“I know, I’ve been missing Mom, especially this week,” I tell her, hitting pause on the episode so she doesn’t miss anything.
Jacinta turns to her bed and reaches for her blanket when she lets out an ear-shattering scream and runs towards the other end of the room.
I’m on my feet in seconds. “What is it?” I ask, frantically trying to figure out what has her so terrified.
“I swear, I saw someone at our window,” she says with wide eyes while staring at the window, trying to find what she saw before.
“I’m sure there’s no one at the window,” I say, peering into the darkness outside.
“Check,” she begs. “Please?”
“Oh fine,” I groan, grabbing one of Jacinta’s heavy textbooks to use as a weapon, though that doesn’t stop Jacinta from grumbling behind me about preferring I’d use a vampire textbook rather than her fairy one.
I make my way over to the window and slowly reach for the latch and in one quick move I rip the window wide open. A scream flies from my lips as the textbook comes down hard on the dark shape that’s lurking on the other side.
“Ow, Shit,” the dark shape says in a familiar voice. “What the hell was that for?”
“Trey?” Jacinta asks from behind me. “Is that you?”
“Hi,” he responds sheepishly, taking a step forward into the light of the room to where I can see a deep red mark appearing on his head, directly across from the other mark on his head, making it look like he is attempting to sprout horns.
“Oh no,” Jacinta exclaims. “Did you have to hit him so hard?”
“What? Of course, I did. What if he was a murderer?” I say to her in disbelief before turning my attention on Trey who’s still rubbing his head. “Now, what the hell are you doing? You scared the crap out of us,” I scold, throwing another book at him, which to my disappointment, he catches.
“Quit trying to hit me with books. I’m waiting for Daniel,” he says like it’s a common thing that people crouch outside windows in the dark waiting for their equally moronic friend to come along.
“Waiting for Daniel to do what?” Jacinta asks curiously, trying her hardest to sound frustrated with him, but failing miserably as she swoons.
“To bust you losers out of here, that’s what,” Daniel says, suddenly appearing in the light of the window next to Trey with a major grin on his face. “What happened to your head, Dude? Matches the other one,” he laughs at Trey who gives him a warning look not to mention the other mark on his head.
“Hold on a minute,” I say, getting the boys attention. “What do you mean you’re busting us out of here?”
Daniel and Trey give each other a look of pure satisfaction then turn back to us to make sure they have our undivided attention. Daniel slowly raises his hand and holds out a set of car keys with a yellow tag that Jacinta and I immediately recognize.
“You stole the Driver’s Ed car?” I ask in shock, unable to string together anything else.
“No, correction. We’re about to steal the Driver’s Ed car,” he says with a wicked grin.
“Which means,” Trey says, chiming in. “You’ve got ten minutes to get ready.”
“Get ready to go where?” Jacinta asks.
“Anywhere you want. I’m personally thinking about hitting a club,” he says, a smile threatening to tear his face in two. “Partying with the regular humans.”
“I’d love to go out clubbing with you guys, but there’s just one problem,” I say, hating to ruin the good mood “We’re all seventeen. None of us will actually get in,” I offer.
“And,” Jacinta cuts in. “We could get kicked out of the Academy for this.”
“Chill out,” Daniel says, giving Jacinta an encouraging smile as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out four little cards, which look a lot like fake ID’s. He looks to me. “I’ve got us covered. Now, are you in?”
Jacinta and I give each other a quick look and in an instant, a grin spreads over both of our faces. “Hell yeah,” I say, pulling the curtain closed over the open window to allow us some privacy.
Twenty minutes later, we’re finally ready to go and I must admit, we look good. “Took you long enough,” Trey scoffs as the boys help us out the window.
“You can’t rush perfection,” I say hoping off the ledge while I wait for Jacinta to follow.
Together the four of us scan the area and once the coast is clear, we make our break for it. We rush towards the staff parking, trying our hardest to keep hidden. It takes all of two seconds for us to spot the canary yellow car that is covered in ‘L’ plates. Trey hops in the driver’s seat while Daniel runs around the car, pulling off as many ‘L’ plates as possible.
