by Zara Teleg
I knocked my special knock, so she’d know it was me.
“Come on, Tink, open up.”
Bloodshot, glassy, violet eyes met mine before they looked down at her feet.
“Not now, Kai. I need some alone time.”
“That doesn’t sound like what you need at all.” I lifted her chin so she’d look back at me.
“I saw Rage leaving. He can be abrasive. He’s not really good with people.”
“Ya think?” She snorted as a few tears began trickling down her rosy cheeks.
I pulled her close, giving her a squeeze. “Don’t let him get to you.”
“He doesn’t understand. No one does.” She sniffed.
I swiped my thumb under her eye, wiping away a stray tear, and cupped her chin. All I wanted to do was look into her eyes, tell her it would all be okay and steal her lips.
“Hey, no tears for anyone, especially Rage,” I said. “He has an awful way with words. I honestly wonder how the hell he got your sister.” That earned a small giggle.
She just kept her eyes on mine, the deep purple-blue gaze tearing at my soul, making me feel a weakness I haven’t known in years. I tucked loose curls behind her ears, bent down, and leveled my face with hers.
“Tink, you take your time. Don’t let anyone rush you into feeling what you aren’t ready to. You are allowed to be angry. We all channel our anger through different methods.” That earned me another adorable snort.
“Yeah, song five of the Kai marathon playlist. ‘Hurt’ by Nine Inches Nails.”
Damn, she was right. I chuckled back and pressed my forehead to hers.
“I’ll go with you to the Christmas party. Maybe you’ll feel up to talking to Juliet then. And if not, you can enjoy the party, and we’ll come back and have a few shots to numb out our worries together.”
“Thanks, Kai.” She sniffed. “That means a lot.”
“Tink, I want you to be happy. I know you’ve been through some shit, and I’m amazed at the way you have handled it. I’m proud of ya.” I broke us apart and ruffled her hair.
“Hey!” She pushed at my hand.
“I know what would make you feel better.”
“You do?” Her eyebrow raised. “I’m scared, but let’s hear it.”
“You should make me dinner and we can watch a movie, anything you want. Your choice tonight.”
In her most sarcastic tone, she exclaimed, “Oh my God, I can’t believe you read my mind. Anytime I’m pissed, I think, I should cook for Kai. It’ll make me feel so much better.”
Twenty minutes later, she turned some leftovers into a feast for our movie night at my place.
I scanned the list of movies I let her mark as favorites in my Netflix account and tried to find the one she wanted.
“Have I taught you nothing about movies?” I turned to her guilty face. “These are all romances. Seriously, are there any Nicholas Sparks you haven’t added? I think I should pick.”
“Nope, you said I could.” She stole the remote. “I know what I want to watch.”
“Really, you’re going to make me watch a romance?” I huffed.
“Yes.” Her smile was intoxicating.
I moved so we both had enough room to lie down on the couch. I pulled her close and then covered us with a blanket. She pushed play on After.
“This guy’s such a jerk. He’s totally playing her,” I groaned at the TV. “Why does she keep doing everything he wants?”
“Kai, could you shut up? I read the novel, and you are ruining the movie with your constant commentary.”
“See, I knew he was falling in love with her.”
“Kai…”
“It can’t end like this. What kind of movie ends like this? Is there another part?” I asked, totally unsatisfied with this bullshit ending.
“It’s based on a novel that is a series. You have to wait until the next movie to see what happens. Unless—”
“Unless what?”
“You could read the books.”
I began laughing so hard I almost fell off the sofa. “Oh God, good one, Tink.” I chuckled some more before getting the remote to pick another movie.
“My turn.” I scrolled through the extensive menu I had selected.
“I have to sleep. It’s 6 am,” Paige groaned.
I ignored her and put on Casino Royale. Paige began to fall asleep halfway through, her head resting on my shoulder. There was nowhere in the world I wanted to be more that here watching her peacefully sleep.
