“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 minutes or so.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t talk.”
“Not talking.”
“Breathe quietly!”
“Not breathing at all,” he said, amusement evident in his voice.
We sat there in silence. The city view before me provided me with a little of bit of peace and calm. I ought to be thankful to Nicholas for bringing me here. But I didn’t like him. I bet he was only doing this because I was Jen’s best friend and he’s trying to score points with her.
Ha! He will never gain points from me, for sure!
When Nicholas dropped me off in front of my house, I murmured a quiet “thank you” and then went out of the car.
“Hey!” Nicholas called after me as I reached the front gate. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay in there?”
I shrugged. “Been living like this for years. What you saw this evening was the most attention I got from him. I should be thankful he’s speaking to me at all.”
“You let your old man treat you like that?”
“Like you said, he’s an old man. And my mother taught me to respect my elders, no matter how unrespectable they are.” I felt my stomach twist into knots and that pain radiated to my heart. I felt heat at the back of my eyes. Before Nicholas could notice my teary eyes, I turned away without giving him another glance or uttering another sound.
***
“To know your enemy, you must become your enemy.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
I thought about this the whole day. Maybe I was looking at things the wrong way. Maybe I was being rash in my decisions and tactics to drive Nicholas away from Jen. That was why my plans were backfiring.
Now, I have two facts in my hand.
One, Nicholas was after Jen and knew that I was the biggest obstacle in his way.
Two, Jen was seriously into Nicholas, to the point of disregarding our years of friendship.
It was turning out to be a major problem for me in record speed. I knew I have to stop it before it gets too far, before I lose Jen to Nicholas, and then to the black hole he’d dump her in after he was done playing with her.
I didn’t call or text Jen the whole day. I was less than happy with the way she acted toward me last night. She made me feel like I was disposable, and Nicholas was somebody she couldn’t live without.
Well, guess what, Princess? I was the one who was always there for you when things got a little too much for you to handle!
In Jen’s case, too much to handle could mean just a teeny tiny thing. She was always fragile, easily broken. I was a constant in her life—always available, always automatically at her side. She is the type of girl who needs to be sheltered and I was the one who gave her that shelter.
Maybe this time, I should give her a chance to miss me. To realize what she would be missing if ever she lost me.
Meanwhile, I had to make sure that I got the object of her delusion as far away from her as possible.
Whatever Nicholas was doing, it was working. Maybe I should learn a thing or two from him. He was smoothly sweeping in between us. And he was doing it without deception or sarcasm. He wasn’t even trying to make me look bad in front of Jen.
“To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
Looked like he took a page out of Sun Tzu’s book, too. And he was doing it far better than I was.
Well, of course he is older. But none the wiser.
Maybe I should step back and re-strategize. If I couldn’t get Jen to stay away from Nicholas, maybe I could get Nicholas to stay away from Jen. And the earlier he does it, the better—while she hasn’t fallen for him yet, and while he can still leave her with her heart in one piece.
I went to Rythemes that evening. It was an easy night. Brett would be able to handle the whole gig without my help. My father was having a party at the house again. I would never be safe whenever he was home. His secretary returned my car keys. No matter how ashamed he was of me, he could not afford to have his only kid go on foot around town. Not for me, though, but for his reputation. As long as I was carrying his surname, I should keep a certain image of luxury.
Bailey and Brett waved at me when I sat at the table in the corner of the bar. I gave them a little salute as Brett hit the cymbals to signify the start of their set.
After the first set, a pretty blonde approached me and asked, “Is this seat empty?”
She was referring to the empty seat in front of me. I stared at her face. Even with the low lights, I could see the way she was looking at me and there was no mistaking what she had in mind.
I took a gulp of my beer. “Yes. But my seat will be, too, if you decide to take that one,” I said bluntly.
She blinked back and stared at me, trying to understand what I just said. Maybe she was not used to getting rejected. Or maybe she was just slow. After one minute, she still hadn’t moved.
Arggh! Get there already!
Finally, she gave me an insulted look and turned away.
Thank God!
I did not come here to hook up with anyone.
After a minute, somebody pulled the chair in front of me, and I found myself face to face with Nicholas. His was the face of an enemy—the big bad wolf I was protecting Little Red Riding Hood from.
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.”
Of course! Nicholas Atkins is hot meat for most girls.This girl looked pretty and sexy—in a respectable kind of way. Unlike Saucy, who had a big neon sign on her forehead that spelled a four-letter word, starting with an ‘s’ and ending with a ‘t.’“She’s hot,” I whispered under my breath.Nicholas glanced over at the girl again, who was still looking at him.“I guess,” he said.“Not your type?”He stared at me for a long moment. I didn’t know what he was thinking but somehow, when he studied my face, he looked thoughtful. Then he sighed and looked away from me. “I must be out of my mind.”I raised a brow at him, not quite sure what he meant by that, but he looked genuinely uninterested in the hot chick across the court.Music blasted from the elevated space in the corner of the court. I noticed they had made a stage out of it. There was a drum kit, some guitars and other musical instruments.“They teach these kids how to play music here sometimes. There’s also a hip-hop dance club th