I sighed and hung my head down. I felt like a five year old child getting scolded and I wasn’t in the mood to hear it. “Alex, I understand your concern, but I wasn’t that worried about him. He left the club nursing a broken finger and Daemon walked me out to my bike. I wasn’t in any danger.”
When I looked up, Alex had a strange look on his face. “Daemon? As in the bouncer who couldn’t take his eyes off you the entire time we were there tonight?” Alex turned his body to look more directly into my eyes. He lightly placed his hands on either side of my face to make sure I was listening to what he was about to say. “Beautiful, I don’t know if I trust that Daemon guy much either. He appeared to have an unhealthy interest in you and it might be a good idea to stay away from Tomb for a while.”
I removed Alex’s hands from my face and placed them in his lap. Why was everyone jumping on the “Paige is a wimp” bandwagon? “First off, I’m not sure how you were able to monitor where Daemon’s eyes were all evening, considering you were stuck to Jill’s face for the majority of the night…”
Alex flinched.
“…Second, I can handle myself. I’m not going to avoid Tomb or anywhere else in fear of what could happen to me. Daemon is an arrogant ass, yes. But I doubt he is obsessed with me, unnatural or otherwise. He’s just another guy trying to get in my pants. There’s nothing unnatural or abnormal about that! I wish you guys would finally realize that I’m not some helpless person that can’t take care of herself. It’s starting to seriously irritate me.”
Alex sighed and then stood up from the couch. “This is a bad time to be talking about this. We’re on edge and pissed off and it’s probably best that we just call it a night and talk more when everyone has calmed down.” He reached down and grabbed my hands to pull me up from the couch. “Let’s just go to bed, Paige.”
I allowed Alex to pull me up and he held onto my hands as we walked to my room. Alex shut the door behind us as we walked in and I grabbed some pajamas from the closet as I made my way to the bathroom. Alex was getting undressed as I closed the bathroom door behind me.
I turned the water on to wash my face and brush my teeth when my phone chirped.
Daemon: Hey Damsel. Hope you made it home safely tonight without need for rescue.
Me: Oh I definitely needed rescuing. But luckily my OTHER white knight was there to save me.
Daemon: You mean your other EX-white knight?
Me: Has anyone ever told you what an arrogant bastard you are?
Daemon: All the time.
Me: Apparently you weren’t fazed by the critique.
Daemon: Apparently.
Me: Good night Daemon.
Daemon: Night Damsel…dream of me.
I didn’t respond to his last text. I’m not sure what to think about what’s happening between us and I’m definitely not sure that I trust Daemon. However, now that I had his last name, I could check more into him, but that would have to wait until tomorrow. I proceeded to wash up and get in my pajamas and opened the door to find that Alex appeared to be sleeping.
I walked over to the bed and switched off the lamp next to it. I crawled under the blankets and Alex wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him. I cuddled into his warmth but cringed when he started placing feather light kisses down my neck. I tried to pull away but he held onto me tighter. “Alex, stop.”
Alex lifted his head to look at me better. “What’s wrong? Are you still mad about what I said?”
I shook my head no and responded. “No, but after watching you glued to Jill tonight, I’m not exactly in the mood to take over where she left off.”
Alex turned me around to look into my eyes. “Since when do you care about me making out with another girl? We’re friends, remember? You are the one who wanted it to be like this between us. I didn’t sleep with her obviously, so what’s your deal?”
I didn’t answer him. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to admit to Alex, much less to myself, that my issue wasn’t seeing him kissing Jill, it was the fact that I had kissed Daemon. “Just go to sleep Alex, this has been a long day and I’m tired.” Alex laid back down, squeezed me to him, and we silently drifted into sleep.
