It was a quick drive, just four or five minutes. In that short amount of time, Matthew developed a higher comfort level with the twins than he’d imagined possible. They told him about the time they’d swapped places for a date in high school. They told him about the time they’d shared a grounding from their parents—one would stay home while the other went out. They even told him the movie stars they were infatuated with. In just five minutes, Matthew felt like he had two more sisters. His protective instincts were already setting in for the both of them.
They parked across the street from the SAP house and walked up to the door. The fraternity had set up a checkpoint outside with their own personal bouncers. Matthew told them his name and that the girls were his guests. The larger of the two bouncers looked on his list and said, “This guy’s good. He’s with Cam. Damn, man, you got two dates! Have fun, my friend.”
Matthew let Shelby and Lindsey into the house first and followed behind them. The main hallway was already jam packed, and the smell of cheap beer and deodorant flooded the senses. He looked around to see the typical decorations of a college party house: several banners for Baylee College, posters of movies with scantily dressed women, and the typical neon signs for the popular beer companies of the time. They had added a bit of eighties flair to the house but hadn’t spent much time or money on it.
The tech in the frat house, as Matthew heard from a young man entering the house, was blowing his mind. Speakers were set up in the corners of every room in the house. The sound quality was perfect, and the music felt like a blanket covering the partygoers. Cameron had spent the better part of the day setting up digital cameras from the ceiling, each of which filtered to monitors in the various rooms. These monitors switched their source feeds on a rotating basis, making it easy to see the happenings in the other rooms.
The male guests were decked out in everything from red leather jackets to simple white underwear. The long white shirts were the only things leaving something to the imagination. The ladies wore a ton of plastic jewelry, and at least twenty different versions of the Material Girl stumbled around.
Shelby had walked off and left Lindsey alone with Matthew. The pulse-pounding music coming through the sound system was deafening, forcing guests to yell at each other to make themselves heard. Shelby ran up with three red cups and handed them out.
Matthew said, “I don’t know if I want to drink much tonight.”
Shelby replied, “You don’t have to. Just do like Lindsey and I do. Carry this cup around all night and just sip a little. It keeps the guys wanting to offer you a drink away from you and keeps you from getting drunk. You can even mix in some water to dull the taste if you don’t like it.”
Matthew thought this was a great idea. He had already noticed several of the partiers getting tipsy and bumping into things. While he was confident he couldn’t get drunk, he still wasn’t crazy about the taste, so Shelby’s plan made a lot of sense.
Matthew asked, “What’s that room in the back?” On one of the monitors, he kept seeing an area pop up that was dark with a lot of flashing lights. There were a ton of people jammed in there.
Lindsey explained that the entire house was like one big dancehall, but the room in the back had been completely cleared so that dancers could really cut loose. They decided to check it out and began cutting a path to the back. It took a few minutes to get there as Matthew was pulled into two separate female dance piles. One of them would grab his arm and he would bop back and forth with three or four girls during the chorus. Lindsey and Shelby just stood back and laughed.
As he snuck away from the last group, Shelby said, “I don’t think you needed us here to have a good time. Seems you have plenty of interested ladies.”
Matthew blushed. “I think I’ll stick with you two for now.”
As Matthew entered the back room, the first thing he saw was Cameron and Amanda. They were leaning against the wall watching the others on the dance floor. It was a little difficult to see everything going on. A disco ball above the main floor and overhead light control that Cameron had added shifted wild color patterns in time to the music.
Cameron saw Matthew and motioned for Amanda to follow him. He waded through a few people and greeted him and the twins. “You made it. That’s great! Who are these lovely young ladies?”
Matthew introduced the girls and asked what was going on. Amanda replied, “Well, we’ve been here for thirty minutes, and we’ve watched other people dance and other people drink. That’s about it.”
Matthew could hear the sarcasm in Amanda’s voice but wasn’t sure what he could do about it. The music changed from a pulse-pounding hip hop song to a slowed-down version of an eighties classic. Cameron said, “I set up the soundtrack for tonight’s music, and I like to mix things up a bit.”
