cutest grin and wrapped the ends of my hair around my index finger. “I like it really dirty.”
Jake began choking on his beer, but I kept my focus on my new friend. I searched along the bar, but there was nothing displaying his name.
Bars really needed signs above them that said something along the lines of, ‘Your bartender tonight is Joe Blow and he is single.’
Was it really that hard?
I held out my hand. “I’m Hayden.”
He emptied the contents of the shaker into a martini glass before taking it. “Jack.”
He added a wooden skewer of olives to the briny liquid before sliding it my way. “Let me know if that’s dirty enough for you.” He gave me a wink and moved down the bar to start his next order, but his eyes kept straying toward me.
“What the hell was that?” Jake growled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I took a long drink and made sure Jack was watching as I licked my lips. He bit down on the corner of his and smiled.
It was just like riding a bike.
The behemoth chose that moment to invade my space and Jack’s smile faded before he turned away.
“What are you doing?” I protested.
Jake shook his head and snapped, “What am I doing? What the fuck are you doing?”
I climbed up onto the stool, using the bar top for leverage. “I’m enjoying myself. That’s what people in the real world do when they go out; they have fun.”
Jake contorted himself into the chair next to mine in his dark wash jeans and black wool sweater. A very fitted wool sweater. The sleeves cut into his arms, forcing those bulging biceps into view.
I tossed my hair over my shoulder and discreetly checked out his backside. His jeans were showcasing his ass in a similar fashion.
“Hayden?”
“Hmmm?” I answered distractedly as I took another peek.
“My eyes are up here.” He ran a hand down his thigh, smoothing invisible wrinkles.
I swallowed and tried for a distraction. “Why does it bother you that I was talking to the bartender? And why are you incapable of purchasing clothes that fit?”
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose for far longer than was necessary. “I swear to god, Hayden. Did you not just witness the same thing I did?”
I began nibbling the olives off of the skewer and shrugged. “What? What did you ‘witness’ that offended you so much? Me, ordering a drink? Or was it the fact that a man might find me attractive?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “That—the whole thing. It was… pathetic.”
I closed my eyes and took another long drink of my martini, counting all the ways in which I’d like to see Jake die to calm myself.
Pathetic?
I frowned. It wasn’t the weed that had me disoriented. It was him. This up and down, back and forth between us was wearing me down.
I’d played along for over a week, but tonight? Tonight, I just wanted to enjoy myself.
“Well, you would know, wouldn’t you? I’m going to find Aaris. Enjoy your beer.” I slid down from the barstool with my drink.
The cords in his neck went taut and he growled, “Damn it, I’m trying to keep you safe. You need to stay sober and alert, do you understand?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh my god, Batman. Do you hear yourself?” I gestured around the club. “We’re already in hell, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“You’re right. Go. Hook up in the bathroom with the bartender. Whatever.” He took a swig from his beer bottle and his lips instantly puckered in disgust.
“Okay, Goliath.” I patted his arm. “You can stop trying to prove a point. Order something you actually like.”
“I like this just fine. In fact, I might just become a beer drinker.” He took another drink to prove his point and winced. “Delicious.”
“God, you’re ridiculous.” I left him and wove through the crowd toward Aaris.
“Hey,” I called over the noise when I reached her.
She held an empty tray under her arm and sidestepped her way over to where I was standing. “You came! How long have you been here?”
I jerked my head back toward the bar. “Long enough for Colossus over there to piss me off.”
She looked over my shoulder at him and nodded. “So, I’m guessing yoga didn’t lead to passionate lovemaking on your balcony?”
I grimaced. “Ew, no.”
She waved a hand over me and then gestured toward the bar. “That would explain the sexual tension that’s literally radiating off both of you. Go! Drink! Screw his brains out in the bathroom. Whatever you need to do to get over this funk.”
Why did everyone assume that I had a desire to copulate in a public bathroom?
Jake met my gaze and tipped his chin up in acknowledgment. My cheeks heated and I turned away. Obviously, he hadn’t heard a word of what she’d said, but the switch had been flipped and now I couldn’t help but imagine him up against the bathroom wall.
“What happened to not trusting him and watching my back?”
