by Mela NoLeuca
CHAPTER NINE
Ethan's POV
"Now I know why he asked if I liked Robins," she gasped as she shut the taxi door behind her. The girl was practically walking out on a daze as we approached a huge nightclub with neon lights shaped to a blue bird perching on a pink cocktail glass blinking on and off that got me into a trance lest I looked away.
The sun has barely set into the distance but the party had already begun judging by the way strange sounds she called music blasted through the doors. People dressed high and posh and some skimpy and daring waltzed in more than they did going out, I flicked my eyes to the blonde anticipating if the old banshee would rematerialize back into this wonderful person I’ve recently discovered.
"Look!" She hissed, grabbing my arm. "I told you we should've snagged some clothes!"
Dang, the she monster was still in there somewhere, I should have known, I sighed dejectedly as I was about to repeat myself for the umpteenth time. "Robyn, I already told you, we're here for the--"
"Guy! Yes! Yes I know, but how can we blend in if we're wearing this?" she pointed at her shirt and shorts. Her face was slowly turning red as I took in every simple detail. The stuff she had painted dramatically all over her face in the taxi actually pulled through, it surprised me.
The way she fashioned her smoky eyes made the blue in them stand out more, the rouge lipstick she always wore before we messed it up prior to leaving my place was now put to greater use as it complemented her fair skin quite well. Which leads me to her skin, that now glowed under all the foundation. And her hair was fixed up so that it looked like she had a huge bump mounting on her head. At least that high ponytail that trailed behind her head was great. But everything that she randomly put together in a matter of minutes back in the cab actually fit perfectly like a puzzle.
Right next to me was a woman I’ve never thought I’d see in her one day. It intimidated me actually. I was never into girls that reminded me of those naughty days I had back then. Thinking about it just made me want to palm my face in regret. After that, I began liking simple things; I'm more accustomed to them that way.
I shook my head, trying to suppress a laugh with a reason I knew she was going to slap me for. She needed this much makeup to make her look like another person. Personally, I preferred her without all this fancy glossy stuff messing her face. She looked beautiful that way.
Sorry, I meant pretty? Wait what? Oh good Lord, where had my manliness drift off to?
"What?" she asked almost too quickly, she fished for a compact mirror out of her bag and began checking her face scrupulously.
"There's nothing on your face," I chuckled, plucking the mirror from her hand and shoving it in the bag, just in case she decided to reinforce more gunk than there already was. "Aside from indelible oil pastel," I added humorlessly.
She looked back at me, confusion was written all over her pretty face, "what's indelible?"
"Never mind, let's just get this over with," I chuckled shaking my head. I'm not sure what was funnier; the fact that she looked like a hot stripper right now or the fact that she didn't know what indelible meant.
Just as I expected, music rudely blared into my ears but the lights were less rude than the arcade. It was stuffy in here and having Robyn clinging to my arm didn't really help much as we waded through the sweating crowd.
"Where did he say he'd be?" I asked over the 'music.' I used the advantage of my height to scan the dancing throng and decide to trudge for the bar, grabbing some wallets as I went to pay for things just in case.
"I don't know," she answered, her amped up voice pierced easily into my ears as she seemed to have noticed what I’ve subtly done, "Are you gonna buy me a drink?"
I looked down at her, pulling her through two women who attempted to crowd me. "Sweetie," I cringed, "come here, you know I'd hate playing hide and seek here,"
I ignored Robyn's mortified face as I smiled at the two ladies. One was a long legged brunette and the other one was an hourglass redhead, both wore plunging necklines and a skirt that barely hid enough decent skin. My goodness they had much more makeup on than this banshee, I swear I couldn't see their eyes anymore underneath all those fake lashes. I managed to press Robyn against me, looking down at her as I flashed her the most loving smile I could muster.
"Oh, right,” It took a quick second for Robyn to pick up what was going on before she fashioned a goading grin that I’d love to tear off her face. “Okay,” she crooned, batting her eyelashes at me. Thankfully, that show was enough to send the two ladies frowning at Robyn and muttering things to each other as they went their way.
I sighed, sliding into my barstool. Robyn was laughing her ass off as she glided to hers. “You must be having a terrible life full of women running after you, huh?”
I shrugged with a defeated smile, “What can I say? Women love men in sweatpants,”
"What a pathetic excuse," she shook her head as she ordered a buttery nipple from the bartender.
"A buttery what?" I exclaimed utterly taken back with the words that left her mouth. Once again, I never thought I’d live the day to hear such sexual profanities leave this girl’s mouth.
