There is no fucking way in hell Rose from AnimeSpeak is Luna. No way. I refuse to believe that. I really do. The bright colored game is staring back at me as I sit in disbelief. I know she's waiting for my response, but I have to think. I need to ask her one last question to know the truth. It's not like I can ask her, her name. I don't want her to know it's me. She thinks I'm a chick for fucks sake. Toying with my tongue ring, I got it. I'll ask what class she has with this guy she thinks is harassing her--a/k/a me.
A second goes by before she quickly responds, and I read her vague answer.
"No! Don't dance around the answer! Fuck."
How can she tell me it doesn't matter what class it is? It does matter! It's very important. I need to know! I have to be clever. Hmm. What to say, what to say? Maybe I'll keep it simple and just say I'm merely curious. See where it gets me. I need a cigarette and I don't even smoke, I swear.
Again, her response is quick and it leaves me staring at my screen. No. No fucking way. History. It's gotta be her. How in the hell is the world that damn small? How? I tell her I have to go and bail. I need time to think. To digest. It could still be a coincidence. Millions and millions of students have history class, and millions of students have attractions in history class. This isn't out of the ordinary. I need to relax.
My house is big, but I need some air. I need to meet up with my boys, show them the convo to end the bet and then figure out if Rose is Luna. But what if she is? Then what? What do I do with that information? It's not like I'd ever come clean to her. She's the type that would be pissed, I can tell. There would be no point in telling her. Aela would just have to die. Simple.
I don't think I'm going to tell my friends about this new development either. If I do, it'll be Alex and only him. I don't need anyone else's input. Especially Carter and Tyler's. They love this kinda shit and would never leave me alone about it. That would be worse than Luna finding out I'm catfishing her. Kinda. Actually, I'm not entirely sure I'm catfishing her, but whatever. It doesn't matter because she's never finding out. If it's even her. Pressing the palms of my hands into my eyes, I groan. This is too much drama for me.
-#-
It didn't take much arm twisting for me to get the guys to agree to meet me out at the new club in town. The place is called Liquor. Stupid name. Anyway, I'm not too sure how Carter got the memo to show up because I didn't contact him. I suspect Tyler. Whatever. The only thing I don't want him to do is talk to me too much about the bet. I can talk to the guys later about it contrary to my original plan.
I've had a few drinks, and am feeling much more relaxed than I was earlier. With school, my work and my father breathing down my neck, I need this. Maybe I'll take someone home with me tonight. It's been awhile. Glancing around, I'm surprised to see the place is as packed as it would be if it were the weekend. On the other hand, it's a newer club so maybe I shouldn't be too surprised. I roll my eyes at Carter who's already on the dance floor trying to get someone to dance with his stupid ass.
This club is outside of college town so there aren't as many kids here. The women seem to be in their mid to late twenties, early thirties. These chicks are not gonna put up with Carter's crap. I really want to kick his ass. Alex rolls his eyes and pulls me to another table leaving Donovan and Tyler to deal with him. Alex must be able to see my level of irritation rising.
"Dude, that kid has issues," Alex points.
"Yup."
"So what's up with Luna? Did ya meet up yet for that project?"
"Nah, man. Not yet. You?"
"I'm gonna ask Kiki out to dinner tomorrow. She's pretty intimidating."
Taking a long pull on my beer, I shake my head. "You just gotta come out with it and ask her. She doesn't seem like the type you wanna play games with."
"I think you're right. I don't wanna get my ass kicked," Alex laughs.
"Sure ya do," I wink.
"So what's up with you and Luna anyway? You really like her?"
I shrug.
"She's best friends with Kiki, so I think you should go for it. That way we could double date."
"How romantic," I smirk.
"It would be."
"Mmm. I need another beer. Dude, I'm not overly impressed with the service here."
"Same. But to be fair, our table is kinda off in this secluded romantic alcove," Alex shrugs.
"Yeah. Why'd you pick this table?"
I guess I could go up to the bar myself and get our drinks. It would be infinitely faster than waiting on our server wherever they went. I start to make my way over to the bar, but I don't get far. My feet are frozen, stuck to the floor, and I'm pretty fucking sure all the oxygen left my lungs to wither and die.
"Hey, man, you okay?"
I know I hear Alex's voice behind me, but I can't seem to tear my eyes away from the door. I should say, I can't seem to tear my eyes away from who just entered the building. Luna. At least I think it's her. My eyes land briefly on Kiki before returning to the siren in red. My siren. My Luna. She's the sexiest woman I think I've ever seen wearing a tight, blood red dress with stiletto heels that give her legs for days. The club lights bounce off of her black hair making it appear as if she's glowing. Fuck, she's gorgeous.