“Why can’t I drive?” Daniel whines as he hops in the car.
“Because I’m a much better driver than you are,” Trey shoots back. “And besides, I figured you’d want to drink, so I gathered one of us should be the responsible one tonight,” he laughs as he turns the ignition and backs out of the spot.
“Good point,” Daniel says, giving in.
“Now, we have much bigger issues than who’s driving,” I say, getting the car’s attention. “How the hell did you guys pull off fake ID’s?”
“I can’t tell you all my secrets now, can I?” Daniel says with a wink as he pulls the ID’s out of his pocket and hands them over.
“Hannah Rogers?” Jacinta asks, giving her ID an appalled look. “And where did you get this photo from?” she shoots towards the front seat.
“Ah… we stole them off your Facebook page,” Trey admits with a guilty look.
“What’s your name?” Jacinta ask, leaning over to get a better look at my ID.
“Roxanne Buttern,” I tell her slowly, breaking into a laugh.
“Are you serious?” she says. “There’s now way you’re going to get into a club with that, they will know it’s a fake for sure,” she adds, slightly hysterical.
“It will be fine,” Daniel insists from the front seat. “Now, Miss Buttern and Miss Rogers, Where are we going?”
“No clue. Why don’t we head into the city and we can just wing it from there,” I suggest proudly.
“Sounds like a plan,” Daniel says, sitting back in his chair and turning the music up loud enough that whatever Jacinta is trying to say besides me is completely lost in the beat.
“What?” I yell, breaking into a grin.
Jacinta grins back and together we burst into laughter as we lose ourselves in the music.
----------
I’ve never been in the city after dark and to say the city lights are incredible would be an understatement. Trey pulls into the parking lot and we get out of the car, looking left, then right, not one of us having any idea where we are or where we should be going.
“I say we go this way,” Jacinta says, indicating to the left. “It looks like there is a 24/7 McDonalds, surely they would only put one there if there’s a lot of nightlife.”
“I like the way the girl thinks,” Trey declares boldly, bringing a pink glow to Jacinta checks.
“Sounds good,” Daniel says and starts heading in the direction of Micky D’s. We all follow Daniel and before long we’ve hit the center of the city. There are crowds swarming everywhere, the streets are filled with people dressed just like us, looking for a good night.
The city streets are loud with traffic and music coming from the clubs and bars. “This place looks good,” Daniel says with a grin. I look in the direction he’s pointing and find a bar, filled with people, lights, and music.
“Sure,” I say as we all head towards the entrance to be stopped by some big bald guy asking for our ID’s. I pull the little card out of my purse and confidentially hand it to the man who seems to be at least ten feet tall. He studies the card for what seems like forever and I do my best to appear calm, even though my nerves are getting the best of me. “Hmm, that’s unfortunate,” he says under his breath before handing me the little card back.
“Tell me about it
,” I respond, tucking the little card back into my purse and going through. I wait just inside as Jacinta goes through the same nerve-racking experience as I did. A few moments later, she plucks the card out of his hand and mumbles a thanks.
“I cannot believe he just let us in,” I say with a grin that I’m sure will split my face in two.
“I know,” she laughs. “Though, I’m pretty sure he knew they were fake, but just didn’t care.”
“I honestly think he had no clue,” I say as we walk deeper into what I can now see is a modern bar. The room smells heavily of cigarette smoke, even though I can’t see anybody smoking. The floor has a slight stick to it from spilled drinks and the room is buzzing with people high on life… Or high on something else, who knows?
“Why don’t we get a drink?” I say, reaching for Jacinta’s arm in fears of losing her in the crowd.
“You read my mind,” she responds, squeezing past some guy who is carrying a few too many beers than his fingers can manage. “Looks like the boys had the same idea,” she adds, nodding her head towards the bar where Trey and Daniel are in the middle of ordering who knows what.