Her brows furrowed, eyeing me carefully like I was some lunatic waving her a fluffy kitten that I killed with my bare hands, which of course I was capable of. She awkwardly sat on her stool with mild difficulty and then carefully asked, "What?"
"We're out here for some guy to get information from, not have your brains fucked off by some random guy you bumped into!" she equaled my stare with one that grew with perplexity. "Oh don't play dumb with me, I know what you meant by buttery nipple," I awkwardly whispered in the last word.
"One Buttery Nipple," muttered the bartender as he handed it over to Robyn.
Oh great. She was flashing me that annoying cheeky grin when I always said something stupid. She took a sip from her glass, her smirk never wavered as she asked, "Have you ever tasted a buttery nipple?"
I wasn't too sure if that had a hint of what other guys called it as an 'innuendo,' or if she meant it as a drink. She gave me a look I just couldn't put a finger with what it could have possibly meant. She straightened just slightly before leaning forward, her shirt dipped slightly and the shadow it bore lay a secret that probed into my curiosity.
I swallowed hard and shook off whatever played into my thoughts. She threw her head back and laughed harder, slamming her drink on the bar.
"What's so funny?" I blurted almost too loudly.
She stifled more of her outbursts when she demurely pointed at my pants. Oh shit! I branded a very visible hard on. I grabbed her bag and covered it, glaring at her.
"Hey Mr. Bartender," she hollered, "Give my boy here one of these ladies' drinks," she mildly swayed her glass in the air, crossing her long milky thighs absent-mindedly.
I looked away from her. My goodness what was happening to me? I'm pretty sure I've seen a bunch of naked women in my lives, especially if you had Craw around. When I turned sixteen I had my first 'banging' as Craw put it, and it was mind-blowing but then I read something off the Academy library about STDs and all the horrors it brought along with it. It had been my last, until Craw reassured me that even I wouldn’t be affected because of the NIES running through my system.
I admit that when I learned that, I almost grew addicted to it. I only gradually grew out of it because trainings in the Academy started growing intense and Craw finally found someone he was actually contented with.
It must be the hormones kicking in. That’s right.
I haven't had one in a while. Then it suddenly hit me, I had all the women throwing themselves at me, so why was I trying my best to step away from them? I guess I never liked aggression, because it only made me feel powerless and the best response it could get out of me was to lash out for the assailant’s death.
"Here's your Buttery Nipple, double-oh-seven," she waved my drink at my face, snapping
me out of my five-second trance. I looked at the questionable looking drink. It looked like oil topped off with a thick layer of some mocha cream, or beer. It basically looked like beer.
"Oh," I say quietly, suspiciously taking it from her. I immediately smelled the hint of alcohol before she raised her glass to make a toast.
"Are you drunk?" I stared at her. She already had her glass to her lips and she was downing it like a glass of water. I stopped her halfway, plucking her beverage and placed it on the bar table; she blinked at me wildly like I'd slapped her across the face.
She shrugged, "Okay maybe I do feel a little light headed." I leaned back to sigh, but just as I did she hastily grabbed her glass and desperately tried to bring her lips to her drink had I not been holding her wrist and pinning it down the bar table. She was sniggering at my desperate attempt to stop her. I held her wrist down, keeping her from any more attempts.
"What did I tell you?" I chided, glowering right through her soul as I tried to make a point. But she was just sniggering at my face like I told her some joke.
"Chill!" she said, slowly coming down from her breathy laugh. I take it she's already drunk. "Okay, I won't drink but it would be a waste of your stolen money if I just leave it there," she said, nonchalantly gesturing towards the half-emptied glass.
Without skipping a beat I seized it and chugged down this Buttery Nipple and finished all of mine next, wincing slightly at the faint bitterness hiding beneath the creamy drink. A slight twinge of fuzziness scattered across my brain and senses before it faded easily in a matter of seconds.
"Wow, you can drink," she drawled out, keeping her best to try and stay in control over her drunkenness.
"NIES, they speed my metabolism," I explained habitually, "Robyn, you're drunk,"
She feigned hurt, palming her chest for emphasis, "How dare you accuse me!"
"You're laughing at everything, you're flushing red, you slur your words and I bet you don't even remember why we're here," I enumerated in each finger, murmuring indignantly.
I noticed how her wide blue eyes had streaks of gray, black and green display in her iris. I never really noticed how she seemed to glow tonight and she smelled like coconuts aside from the hint of her drink. Because she leaned forward, the collar of her shirt was hanging low. Again.
"Yes I do remember," She hissed, "and why are we whispering?"
