Hell, he could almost taste it. It seemed all so strong.
Brandon looked over to the man that was now sitting next to him, and felt immediately angry for him taking the seat that he was saving for someone else. “Hey buddy, that seat’s taken.”
Jimmy turned to him with wide eyes, tried to smile, but couldn’t. He just wanted his drink. He just wanted the feeling of being drunk to wash over his night.
Brandon sighed. He did recognize him, somewhat. “Jimmy?” He had to blink several times. He tried hard to get his eyes to focus straight. It looked like Jimmy, but he wasn’t sure. The guy looked like his best friend, except for the shaved head and the very narrow look of his face. In fact, it looked like Jimmy from maybe fifteen years ago.
“Hey again,” Jimmy answered, and turned back to the bartender who returned with his drink. He stood slightly so he could take his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans, but felt nothing there as his hand came back empty. It seemed that with his haste to leave his apartment, he had completely forgotten to bring it with him. “Shit.” He turned to Brandon. “Can you spot me a twenty? I forgot my wallet.”
“Jimmy?” Brandon asked again not sure of what to think. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. He looked so different. He looked so thin and drawn out. He just couldn’t believe what he saw. “Is that you?” He laughed, not believing his own eyes.
“Yeah.” Jimmy looked back to the bartender as she pulled the glass away from him to her side of the bar.
She couldn’t help but notice that he couldn’t find his wallet.
“The twenty?” He turned to Brandon again, and raised his voice.
Brandon heard him and nodded. “Sure.” He reached for his money that was sitting next to him at the bar, took a twenty from it, and slid it over to his friend.
The bartender took it, went to the register behind her, and returned the change back to the bar. She smiled again to him as she left.
Jimmy could smell her breath as clear as day. He could even tell that she had a pizza not that long ago. He could smell the cheese. He could smell the pepperoni on her breath.
“What happened to you?” Brandon watched it all, but still couldn’t drag his mind off him. “You all right?” he needed to ask. He had to be sick. He had to have something wrong with him. It seemed to be the only explanation for what he saw. He couldn’t think of anything else for it.
“I’m fine.” Jimmy took the glass and quickly gulped it down, finishing the drink with one solid swipe. The vodka burned as it went down his throat with fire. He shook it off with an equal shake of the head. “Thank you.” He turned to his friend and smiled.
“What the hell happened?” Brandon nodded. He didn’t give two shits about the money or the drink.
“I told you. Nothing happened. It’s been a long week.” He turned back to the bartender. “Can I get another one?” He gave her full smile.
She came back and took his glass. It took only a few moments for her to return with another one, full and complete. She helped herself to the money on the bar, and then left again.
Jimmy could feel her eyes on him. They felt like daggers, piercing his very soul.
“I guess.” Brandon laughed sounding completely half-hearted and full of doubt. He felt completely flabbergasted by what he saw and it showed. “My God. You look like you lost twenty pounds, and what’s with the hair? Did you have a fight with your barber or something?” He laughed again, putting his right hand to Jimmy’s head and rubbed the top of it with an open palm. It felt so weird. It felt recent, the haircut.
“Stop it, will you.” Jimmy pushed his hand off him with a simple swing of his left arm. “No, I just had a tough last few days.” He then took another swig of his drink.
The strength in Jimmy’s grab almost blew Brandon away. He not only looked good, but he felt strong as hell too. “Were you sick?” His touch also felt hot. He felt feverish. Concern now showed.
“Last night,” Jimmy looked at him for only a few seconds, and then turned back to the drink. “I guess.” He swigged it down, finished it, looked to the bartender again, and tipped her his empty glass. She complied and returned to refill it.
“I guess. Damn man.” Brandon laughed with his voice cracking some from his disbelief. “I told you to change some things, but I didn’t mean that.”
Jimmy looked to his friend and laughed with a hearty, belly-filled groan.
