Angels & Sinners: The Motor City Edition

by Ashley Suzanne

  He takes the drink from my hand, turns the cap and hands back the open bottle. I take a quick swig and set it down in front of me.

  “So, what are you guys up to? I didn’t know you were coming, too,” I say to Robbie, nudging his leg under the table.

  “Well, Robbie here thinks he needs my permission for something.” My eyes shoot to Jack, then back to Robbie and back to Jack again.

  “What are you talking about? Permission for what?”

  Robbie turns to me, putting his hand on my thigh where the dress has ridden up, “Well, I would like to ask you on a date, but I felt like I needed to make sure that it was okay with Jack.”

  My mouth drops open, shocked that we’re actually having a conversation like this. Not only is it awkward to have someone asking Jack for permission to date me, but Robbie thinking he needs to ask me on a date after we’ve had sex comes as a surprise.

  “Well, what did Jack say?” I need to buy some time here.

  “I said yes, of course,” Jack chuckles. “Personally, I find it extremely funny that he’s asking you on a date, especially after the entire neighborhood heard the theatrics the morning I came to pick you up.”

  My face instantly heats and it’s not just my face that’s turning red; I can see the flush creeping up my legs.

  “Jack,” I whisper, shocked that he hadn’t said anything sooner.

  “Oh, come on. I knew you weren’t in the shower when I was knocking. I knew exactly what was going on.” Jack raises his eyebrows repeatedly.

  “Oh my gosh, Jack. Stop it.” My hands fly to my mouth, covering it before I say something about the night prior, when Robbie paid me for sex.

  Robbie is laughing hysterically when my aunt brings over a serving plate of steaks and baked potatoes.

  “What’s so funny?” she questions.

  “Nothing, Mom. We’re just telling a funny story.”

  I take my fork and stab a steak off the plate, transferring it to mine while Robbie eyes me suspiciously. I’m trying to ignore his looks, but I can feel his gaze even though my hair has fallen in front of my face, creating a makeshift shield.

  “So?” Robbie asks.

  “What?”

  “Would you like to go on a date with me, Dallas?” When he whispers that in my ear, my senses are on full alert and that all too familiar shiver going down my spine would make me fall to my knees if I wasn’t already sitting.

  “I would love to go on a date with you.” And there you have it, folks. I’m officially a reformed woman. Not only am I going places in life, I’m going to go on a date. And not the kind of date where a John picks me up on a corner, fucks me in the backseat of his car and gives me my sixty bucks. A real date—where a boy is going to pick me up, probably with flowers, and take me to dinner.

  The moral of the story is this; not all fairytales have the typical, cliché start and finish. Boy meets girl, they fall in love instantly, get married, get the white picket fence and two point five children and drive a minivan. More times than not, someone is fucked up, has a shitty life and all it takes is one gesture of genuine care and concern to change everything. Robbie did that for me. He found me in the gutter, cared for me, turned me over to the people that love me more than anything and brought me back to life.

  Robbie put the sparkle back in my sapphire blues.

  Possibly, to be continued . . .

  LEAP OF FAITH

  Bethany Lopez

  Josh

  As I stumbled down the cobblestone walkway I swore softly to myself, “Why did you drink so much, you damn fool . . . you’re not Irish, you’re American, should’a known better than to try and keep up.”

  The music from the pub began to fade as I turned towards the sound of waves crashing against the jagged cliff the pub was perched upon. Like the drunken idiot I was, I began to make my way down the unlit path to the water below. It was so dark I could barely make out the steps below me, but for some reason I was compelled to move forward, holding my hand against the rock so I wouldn’t fall.

  I tripped suddenly, my sneakers squeaking as I lost my footing, and my arms flailing wildly before I tumbled face first down the rock. The Guinness sloshed around in my belly and I had to swallow quickly to keep from spewing all over.