I leaned back, sighing. "Never mind, where did he say he'd be at?"
She grinned at me playfully before shrugging her shoulders. Great, she didn’t know. I sighed, shaking my head in defeat. I was beginning to worry how she thought her plan through for tonight. I looked back at her as she brandished a stupid grin, nodding to the techno beat reverberating in the club. Did she even have a plan?
"Oh I gotta go pee, gimme my purse!" she began stumbling to her feet as she yanked the bag from me. Her eyes widened when she noticed how my boner slowly roused before she laughed again, shaking her head. "Never mind, keep it."
I was too embarrassed to even react at her sudden boisterous actions. I already lost her in the dancing crowd seeing that there were also a few handfuls of blondes with their hair fashioned the same way as hers. I nodded, impressed, at least she blended with the crowd. Good thing I gave her that gun earlier this morning and instructed her to tuck it into the inner thigh of her poofy shorts. I stole those shorts for that particular reason only.
I head back to my seat and paid off the drinks. We've known each other for almost a month but I've never really seen her drunk. Come to think of it, I never even saw her drink anything alcohol based. It was like meeting a more stubborn, hyperactive toddler. What disturbed me more was the fact that something about her was eliciting reactions from me that I never really expected resurfacing again.
I mean sure, I do wank off the ding dong when given some privacy. And must I admit it? Fine, I did do it when Robyn was around, but only when she was asleep. Asleep, okay? I didn’t molest her or engage in any voyeuristic actions towards her okay? I only sneak off to the shower and--why am I discussing this with you?
I glanced over at the bartender's wristwatch and calculated that Robyn had been away for too long. Why were women so slow? It was a topic I brought up with Robyn recently; she said that they simply had a routine they needed to follow.
If you asked me, it sounded like more of a ritual.
I glanced again at his watch and noted that it had almost been thirty minutes since Robyn left. A sense of anxiety threatened to claw into my instincts, but after that embarrassing reprimands I threw at Robyn, I might actually be a little over the top again when I go through the female toilets hunting her down only to find her powdering her nose.
I looked down. She left her bag with me.
Shit.
I got up and ploughed through the grinding crowd, managing to pry off a horde of women trying to hump anything on me. When I got to the hall that led to the toilets, I marched straight down, dodging people as I flung open the female's toilet.
All the girls dressed in skimpy clothing all screamed in shock. God that was painful to the ears. There were about five and none of them were Robyn, but I didn't give up as I called her name. No response came, I stepped in, ignoring the women even the one that tried talking to me as I kicked down a row of seven stalls.
I apologized to two women in different stalls as they were trying to take a leak. I ran through the door before they got the idea of raping me there and stormed through the men's. Kicking down seven rows again as I earned a few curses from one who was trying to take a dump.
I apologized before bolting out.
Shit. Robyn wasn't there either.
Where the fuck was she? I aimlessly wandered towards the confusing crowd looking above many bobbing heads that danced, rocked and grounded to the beat. The flashing lights were sending my optical nerve to an overdrive as I strained my eyes to spot every physical feature that matched Robyn’s.
"Gold!" A tight grip alarmed me, almost prompting a sudden deathblow to the owner of this hand…only to I realize it was the blonde I was looking for.
My relief was overwhelmed with rage and fear as it erupted throughout every fiber of my body, I released it all at once with the angriest tone I could ever muster, gesturing wildly just to get my point embed into her to tell her, "You gave me a fucking heart attack Robyn!"
What? It was the only think that popped into my head.
She was sputtering countless apologies and so many excuses but I didn't care as I had another wave of a heated rebuke, "You broke through so many rules tonight! You drank and tricked me, you lied about some imaginary guy and I can't believe that I fell for it and then you go running off somewhere! You said you were going to the bathroom! But you weren't there Robyn! Where have you been?"
When I stopped she looked back at me, not a single tear in her eyes. Good. She didn't even deserve to cry. But what irritated me most what that she kept silent eventually. She never shut up. That was the Robyn I know. Thank goodness the people around us were probably too obnoxious to even care.
"Gold," she said again, "I spoke to him,"
"What? Where?" I threw my hands around, bumping some nearby people who didn't seem to care. She took my bag and opened it for me. “What, did you just magically listen in to some random headphone again and leave another imaginary message?”
She grunted in irritation as she muttered things under her breath, opening her bag with such jerky movements. "Just put all your guns here, first."
I furrowed my brows, "Robyn, do you even know what you're trying to tell me?"