Shelby grabbed Matthew’s hand and said, “Come on, Matthew, let’s go all junior high on ’em.”
Matthew walked out to the dance floor with Shelby, and she put her arms around him for a nice slow dance. She was pressed right up to Matthew’s body, helping him move with the music. But he was doing just fine without the help. He could feel the beat and wasn’t having any problems keeping up. It was like being back in Travis at the high school dance.
Amanda watched from the side for a few moments before grabbing Cameron’s hand. “Let’s dance.”
Cameron wasn’t excited about getting out on the floor, but he could see that Amanda wasn’t fooling around. He didn’t want to be the one that ruined her good time. As they worked their way to an open spot, they were met with shouts of “Hey, Cam!” and “Good to see ya, buddy!”
They took up a position just twenty feet away from Matthew and Shelby. Amanda grabbed Cameron and started to sway back and forth. Cameron had problems keeping up with the beat, but Amanda helped him. He followed her lead.
Shelby leaned over close to Matthew’s ear and said, “Oh, he’s so cute. I think he’s watching us.”
Matthew replied, “Really? Who is it? Where is he?”
“Just hold me tighter…and lower your hands a little.”
Matthew dropped his hands as instructed, ending up just north of the line that he wasn’t comfortable going below.
Amanda saw the shift of his hands through the slowed lighting and felt something she had tried to avoid for months. Jealousy. And she wasn’t a little jealous. She was full-on, high school, get-away-from-my-guy jealous.
She told Cameron to lower his hands, and he did so without hesitation. She pulled him closer and stared at Matthew and Shelby. Matthew took a quick peek over to Amanda and could see her staring at him. He noticed how close she was to Cameron, and he didn’t like that either.
This went on for three minutes until finally the song started to play down. Amanda would move her hands and Matthew would follow suit. Cameron would adjust himself to Amanda and Shelby would adjust to Matthew. The song ended, and Shelby gave Matthew a nice kiss right there on the dance floor. Amanda saw what she had done and proceeded to plant a big one on Cameron.
“What was that for?” asked Matthew.
Shelby replied, “I don’t know who you’re trying to make jealous, but I thought a kiss might help. You’re a good kisser, by the way.”
Matthew composed himself and replied, “You’re quite impressive too.”
The music kicked back into overdrive, and the real dancers flooded the floor. Matthew and Shelby walked back to the side where Lindsey waited. Her eyes were fixed on a young man that had taken center stage. He was killing it to a fist-thumping rendition of an eighties dance classic.
She looked to Matthew and said, “That’s him. That’s Nick.”
“That’s the guy that Shelby’s trying to impress?”
“No, that’s the guy that I wanted to impress,” Lindsey replied. “Look at the way he moves! He’s awesome.”
Matthew watched him for a minute, and then asked her, “Why don’t you get out there and dance with him? That should impress him.”
Lin
dsey dropped her head. “I can’t dance like that. I would make a fool of myself.” She was right. This guy was all over the place. Jumping around, spinning, popping off the floor, stopping on a dime—it was like watching a professional dancer. “I wish I had half his talent,” she added.
Matthew thought about it and decided to help his new friend. He took off his Hathmec and held it out in front of Lindsey. “I’m going to give this to you. It will allow you to go out there and dance with that guy. Do you believe that?”
“How’s a necklace going to help me dance?”
“You’ll just have to trust me,” Matthew replied, “You have to promise to give this back to me after the dance is over, though. Do you promise?”
Lindsey agreed, but she had no idea what Matthew was talking about. He walked her to the edge of the dance floor and sprayed a quick mist of carrier stones in the direction of Nick. They were small enough that they mixed into the smoky air already there. Matthew put the Hathmec around Lindsey’s neck and said, “I give this to you.”
Lindsey looked at Matthew and said, “I can’t do this.”