Chapter Eight
Paige
My head was pounding, and my neck was sore from the uncomfortable twisted position I was in, and I was so hot.
My eyes popped open when my brain caught up, remembering why I was so warm and uncomfortable. I peeled my face from Kai’s chest and froze when I saw his eyes were open and looking down at me.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from his. Neither of us said anything. The rhythm of both our heartbeats were the only sound in the room. Kai’s fingers ran down my cheek, spreading warmth through my whole body. Time stood still as he lifted my chin and our lips inched closer. I could feel my palms getting sweaty and my heartbeat was pounding in my ears. His lips were a breath away from mine… Then “You’re Going Down” began blaring from his phone, and we jumped apart.
“Rage.” He sighed, and his face fell as he declined the call. He cleared his throat and then said, “Tink, I shouldn’t have—” He ran a hand through his hair. “I just, I don’t know what—”
“Kai, don’t worry about it. Nothing happened.” I stood up and began gathering my things. “I, uh,” I pointed to the door with my thumb, “I gotta go. I have, uh, stuff to do.”
Oh God, I have to get out of here.
“Me too. Stuff to do. Um, I better call Rage back.”
I could see regret and guilt on his face as he rubbed his temple and looked at his phone screen.
As soon as I entered my apartment, I leaned on the door and let out a long breath. “What the hell was that?”
I spent the day letting my mind wander between Kai and the fight I had with Rage. The more I thought about it, the more justified I felt. I just wanted to do something to make people stop looking at me like I was some damaged, broken little girl. I was a damn woman who had wants, needs, desires, and I was so sick of people trying to run my life for me. They all thought they knew me; they didn’t. There was someone inside me who was dying to be released, and I was sick of holding her back trying to please everyone. I wasn’t the good girl they all thought I was.
I slid on my Vans and swiped my keys from the counter. Amber had called earlier, wanting to hang out at her place. I needed to get my mind off everything, especially off the words “results pending.” I slammed my laptop closed on the never-changing genealogy website.
I parked in front of the eight-unit apartment complex that was a few blocks off the main street in Sugar Maple. Armed with coffees from Roasted, I pushed the button a second time, waiting to be buzzed up. The door clicked and I took the stairs to 3B, where Amber’s rusty curls greeted me.
“Coffee from Roasted? God, I knew there was a reason I liked you.” She laughed as she took the tray and led me into her place, which reminded me of a college dorm room more than a thirty-something’s home. I knew she was older than me because she had mentioned going to school with Kai. Filled ashtrays, blacklight posters, shoes, and clutter were everywhere.
“Make yourself at home,” she said.
I pushed the stack of newspaper ads over so I could sit on the couch.
“Sorry about the mess. I know I have to get my shit together. I would love a cute, homey place like yours, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” She lit a smoke and cracked open her coffee. “So, you want to tell me what’s been on your mind? You have been in space for the past few days.”
I toyed with the plastic lid on my cup, flicking it with my nail. “Um, nothing. I’m fine.”
Amber placed her perfectly manicured hand on my fiddl
ing one.
“Nothing, huh? You know, Paige, I want to be your friend, and friends listen to each other when something is bothering them.”
I nodded in agreement, blowing air from my lips. I proceeded to tell her the conversation Rage and I had and what Kai said.
Her advice? “We’re going out.”
“What? Going out where?”
“To clear your head. You need to let loose. A change of clothes and a few drinks at Chaos, and you’ll be all better. I swear.” She crossed her finger over her heart.
What was wrong with what I was wearing? I looked down at my khakis and polo shirt.
“I’m just going to shower, then I’ll do our makeup, and we’re going out.”
Our makeup? Yikes! Amber was way more glamorous than me. I preferred the understated no-makeup look to, well, hers. She flipped the TV on and asked me to give her a few minutes.