~
It was early morning at The Center during the first weeks of June. As usual, I was playing outside The Center, chasing butterflies and lizards as the rays of the sun started peeking over the trees of the wetlands. Momma and daddy had come in before dawn and once there was enough light to see, they let me go outside. Early morning was my favorite part of the day. The light created a magical glow as it softly shown through the tree branches and the air still carried a cool breeze from the night before. If I got out early enough, I could play outside for a long time before Momma would call me in to drink water and cool down. I was happy at that moment because I knew I had a few hours before the sun would heat the air to the point where the humidity would wrap around you, making you feel like you were suffocating.
A green anole crossed my path as I was running around the camphor trees and I chased it around the base of the tree. Those types of lizards were my favorites because they could change to any color they wanted. Momma told me they changed color to blend in and hide from other animals that would eat them. I was jealous that I couldn’t change like they did when I was frightened. The lizard ran up the side of one of the larger camphor trees and I decided to climb after it to see if it would turn from green to brown. It didn’t go very high and I only had to climb up three branches to reach it. I watched it for a while and laughed at how it would stick its red neck out and then pull it back in again. I didn’t know why it had that silly red skin that it would puff in and out of itself, but I always liked to watch them do it. At times, the lizard would bounce its head up and down like it was dancing and I would bounce mine in response. I’m sure I looked stupid dancing with the lizard, but I felt like we were communicating with one another.
The lizard ran to an outer branch and I quickly lost sight of where it had gone. I started climbing back down to go chasing after whatever else I could find when my shoelace got stuck, tripping me as I descended. I was at the base of the tree and was able to catch myself before I fell but my knee still scraped down the rough bark, causing my leg to bleed. My knee stung and I sat down on the ground to inspect my injury.
Buddy ran up to me as I was blowing on the wound trying to stop the sting and I couldn’t hide the small tears that escaped my eyes. “Did you hurt yourself again, Paige?” I looked up at Buddy and wiped the tears from my face. I always hurt myself and I felt ashamed for being so clumsy. I didn’t respond, but rather, I just nodded my head to indicate yes.
Buddy ran into the Center and then came back out seconds later with a first aid kit and a warm, damp cloth. As usual, Buddy took his time cleaning out the scrape and then applying a thin layer of ointment before placing a bandage over the wound. He reached up after dressing my knee and used the same cloth to wipe at my tear streaked face. I looked up at Buddy and his eyes smiled as he tended to me. Sometimes, I secretly wished that Buddy would hurt himself in front of me so that I could tend to him and not feel so foolish for always being the one needing help.
Buddy stood up and took my hands to help me stand with him. He placed the washcloth and the first aid kit in the apex of the tree and challenged me to a race to the water’s edge. I took off after him and forgot that I had been hurt almost immediately. Buddy would never let me wallow in the pain of my injuries and because of him I learned to get up when I fell, dust myself off and keep going.
We raced to the water’s edge and laughed as we competed against each other to see who could spot the most turtle heads before they ducked back down under the water. We continued our game for an hour at least and then ran to the grasses where we could lie down and look up at the sky.
The clouds were large and white as they slowly rolled across the sky. We watched the clouds and we would laugh at the funny shapes we could see in them. At some point, Buddy pushed himself up on one elbow so that he wa
s leaning over me. He looked at me with a funny expression and I stared at him trying to figure out what he was thinking. Before I realized what he was doing, he leaned down and placed a small peck on my mouth, only to pull away again as fast as he could. I sat up real fast and placed my hand to my lips not understanding why that momentary contact made my little heart flutter like it did.
“What’d you do that for?” I looked over at Buddy and he had a smile on his face like he knew something I didn’t.
Buddy stared into my eyes for a quick second before he answered me. “Cause that’s what boys are supposed to do with girls. Just like your momma and daddy. Didn’t you like it?”
I was quiet while I thought about what he was asking me. I was only five so I didn’t know if I should like it or not. I knew what kissing was because the older kids at the Center had told me about it, but I never had the desire to kiss anyone. Daddy always told me that boys weren’t supposed to kiss me and that if they tried, I was supposed to smack them and tell them no. So that’s exactly what I did.
