Spark in the Dark

Chapter 24

Juice let Candy lead him into his room and shut the door. After he locked the door, he turned around and was shoved up against the door. Candy dropped to her knees in front of him and started trying to undo his belt.

"Wait, stop," Juice said and grabbed her biceps to lift her back to her feet.

"What's wrong, baby?" Candy asked him and started kissing his neck. "Don't you want me?"

"No, I don't," Juice said firmly and pushed her away.

"What the hell?" She said, offended. "Are you seriously gay?"

"I'm not gay," Juice denied.

"Then what? I'm not hot enough for you?"

"That's not it, ok? Look," Juice moved her over to his bed and they both sat down. "I'm... with someone. I don't want the guys to know, yet."

Candy smirked and started rubbing Juice's thighs. "She doesn't ever have to know."

"But she will know," Juice argued, pushing her hands away. He pulled out the cash he won from betting on Shawn's pool game. "I will give you all this cash if you wait in here with me for like a half hour. Then we'll go out there and you have to act like I gave you the time of your life, ok?"

Candy narrowed her eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

Candy took the money and counted it. "Fine."

Juice sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"What are we going to do for a half hour?"

"I don't know. Do you want to watch tv or something?"

"Tell me about your old lady," Candy requested.

"She's not my old lady," Juice said. He stood up and walked across the room to lean against the dresser.

"You said you're with her. And you're not willing to hook up with anyone else. Sounds like an old lady to me." Juice glared at her. "Ok, so this girl you're with, but is definitely not you're old lady, tell me about her."

"She's..." Juice had a hard time finding the words.

"Is she pretty?"

"Very, but she doesn't know she is. It sort of makes her prettier somehow, but it makes me sad for her, too. Like, I wish she saw herself the way I see her. And she's funny. She doesn't try to be. It's just her personality. She's got kind of a temper. It's actually pretty hot. I don't have to worry about her, ya know? I know she could take care of herself. But I still want to take care of her."

"Oh, wow," Candy said to herself, which broke Juice from his train of thought.

He looked up at her and she almost looked like she could cry. "You ok?"

"Yea. I want a guy to talk about me like that. That's so damn sweet."

Juice felt uncomfortable now. He shouldn't have told the Cro Eater all of that. "Yea, well, don't tell them, alright?"

"I won't," Candy promised. She then pulled out the money he gave her. "Here."

"Keep it. It's fine."

"Take it and buy your girl some flowers or something. I can't keep it now."

Juice took the money and counted out half. "Here, take half."

"Fine. I'll accept it as payment for the advice I'm about to give you. If she really isn't your old lady, you need to change that."

"What if I can't?"

"Everything you just said about her true?"

"Yea?"

"Then find a damn way. A love like the one you got is hard to come by."

"I'm not in love with her. I just started seeing her."

Candy gave him a skeptical look and shrugged her shoulders. "I stand by what I said."

"Alright, let's get back out there."

"It hasn't been a half hour, yet."

"It's fine," Juice said and opened the door. He walked back out to the bar and one of the guys whistled.

"Have fun?" Jax asked him.

"Yea, thanks."

"She looks happy."

Juice looked over and saw Candy was doing what he had asked. She had rejoined the group of girls she was with and was smiling. She must have been talking about their imaginary time together because the other girls were glancing his way.

"Yup," Juice said as Half-Sack handed him a beer. Juice looked around for Shawn and didn't see her anywhere. "Shawn go home?"

"Yea, said she works in the morning," Half-Sack answered.

"Oh ok. I gotta go wash my hands."

Jax laughed. "Yea, I bet you do."

Juice walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Pulling his phone out of his pants pocket, he called Shawn. It rang once... twice... three times...

"Hi, you've reached Shawn Trager. I can't answer right now-"

"Dammit," Juice hung up on her voicemail. He redialed and got her voicemail, again. "Fuck!"