7 | C h i n e s e D r a g o n
“I got us more beer!” Nate called out as he appeared at Aiden’s side with two bottles of Heineken. His ever-present smile was plastered on his face as he handed his friend a beer.
“Thanks,” Aiden replied dryly. He had tried his best to not disappoint Nate but this party was too much for his liking. Loud vulgar music blared through speakers that Aiden didn’t even know he had. There were over fifty people in his house who were all around his age --early 20s. He didn’t know that this many people lived in this town. “You said there was going to be ten people!” he shouted over the music.
“There was,” Nate shouted, “but those ten people must have told ten more people. And those people told ten more people and...” His worlds trailed off, "You know."
Aiden snuck a glance at Nate. He didn’t want this at all, but he wanted to fit in and feel like he belonged. If this was what it took, then so be it.
“Hello,” a dainty female voice’s said, “mind if we join you guys?”
Nate glanced at his friend before giving the two females in front of him, his full attention. “No, not at all,” he answered her, handing the smallest of the two, his beer.
The taller one rolled her eyes, shooting daggers at her friend once their eyes met. She flashed her eyes to the left, looking at Aiden. She could tell that he felt uncomfortable.
The other friend tossed her straight jet black hair over her shoulder, exposing a dark jagged line that circled into another line along her neck. It was a tattoo in the shape of a Chinese dragon. “I’m Leslie and this is my best friend, Tasha.”
“I’m Nate, and this is Aiden,” Nate told them both, but his eyes were glued on Leslie. “What brings you here?”
“Oh, by that do you mean being forced by your best friend when you should be at home studying for that Calc. test?” Tasha mumbled, intending to keep it to herself, but as she looked up and met Leslie’s glare, she knew she said it a little too loud.
“Don’t mind her.” Leslie giggled softly and glared at Tasha with her fierce almond eyes.
Aiden found a slight smile coming to his face at Tasha’s remark. He found her attitude interesting. Her hazel-colored orbs were on everything else but him. She wore a tight midnight dress that hugged her curves with a plunging neckline that revealed just the right amount of cleavage. Her golden brown locks complemented her glowing bronze skin. She was a beauty and Aiden couldn’t deny that.
Tasha glanced over at him and noticed that he was eyeing her. He instantly brought color to her cheeks.
Leslie took a sip of her beer and wiggled her brows at Tasha. “Say—" She hooked her arms around Nate’s, “—let’s go somewhere else.”
Nate nodded obediently, not wanting to pass up this opportunity and smiled. “Of course.”
Tasha stayed silent as she watched Nate and Leslie disappear into the crowd. She turned to look at Aiden. “He’s going to take care of her, right?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.
She let out a dry laugh, lifting her head up as Aiden moved closer to her. “Can I leave? Is your friend going to take care of Leslie?”
“He’s a cool guy.” Aiden twisted the beer in between his palms and pressed his lips together. “She’ll be fine,” he added.
Tasha sighed in relief. “Thank God.” She pulled out her keys and twirled them around her finger. “So, I can go home?”
He nodded, running a hand through his dark hair. “You can go home.”
She leaned in closer to him and jabbed a finger in his chest. “You better make sure she gets home safely.”
“How old are you?” he asked suddenly.
“Why?”
“You have a calculus test?”
She bit down on her pink, soft lip. “Okay, I’m seventeen and so is Leslie. Do you understand what I mean when I say that she needs to get home safely?”
Aiden smiled knowingly and waved his beer in front of her face. “Hanging with the older crowd, are you?”
“Bye,” she snapped, whipping around and getting lost into the crowd.
Aiden grinned as he watched Tasha walk away and took another sip of his beer.
“She was cute.”
He recognized Jessica’s voice immediately. He looked over her shoulder and smiled. She was wearing a plain t-shirt and gray sweats. Her black locks were tied up into a messy bun. “Where have you been?” he asked her.
Jessica shrugged. “When duty calls.”
“I actually missed your constant brooding,” he commented.
“Aw,” she cooed, glancing up at him. “You’re so cute.”
He scoffed as he took a long gulp of the alcoholic liquid.
“Why aren’t you dancing with everyone else?”
“I can’t dance to save my life.”
Jessica gaped, not believing what she just heard. “Here, I’ll show you.”
“How?”
“Come,” she insisted, stepping back into the crowd. She spun around in a circle gracefully, letting out a laugh. She was built like a dancer; small and graceful.
Aiden followed her reluctantly and stood in front of her as she swayed her hips to the unknown song playing. She flipped her hair carelessly and laughed. “Come on! Dance!”
He shook his head. “I can’t…”
“Stop being so tense!” she called out, shaking her head in disbelief. “Let loose!”
Slowly, Aiden let himself relax and soon found himself loosening up and dancing to the music. As Jessica glanced up at him, she saw his usually-combed raven black hair falling over his forehead.
“There you go!” she cheered him on.
A small smile curved his full mouth. “Would you look at that? I’m dancing with a ghost!”
Jessica found her concentration dropping from his straight teeth and down to his broad chest. It amazed her that she never noticed his muscles before. “Yeah, you are.”
* * * *
Jessica’s hair fell loosely around her shoulders rather than pulled up into a bun like two hours before. It had been a while since she had this much fun.
Aiden had four empty beer bottles around him and a half full one in his hand as his head bobbed to the beat of the song. His sweaty dark hair clung to his forehead. “This is so much fun!”
She pulled her pink lips into a pleased smile. “This is what happens when you stop being so uptight!”
“I am not uptight!” he protested.
She raised a brow. “You sure?”
He let out a drunken laugh and continued to dance.
An ear-splitting scream erupted from the crowd. Everyone’s attention snapped to the source and the music shortly died down.
“What was that?” a random female questioned.
Aiden furrowed his brows and motioned for Jessica to follow him. He pushed past the crowd until he arrived at the front door. A girl was standing right outside, staring blankly at the lawn.
“What happened?” he asked her, stepping onto the porch.
The girl’s bottom lip quivered as she pointed out into the darkness of the night.
He narrowed his eyes and stared off into the direction that she was pointing to. His jaw dropped in shock once he saw a girl lying in the grass. He rushed over to girl with Jessica at his side.
The female’s eyes were wide open but her body was still. He knelt down beside her and pressed his fingers against her jawline to check for a pulse. When he got on response, he titled her head and saw the thick dark liquid oozing from it.
“Aiden,” Jessica said.
He shook his head, refusing to believe what he was seeing. His eyes caught a glimpse of a dark spot on the female’s neck. He took a closer look at it and sucked in a breath.
A Chinese dragon tattoo.
~*~*~
Vote, comment and fan to help support! Song of the chapter is Human by Christina Perri