  “Shit!” I exclaimed when my hip made contact with a serrated edge and I felt the blood begin to pool beneath my jeans. I lifted my head out of the water and tried to get my bearings as I looked around. I could just make out white foam hitting the area surrounding me as the waves crashed in, and I began to fill the chill of the water as it soaked through my clothes. The black hoodie, which had seemed like such a good idea earlier, was now a cold, heavy weight.

  I rose up on all fours shaking my head slightly to clear the fog that wanted to settle there. My short dark hair plastered against my forehead in the process.

  My friends and I had been at the pub for hours. We’d been having such a great time listening to the locals spin tales that I couldn’t recall ever eating supper. No wonder I was so wasted.

  I began to rise, thinking that my friends were probably starting to wonder where I was, when something in the water caught my eye. I squinted automatically, then cursed again when I realized that squinting not only aggravated my throbbing head, but also didn’t help me see any more clearly. I rose to my full height and began to wade slowly towards the object before me. My stomach clenched when I realized the object was starting to look more and more like a woman.

  “Hello?” I yelled, my deep voice reverberating against the stone wall behind me.

  There was no response, but the woman kept coming closer, and I could just make out her long hair blowing in the breeze behind her. I waded in a little further, trying to ignore the face that I was beginning to shake uncontrollably, then stopped. Although I’d had a lot to drink, I still realized that going further could be very dangerous. I was an accountant after all . . . I was nothing if not practical.

  My heart was beating roughly in my chest, and it became clear that the woman coming toward me was stark naked. My body began to tighten in response. When she stopped in front of me, I found that I was unable to move and my gaze was transfixed on the gorgeous woman before me.

  I couldn’t make out anything else around me, yet the woman’s green eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight.

  I tried to speak, but found my voice wouldn’t work.

  I tried to move, but my body was immovable.

  I started to feel panic rising in me, then the woman smiled, and I forgot to be afraid.

  Her smile lit a fire in me that erupted quickly and spread rapidly. I’d never been so mesmerized and utterly turned on by another person as I was by this strange creature. My eyes took in every inch of her face, never straying from her delicate features.

  “Josh . . . ” I heard my friends calling to me from somewhere up above, but was unable to call out my location, not that I cared in the least if they found me or not. All I cared about was her smile.

  Her eyes flicked upward and her smile diminished. She turned her eyes back to me and lifted her hand to my face, softly caressing my cheek before dropping her hand and turning back to leave the way she’d come.

  Once she moved a few feet away, I realized I could once again move, so I reached my arm out towards her and yelled, “Wait!”

  She turned slowly, giving me one last, terribly sad look, before diving into the water. I ran out after her, yelling loudly as the water soaked me to the bone, then stopped abruptly when a fin rose out of the water and flicked, propelling her deeper into the dark waters.

  “What the fuck?” I exclaimed as I pushed the wet hair from my forehead. I ran my hands over my face and strained to look out into the dark sea, but it was impossible to see anything.

  “Josh, what the hell are ya doing, mate?” I heard one of my friends ask from the shore behind me.

  I made one last attempt to catch a glimpse of my mystery woman before turning back to my friends.

  I really needed
to lay off the Guinness.

  ***

  I woke up early the next morning, my head pounding painfully with every move I made, and looked around the room, disoriented. It took a moment before I remembered that I was in the room I was sharing with one of my buddies. A group of us had come to stay at this little Bed & Breakfast in Ireland to see how much Guinness we could consume in one weekend. The way I was feeling as I closed my eyes to try and keep the sunlight streaming in the window from ripping my brain apart, told me that I’d already consumed more than my body liked.

  I started to ease myself out of the bed, favoring my hip, which caused me to remember the creamy skinned, red haired, goddess from the night before.

  Had I been hallucinating? Was she a vision? Had I really seen a fucking fin, and if so, what the hell did that mean?

  I rose up tentatively, my mind denying my theories even as I had them.

  I was a man who dealt daily with facts and figures, not daydreams and magical creatures, I must have been more wasted than I’d realized.

  After trying to drown myself in a cold shower and brushing the rotten taste from my mouth, I entered back into the room to see my buddy Marcus throwing off his covers.