Alex is just as quiet as I am, and for the same reason. It's very safe to say that Luna and Kiki are the most beautiful women in this club tonight, and I'm really wishing I would have brought some weapons. We're gonna have our work cut out for ourselves if we don't get the two of them to our table, stat. Fuck me. I slap at Alex's chest and signal him to follow.
Why the hell do they have to be clear across the club? We not only have to get past the crowded bar, but we have to clear the dance floor too. Fucking hell. I don't want some jerk off talking to my girl. I swear to God, if anyone even tries anything I'll kill them.
"Did this place get even more crowded? What gives?" Alex grumbles.
I don't bother answering him as I work on getting past the drunk bastards standing in between me and my destination.
"Guys!"
Both Alex and I groan at Carter who is doing the Orange Justice from Fortnite. Seriously dude? What a jackass.
"Not now, Carter. We're busy," I growl shoving my shoulder into him. He's undaunted and flosses next to me as I'm trying to walk. This bar area is out of hand. No wonder our server disappeared. I'm going to lose my buzz by the time I reach the fucking dance floor at this rate. There's so many people here. There's no way the capacity limit is being observed.
"Carter, no one flosses," Alex shouts at him.
"Yeah they do! But guys! I'm trying to tell y'all something!"
Carter yells as he does the crabby. This guy needs a life. Fuck, maybe I do too since I know all the dances he's doing.
"Carter! We're on a mission. What the hell do you want?!"
"Luna and Kiki are here! Some dudes are talking to them," Carter points with both of his arms at a far corner of the club.
Of course it's the farthest corner. It may as well be another state at the rate Alex and I are traveling. Fuck me. And how the hell did Carter see all of this before me? That alone irritates the piss out of me.
"We just gotta pass the dance floor," I say more to myself, but Alex nods.
I roll my eyes at how the dance floor is set up. In order to get onto it, you have to pass through a tiny entrance. What is this?
"Butt funnel," Alex shouts in my ear.
"What the fuck is that?"
"See how the dance floor is partitioned off from the bar area by two half walls? See the narrow opening to get onto the actual dance floor?"
"Yeah."
"It's designed to be big enough for two people to pass by each other and touch."
"Gross. Who the hell invented that?"
"It's from that show Bar Rescue. The main guy invented it. It's weird, I know."
I shake my head. Butt funnel. Sounds like a good excuse for someone to claim harassment. There's no way I'm gonna allow someone to drag their ass against me, I don't care how hot she is. I need to get to Luna. Maybe I should just hop the stupid half wall to avoid a situation I know will happen. I can't go anywhere without some bitch hanging onto me. I don't need that right now. Alex distracts me out of my thoughts and points at Carter. Stupid fool is dancing his way to the dance floor. Alex nudges me and points at another person and bites down onto his knuckles.
"Carter! Carter stop!" I yell. It's no use. He can't hear me.
"Carter! Look out! Jabba the Hutt is about to squish your ass!" Alex shouts.
His shouts are louder than mine and gain Carter's attention who, for once, pauses to look around. But it's too late. Much much too late.
"Move!" Alex yells again waving his arms.
"Yeah, he ain't gonna make it. That dude is gunnin' for him."
Alex and I cringe as Jabba traps Carter in the butt funnel between the wall and his enormously fat body. It really looks like the man is trying to dance with poor Carter in this two foot opening. I've never seen Carter's face without a smile. Today is definitely the first time I've ever witnessed him horrified. I, myself, start feeling a bit nauseated watching Carter's face pressed up against this horrid beast. Enough is enough. I don't like Carter, but he's part of my pack. I can't let him go down.
I nod at Alex signaling him. Jabba the Hutt is goin' down. Panic sweeps through Carter's expression as he watches us.
"Help me! Help me, guys! He won't let me gooo!" Carter flails his arms with no where to turn with his body.
It's okay Carter. I'm gonna rectify this situation. Jabba won't know what hit him. Actually, looking at the situation, Carter won't know what hit him. It will be easier for me to extricate Carter first before I hurt Jabba. My strides are purposeful and people notice, quickly moving out of my way.
When I reach Carter, I don't hesitate with putting my booted foot against his hip to shove with everything I have popping him out of the funnel. I kicked him a bit too hard and cringe watching his body fly to the middle of the dance floor, but that's okay. He's free which was the main objective. Now, it's time to deal with Jabba.
"You think that's fucking funny? Trapping someone against their will, you fat fuck?"