I watched her face carefully, studying every feature that I could. I know I didn't want to realize it, but after weeks of finding ways to hunt down ARC and avoiding ERA, the people I trusted narrowed down to just this one girl right in front of me. I didn't want to even suspect that she might be a trap working for one of them, but it was already forming its figures into my head. I feared having to run away from her, or worse having to end up killing her.
I clicked my tongue. Trust. That was the word that I had unconsciously threaded her with my naiveté and I never even saw it coming until I heard her say it. She cautiously held my hand, carefully leading it to one of my guns tucked into my belt; I nearly melted as her purest gaze fixed perpetually unto my skeptic ones.
With a regretful last look over her convincing facade, I grabbed her by the wrist sighing as I led her to a dark corner, "let's do that where no one can see us,"
After reluctantly surrendering five guns to her, I carefully examined every movement she made, I was still not over the fact that I allowed her to make me vulnerable. She smiled warmly and began leading me through the club’s backdoor. "Don't you dare run off on me after leading me straight to a trap, okay?" I joked somberly.
She laughed sardonically and shook her head, "Actually, I was more worried about you committing suicide,"
I rolled my eyes and we stepped into another dank alleyway at the back. I was surprised when she pinned me to the wall and hugged me. A strange warmth flooded throughout me, registering in my mind before several others violated my virtue.
"Robyn?" I looked at her. Was she going to… I don’t know; maybe do something promiscuous like my imagination played it? I scrubbed those thoughts away, making a mental note to get myself laid with some random hooker when given the chance. Me being stuck with her was just a temporary setback I was eventually going to get over once everything has been sorted.
I finally found my voice, "Is this supposed to be a goodbye hug before you kill me? Because we both know that you can't even lay a finger on me If I..."
She laughed, cutting me off, "You're so stupid, I'm just calming you down." I gave her that awkward moment to hug me longer, until it began haunting me with the fact that I was actually beginning to like it. But just before I managed to gather as much balls as I could to try and return the hug, she pulled away instantly and the reality of longing began dawning on me.
"Right," I added awkwardly as she smiled at me widely, "um... Thank you for the hug?"
"Are you calm now and happy?" She asked looking me over carefully as she took careful steps back until the other alley wall kept her from going any further.
"Robyn, what the hell's happening?" I asked her quietly, looking at her bag occasionally as I thought of ways to snag it from her. Something here didn't feel quite right.
"Just don't go crazy okay?" she begged one last time before she took out a phone from her pocket, "He's somewhat calmer now,"
"Who was that?" I asked in alarm, "Where did you get the phone?"
"From me," the voice didn't come from Robyn, whoever the owner was did not make me calm and happy.
"You," I growled vehemently as I pointed an accusing finger at him then commanded Robyn to hand me my guns.
She dropped her bag and ran to me, hugging me in a feeble attempt to hold me back and pin my arms to my sides. I was easily prying her off of me, "You work for him?" I asked, entirely flabbergasted as the presumptive realization began setting in.
"She doesn't work for me," He reassured me, but I couldn’t believe that I had difficulty trying to digest that fact. Because from the way I saw it, it told a very different story with Robyn listening to him instead of me. It was so annoying! I can’t even get angry with her. No, it wasn’t her fault; it was this manipulative bastard’s fault.
He was wearing a pathetic red bandana and some aviator shades that screamed douche-bag all over him. He had an amused smile plastered to his clean-shaven face that brought out his annoying dimple.
"This is the biker dude?" I laughed grimly, "Robyn, don't you even recognize this guy?"
She didn't answer, but smiled guiltily at me. She smiled. Was that even the reaction that suited this situation right now? Obviously she must be drugged, otherwise I would want to strangle her slender neck for being such a pathetic idiot.
"Yes she does actually, and she was more of a handful than you are right now," he winked at Robyn and she smiled in embarrassment I didn't even want to see that. Let alone think what he meant.
"I believe we got on the wrong foot here, but let's start all over shall we?" He slowly walked towards us as he removed his shades, I pushed Robyn aside, regretting almost as quickly as I did it. However, it was the magnitude of hate towards this ass that made me gravitate towards this guy.
“Start over on this,” I growled as I swung a nanobot-pumped fist right to his jaw. He caught it effortlessly; I didn’t flinch when he countered my rising force, pushing my fist away. He had an easy smile on his face as he raised a glass Tablet with his other hand; it had glowing blue letters and green bars on it with a picture of my face in one corner.
Shit. He used the Rubrix on me. And like some videogame whose stats are easily manipulated, my eyes faintly catches a glimpse of how he brought my strength bar to a zero.
"My name is Ares Portley, and it's an honor meeting you Ethan Gould."