She gave me a knowing smile. “Well, I did walk in on you two ‘doing yoga.’ It’s not crazy to think that it would’ve become more since then, right?”
I moved closer to her as a group of girls squeezed past. “That still doesn’t explain why you’ve suddenly changed your opinion of him.”
Aaris mashed her lips together and glanced toward the bar. “Let’s just say that maybe he’s growing on me.”
“This is because of Max, isn’t it? Jake ‘grew’ on you because of him? Jesus, Aaris, you had one night with him where you proceeded to get blackout drunk and then nothing happened! The guy left you a note for AA. How many more signs do you need that he’s not into you?” I clapped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late.
Aaris reared back as if I’d slapped her and I belatedly realized that several VIPs had turned away from their beloved screens to witness the abuse.
“Aaris, I’m so—”
She held her hand up. “I have a lot of tables to take care of. Excuse me.”
Knowing I needed to cool off before I said or did something else I’d regret, I stumbled through the crowd and toward the large frosted glass restroom sign.
I had to hand it to Bryan; for a guy who was a complete tool, he’d put a lot of thought into Magenta. Custom subway tiles created a border above dark stone walls and the lighting above the mirrors allowed just enough light to keep it sexy.
It was the perfect place to disappear into with a lover, escaping the chaos and noise from the bar. Given my track record for the night, I would’ve considered moving a table and some chairs in; you know, were it not a bathroom.
I shifted my purse higher onto my shoulder and massaged my temples. I’d spoken to my best friend like she was garbage and why? Because she’d suddenly developed an affinity for the womanizing detective?
A woman who’d been hunched over the sinks since I joined the small line turned her head and snorted a line of coke off the dark veined granite counter. She lifted her head and made eye contact with the small group of women, daring us to tell on her.
I kept my head down and slipped into a metallic stall on the other side of the bathroom and immediately got lost in thought again.
That was the only drawback to being high. My thoughts took over, which was great for writing, but now I was left with a video of my fight with Aaris on a loop in my brain.
I rested my forearms on my thighs with a sigh. Jake brought out the worst in me and now I was taking it out on the people closest to me.
Despite the spray and crystals, it turned out that I was the one with negative energy. I was operating out of a place o
f fear, just like my oil lady had warned me about.
I just needed to raise my frequency and operate from a place of love and light. Maybe when we got back to the apartment, I’d meditate for a bit and work on getting my body reset.
I realized that at some point, the bathroom had gone silent, leaving me with the paranoid suspicion that I’d been in here for hours and not just a couple of minutes.
“Be cool,” I muttered to myself as I pulled up my jeans. “You are Zen as fuck, and you are just gonna march back out there and apologize to Aaris.”
The lights went out in the middle of my deep breathing exercise, plunging the bathroom into darkness. Things went from self-contemplative to slasher film scary in half a second.
“Hello?” I tried, with a slight waver in my voice. “Someone’s still in here.”
A soft tapping sound came from somewhere near the door and my pulse picked up. Obviously, that was just the plumbing acting up. Pipes clicked when the power went out; I’d read that somewhere.
“Aaris?” I tried again.
Maybe this was her way of paying me back. I strained, but all I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. The power had to be out in the entire building.
I calmed myself with thoughts of the VIPs losing their collective shit over not being able to view posts thanks to the blackout.
Not me though. I was calm, cool, and collected.
Later, when the news crews showed up, I’d somberly tell them how I kept a level head during a disaster even as everyone around me fell apart.
Well Janet, I knew that I had to stay calm to make it out alive. Why, I knew that my best friend needed me, so I did what had to be done to make it to her.
It needed polishing, but I felt like it captured the general idea.
Something scraped loudly against the wall, moving closer to where I was, and all thoughts of bravery vanished. My breath quickened and I pressed a hand to my mouth to stifle the sound.
• Confession: I was afraid of the dark… like, deathly afraid. I had this recurring nightmare where I entered a room and the lights either wouldn’t come on or would flicker for a few seconds before plunging me into darkness. Inevitably, the door would always close behind me, trapping me in the dark. It never involved another person before, so this was an entirely new level of terror.
Protagonized Page 16