The man smirks and lunges for me. That's when I see red. I've forgotten about Luna and Kiki and even Carter. Nothing is around me anymore except this disgusting piece of shit. I'm gonna kill him.
"Shy, no. He's on something. Don't do it," Alex pulls at my arm but I push him off.
I don't give a shit if this dude is on something or not. I'm gonna make sure he never does what he did to my friend ever again. As much as I don't like Carter, he could have been hurt for just trying to reach the fucking dance floor. There's no way I'm dropping this.
This guy is bigger than me by a good solid foot. He's got to be over seven feet tall. I'm six foot four. Plus he's fat. It'll be hard to bring him down. Alex has his hand on my shoulder reminding me we have an audience. He's right. I gotta do this a little more quiet. I hold up my hands, and people start to go back to their business. As that happens, I turn back to Jabba and walk up to him grabbing a handful of what I think is his tiny nut sack and squeeze. Yeah it's gross, but I don't care. I squeeze him so hard, he's on his knees forcing me to bend down. Sweat starts beading at his brow while he begs me to let him go.
"If my buddy wasn't here, you would have gotten so much worse. Don't ever do that shit again," I squeeze him harder til I'm pretty sure I've done some damage, then I let him go to collapse. Now where was I? Oh yeah, Luna and Kiki. So much for a relaxing fucking night.
"Shy! Thanks, man. I couldn't breathe back there. You saved me."
"Don't worry 'bout it. Watch yourself next time."
"Yeah," he rubs his neck feeling stupid.
I don't have time for this. I need to get to my girl. The guy talking to Luna has disappeared, but I see him walking back with drinks. How in the fuck did he manage to get drinks so damn fast?
"Hey, what's he doin'?" Alex points.
My eyes narrow watching him stop at a pub table. Oh, hell no. I cannot believe my eyes. Can this night get any worse? Any worse at all? I went easy on Jabba, but I am not gonna go easy on this mother fucker. I signal Alex, and we make it over to the girls seconds before this fuck boy.
The look on Luna and Kiki's faces can only be described as stunned. But I don't care about that. My main focus is on fuck boy and the drinks he's holding. The one in his left hand in particular. I can see Alex has scared away the one dude who was talking to Kiki, and I'm about to fuck up the dude who was talking to Luna. This guy just messed with the wrong person.
"Hey guy, my lady and I were about to have a drink so beat it."
I drop my head and shake it with a laugh, staring at my scuffed boot. I know I didn't just hear him tell me Luna is his lady. I know I didn't.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
My neck feels tight, so I stretch it to the right until I feel that releasing crack and then to the left. I can't look at Luna right now. I know she's terrified and confused. She has no clue what's going on.
"So drink your drink."
The dude frowns not sure what I'm getting at and starts to put Luna's drink down in front of her.
"Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. That one's yours." I take the safe drink out of his right hand and throw it against the wall shattering the glass. Now I have his attention, and now he knows I know what's up.
"I said drink it," I stare hard at him and notice he's starting to shake. I also notice he's contemplating dropping the drink which I have no intention of allowing to happen.
"There...there's been a mistake. I...,"
"Drink that fucking drink or so help me God, I'll shove it down your fucking throat for you. Either way is fine with me."
"Shy?"
Luna's soft voice interrupts, but I ignore her keeping my eyes on the man in front of me. He lifts the glass to his mouth with a shaky hand and starts to drink as tears come out of his eyes. I cross my arms over my chest and slightly turn toward Luna.
"Fuck boy was planning on having all sorts of fun with you tonight, Luna."
"Wha...what do you mean?" She whispers.
"Oh, you'll see. Give it a few minutes."
As the minutes tick, the man's eyes finally start to dilate. His world is definitely starting to become a little off kilter, and he knows it groping for the stool and sitting.
"That would have been you," I point at the man.
Her big eyes grow to the size of saucers, and her fingers press against her lips. It's clear to me little Luna doesn't get out much. I glance back at her friend to see a fierce expression on her face. Miss Kiki seems to have been around the block a time or two, but hasn't done a good enough job protecting her bestie. The look on her face is one of guilt and anger at the man who is now out of it. I'd say she's about to punch the fucker, but Alex holds her back. I can always count on Alex. He knows I'd want to deal with this.
"Stay with Alex and Kiki. I'll be right back."
I don't wait for Luna's response as I haul fuck boy to his feet and usher him to a backdoor exit. The door opens into the alley which is just about perfect for what I have planned. Alleys are great. It's where you take the trash out. It's been a long time since I've had to take trash out. This is gonna be fun. My body thrums with excitement as I pull back and let my fist loose into this man's face. The tell tale crack and spray of blood from a broken nose makes me smile. I know, I have issues. No need to get into them at the moment.