  “What the hell was up with you last night, mate?” Marcus asked gruffly, adjusting himself as he rose, eyes still half closed. “I almost shat myself when we ran out of the pub and saw you wading in the water. Must’ve been freezing!”

  “It was,” I answered absently as I got dressed. I buttoned my jeans, wincing when the fabric hit the gash on my hip. I turned to Marcus and asked, “Are you sure you didn’t see anyone else in the water?”

  “Just you, Josh, fully clothed and drunk as shit,” Marcus chuckled and walked towards the door. “I’m going to hit the shower. Meet you downstairs for breakfast?”

  “Sure,” I responded.

  Once I was dressed I went downstairs to see if anyone else was up and beg Mrs. O’Connell for some coffee.

  I had to duck my head to walk into the tiny kitchen where the B & B owner was whistling as she cooked. “Morning, Mrs. O. Would you happen to have any coffee on hand?”

  Mrs. O turned, her face kind and happy, and lifted her hand to gesture toward the dining room. “Go ahead and have a seat at the table, I’ll bring you a cup and some breakfast straight away.”

  I murmured my thanks and walked into the other room to find Kyle and Debra, the other two members of my group, already seated and eating.

  “I’ll just hang out here and read,” Debra was saying. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be happy as a clam. You guys go and have fun. You know I’d be miserable on the boat.”

  “I don’t want to leave you behind, Deb, this is our first vacation together,” Kyle responded.

  “Mornin’ guys,” I broke in as I took a seat on the end.

  They both looked up at me and smiled. They were a cute couple. I guessed they’d only been going out a few months, but things seemed to be going well. Kyle, Marcus, and I had all gone to school together, and had gone our separate ways after graduation. Although we’d just graduated university a few months ago, we’d been eager to get together again for this mini vacation. Neither Marcus nor I had minded when Kyle asked to bring Deb along. It was nice to see him happy.

  “Good morning,” Deb said sweetly as she nibbled on a piece of toast.

  “How’re you feeling this morning, Josh?” Kyle asked seriously. “You scared the shit out of us last night.”

  “Sorry ‘bout that,” I replied with a grimace. “I don’t know what got into me, but I’m sure as hell paying for it today. My head hurts like a son of a bitch!”

  “I’ve got something that’ll fix you right up,” Mrs. O said as she came in the room. She put a steaming mug of coffee and two aspirin in front of me.

  “Thanks,” I responded, smiling gratefully up at her. “Do you happen to have a first aid kit, Mrs. O? I cut my hip last night and would like to clean it out so it doesn’t get infected.”

  “Sure thing,” She responded. “You just come see me once you’ve finished your meal and I’ll get you fixed up.”

  I inhaled deeply as I brought the cup to my lips, closing my eyes and grinning unconsciously before taking my first sip.

  “Damn,” Deb said with a chuckle. “I wish you looked at me the way he’s looking at that cup of coffee.”

  Kyle laughed softly, “Yeah, if only Josh could find a woman to put that look of pure lust on his face, maybe he’d finally settle down and be happy.”

  “Shhh,” I said with a grin. “I’m having a moment.”

  “Argh,” Marcus moaned as he plopped down into the chair next to mine. “I don’t know if I’m going to make it fishing today, mate. I just want to head back up to bed and crash. Or maybe crawl into that nice hammock I saw outside.”

  I put my cup down and turned to him, “No worries man.” Then I looked at Kyle and Deb, “And you guys can hang out too. I don’t want you guys to think that just because I wanted to go fishing, you have to. We’re on vacation, right? No rules . . . No plans . . . Just pleasure.”

  “Are you sure, Josh?” Kyle asked. “I don’t want to be a flake and make you go out by yourself.”

  “You’re not a flake,” I assured him. “Besides, fishing’s a solitary sport, I’ll be fine by myself.”

  “Are you sure, brother?” Marcus asked with one eye open. “After your stunt last night, I don’t know how I feel about you out on the water alone.”

  “I’m a big boy, Marcus, I’ll be fine.”