We make our way over to find the boys have ordered us both a cocktail, which comes with a little umbrella perched on top. “Why, thank you.” I say to Daniel as he hands me my drink.
“Oh, it was definitely my pleasure,” he says with a mischievous sparkle in his eye and I realize he has an ulterior motive that I suspiciously think is to get me drunk, but tonight I just don’t care. I’m here to have fun.
“Oh look,” Jacinta says, grabbing my arms and yanking me in the direction of the table. “Those guys just got up, let’s get their table.” I don’t need to be told twice. We make our way over with the boys following behind and squeeze ourselves into the table that’s so clearly made for two.
“Check it out,” Daniel says. “They’re starting karaoke in twenty minutes,” he says excitedly. “I’m signing you guys up,” he declares.
“No way,” Jacinta squeals in horror. “Not in front of a crowd like this,” she adds hysterically.
“Do it,” I say quietly to Daniel. “We’ll get a few more drinks in her. She’ll be fine,” I laugh. “But do be warned,” I say, louder so the others can hear. “If you sign us up, we’ll be signing you up, and we’ll be picking the song.”
“You’re on,” Daniel says, just as Trey’s face falls in horror.
Jacinta and I figure out which song we are going to blast them with. “Good, let’s go.” I say, hopping up from the table with Daniel right behind me, making our way over to the DJ booth. Daniel reaches for the Karaoke sheet and scribbles our names down and the song choice, leaving his hand on the paper so I don’t see what he has picked.
I grab the pen from him and begin signing them up, copying his immature gesture. I put the sheet back on the DJ booth feeling very proud of the selection Jacinta and I have made, knowing it is going to rain down embarrassment for these boys. We start making our way over to the table and I notice Trey has stolen my seat and is now right beside Jacinta.
“That’s my boy,” Daniel declares, clearly seeing what I’m seeing.
“Why don’t we go to the bar? Leave them alone for a bit,” I say to Daniel who’s more than happy to steer me away.
“Sure,” he says. “Your drink is empty anyway.”
“So, is this your big plan?” I ask as we wait for the bartender to get around to taking our order. “To get us drunk and take advantage?” I say with a grin.
“What?” he gasps, looking appalled. “Of course not. That’s just my plan,” he says with a wink. “Trey just wants her to have a good time,” he says seriously.
“They’re so crazy about each other,” I say, turning around and spying on the love birds, shacked up at the table. Trey’s arm now draped over her shoulder. The bartender comes and takes our order, and we return to the table with new drinks, a round of shots, and hot chips that I shove under Jacinta’s nose in hopes that she doesn’t keep drinking on an empty stomach. I mean, I’m all for drinking until I pass out, but I wouldn’t want tonight ruined for Jacinta, especially now that Trey is getting his act together.
We stay at our table, watching the night unfold around us, the already crowded bar seems to get fuller by the minute. It must be at least 10 O’clock when a small but loud guy with dreadlocks makes his way up on stage “Hey, hey, hey. How are y’all doing tonight?” he yells into the microphone with such enthusiasm that even I’m cheering for him. “My name is Maxi and it’s karaoke night,” he declares as the room erupts into even louder cheers. “Alright. Let’s get this Friday started,” he says then introduces his first victim up on stage who gets right into with a crowd pleasing version of Queens ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
The night flies by as we laugh and sing along with the good, the bad and the ugly. Maxi who’s become a crowd favorite gets back on stage and introduces the next performance. “Alright, next up we have Trey and Daniel,” he announces as Daniel gets up and drags an embarrassed Trey behind him. They each grab a microphone from Maxi and take center stage, the spotlight hitting them, earning them whistles from the many available women in the crowd.
I watch the boys intently for their reactions to the song they’ll be performing while I get my phone ready to video the whole thing. The familiar music starts and Treys face drops as a wide grin spreads over Daniels as they both recognize the intro for Christina Aguilera’s ‘Lady Marmalade’. Daniel shoots me a look that reminds me that Jacinta and I are next and I have no doubt that whatever song Daniel has chosen for us will be just as bad as this.