I didn’t watch much TV, but I had seen a few episodes of Seinfeld with my parents, so I left it on. It was the episode when George realizes all his instincts are wrong. He starts doing the opposite of everything he would normally do, and his life changes from flipping the script. I felt an awakening. Like George, everything I had been doing had just led me to misery after misery. A flicker of excitement stirred in my belly. Maybe this was what I needed; Amber could be right.
I succumbed to her makeover. She dressed me in a tight black tank top, a dark-blue faded pair of skinny jeans, and swapped my comfy Vans for a couple of sexy black studded-heeled boots.
“Close your eyes,” Amber said. I could feel the soft tug of the liner sliding across my eyelid. Then she said, “Look up.” I blinked on the third coat of mascara.
She pulled down my ponytail and twisted a few strands of my wavy-borderline-curly blond hair over her wand.
“Ta-da,” Amber proclaimed and spun me around to her full-length mirror and whistled.
I began at my feet and worked my eyes up to my body then to my face as if I had never seen myself. Damn, I looked hot. I wasn’t sure about the smoky eye at first, but she was a fantastic makeup artist. I turned my head left and right, and the large hoop earrings moved with my hair.
I was speechless, looking at the hottie staring back at me.
“Damn, you clean up nice.”
It only took her a few minutes to finish herself off before we headed out the door. Chaos turned out to be this sketchy bar that was only a ten-minute ride from Amber’s place. We parked and walked the few blocks and turned down a dark alley.
“Amber, are you sure there is a bar here?” I tugged her arm rounding the corner.
“Don’t freak on me now, Paige. You look smokin’, and we’re here to have fun.” She stopped in front of a door and knocked three times.
Under any other circumstance, I would have booked my ass out of there. But I swallowed down my nerves and reminded myself of the new opposite approach I was going to take. The steel door opened, and a red light streamed into the alley. Then a tall, dark, and scary bouncer waved us inside.
“Amber,” he said, nodding, his eyes drawn to her lace top that showed off her perfect B’s. The man was covered in tattoos and leather and must have been 6’6”. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, even though it was dark. He let Amber in, but his hand stopped me short.
“ID?” He opened his palm.
“Shane, she’s with me.”
He didn’t flinch. “ID?”
“Oh, sure.” My voice quivered as I dug in my wallet, handing him my Texas driver’s license. He studied it for a long moment, looking at it and then at me. Satisfied that I was the nerd in the photo, he handed it back to me and let me through.
Amber took my hand, pulling my resisting body down the hall and through the beaded curtains.
The bar reminded me of Amber’s place—dark, smoky, with shady characters lurking around. It was a dive bar. Old wood paneling covered the walls that were decorated in vintage beer and liquor signs. The mirrors behind the bar were so thick with dust and smoke, you couldn’t even see in them. The stale smoke was suffocating. The long fake wood counter was seventies style with worn black swivel seats, most of which had black tape covering the splits. The lights, which were probably white at one time, were now faded yellow. Scant tables were spread out before it opened to a dance floor area in front of a small elevated stage.
All eyes were on us when we moved toward the bartender. I could feel the stares penetrating me. Amber got a few nods and hellos, but I was the clear outsider. I tried not to make eye contact with any of the men that were creepily staring in our direction.
“What’ll it be?” a woman who looked like she could be in an eighties hair band asked, as if we were bothering her.
“Sorry. Uh, I’ll have a Malibu Bay Breeze,” I said.
Amber began laughing and played off my order as a joke. “She’s kidding. We’ll both have vodka tonics.” Her elbow nudged me, so I laughed along like she was right.
“Paige, this is not a girly-drink kind of place,” she whispered.
The bartender placed down our drinks. I pulled out a twenty, but she refused it.
“Thank him.” She pointed at the end of the bar where one gorgeous man sat, tilting his beer in our direction. We waved our glasses in thanks, and then the shots followed. I don’t usually drink more than a glass of wine. But, embracing my new motto, I tossed them back like a pro. Before I knew it, Amber and I were dancing.
