I was about to retort with something nasty, but Brett called me from the stage.
“Ey, Ken! We’re up!”
I turned back to Nicholas and gave him a scowl. “We are not yet through!” I said in the gravest tone I could manage.
Instead of being offended, threatened, or intimidated, Nicholas gave me a contended smile. In a voice barely hiding his amusement, he said, “Oh, I’m actually counting on that!”
I was scowling as I took my seat in front of the drums.
“Bad mood, eh? Don’t let him get through to you. Don’t let him linger in your thoughts too much,” Brett said.
I raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
“That is Nick Atkins. Every guy in this town wanted to be him. Every girl wanted to date him,” he replied before going backstage.
I glanced over at their table again. Jen had returned to her seat and was giggling at something that Nicholas said.
As I twirled the sticks around my fingers and hit the snare, I thought, No. Not every girl in this town would want to date you. I promise you that!
***
“Speed is the essence of war.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
I dressed up early for the gig the next day. I thought about it the whole day. In all my years knowing Jen, this was the first time I met a challenging male. An alpha male, much to my disappointment! Not only did he have a strong build and doubtless a six-pack underneath his shirt, but he also had an attractive face—the kind that makes girls starstruck and tongue-tied.
In a fairy tale, where Jen was the beautiful princess, Nicholas Atkins could just be the Prince Charming, who would kiss her sleeping heart awake from its deep slumber.
Very well then, in their fairy tale, I would be the damned Rumpelstiltskin!
I wore a pair of black pants, a dark yellow shirt, black leather boots, and a dark brown leather jacket. I made sure every strand of my hair was in place before I put on my black fingerless leather gloves.
I wanted to pick up Jen earlier than our agreed time. I wanted to make sure that I got to Jen’s before Nicholas could. Whatever he was doing, I would always make sure that I was one step ahead of him.
On my way out, I was unfortunate enough to see my father drinking wine with his friends. They stopped talking when I reached the bottom of the stairs and stared at me from head to toe, scrutinizing my outfit, my hair, and my boots. Then they turned away, dismissing me.
Oh! What I wouldn’t do just to hear the interesting thoughts in their heads right now!
I have an idea. I wanted to know if my thoughts were right.
“Well, gents, look who we have here,” my father said. “The devil’s spawn.”
I smiled acidly at him. The retort came to my tongue effortlessly. “Exactly. Your spawn.”
My father growled. “What do you call a woman who left her husband, unaware that she was pregnant, and let her lesbian lover raise her child? And when she died, she made sure that I would take care of the piece of shit she left behind.”
“That’s all I am to you? A piece of shit?”
He gave me a cold stare. Then he said, with narrowed eyes, “You come here, embarrass me, suck out my resources like a piece of parasite! I put a roof over your head, I feed you, and I even pay for your car! And what do you give me in return? Shame!”
My blood started boiling, and I felt the heat at the back of my eyes. I balled my hands and bit my lips in an attempt to control myself.
Nobody gets to me as fast as my father does.
“Fine!” I said coolly. “I don’t need your money, you know that. I don’t even need that car you gave me. I know you only gave me that to impress your friends, to keep your spotless reputation.”
He looked at me in surprise.
Yes, Dad, I am your kid. I catch on easily.
Addressing his friends, I said, “Have a nice evening, gentlemen.” Then I strode off toward the front door.
Apparently, my father was not done with me. He followed me to the gate, all the while cursing at me. I couldn’t care less because all I heard from his mouth was blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
“Give me your fucking keys, you goddamn clit licker!” he shouted when he realized he was not getting through to me. I had tuned him out five minutes ago.
I turned around to face him, unable to react to what he said. I forgot that my car keys were in my hand. I stood there frozen, staring at him with a bewildered expression on my face.
When he saw that I was not moving, he snatched the keys from my hand and gave me a push. I nearly fell on the pavement if something had not caught me. My father gave me one last disgusted look, and then he stormed inside the house.
I felt numb. I knew he was drunk, but I didn’t know he was drunk enough to treat me that way, to say the things that he said. I didn’t even know his slang dictionary was so broad.
I felt myself being pulled up to my feet. It was then that I realized I was not alone and that I was not the only one who witnessed my father’s unforgivable behavior.
I looked up and found Nicholas Atkins staring at me.
My god! Of all people…
On his face, I saw all sorts of naked emotions, such as disbelief, anger, and pity, before he could pull himself together and pretend to look cool and nonchalant.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. It was my turn to pretend to be cool. I kept my face as stoic as possible.
“Yeah, I’m cool,” I replied. “W-what are you doing here?”
“Didn’t we agree to fetch Jen together?”
Right! But I planned to leave very early just to beat him to it.
Well, thanks, ol’ man! Thanks a lot!
“That’s all right. I’m okay. You can go now,” I said.
He raised a brow at me. “And what are you going to do? Your father took your keys. Admit it, Ken Clarke. You need me now.” He looked at his watch and asked, “Does Jen mind waiting for a bit?”
I checked my watch and realized that we were already one minute late from picking Jen up. I almost forgot about her.
No, Jen did not have the patience to wait. Make her wait one minute, and she would freak out like a Bratinella.
I’ve never made her wait ever since I met her. And I regret doing so now. But I also could not miss this chance to get on Nicholas’ bad side.
To Nicholas, I said, “Yes. If you’re early, she feels pressured to finish dressing up or putting on makeup. She hates that. So we can take all the time we need.”
According to my best friend Sun Tzu, “All warfare is based on deception.”
In other words, offer unsolicited advice to your rival, the guy who covets my place on my best friend’s side. And make sure it was bad advice disguised with good intentions.
Nicholas and I were both quiet on the way to Jen. I was trying my best not to think about my father and how abusive he was becoming. I could move out of his house. I have money from Isabella and my mom. I didn’t need my father’s help to get me through life.
But money was not the reason I came to live with him, why I could stomach everything he was doing to me, and I never fought back. I never needed nor wanted his money. All my life, all I wanted was his acceptance and respect. I wanted him to accept me. And if it wasn’t too much to ask, I wanted him to love me. No matter how hard I might seem on the outside, inside, I’m just this little kid longing for a parent’s love.
Once again, I felt heat behind my eyes, but I tried to blink back the tears that threatened to blind me.
What the fuck.
I’m Ken Clarke. I do not cry!
And especially not in front of Nicholas fuckin’ Atkins!
“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 hous
“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