The lyrics start and Jacinta and I are in complete shock as Trey bursts out with all the lyrics, word for word, Daniel not so much, but man he has the moves to prove that he belongs on that stage. The boys sing and dance like no one is watching and give it their absolute all while I capture their whole performance on my phone. The boys come back down to the table looking very proud of themselves, leaving Maxi on stage questioning their sexuality.
“Where the hell did you learn those words?” Jacinta asks Trey in amazement.
“I’ve got two sisters you know, it’s my duty as a brother to know the words,” he says, his ego growing by the second.
“Looks like you guys are up next,” Daniel says with excitement written all over his face.
“I don’t know if we can beat that. I mean you were shaking your booty pretty hard up there,” I tease.
“Did you see something you like?” he smirks before breaking into laughter.
I roll my eyes at him as Jacinta and I get up from the table, get ourselves another shot and make our way on stage. We grab our microphones and face our enthusiastic audience as we wait to find out what the boys have chosen for us. I find Daniel in the crowd, looking very smug and wait for the music to begin.
Genuine’s ‘Pony’ beings to play and a grin spreads over my face. I give Jacinta a smug look, as only she knows that we have both lived for this exact moment, after years of singing and perfecting our dance moves. We launch into our performance and absolutely nail it, dance moves and all.
After our performance we find ourselves wandering the streets in search for something a little more exciting. We navigate our way through the people, traffic, and the busy streets. I walk side by side with Daniel as Jacinta and Trey continue, lost in their own world.
Daniel flings his arm over my shoulder. “You having fun?” he asks, pulling me closer to avoid a drunken idiot swinging around a glass filled with a dark liquid that sloshes out onto the pathway, narrowly missing the edge of my outfit.
“Yeah, I am. You?” I ask looking up at him with a smile.
Daniel looks down at me and pauses for a second, taking a slow deep breath. “There’s no place else I’d rather be,” he says quietly.
Maybe it’s the shots and the cocktails talking, but tonight I just don’t care. In fact, I welcome his feelings, though I know I’ll regret it in the morning. I should feel guilty for leading him on again
, but I don’t. I reach up and lace my fingers through his. His body suddenly goes rigid and he instantly looks down at my face, searching for an explanation, but only getting a smile in return.
He returns my smile, with a sexy one of his own as his body relaxes next to mine. “Are you sure?”
“No,” I say. “But what’s the harm in a little fun, just for tonight,” I say, hoping he understands that it will mean nothing.
“What are you doing to me, Bianca Moore?” he says with fire in his eyes. “But trust me, there’s a lot of harm in having a little fun.”
“I know. But are you up for it?” I say with a seductive smile.
“You know I am,” he says, giving my hand a squeeze. “Just don’t hate me when I come begging for more tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow isn’t part of the deal,” I say. “Just tonight.”
Our ID’s manage to get us into a dance club and we beeline for the bar, ordering drinks and taking a few more shots, well, at least Daniel and I take a few more shots, clinking our glasses together before pouring the strong liquid down our throats, Jacinta is a little more sensible, which I’m thrilled about.
I take Daniel by his rough hands and lead him out onto the dance floor that’s crowded with couples. Jacinta and Trey do exactly the same thing. I lose myself in the music and dance with Daniel, feeling his hard body move against mine to the heavy beat of the music.
I feel intoxicated and elated as I move my body, forgetting the world around me, forgetting Rylan, forgetting my Dad, and forgetting the shitty two weeks I’ve had of getting my ass kicked by the boys. I hold Daniel close to me as we move with the music knowing I’ve certainly passed the tipsy stage and am heading into dangerous territory.
“Where’s Jacinta and Trey?” I call to Daniel over the loud music when I realize they are no longer dancing beside us
Destruct: The Guard Trilogy (Book 1) Page 13
