Jack Griggs
Three nights after my walk on the wild side with Lila, I was back in Dooley’s nursing a beer. I was pretty fucking liberal when it came to sexual encounters—each to their own and all—but she made me look shy. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it. I did. It was a night of distraction, but maybe I’d have enjoyed being part of it rather than being used up like a chew toy. Lila was a freak and I respected that, but I got off on being in the driver’s seat not the other way around. Interestingly enough, I think she knew this as soon as the night came to an end. We both agreed that as a one off it worked, but it would work better if we stuck to the bar maid and patron relationship we’d had originally. The really interesting part was how my brain was computing it all. Deciding sex play with Lila was just that, a one off, worked in my head and I didn’t feel the slightest bit sad about it. Trying to tell myself that same thing about Carly wasn’t working as well.
Dooley’s was busy. The number of students in the bar had increased, which was a sure sign that the short vacation was coming to an end. I recognized a few of them and what I saw was that age old tradition of girl meets boy, boy sweet talks girl with beer and boy convinces girl to leave the bar. Some things never changed. Lila was working the other end of the bar near a group of college jocks who were probably still wet behind the ears and perfect for her to manipulate into her style of sex.
I felt my cell vibrating in my pocket and ignored it. No one ever really called me these days. It was usually either my parents or a sibling. That was the thing about skulking away to sort out your shit—people thought you needed time to actually do that, so my old pals from Hawkstown rarely called and as I wasn’t in the mood to make new friends here. I spent a lot of time alone. The biggest adjustment was not seeing my brother every day. Not having my twin by my side was something I was still struggling with. Looking back, it was probably a good thing that we went our separate ways before Rebecca had come into our lives. Had we still been like Siamese twins, it would have been impossible for me to like her. I would have resented her coming between Jake and me, and that would have been a shame. She was a lovely girl who had turned my brother into a fine upstanding police officer… words I never thought I’d say about him.
The cell buzzed again. As a rule I never answered on the first call. If it was my mom or dad then they’d leave a message and I’d be able to call them back at my convenience, and that was definitely not in the middle of a packed Dooley’s. Knowing that someone was calling a second time meant I should probably answer it. When I didn’t get to it in time and it started pulsing in my hand, I saw Jake’s name appear in the display.
“Yeah?”
“Is that it? Fuckin’ yeah?”
“Oh, please accept my apologies,” I said, finishing my mouthful of beer. “How can I help you this evening, brother dearest?”
“Better. Sarcastic, but better. There was a fuck load of mail waiting for you at ours so I’m sending it with Carly.”
That got my attention. Hearing her name in such an innocent manner reminded me that there was nothing innocent about that red headed siren at all. My pulse spiked and I hated to admit it but I was feeling the first stirrings of excitement at the thought of seeing her again.
“Did you hear me?”
“Yeah. Carly’s bringing my mail. That it?”
“No,” he muttered. “Lacey’s worried about her, says she’s got a guy in tow and she wants some reassurance he’s on the level.”
Hearing that she had a guy was a shock. I’d never seen her with any guy and she’d let me fuck her nine ways to heaven only a week before. I’d never figured she was the cheating kind. It actually made me kind of mad. “What’s that got to do with me?”.
“Tommy lost his shit apparently, and Lace needs the deets to stop him from hiring Jonas’ services.”
At this point I’d normally have chuckled, but I knew there was every possibility that Jonas would see that kind of job as fun and not in a professional way. He’d do it just to wind Tommy up.
“What do I need to know?” I asked, exasperated. I couldn’t actually believe I was considering looking into this shit.
“Xavier. Sounds a bit gay to me.”
I leaned forward on my stool and glared down to the other end of the bar, straight at him. I knew Xavier, only one dude with that name. I taught the entitled twat in Economics and Strategy and he was a player. That was the thing about players—it didn’t matter how old we got, we all used the same tactics, and recognizing them in action was the equivalent of a guy code high five. “Yeah, the name rings a bell. Are we talking Jonas level reconnaissance or just keep an eye on her for Lacey?”
“We’re talking make sure she’s okay. Lace didn’t go into detail. Mind you, she didn’t need to. The girl was failing miserably to hide a hickey the size of a plum on her neck.”
Pride swelled inside me. I was pretty sure I gave her that hickey and the knowledge that I’d physically marked her was a big turn on.
“Just make sure she’s copacetic when she comes to see you.”
“Yeah. Later,” I replied and hung up.
My attention was no longer on the bar’s TV; the re-run of last night’s game held no allure whatsoever. With Carly’s beau in the immediate vicinity, I couldn’t pass up the chance to see what kind of guy she was dating. He was exactly what you’d expect of a college kid—tall, in the thick of the fun and making the most of all the pretty girls flirting with him. Xavier seemed to revel in the attention and displayed characteristics that I would never have expected Carly to find attractive. I’d known that girl since she’d come to live in Hawkstown and watched her grow up into a beautiful young woman. Carly was confident, clever and fun to be around. I never once saw her over doing it, and if I had to pick out her type, it would have been a good looking nerd, not the rich kid basketball player who could make girl’s panties hit the floor with a snap of his fingers.
I waited until the bar maid at my end became busy with another customer and shouted Lila over. “Can I get another one?” I asked
“Sure thing.”
“It’s getting busy again. I should find somewhere else to drink where I’m not surrounded by people whose papers I grade.”
Lila pulled a fake pout and handed me my fresh bottle of beer. “I’d miss you, for like, a day or two.”
“You’d miss them more?” I inclined my head in the direction of the playboy and his harem.
“What’s not to miss? Spending daddy’s dollars and just reaching that fabulous age where they all want to try out an older woman.”
I laughed, nearly choking on my mouthful. “You’d eat them alive.”
“I know.” She smiled and leaned closer. “And I can’t wait. They think they’ve got game. Honey, I’ll show them game.”
I watched as she pulled away and wandered back down the other end of her bar. Lila was definitely in research mode, and having succumbed to her game once, it was easy to spot now I was on the other side.
As well as being tall, Xavier Burrows was well built and handled himself like the king of his domain. Lila was like a lioness sizing up her next victim, and she’d get hours of enjoyment out of teaching him the proper way to satisfy a woman.