I sat up, slapped Buddy on the shoulder and crossed my arms over my chest to indicate I was mad. Buddy laughed before he asked, “Why’d you hit me?”
“Because Daddy told me I’m supposed to smack any boys that try to kiss me.”
I glared at Buddy, but he only smiled wider, causing his eyes to crinkle at the sides. “Your Daddy’s right, Paige. I better not hear about you letting any other boys kiss you because I’ll beat them up if you let them.”
I was confused why Buddy would kiss me and then tell me I shouldn’t let boys do that, but before I could ask him, his expression changed and he was back to his normal self. He stood up from where we were sitting and as I was starting to stand up with him, he pushed me back down while pulling my hair and then he ran off.
I was mad after he did that and I decided that after that kiss, I wouldn’t be letting any boys do it again. Secretly, however, I knew that if Buddy tried, I wouldn’t stop him. I liked his kiss and it was the only kiss that I wanted to try again.
Chapter Eight
I woke up early the next morning and was happy to have a job starting so I could leave the house before everyone woke up. Alex was still sleeping next to me and I took a minute to look him over, to memorize him like he was right now. I knew that we were nearing the end of our arrangement and I would miss these moments we had together. I thought about Jill and hoped that she could be the person to steal Alex’s heart. I know it’s selfish, but it would be easier for him to leave me. I knew what heartache felt like and I never wanted to be the one to cause that in him. I remembered my dream last night and thought that maybe, I was remembering Buddy because I was leaving Alex like Buddy left me.
I shook off my melancholy and slowly stood up from the bed. I stretched out my arms and started my usual routine. I threw on a pair of jeans with a green tank top and didn’t bother with makeup. The only place I would be for the next ten hours was the inside of a company car and I had no one to impress.
While most people would hate to spend ten hours with only themselves as company, I enjoyed the hours of introspection and solitude. It was refreshing to spend time alone and I was always less grouchy after a job. My spirit started to brighten just at the thought of getting some time to myself and I swiped my bag and helmet as I left my bedroom.
I decided to skip my daily stand-off with the coffee maker and hurried out the front door to go to the local coffee shop on my way into work. With any luck, I could get to work early enough to grab my gear and scoot out before the other employees arrived, forcing me to be sociable. I put on my helmet as I was running down the stairs and I grabbed my sweatshirt out of my bag and pulled it on for the ride.
Within seconds I was off and the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. The air was crisp and I was thankful for the sweatshirt covering my body. I drove downtown and pulled into the parking lot of an eclectic little coffee shop which was owned by a cute young couple. I parked my bike in a front spot and hurried inside to find the small brunette wife tending the registers. I ordered my coffee and was standing to the side, waiting for her to finish my order.
The bell above the door chimed and I instinctually glanced over my shoulder to see who had come inside. I froze when I saw that Chris had just walked through the doors. He was dressed in coveralls and had a cap on his head with the flea market logo written across the front. His splint stuck out from the sleeve of his coverall and he had some bruising around his neck. Alex must have had him in one hell of a headlock to leave a physical mark as dark as that. I panicked when I saw him and I made the tough decision to abandon my coffee to get the hell out of there.
I turned toward the door and angled my head down to try and mask my face. As I was pushing open the door, the shop owner called out to me. “Ma’am! Ma’am! You’re forgetting your coffee!”
I shoved the door harder and moved a little faster to get to my bike. I grabbed my helmet and climbed on the bike. Reaching up to put on my helmet, I turned towards the handlebars. When I looked through the glass doors of the shop my eyes locked with Chris’. His eyebrows were narrowed and his good hand was balled in a fist. He was approaching the doors as I started the ignition. The door was beginning to open while I hurried to back up and pull away. I kicked the bike into gear and took off, barely avoiding him as he came running at me.
