⇎CHAPTER TWO
||smoking kills||
" they must've been the two dumbest criminals in history "
***
"Masina," I look over to one of the dancers calling my name. "Our shift is over, you can go home." She tells me and I nod, walking out from behind the bar that I've been making drinks at for the past 6 hours. I'm exhausted and waste no time to grab my stuff and head for the exit to the building.
Walking out of the club, the music is drowned out and I make my way back towards the hotel that I'm currently living in. Being a bartender pays well but not well enough for me to actually get my own house.
Being 19 doesn't really help either but I've managed to live by myself for quite sometime. A crash brings me out of my thoughts and I look around just to see a dog. He's digging through the trash looking for food. Sighing, I feel around my jacket pockets to see if I have anything to give him. My hand hits something plastic and I pull it out.
Smiling, I open the beef stick that has been in my pockets since the start of my shift and whistle for the dog to come to me. He jogs over when he sees the meat but is hesitant to take it. I put it on the ground and he walks to eat it all up. I smile at him and watch as he runs away from me before I finish my walk to the hotel.
The sun is peeking through the horizon as My eyes meet the pale yellow color of the building. My legs are aching by the time I reach my door. Sliding the card, I walk in and plop my bags down. I hop onto the bed with a sigh and close my eyes. I'm exhausted from tonight so I don't bother to even go under the sheets when I feel myself doze off.
--
I wake up to the sunlight streaming through curtains and I rub my eyes. Looking at the clock I see that it's already 2 in the afternoon. That's what happens when you have to take the late shift.
I sit there for a while, trying to wake myself up before I grab my phone and check it for notifications. Like usual, there are none.
Deciding that I don't want to waste the day, I get up and grab a bikini from my dresser.
I usually like going out to the pool when I wake up because the warmth of the hot Texas sun makes me feel at home. I've been living at the Dew Drop Inn for almost a year now and still everything feels so new to me.
I grab a towel and make my way down to the pool, my broken sandals making a squeaking noise. It's only when I'm at the pool gate when I realize that I need sunscreen. Turning around I walk to the lobby.
I open the door and pad over to the front desk but stop when I see a family getting a room. They talk for a while and then the man slides a room key over. The oldest who looks to be the father takes it and ushers two kids to move. As they walk past I make eye contact with the girl and we both exchange smiles.
I walk over to the old and very cranky man who sits behind the counter.
"The fuck do you want?" he spits at me and I give him a kind smile.
"Hello to you too Sid," I laugh. "Can I have some sunscreen?" I ask politely and he gives me the stink eye.
"You little rugrats using up all of my supplies." he spits and throw the bottle at me. I reach my arms out to catch it but it slips and falls to the ground. Sighing I bend down and pick it up.
"Thanks Sid." I say sarcastically and he rolls his eyes. I strut out of the lobby and pass two men walking in. The taller of the two stares at me as I pass and I flash him a tight-lipped smile and make my way back towards the pool.
Laying my stuff down on one of the chairs, I sit at the end of it and stretch my legs out.
The sun beats down on the ground and I hiss when I take my shoes off and they touch the hot pavement.
I pick my feet up and have a mental fight on if I want to sit for a while or jump into the pool and the sitting wins the argument.
I layer on a thick amount of sunscreen and lay my legs out on the chair. I close my eyes and let the sun warm my body.
I sit there for about 5 minutes before I hear the gate open. I open one of my eyes and see the girl from the lobby. I give her a smile and she gives me a shy one back, running a hand through her dark locks.
She walks over to me and stops at the chair to the right of mine. "May I sit here?" She asks, her accent poking through and I nod. "Thanks" she says.
"I'm Masina." I give her my hand to shake and she meets mine with hers.
"Kate," she introduces herself and I smile.
"So what brings you here to the middle of nowhere Kate?" I laugh, shifting my body so I'm laying on my side, facing her.
"My father kidnapped us and took us on this roadtrip, it's so dumb." she rolls her eyes with a laugh and I nod.
"Where are you heading?" I question, blocking the sun from my eyes with my hand.
"Mexico." she purses her lips and raises her eyebrows, moving farther backwards on her seat.
"Why the hell Mexico?" I laugh and she shrugs. I shake my head and sigh. "Fathers." that makes her laugh.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom real quick." she smiles and I nod my head.
Deciding that the pool looked too inviting for me not to be in it, I turn and put my feel on the cement to stand up. As soon as my toes touch it, I wince in pain from how hot it is.
In order to get into the pool without burning my feet, I need to sprint to it. I bite my lip and put my feet back on the ground, pushing myself up. My legs race as I sprint towards it. Rigjt before I hit the edge of the pool, I put my hands above my head and dove smoothing into the water.
The pool cools my body and I push my feet on the ground to surface. I take a breath of air and slick back my hair, smiling in victory.
"Beautiful dive," a deep voice startles me and I turn around to see the man I saw in the lobby. He's wearing a suite and horn rimmed glasses.
"Thanks." I say with a smile.
"No seriously, it was beautiful." he says again, his eyes not leaving mine. I smile and nod my head, turning from him to start paddling around.