Practicing my upper cut, I clip his jaw hard causing his teeth to gnash together. The man's about to wilt on me, so I grab him by the collar to hold him up for one more blow to the old bread basket causing him to double over and fall to the ground. I really should do more to him. I rest my boot on his head and press my weight onto him causing his cheek to mash into the pebbled ground. He was going to rape my girl after all. I should kill him.
"Shy."
My head snaps up to see Alex in the doorway. He waves me back in, and I decide to listen. I need to get Luna out of this fucked up place, and I need to get some fucking ground rules established. I'm pissed. How could Kiki take Luna, of all people, out to a club like this? And how the hell did they even get in? I'd love to know who did their fakes.
My eyes fall on Kiki who's challenging, no daring, me to say something to her. Oh, don't worry, baby. You're gonna get an ear full as soon as we all get back to your place.
"Where's the rest of the guys?"
"They left."
"Good. We're taking you two home." I keep my voice hard so they don't try to argue with me. I'm happy when they don't.
I'm even happier when Luna doesn't struggle out of my hand when I take hers into mine. Her hand is tiny compared to mine and so soft, I nearly forget my objective. I can't be touching her when I talk to her, I'll lose my focus for sure.
The ride back to town is made in silence which is perfect for me to gather my thoughts.
"It's after ten. I don't think you're allowed inside," Luna says.
"What part of me looks like I follow rules, Luna?"
"Umm...no part?"
"Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Come on."
Once we get into the studio style dorm, which is huge compared to the freshman dorms, someone's parents have money, Alex and Kiki disappear into what I'm assuming is probably Kiki's room, leaving me alone with Luna.
"Tonight was fucked up, Luna. That prick was planning on drugging you and God knows what else."
"I know. Thank you for saving me," she whispers.
"What is this?" I wave at her distracting outfit.
"I don't...what do you mean?"
"This. What you're wearing. This isn't you. What is this about?"
Fuck me, her eyes start to water. I've hurt her feelings. Running my hands through my hair, I want to pull it all out. Luna isn't even my girlfriend.
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Shy, thank you for saving me but I don't owe you any explanation."
"You're welcome. And the fuck you don't owe me. You answering my questions is my fee for rescuing you tonight. My rescuing doesn't come free. Now start talking."
Her mouth drops open at this. Yup, that's right. Take a good look at me and judge.
"That's...how can you," she sighs deep closing her eyes for a second, "we just...we just wanted to go to the club to dance and have a good time. I didn't intend on...wearing this."
"So why did you?"
"Kiki bought me the dress and when I put it on I felt...pretty, I guess," she shrugs embarrassed, unable to look at me.
"Pretty?" I gasp. I have got to turn away from her for a second to breathe. Nope, not working. "Pretty? My God, Luna, you're fucking gorgeous. Don't you see how dangerous it is? You go out looking like that, you're gonna attract a bunch of pricks. Someone like you can't do that. Promise me you won't do it again. Not unless you're with me."
Her eyes flash up to mine. "With you?"
"Fucking-A right with me. Are you blind? Have you not noticed I'm into you?"
"I...I don't know what to say," she whispers again.
She whispers when she's nervous and blushes like crazy. Her face is flushed a very pretty shade of pink. It makes me want to punish her.
"I should spank your ass to match your dress," I'm not exactly sure how I could have stopped those words from flying out of my mouth like that. Oh well. They're out. Her shocked expression doesn't surprise me.
Luna stands up abruptly, more like jumps up to probably get away from me, only to forget she's wearing stilettos and stumbles. Instinctively, I reach out and catch her. She looks like a panicked animal in the grips of a lion. Her chest is rising and falling rapidly with her uneven breathing causing her breasts to swell dangerously from her dress. I drag my eyes from the tempting site and scan her face before I drop mine to her neck and nuzzle the soft flesh with my nose. God, she smells good.
She smells like a white tea and ginger fragrance I want to drink. Before I even realize what I'm doing, my lips are at her neck sucking the tender muscle til I mark her. A soft groan escapes her lips, her small hands gripping my biceps for dear life. God, she feels good in my arms. I don't want to let her go pressing my fingers into her tiny waist.
Leaving her neck, I trail further up until my lips brush back and forth over her full pout. Her lips part, and she sucks in a soft gasp from the sensation of my mouth on hers. That subtle moment is enough for me to claim the kiss to taste her, and it leaves me reeling.
This girl...she's either going to be my downfall or my salvation.