A sound that made Brandon cringe some. “Why did you chop your head like that?” He couldn’t help but notice that there was something very different about his friend. Not only had his face changed, but there was also something very different about his voice as well. He spoke differently. There was something different about his eyes. He just couldn’t place it, and he didn’t know where to begin to find out the reasons for it.
Jimmy stopped laughing and turned to his new drink. “I thought that I needed a change,” he lied. How else could he answer such a question without one? “So what’s new with you?” he changed the subject quickly.
“Nothing as close to what happened with you.” Brandon smirked some as he took a deep and heavy breath. He had to. He started feeling weak in the knees. He couldn’t believe anything he saw. He felt none of what he heard.
Jimmy laughed again, turned back to his friend, and just over his right shoulder, he could see a familiar face in the crowd behind him. A woman was in the center of the small room, along the bar, and she was facing towards the back of the room. He looked at her and felt a slight amount of anger rise up in his chest. He didn’t expect to see her there that much was obvious.
What the fuck is she doing here? This is my place, not hers. He hated it. He despised it. This was his place. This was always his place and not hers.
Brandon noticed that he was looking past him and turned to see whom his friend saw. He of course already knew the answer having seen her there already. He was going to tell him about it, but everything else blew his mind a way. “I was going to tell you that she was here. Your metamorphosis changed the subject.” He smirked.
“Why is she here?” Jimmy heard himself ask. “She’s never come in here before. She always hated me coming here. She hates this place.” Everything felt wrong. She had to be spying on him. She had to be violating his personal space, and he knew it.
Brandon shook his head and turned back to Jimmy. “I told you she’s a bitch.” His smirk grew stronger.
“Yeah.” Jimmy finished his drink.
Brandon heard his friend and felt stunned by it. Before, every time he talked badly about Sally, he always came back with a defense. Hell, it’s why he did it. He loved pushing his buttons, but this time when he got nothing back, it almost floored him and pushed him off the stool. He didn’t expect it, was about to say something about it, but before he could say anything, Jimmy left the bar and passed him out onto the floor. He was able to turn around just in time to watch him approach her. He sat there completely stunned by all of it. Jimmy had always avoided a fight. He avoided it like someone would avoid getting the plague. He wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t go to her, but here he was doing just that. Everything seemed so wrong about it. He just couldn’t believe it.
Jimmy walked to Sally and the small group she was with, quickly, and stopped directly to her left.
She turned to him and smiled. “Hi.” She saw him come in. She liked what she saw. He looked perfect. He looked wonderful. She only hoped that he would hit on her. Her friends wanted him too, and now that he was standing there, she stiffened and blinked. “Jimmy?” She couldn’t believe who it was. It just couldn’t be him. “Jimmy, my God.”
He nodded. “What are you doing here?” His eyes locked onto hers. He could see her want for him. He could feel her excitement. She felt turned on for him and he could smell it. He could care less about any of it.
“Oh my God.” She felt completely shocked, and it showed. He looked so thin. He looked so completely hot and she couldn’t understand why. “You look great!” she almost shouted out
into the room.
“What are you doing here?” he repeated as his voice growled some. He felt his heart begin to race, his face begin to heat up, and his mind begin to flare. She had no right to be there. She had absolutely no right to come to his place.
Sally laughed. “I don’t know. My friends wanted to come and check out the place, and I thought that,”
He cut her off in mid-sentence. “When are you going to get the rest of your stuff?” His eyes began to grow. He was getting angrier at every sound of her voice.
Sally felt completely surprised by what he just asked her. “I,” She shrugged her shoulders, completely caught off guard by the question. “I haven’t thought about it much.” What in the hell is wrong with him?
“When?” he shot back. He had no interest in hearing excuses. He wanted action. He wanted everything to be over with between them. He wanted to move on, and he wanted it done now. Why is she here? What right does she have? This is my place. This is my space. Get out! Get out of here! This is mine! This is for me!