  That must have been all Marcus needed to hear, because he grunted, pushed back his chair, and headed back out of the dining room without another word.

  I finished my coffee and breakfast and got up from the table. “See you guys tonight?”

  “Sure,” Kyle responded. “We’ll wait to get dinner until you get back.”

  ***

  A half hour later I walked out of the B & B with a freshly bandaged hip, and a travel mug of coffee in my hands. My headache had subsided and I was feeling almost human again. As I ambled towards the water, I took in the lush green of my surroundings. I’d always wanted to come to Ireland, and it was even more beautiful than I’d imagined. Although, in all of my musings about the beauty of the landscape, I’d never imagined it would be as cold as it was. Luckily, Marcus had told me to pack layers, and I’d listened.

  When I reached the dock, I took care placing my items in the boat before getting in and pushing off.

  “Are you sure you can handle the fishing boat by yourself?” Mr. O’Connell had asked me before I’d left.

  “Yes, sir,” I’d answered. “I grew up on Lake Michigan and went fishing all the time. I promise I won’t let anything happen to your boat.”

  “All right, son,” he’d replied. “When you leave the dock and round the corner, you’ll see a small island in the distance. There’s good fishing right off of the island, and it’s a nice place to stop and have your lunch, if you’re of a mind to get off the boat for a bit.”

  “Sounds great. Thank you, sir.”

  As I rounded the corner, I spotted the island, just as he’d said, and pointed the boat in that direction. I felt my muscles strain as I rowed, and felt utterly content being on the water without a care in the world.

  I was so relaxed by the sound of the oars hitting the water, the crisp air surrounding me, and the grey fog of the morning, that at first I didn’t register the splashing coming from the front of the boat.

  When I finally realized the sound was coming from in front of me, I paused my rowing and listened. At first it was silent, but then I heard the splash again, almost like a very large fish was breaking the surface of the water. I leaned forward, to look over the front of the boat, but the water was still.

  I heard the splash come from behind me and turned, but only saw a ripple.

  Figuring Mr. O was correct and this was the spot that the fish were biting, I pulled in the oars and began to ready my fishing rod. My legs started to hurt from bein
g shoved into the small boat, so I tried to adjust my position without flipping the boat over. My body was turned to the right, with my weight resting on my palms, when a flash of red sped through the water underneath my boat.

  “What the fuck was that?” I whispered out loud, losing my balance and falling face first onto the bottom of the boat.

  “Shit!”

  I righted myself and pressed my hand to my throbbing head. Was I seriously going to injure myself every day of this trip?

  I surveyed the water around me, but didn’t see what had startled me. Realizing that I may do better on dry land, I picked up the oars and rowed towards the island. The last thing I needed was to capsize and end up soaked again. Markus and Kyle would never let me hear the end of it if I did.

  I rowed up to a small dock off of the shore of the island and tied the boat to it, then pulled myself out of the boat, searching the water as I did.

  Nothing.

  The water was as still as could be.

  Huh . . .

  I pulled out my fishing gear and the lunch that Mrs. O had packed, and headed down the dock. On a whim I decided to leave everything right there on the edge, so I could explore the grounds a bit before settling in to fish.

  I left the dock and headed inland, my eyes looking everywhere at once, trying to take it all in. I was so focused on my surroundings, that I wasn’t looking straight ahead, which is why I didn’t see her until I’d almost bumped into her.

  When my eyes met hers, I froze.

  It was her . . . Vivid green eyes, red hair flowing down her back, skin as pale as cream.

  She was a vision. The most hauntingly beautiful person I had ever seen.

  I tried to speak, but once again found that I had no voice, along with the inability to move. It was like I was under some sort of spell. I should have been terrified, but felt strangely calm.

  I devoured her with my eyes. Eager to believe that she was actually real. I hadn’t had anything to drink, and I didn’t think anyone slipped a roofie in my coffee, so that meant that I hadn’t been imaging her, right?

  I had a million questions to ask her, and tried to convey that to her with my eyes, but she just continued to stare at me.