We giggled, swayed, and belted out Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” along with a few new girlfriends I made. Damian, my dance partner, spun me, dipped me, and then pulled me in close. It was 2:30 am, and I was swaying. The giggles wouldn’t stop.
“We can give you ladies a ride home,” Damian yelled in my ear as his arm looped around my waist, steadying me.
“Nah, we’re calling a taxi, but thanks for the offer.” I hooked my arm around Amber.
“Or, we could let them take us,” Amber yelled in my ear. Her breath smelled of whiskey.
“Maybe next time. I’m not feeling too good.”
“We’ll get you home safe,” he insisted.
A hand wrapped around my bicep, pulling me into a hard chest.
“The ladies said they don’t need a ride,” a voice boomed with authority.
Familiar cologne and smoke mixed. My head tilted back as I wobbled in his grasp.
“They yours?” Damian asked Kai.
“Yeah, under Stained Souls’ protection. I suggest you move along to someone else.”
“Kai, what are you—” Amber pulled away from Kai’s other club brother. “I’m under no one’s protection but my own.” Her drunken gaze locked on Kai before slamming her lips on her dance partner.
“Take me home,” she demanded of him.
“Do what you want, Amber, but Paige isn’t going with anyone.” He took hold of my hand, pulling me out of the bar. When we got to the sidewalk, the cold air hit me, sobering me a little.
“Kai, what the hell was that? We were just having fun.”
“Oh, this is the kind of place you have fun? And what are you wearing? You, uh…”
“I what?” I narrowed my new smoky eyes, which had probably run down my face from sweat.
“Tink, get in.” He opened the door to his classic Corvette.
Kai
“Don’t answer that, Kai,” she cried with a rasp as I emerged from between her legs. It was the fourth damn time the AC/DC ringtone interrupted us. “Shot to Kill” rang out again. Jonah must have wanted something important. The angel spread out on my sofa bed was crying out her orgasm, tugging on my hair, and ready for me. I rolled away from her, grabbing for the phone that was about to vibrate off the coffee table.
“This better be important.”
“It’s about time. I was going to call Rage next, but I thought you would prefer to handle this.”
“Handle what, brother? Stop being vague.”
He cleared his throat. Jonah was a man of few words, so I was surprised he even made the
call.
“Your little tenant is getting a little out of control. I thought you might want to come get her before she leaves with the tools she’s been dancing all over with.”
“Paige? Where the hell are you? What are you talking about?”
“Deadman’s Alley, at Chaos.”
“Kai…get off the phone. I want to finish what we started.” Lime fingernails trailed my arm before her hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me toward the bed.
I yanked back my arm and took a few steps. “Did I just hear you, right? Paige is there?”
“Her and that curly redhead from The Ridge.”
“Motherfucker. Be there in ten.”
“Kai…”
“What?” I growled.
“Take your cage. She ain’t fit to ride your bike.”
“Jeezus.”
“Babe, come on, get back in bed. I need you,” the girl begged.
“Doll, I gotta run. Get dressed.” I tossed her dress over her. “Now.”
My Corvette zipped through the lights, and I made it there in record time. The bouncers let me go right in. I immediately saw the pair who looked so out of place, dancing and letting loose with some dicks on the dance floor.
I didn’t approach Paige right away. Instead, I took a seat next to Jonah, who just nodded at me and passed me a shot. Paige’s five-foot-nothing body was full of all the right curves. I had never seen her in anything like the outfit she was dolled up in. I was sure this was all Amber. The closest I had seen her dressed up was at The Ridge. Sully allowed those girls to show too much skin. Come to think of it, that had never bothered me before.
Paige was tossing her head back, laughing. She and Amber moved in sync to the music, Amber grinding on her, swaying their hips together. Paige stumbled a few times, falling into Amber. The two were screeching out “Piece of My Heart” when the jerk’s arm wrapped around Paige’s waist.