Needless to say, she was completely taken aback by everything she heard. It wasn’t like him to demand anything of anyone, least of all to her. It wasn’t like him to want to pick a fight. “Tomorrow?” she asked, feeling her heart rise up in her chest. She could sense the anger in his voice. She could hear it as plain as day. She didn’t like the sound. It made her nervous. It even made her a little scared.
Hearing her answer, he nodded, satisfied. Feeling the heat rise in his chest, he knew that it was time to stop. He was getting angry, and he didn’t like it. It wasn’t worth it. She wasn’t worth the effort. He blinked, and swallowed the heat back down in his chest. It felt hard to do, but looking around her, at her friends and seeing the looks on their faces, he was able to accomplish it. They’re afraid of me. He could sense it. He could feel their hearts racing. He knew what it meant. He was making a scene. He was picking a fight. He had to regain his control and fast. He felt satisfied, and there was nothing else left to say about it, so he turned around and made his way back to the bar. He retook his stool next to Brandon, took his glass, and lifted it to the bartender to have another one.
Brandon watched him sit. “What was that about?” He saw Sally’s face. He saw the heat emanating out of his friend. He saw everything, and even seeing it, he couldn’t believe any of it. It all just blew his mind away.
Jimmy took his now full glass. “It was nothing.” He sounded very matter of fact. He had nothing else left to say about the matter as far as he was concerned about it. He accomplished what he set out to do, and that meant it was over.
“Didn’t look like nothing.”
“I said it was nothing. Just drop it.” Jimmy downed half his glass, and set it back down to the bar with a slight, heavy bang. The burning of the vodka wasn’t as strong as it was with the first drink.
“Did you see the look on her face? She looked terrified and speechless. I’ve never seen that look on her before.”
Jimmy shot his head around to his friend. “I said just drop it!” Authority erupted in his voice. In fact, he almost growled out the words.
Brandon raised his eyebrows instantly. He looked to Jimmy, and could see the determination on his face. The look told him to end their line of discussion and now. Quite frankly, it surprised him entirely. It also rather worried him as well. It wasn’t like Jimmy to do that. He couldn’t remember the last time his friend had ever looked at him like that. He couldn’t remember him ever sounding like that either. Something did change about him, he didn’t know what, but now didn’t seem to be the time to go into it, so he did what he asked him to do. He shut up, dropped the conversation, and went back to his drink instead.
The two of them said little else for the rest of the night. Brandon kept his conversation light and with little substance. After about two hours, both were ready to leave. The buzz of the bar was at its height and so was Brandon. He was more than just drunk; he was completely smashed.
As for Jimmy, he felt completely normal even with the six or so drinks that he downed. In fact, he didn’t feel drunk in the least. Apparently, his urge to drink didn’t quench his thirst the way he wanted it to.
Leaving the bar, they made it to the sidewalk, with Jimmy helping Brandon out through the front door.
Outside, looking at the night, he had to stop. “Man, what a night.” He looked to the street and then to the sky. Not a cloud was in sight. Every star was out, and shining brightly. They twinkled with authority. They sparkled with wonder. “It’s so beautiful isn’t it?”
Brandon looked up with his arm wrapped firmly around his friend’s shoulders. He was so drunk that he could barely bring his head up at all. “What the fuck are you talking about?” He saw the street and the building across from them and watched both of them dance. They both swam. His stomach bounced. How he was ever going to get home, was the only thing on his mind.
“The night.” Jimmy couldn’t understand what his friend wasn’t seeing. It looked like such a marvelous sight. How could he miss it? It felt like a marvel sitting right in front of his eyes. “It’s magnificent.”
Brandon laughed. All he saw now was a man walking on the sidewalk across from them, and then watched him cross the street coming towards them. “Him?” He laughed louder.
Jimmy took his left hand, brought it up to his friend’s chin, and held his head up towards the sky. “That, you moron.”
Brandon laughed again. He saw nothing but a black sky. “Dude I’m so drunk, I can’t see my own feet.” He took a deep breath, and then slurred it out with one giant exhale of air, laughing at the end of it.
