74: Bad Boyfriend

The following weeks go by with little excitement. The shop isn’t too busy...for me at least. Monty and Gretchen always have a full schedule of clients. I prefer to keep my specialty under wraps. Too many bad experiences.

But tonight is redemption night. My self requested day off from having to go to Georgio’s is finally being put to use. A night out with Avery at Young & Restless Lounge. The blocks leading up to the club start out with a few lingering people to being packed with humans forming a line desperately trying to gain access to the club.

As I approach the front of the club, I spot Avery, accompanied with Avalos, standing in line. “Of course you brought your brother.” I tease as I join them. I get a few dirty looks from the people behind them pissed than I’m cutting. “Shall we?”

They flash me a confused, eyebrow cocked, stare. “But…” Avery mutters. Her finger points to the line they’re in.

I grab each of them by the elbow and yank them out of the useless line. “Lines are for humans.” I whisper before dragging them to the front doors. “You do realize that witches don’t wait in line to enter a witch owned club.”

We walk straight up to the door man, who I happen to personally know. “Icky.”

“Well, well, well. Gretchen actually let you have a night off at the shop?” The tall, burly man looks menacing, but he’s nothing but a gentle giant.

“She made me collect dead man’s toes from Georgio, so I bartered.” I freely confess the truth to him and at the mention of Georgio’s name his eyes go wide. He too knows the pain of visiting Georgio.

“Then, have fun tonight.” He opens the door behind him and motions us in.

Several people still stick in the non moving line groan and bicker. It brings a smile to my face. There’s only so many occasions that being a witch brings a smile to my face. All access to the hottest club in town. Check.

The loud music rattles through my body the second we enter. You would never realize how loud it is inside by standing outside the doors. Not an ounce of the noise escapes the building. Maybe that’s why it’s so loud in here. It takes a couple of seconds for my ears to adjust. It even takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the bright spotlights against the overall darkness of the space.

If I thought Avery’s and my night would be hindered by Avalos, I would’ve been wrong. He quickly breaks off from us, getting lost in a crowd of dancing bodies. We take his lead and follow, dancing in a too packed space. Elbows and knees and asses bump into us, mysterious hands skim over our skin and the heat radiating off so many bodies packed together becomes suffocating.

I’m all too relieved when Avery pulls me out of the massive ball of people. A gleam of sweat breaks out across her forehead, her chest rises and falls with each gasping deep breath.

“Drinks.” I huff.

She nods lazily and follows me through the maze of people. It’s almost a breath of fresh air as we make our way out of the dance floor area and into the actual lounge area. The bar is roped off and guarded by more witchy beings. I’m unfamiliar to the man we approach, but we can sense each other's magic and he lets us pass without question.

The stop at the bar is tiresome and beyond annoying. The cocky bartender flirts with Avery and she soaks up every flutter of his lashes, every twitch of his smile and every charming compliment he says.

The desperation that comes off him and the innocence that rolls off of Avery has me downing my drink in two, three sips flat. Since the two of them don’t seem to be stopping soon, I order a shot to give him something to do. I should’ve ordered a bigger drink, because I down it and am back to being stuck listening to them giggle at each other.

“Let’s dance.” I shout in her ear.

Thankfully, she listens. She grabs her single shot, throws it back. But before we can escape the bartender's forced charm she orders two more. One after another she empties the glasses and smacks them down on the countertop.

“and that’s enough.” I cut in before she orders more. With my arm looped through hers, I set out to find a not so crammed spot for us to dance, which is easier said than done.

It takes several tries to find enough space to move our limbs comfortably without having other people bump into us. I thought I had found it, but then two large men take up all of the open space.

They wrap their arms around our waists, grinding against our backs. Their hot breath touches our necks as they tease us with their lips. I lean away, but a drunken Avery doesn’t know the trouble she dances with.

I slip out of his grasp several times only to have him pull me back in. “Come on beautiful, dance with me.” His voice is so low that it sounds more like a growl than an actual human voice.

“This witch doesn’t play with wolves.” I snap back as I pry his hands off me aggressively. A mutter of an incantation sends a jolt of electricity through him. He jerks back from me with a venomous glare.

He growls his distaste, “bitch.” He doesn’t try again or force himself on me like some wolves would. Instead he walks away, tapping his friend on the shoulder as he leaves.

Except his friend isn’t ready to leave. His hands continue to grope at a sobering Avery. The simple spell is on the tip of my tongue as I latch onto his arm. The shock travels through his arm and he rips out of my grasp.

“Leave her alone, mutt.” I try to match his intensity, but he’s nearly triple my weight and double my height. It’s hard to meet his eyes that stare down at me.

“Mind your own business, we’re just having fun here.” He turns his back to me and continues to run his hands over Avery who is now completely sober. She swats at him trying to escape his groping hands.