Matthew responded by pushing Lindsey onto the dance floor with the final encouraging words of, “Yes you can!”
Lindsey eased to the center of the floor and stood across from Nick. He stopped dancing and just stood there. Matthew yelled out, “Come on, Lindsey, show ’em what you got! Focus on Nick!”
Nick stared at Lindsey and began to move his body to the music. As Lindsey watched him, her own body started to make the same moves. Nick would pop his arm and Lindsey would pop her arm. He would spin and she would spin. They were in sync, and the crowd loved it. She had never moved like this, and she didn’t know how she was doing it now. The entire dance floor emptied to give them room, and everyone just stood back and enjoyed the show.
Matthew and Shelby watched from the edge of the floor, and Shelby couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “That’s amazing! I didn’t know she could do that—and I know everything about her.”
What Shelby didn’t know was that Matthew had borrowed Nick’s dance skill, and now Lindsey could match him step for step. It was all because of the Hathmec.
Amanda ran up to Matthew and said, “What are you doing? Did you give her your Hathmec?”
“It’s fine. I’m just trying to help her out.”
Cameron followed behind and said, “Well, it looks like one of your dates has jumped ship.”
Shelby patted Cameron on the shoulder and said, “I’m nowhere near the dancer my sister is, apparently.”
He laughed. “I’m gonna run up front and get my lady and myself a drink.”
“I thought you didn’t drink,” Matthew said.
Cameron replied, “I don’t normally, but your sister here said I need to loosen up a bit, and a drink or two might help the cause. Besides, when in Rome…”
Shelby said, “I’ll go with you. I could use a refill.”
Matthew looked at Shelby’s cup, still full, and wondered why she needed a refill.
Amanda stared up at Matthew until he got uncomfortable.
“What?” he finally asked her. “What’s the matter with you?”
“You sure seemed to be getting cozy with one half of the übertwins there,” Amanda replied. “Could you taste what she had for dinner?”
Matthew tried to defend himself, but it didn’t come out right. “Look, you don’t understand what’s going on here. I mean, yeah, we kissed, and I felt her tongue a little bit, but that’s beside the point.”
Amanda didn’t want to listen and started to move away from him. In the process, she ran into a large fellow that had been watching Lindsey and Nick dance to what seemed to be an endless song. “Excuse me,” she said.
He turned to see Amanda and wasn’t fazed. “That’s not a problem, sweet thing. How about we get out on the floor in a minute, or better yet, head on up to my room and make some gyrations of our own?”
It was clear the young man was drunk. His speech was slurred, and he wasn’t making a lot of sense. Amanda replied, “No, thank you. Just let me by.”
But he grabbed Amanda’s arm. “Playing hard to get. I like that. I like the teases. They’re always the best in the sack.”
Matthew overheard what the young man had said and intervened. “Get your hands off of my…” He stuttered for a minute and then said, “Sister. She said to let her by, and she means it.”
The young man let go of Amanda’s arm and simultaneously curled his hand into a fist. Without warning, he plowed his closed fist into Matthew’s face, sending Matthew flying into the back wall. Matthew was down. He mumbled to himself, “Oh crap, that really hurts with no Hathmec.”
The young man turned back to Amanda. “Got any more brothers whose ass I need to kick?”
With a smirk, Amanda replied, “You picked the wrong girl to mess with tonight.” She tossed a couple of carrier stones in the boy’s direction, and with his borrowed strength, she laid him out easier than she’d laid her clothes out for the evening.
He was down and out before the fraternity bouncers showed up. They checked on Matthew and then escorted the offending young man out of the house. They snickered as they left, saying, “That dude’s sister knocked this guy out!”
Amanda helped Matthew up just as Cameron and Shelby arrived back. They had watched the whole thing on a monitor and wanted to know what had happened. All they had to do was listen to the conversations around them. “That girl knocked out that jerk.” “She had to protect her brother.”