As I pulled out onto the street I could feel his eyes staring at me from behind. My bike screamed as I accelerated quickly and I was out of his sight within seconds. I raced to work and didn’t slow down until I approached the parking garage. Luckily there was no traffic and I was able to race through the streets easily. I drove into the garage and the echo from my bike was deafening. Pulling into a spot, I ripped off my helmet and dropped it on the ground. My heart was pounding and my breathing was labored. I started taking deep, slow breaths to try and calm myself down.
After I had calmed down, I marched into my office and grabbed my assignment and my gear. It was almost time for Peggy, our receptionist, to arrive so I only had time to throw a longing glance at the coffee maker as I rushed out the door. I climbed into one of the company cars and read over my assignment to see where I was heading. I entered the address into the GPS and drove out of the garage.
Driving somewhat over the speed limit, I reached my destination within thirty minutes of leaving my office. The house was in a quaint suburb and I had to arrive early in case my subject would be leaving for work. If he came out the door, I would follow him to wherever he went and hopefully catch him in some outside activities. A lot of the time, the subject stays indoors, either at home or at work, and you often find yourself sitting in your car staring at buildings. I parked the car within view of the house and killed the engine. I set up my gear to record the front door of the house and began my tedious wait.
There are only so many positions you can stay in for any length of time while sitting in a car. Those same positions are limited even further when your rear end starts cutting off the nerve that runs down your leg. An hour into my wait and I was shifting my position so often, I looked like I had too much coffee to sit still. The pathetic irony was that I had no coffee because of a certain asshole trying to attack me. I started thinking about what I could do to deal with this situation with Chris, but was interrupted when my phone alerted me to a new text message.
Daemon: Morning Damsel. Just checking in to see if you’ve gotten yourself trapped, or kidnapped or attacked recently and are in the need of rescuing.
It pissed me off knowing that he was never going to give this up. I considered not responding but then remembered I was stuck in a car in the middle of normal town USA and I had nothing better to do.
Me: Well, well. If it isn’t the BLACK knight. How have you decided to piss me off today?
Daemon: I haven’t thought that far yet but I’m sure I can come up with something. Tell me where you are and I’ll jump on my WHITE horse to come save you.
Me: Thankfully I’m at work so yo
u and your LITTLE PONY won’t be able to find me. You have no idea how pleased I am at the thought of not having to see your arrogant ass.
Daemon: I affect you that much, huh?
Me: I have no idea what you are talking about.
Daemon: I’m taking you out tonight.
Me: I do believe you’re a little full of yourself. I’ll call the pharmaceutical companies and see if they can come up with a pill for that.
Daemon: I’ll pick you up at your place at 6.
Me: You’re not going to leave me alone, are you??
Daemon: No.
Me: Stalker.
Daemon: …
Me: I’ll kick your ass if you show up at my apartment. Be afraid.
Daemon: Can’t wait. J
Me: You’re sick, seriously. You should seek professional help. I’d say I could refer you to someone but I don’t think there’s a cure for arrogance.
I jumped as my phone suddenly rang and I checked the caller I.D to find that Daemon must have been sick of typing. I hit the little green button and before I knew it, one of the sexiest gruff voices I’ve ever heard was speaking to me.
“I’ll ask you again, Damsel, when and where should I pick you up?”
I wondered if he had just woken up because the normally deep timbre of his voice now had a rough edge to it that sent chills up my spine. I had to clear my throat due to the fact that I hadn’t actually spoken out loud for the past couple of hours. “Hi Daemon. It’s nice to hear from you too.” Daemon must not have been one for polite conversation in the morning because he remained silent while waiting for me to answer his question. I sighed and resigned myself to the fact that small talk was not going to be occurring at this moment. “I don’t know, Daemon. I’m not typically the type to be told what to do.”
I didn’t think it was possible but his voice dropped lower as he responded. “I’m not telling you, I’m asking nicely.”
A laugh burst out of me almost immediately. Who is this guy kidding? “I’m sorry, but I don’t recall hearing a question in anything you have said so far.”