"So whats a girl like you doing out here all alone?" he asks and I turn around, shrugging at him.
"Sometimes I like being alone." I say and pick up my towel from the chair.
"People who are alone with just themselves and their thoughts usually prefer to stay that way." he states matter-of-factly and I take a minute to study his features.
"Yes, I like being alone but who said I was alone?" I ask raising an eyebrow. He walks closer to me and stares into my chocolate brown eyes.
"I'm good at reading people." he says leaning forwards. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes. He pulls out a second one and offers it to me. "Want one?"
"Smoking kills." I crinkle my nose, swimming closer to the handsome stranger.
"What are you saying?" he raises his eyebrows.
"Hm?" I refocus my vision, coming to realize I had been staring at the male whilst my thoughts ran away with myself. "Telling you that would imply I care about your health" I shrug my shoulders. I'm not a smoker, not really, but stressful times and all – "Well are you offering or are you just going to tell me to buy my own?" I curled my lips up into a smile.
As I spoke, he smirked. "Of course not. Why care about a stranger's health?" he asked rhetorically with an amused look on his face. At my request, he pulled out the pack of cigarettes and pointed the opening of the box in my direction. Once the little drug is between my lips, he took out his lighter and lit the substance. "I'm not one to deny a beautiful woman something she wants," he tells me as he lit my cigarette.
I inhale, letting the smoke sit in my lungs before blowing it out. I grab the edge of the pool with my free hand and pull myself up so that my arms rest comfortably while my body stays beneath the surface.
I purse my lips and look up at him. "So what's your name anyways?" I question and he chuckles.
"Don't you think that ruins the whole," he stops to think. "Mystery factor?" I shake my head and look at him.
"I don't think it's so bad to know a persons name." I shrug, taking in another drag of the cigarette.
"How about you tell me yours." He says with a low voice, his blue eyes staring at me as I exhale the smoke.
I scoff. "I'm not telling you mine if you won't tell me yours. You're a stranger."
"And yet you're still talking to me. Didn't mommy ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" He asks with a smirk.
I roll my eyes, putting out the cigarette. I extend my arms and pull myself out of the water and back up onto the concrete. He watches me as I grab the towel from my chair and dry myself off.
Even as I plop down next to him his eyes never leave my movements. "I wouldn't know." I say coldly, reaching for my sunscreen so I can reapply it.
"Let me." his deep voice offers and I study him before nodding in agreement. Turning around, I hear the bottle cap open and soon something cool is on my back.
His hands rub the cream in circles and I relax at his touch. He moves his hands to my shoulders and massages it in. I roll my head back and my eyes flutter closed.
Damn, he's good at this.
His hands move to my lower back and I suck in a breath when he moves them under the string of my bikini. My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of someone.
"Ahem." I look up to see Kate. "Hey Masina." Kate snickers and I stand up abruptly.
"Kate," I smile at her awkwardly. "I just got out of the pool but since you're back do you want to swim with me?" I ask shifting my weight and pointing at the pool.
"You have to let the sunscreen dry first." the man says but I ignore him.
"No, I can't anymore." she says and I furrow my eyebrows. She sighs and walks over to me. "I got my period." she explains in my ear and I nod in understatement.
"You can come to my room if you want to though." she offers and I clap my hands.
"That would be great!" I smile, grabbing my towel and sunscreen.
"No you shouldn't." the guy cuts in and I roll my eyes.
"I'm old enough to do what I want." I tell him and slip my flip flops on. "Lead the way." I tell Kate and she starts walking back to her room.
We stop at a door on the second floor and she brings out her key. "My dad is a preacher so I hope you don't mind and my brother is a hyperactive idiot." she laughs, as do I, and she opens the door.
Our laughing stops as we see a man with a gun pointed at Kate's family.
"Kate, run." her father tells her and we turn around to do as he says but I crash into a chest.
"You should really learn to listen." the man from the pool says with his head tilted at me. He shoves us back in the room and we stumble in.
"Sit," the shorter one says and points his gun to one of the beds. "Now." We hold onto each other and sit down. My head spins as panic sets in.
"Well everyone," The dark haired one says clapping his hands together. "I'm Seth and this is my brother Richie." he mentions to the guy from the pool.
Seth and Richie. Where have I heard those names?
"Richie over here just broke me out of prison because we," he waves his hand in between him and his brother. "Need to get to Mexico."
It clicks in my head and I realize that I've just been held hostage by the Gecko brothers.
"So you're the infamous Gecko brothers." I say to the two. Seth nods his head and I laugh. "I'm not going to lie, I expected more." I state tilting my head and dragging my eyes up and down their suits.
"How about we just kill her." Richard says and cocks his gun, pointing it at me.
"Richard, no." Seth says and pushes his gun down. Richard just stares into my eyes and sits down.
"You guys are the con that will pave a clean way straight to Mexico. We're leaving first thing tomorrow so we're just gonna have to put up with each other for the night." Seth says and sits down on the chair to the right of Richie.
Well this is going to be one long night.
~~~
So here's the second chapter and I wanted to make it extra long for you.
Also the smoking part I used some text that I found on tumblr so I give credit to @lorelai-haas :)