Matthew was a little embarrassed and pulled his hand from Amanda’s grasp. Lindsey was still on the dance floor, talking with Nick. The music had stopped for a moment while the bouncers cleared up the mess. Matthew walked onto the floor and asked Lindsey, “How did it feel?”
“A lot better than that punch probably felt to you. Here’s your necklace back. It’s yours.”
Matthew could feel the power of the Hathmec the moment he placed it back around his neck. The soreness and pain from the punch subsided. Lindsey asked, “How was that possible? I’ve never danced like that in my life.”
“You must have had it in you all along. Don’t question it, just enjoy it.”
Lindsey happily told him that Nick had asked her to go get some coffee with him, so she was about to leave. She thanked Matthew for the help and promised she would help him with anything he needed. He assured her he would see that Shelby got home ok.
As Lindsey left with Nick, Matthew looked around for Amanda and Cameron. They both had a drink in their hands and looked to be enjoying themselves. The commotion caused by the short fight had died down and the dancing had started back up. Matthew walked over to Amanda. “Are you ok? What do you need me to do?”
“I don’t need you to do anything,” Amanda replied. “Just go on with your date and leave me and Cameron alone. We’re gonna stay here awhile and then go back to his apartment.”
Matthew wasn’t happy to hear that. “You don’t have to go back with him. It’s not part of the mission.”
Amanda pushed Matthew away. “Just get out of here. I want to go with him.”
At that, Matthew backed away and found Shelby at the front door of the house.
“What do you wanna do next?” he asked her. “We can go back and dance some more, or maybe just hang out.”
She told him that she was ready to head back. It was only midnight, but she just wasn’t feeling it.
They were walking back to the car when Shelby opened up a bit more. “I guess Lindsey got what she wanted, but I sure didn’t. I just thought that when he saw us dancing together he would at least talk to me.”
“Who are we talking about?”
“Cameron, of course,” she replied. “He barely said a word to me when we went to get those drinks.”
“Cameron? The guy my sister’s dating—that Cameron?”
Shelby nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t want to tell you that I had a crush on your sister’s boyfriend. I’m not trying to steal him,
but I just don’t think your sister’s really that into him.”
“What do you mean?” Matthew asked. “Why do you think she isn’t into him?”
Shelby sighed. “Girls can just tell when a girl is really into a guy. It’s like they just can’t get enough of him. But your sister acts like she has someone else on her mind. I don’t know. I could be wrong.”
Matthew drove Shelby back to her apartment, and she gave him a peck on the cheek before she climbed out of the car. “Thanks for your help tonight, and I’m sorry for trying to steal your sister’s boyfriend.”
Matthew told her it was ok and that he was glad to have two new friends. “You still owe me one. The kiss was nice, but someday you owe me a favor.” Shelby agreed and waved back to Matthew as she walked up the stairs to her apartment.
Matthew drove home, reaching the house at precisely 1:00 a.m. Everyone was asleep when he came in, but he really didn’t want to sleep. All he could think of was Amanda at Cameron’s apartment. He decided to stay up and wait for her to return home, and he sat there watching the clock until it hit 3:00 a.m. Amanda was still nowhere to be seen, so he made his way to his own bedroom. For Matthew, it would be a short night…but a long wait.
Chapter 14
A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME
“Connor, are you up?” April peeked into her son’s room, half expecting to see him huddled under the covers of his undersized bed. To her surprise, there he was, fully dressed, putting on his work boots.
His work clothes consisted of a gray jumpsuit and black boots. The jumpsuit protected the other clothes he wore underneath them. It was easier to put the jumpsuit on before going to work and then remove it at the site before coming home. The amount of dirt, grease, and grime that built up on it day after day didn’t lend itself to a comfortable ride on the transports.
“I’m shocked you’re already up. I figured I would have to drag you out of bed, like every other day we’ve been here.”
Connor laced up his last boot and replied, “Today’s a special day. We’re gonna finally find that stupid charm and get outta here.”
Last Chance Volume 2 - The Legend of the Hathmec: Planting the Seed Page 20