I go back in, concentrating as much of my magic I can into the spell. With the lightest of touches, my skin just grazing his, even I can feel the buzz of electricity travel between us. All I had been thinking about is getting him away from Avery, but as he swings around, vicious eyes glaring at me, all I’ve done is really piss him off.

“Fucking witch.” He snarls before his outstretched hands grab onto me. He’s too quick and his fingers dig into my arms so tightly, I’m sure little bloody crescent moons from his fingernails will be marked into my skin.

I struggle in his grasp for what seems like an eternity before I can clear my mind enough to give another jolt even though that’s what landed me in this position in the first place. But before the incantation can slip through my pursed lips, the wolf is jerked backwards.

I stand baffled face to face with the wolf and face to face with Gabriel who holds the wolf by the back of the neck. Seeing him causes my heart to leap into my throat for the second time.

“She told you to back off.” He leans in close, so the wolf can hear him clearly. “So I suggest you leave her and her friend alone. Can you do that?”

The wolf has a hard time nodding, but he does and Gabriel nearly throws him as he lets him go. We all watch as the dog scampers away to meet up with the rest of the pack, wherever that is. Somewhere in between me taking on the wolf and me getting me about to get my assed kicked, Avalos showed up. He questions Avery leaving me alone with Gabriel’s eyes on me.

“I guess a thank you is in order...again.” I have a hard time meeting his eyes. They seem to burn straight through me. “Even though I had it handled.”

A smile spreads his lips apart and my eyes are drawn to his teeth. What was I expecting? To see fangs? “I don’t doubt it, but…” His fingers reach out to graze my arms where those pesky fingernail marks are. “...but I couldn’t stand seeing his hands on you.”

His words form a blush in my cheeks and I force the growing lump in my throat down. His cool fingers feel amazing against my overheated skin and as he pulls away I long to have that coolness back.

“Sorry, I just…” Those golden eyes stare at me with an intensity that I’m getting used to. As if I’ve been under that gaze for more than the couple of times that I have been.

“I’m fine.” I don’t know why I say it, maybe because I feel like he’s waiting for it, confirmation that I’m fine with manhandling a little bit.

We speak at the same time. “I should go,” I say as I throw my thumb back at Avery and Avalos. While he makes a request, “dance with me?”

Just as he’s about to take back his request a slender arm snakes around his neck. The woman leans in close, her lips nearly touching his ear as she speaks. “There you are.” Her pale blue eyes flash to me. “I thought we were going to have fun tonight.” She whines. “You and me.” She nibbles at his neck.

My heart squeezes inside my chest and my mind goes numbingly blank. I totally misread the signals. His sweet charm, his supposed flirting, which was not flirting at all. He was just trying to woo his next meal. I stumble backwards right into Avery, who loops her arm through mine and leads us out totally oblivious to the awkward encounter with Gabriel.

As we weave through bodies, I hear Gabriel call my name. His voice, so clear to my ears even in this massive sea of people. I don’t look back as I let Avery lead the way putting distance between us.

As soon as we exit the stuffy club and step out onto the street, the night air cools my overheated body. It also helps to relax my nerves and clear my mind. I almost want to laugh at myself for my stupidity. Falling for a vampire I just met.

I linger out front with Avery and Avalos until their Uber comes. Then I start the short trek home. Alone. At least for a while. I’m nearly there, a block or so away when I gain an unwanted companion. My steps falter as I sense him behind me.

“Following me home again?” My feet go against better judgement and stop.

Gabriel keeps walking, closing the distance between us. “You left and-”

“I know when to walk away.” I spin around to face him, becoming startled when I realise how close he is. “I’m not one for threesomes or being a snack, sooooo…”

“Brooklyn and I aren’t together.”

A puff of laughter slips through my lips. “How many times has a guy said that? At least you admitted to knowing her name.” I watch his mouth open to argue with me, but my hand flies up cutting him off. “Listen, Gabriel, you’re cute and charming...too charming for your own good, but it’s a hard pass.”
I turn my back on him for the second time tonight, but my lips keep moving and he keeps following me. “I don’t find liars and cheaters and well, vampires to be good boyfriend material.” I pause, finger raised in the air, “where is Brooklynn anyways? Did you leave her behind? Bad boyfriend.” I tease.

A strong gust of wind whips my hair in my face and as the strands fall away I see Gabriel standing in front of me instead of behind me. “You witnessed me being attacked by a woman that has desperately wanted to call me her boyfriend for a while, but I assure you, she is no you.” His hand glides through his unkempt hair pulling it away from his face. A twitch of a smile on his lips.

I take a few steps backwards for the need of wanting space between us. “We just met so you really don’t know me well enough to compare me to anyone.” I step around him slowly, “so, I’m gonna go home and sleep, because I have to and I’m going to ignore the whole stalker excuse.”

There’s a false strength that comes over me as I turn my back to him and make my walk down the street. Taunting words slip through my lips, “see ya later, vampire with the name of an angel,” and they bring a small smirk to my face.