Jimmy looked from his friend and back up to the sky. The nearly full moon looked so bright that it caught his eyes with a marvel that felt almost hypnotic to the mind. God, isn’t that so beautiful? It’s almost hypnotic. It’s almost calling me. “Do you see that?”
“I’m hammered.” Brandon laughed again. He had other things on his mind that seemed far more important than looking and trying to find the sky. If he could think about what that was, he’d say it, but he couldn’t, so he didn’t even try to.
Jimmy looked back to his friend briefly and noticed something about him that suddenly looked different. Around him was—well—a hue of light. It was yellow. It looked almost like a halo. He’d never seen it before, and it made him look back up to the moon.
All around it was a magnificent halo that circled it so completely that it almost doubled its size. It also looked almost pure white, and looked so bright, as bright as the sun, but it didn’t hurt to look at it.
“Wow!” He looked back at Brandon. “What a sight.” He couldn’t believe any of it. It all looked like magic.
Brandon forced his head back down. “I think I’m going to puke!” he needed to warn just in case. His stomach started to do somersaults under his ribs. Looking up didn’t help and it only added to the feeling. Looking down, wasn’t helping all that much either.
“You’re hopeless.” Jimmy finally looked back down. “Come on.” He pulled Brandon off the sidewalk and led him across the street.
When they reached the opposite sidewalk, Brandon started gagging, and it didn’t take long for everything in his stomach to come up with one giant burst of air.
Jimmy stopped just in time for everything to miss his shoes, and instead, it hit the side of the building in front of them. Watching him briefly, throwing up everything in him, he turned back up to look at the sky.
The moon almost winked back to him.
It’s almost hypnotic. He thought, listening to his friend throw-up all over the side of the building behind him. It never even dawned on him, that under normal circumstances, he would have probably joined him, just by listening to the sound of it. This time he didn’t. He just cared more to look up at the sky.
“Man,” Brandon finished, left the wall, and turned to Jimmy. He wiped his mouth with the back of his right hand. He felt better already. His head seemed to clear, and his body stopped shaking. It’s funn
y how throwing up makes you feel better. “I haven’t done that in a while.” He stopped right beside him.
Jimmy turned from the moon and back to his friend. “You ready?”
Brandon nodded.
Jimmy took him again, but this time Brandon was able to walk on his own, so he let go, and together they headed down the sidewalk side by side.
“You’ve been acting odd, you know that?” Brandon stated as they turned the next corner to the right. Behind the building was the parking lot. It was going to take a few minutes to get there, so it gave him the time to talk some. He no longer felt concerned about getting home, but now wanted to more than ever. He had to do it quickly before the alcohol attacked him again.
“How do you mean?” Jimmy had to ask.
“That, back there.” He pointed with an uneven arm back to the spot where he threw up. His arm, in all actuality never came close, but pointed back to the bar instead. He felt lucky to be able to lift it at all. “You have the weakest stomach I’ve ever known. The last time I threw up all over the place you gagged and joined me.” He brought his arm back down with a loud slapping sound following it. He shrugged for good measure.
Jimmy shrugged too. “It didn’t bother me.”
“And what about Sally? You stood up to her man. If I didn’t see you do it, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“I guess I was just tired of being pushed around by her that’s all.”
“Yeah, if you say so.” They turned at the back of the brick building and moved into the parking lot behind it. “I don’t know. Look at you. You’ve lost a good twenty pounds. You shaved your head almost bald. You stood up to that money-grabbing bitch, and then you watched me puke all over the place but didn’t gag once. Whatever happened, I’m glad as hell it did.” They headed into the parking lot and stopped just behind their respective cars. “You should have gotten a job with my place years ago.” He laughed sounding rather boyish and giggly. He always became both when he was this hammered.
A Werewolf's Saga Books 1, 2, & 3 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets) Page 13
