“Uhm, I don’t know where to go from here,” Nicholas said as we reached Jen’s neighborhood.
“I thought you were a boy scout. You found my house,” I said.
He looked at me from the corner of his eye for a second, and then he looked back on the road. “Your father is a prominent man. Your house is the biggest on the block. Everybody in this town knows where you live.” He stopped on the side of the road. “Now, which way?”
I gave him directions. By the time we arrived at Jen’s house, we were officially thirty minutes late. I felt bad for making her wait but smiled to myself for a mission accomplished. Jen was going to freak out and be mad at him! And I’d be around to watch. For a moment, it would provide entertainment, enough to make me forget about the foul terminologies my father chose to use on me.
Jen was already pacing in front of her gate. I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling.
Good luck, Nicky! This is very impressive!
“I’m sorry, we’re late. I found it difficult to find your house,” Nicholas apologized, not even looking slightly embarrassed.
What an overconfident prick.
I braced myself for the tantrum that was about to come. However, instead of being angry, Jen smiled at him sweetly and touched his arm as she said, “It’s no big deal, Nicky. At least you know where I live now.” Then she batted her eyelashes at him.
Shit! I did not see that coming!
I was prepared for a blowup, or at the very least, mild sarcasm. I did not expect her to flirt with the guy who did the very thing she hated on a date.
Then Jen turned to me and raised a brow. I gave her an innocent smile.
“You, on the other hand, know exactly where my house is,” she said. “Did you provide the right directions?” It was clear that she wasn’t pleased with me.
“I wasn’t the one behind the wheel,” I argued. “And you know I like to drive fast.”
“It’s my fault,” Nicholas interrupted. “Ken told me exactly where you live. I’ve been gone a while. The streets have changed. I made a few wrong turns. Shall we go now?” To prevent further argument, Nicholas whisked Jen to the car. He opened the door of the backseat for her.
Ass. Why would he even make the girl he’s interested in sit there?
Ha! Jen hates sitting at the back.
But instead of arguing or looking displeased about it, she just smiled at him.
Oh, come on!
I couldn’t help but groan and roll my eyes this time. Nicholas noticed my distress. He smiled apologetically as he opened the door to the passenger seat and motioned for me to get in. I wasn’t sure if he was just being polite or if this was his idea of getting back at me.
“Seriously?” I asked, raising a brow.
“Unless you wanna drive,” he replied innocently.
I walked toward the passenger side of the car and pushed him out of the way. Not too hard that Jen would notice, but hard enough that Nicholas would know for sure that he was pissing me off.
I didn’t say another word throughout the ride.
In fact, I spoke less than ten sentences the entire night. When I took my seat behind the drums, I was on fire. I poured all my frustrations into the drums in front of me. I pretended to be in wonderland, having my own concert.
On the way home, Jen was trying to strike a conversation with Nicholas. He seemed happy with the attention. I couldn’t give a damn. I was looking out the window pretending to tune out Jen’s annoying high-pitched voice and phony giggles.
Yeah, sadly, I know her too well. I know when she’s faking it. Gees! I wonder if she fakes it in bed, too!
I barely noticed when Jen got off in front of her house. Did she wave goodbye to me? I hardly noticed. And frankly, I couldn’t care less. I always thought Jen was smarter. I had no idea her brains would turn to jelly for a guy who obviously only wanted to get into her pants.
I was quiet the rest of the way. I didn’t speak to Nicholas. He didn’t say anything either. I was thankful for the silence.
However, when he stopped the car, I realized that he didn’t stop in front of my house.
He’s taken me somewhere else…
“Excuse me, why are we here?” I demanded.He simply shrugged. “Well, we already passed your house. You didn’t even notice.”“And you just decided to take me somewhere else?” I asked angrily. “What is wrong with you?”“I saw your father standing in front of your house, sending off some his friends. I just thought you wouldn’t want to have another encounter with him. Figured you can use some time off from him?”He was right. I would not want to face my father again. But that does not mean I want to be alone with him!“We’re not friends, Atkins! Why do you think I needed help from you?”Nicholas stared at me for a moment and then he nodded. He straightened up on his seat and started his engine.“Alright, whatever you say, princess,” he murmured.“Stop!” The tone of my voice made him stop on his tracks. He turned around raising a brow at me.“Don’t call me that ever again!” I snapped. Then I turned away from him. “And… yeah, maybe I can stand sitting here next to you for another ten minut
I was in no mood to deal with this guy right now unless I wanted my fist connecting to his jaw.Great! I should have let the blonde share my table.“You didn’t think she was nice?” he asked.“Nope.”“Too blonde for you?” he asked again. When I didn’t reply, he persisted, “What’s your type? Blondes, brunettes, redheads?”Seriously, why does he want to know?I raised a brow at him. “Why do you assume that I like girls?”He raised a challenging brow. “Do you?”“That’s none of your damn business!” I snapped.I was pissed off that he was asking me annoying questions as if he was trying to get to know me and all my secrets, all my weaknesses.That actually reminded me why I went here in the first place. I wanted to clear my mind and re-strategize. I have to find a way to beat Nicholas to his game.As I looked at him, I realized what he was doing. He was trying to conquer me without launching a fight. He was trying to get my approval without asking for it.Well, then. Two can play this game.
We made our way to the three pompom girls on the dance floor.They saw us coming and I immediately saw the interest in their eyes as we approached.I forced a smile on my face. This was the first time I would do this but there was no way in hell I’d let Nicholas beat me in this game.We probably have the same goal: get the other to sleep with a stranger, hopefully the one with the huge I have STD sign on the forehead.“Can we join you, ladies?” I asked politely.I could tell they were ecstatic to dance with us. Trixie was the girl who had long black hair, dressed in a black skintight dress that ended decently above her knees. Elle was the cute redhead with pixie hair, wearing skintight jeans and a Sabrina top. The provocative girl wearing a white dress that left nothing to the imagination was named Saucy, which sounded more like her stage name than her real name.I smiled at Saucy. She was my target tonight. “Hi, Saucy. This is Nicky,” I said to her, putting my hand to Nicholas’ back
I pretended not to be affected. “Fine,” I said coolly. “What do you want me to do?”Nicholas turned to the waiter. “Give us a round of—”“Vodka?” I suggested.Nicholas shook his head.“Tequila?” Elle piped in.After looking thoughtful for a while, Nicholas said to the waiter, “The Green Fairy.”I blinked back at him.The fuck?“That’s illegal!” I protested.“Was.” Nicholas raised his forefinger in the air. “It was illegal, right, Tofer?” he asked the waiter.The waiter nodded. He turned to me and said, “We’ll make it an enjoyable experience for you. We have a mix called Hypnosis. It’s perfectly safe, with none of the ingredients that banned the Green Fairy before.”I turned to the ladies, checking if they were keen to the idea of drinking what was once believed to have hallucinogenic effects. But all I saw were excitement on their faces and enthusiasm in their eyes. Shit! I did not see this coming.Nicholas was grinning. I could tell he was really enjoying himself. The waiter returne
I slowly turned around and found Nicholas standing in front of me, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was still dripping from the shower. I could not help noticing his firm biceps, a set of six-pack abs, and all other things designed to make any girl avert her eyes, bite her lower lip and occasionally steal sinful glances at the lower region of his body.As I looked at Nicholas’ perfect physique, I was reminded of why Jen was drooling over him, or why Saucy was trying her best to get into his pants. I could tell he was also gifted in that department.God, this is awkward!I swallowed hard as I gathered composure and found the strength to speak without squeaking. “G-good morning,” I said in a weak voice, my eyes still glued to the abs he was displaying in front of me. My glance started drifting lower to his belly button and then—“Dude, you okay?” he interrupted, prompting me to look up to where his eyes were.Shit! What was that?I shook myself back to reality. “Wha
Nicholas led me inside the diner. I didn’t know what I was expecting. The usual maybe. Stool chairs and a counter where they fry the burgers and the fries, checkboard design flooring, stainless steel tables and leather seats by the window, people still dressed in the clothes they wore the night before, much like myself. However, when I stepped inside the diner, I was pleasantly surprised.The smell of homemade muffins filled my nostrils. I was reminded of my mother’s kitchen when I was a child. An upbeat music was blasting through the speakers. The floor was rather made of shiny, dark brown wood. The wooden tables and wooden chairs were occupied by patrons within the range of forty-five to sixty. Lively abstract paintings adorned the walls and the ceiling had red, brown and white lamps.The man frying the burgers by the counter looked to be about sixty years old, and so were the cashier, waiters and waitresses. There were also little people working as waiters and waitresses.I was im
Margaret came to our table. “How do you find the food, dear?”I smiled widely at her. “I haven’t eaten food this good in a long time.” That was not a lie. The food I ate had all the goodness of a homemade breakfast. I can cook but since I live with my father, I limit my whereabouts to just my room and the gate. I only venture to the other parts of the house, such as the kitchen, when he’s out of the country. “I like your place. I wonder why I never went here before.”“Well, we barely get visitors from the main city. Most of our customers are just passing through. And we try our best to provide them with the feeling of home and the goodness of homemade food.” She noticed my shirt. “I see you found our bathroom.”I nodded. “It’s brilliant! What you did in there was absolutely amazing.”“Well, it was all Nick’s idea.”I blinked back in surprise. “What do you mean?”“He was the one who gave us the idea to turn this diner into something it is now. We’ve been running this joint for generati
I knew it was the carrot-top kid again, who called me a pussy.I was aware that I was not in the right side of town and this was not my territory. But I felt my blood run up my head and I didn’t hesitate to turn around and walk back to the group of juveniles who had clearly underestimated me.“If I beat your ass, you’ll do my every bidding for a week, you understand?” I said crossly, darting my glance to the boy with red hair and pale, freckled face.He was shocked for a moment but then he smiled at me widely. “Sure. But be warned. Nicholas plays on my team and he’s pretty good. You, on the other hand… not sure your pretty fingers can even hold the ball for five seconds,” he shot back. He turned to the rest of the group, giving me no chance to smack his face.Good! I play better when I’m pissed off.Nicholas stood beside me. When I looked at him, he was shaking his head. “Now, you’re in big trouble,” he said.“Why is that?”“Because you’re playing against me and I don’t like to lose.”