Devious Minds (9 page)

W
hat can I say?

Sydney Porter can pull off a middle school Iron Man costume like nobody’s business. I knew she’d look hilarious, but I was here to witness, “This DJ Sucks Cock,” and I hoped the effects button would stick on repeat.

Fernando, Katharine, Chance, some blond chick, Allison, Jack, and I sat in a booth at the back of the club, watching Sinister’s set unfold. Apparently, it was a bit difficult to mix with repulsor rays strapped to one’s wrists. Unfortunately, she’d figured out if she turned her hands around, she could use the backs of them to pull the bars across.

When she said things into the microphone, they came out raspy but feminine. A little too sultry for my liking. But I had to chuckle every time she glanced down at the girl in the skull mask, sitting off to the side.

I’d put up a flyer in the drama department offering a hundred bucks if a girl would sit in the front row and stare at the DJ for the night. Of course, the money was wired from a dummy PayPal account as an extra precaution. I had no doubt in my mind Sydney wanted to jump off that stage and punch her in the face.

“Where’s the help in here?” Katharine snapped. She was dressed as a slutty nurse. Very cliché. Very boring. When she realized just opening her trap wasn’t going to magically make a waitress appear, she nudged me hard in the stomach. “Go get us drinks, Gray.” Her self-entitled pout face was enough send me running through the club doors, so welcoming a change of scenery, I made my way to the bar.

Nick was at the rail, staring at Iron Man, and I knocked on the counter to grab his attention.

“Hey, Gray. What’s up?” He peeked around my shoulder. “Katharine DeSonna, huh? Good luck with that one.”

I nodded. Coach’s warning was in the back of my mind.
Keep it short and sweet, Peters
. “Hey. Can I get a pitcher of whatever’s good on tap and three glasses?”

“Sure, man.” He grabbed an empty pitcher and began to fill it from the nearest tap. “She’s cute, huh?”

“Katharine?”

He shook his head. “No, DJ Sinister. You were just staring at her with a twisted grin on your face. Have you hit that or something? Looks like you’re reminiscing about taking her to Pound Town.”

Cringing at his words, I shook my head. “Nope. No way.”

At that moment, Sinister looked over at us and shot off a half dozen repulsor zaps at my head. I laughed and turned back to collect the pitcher.

Nick was staring at her in a strange way, like a cannibal about to devour a plate of brains. “Well, I’m taking her out tonight after her set. Should be fun.” He wagged his eyebrows suggestively, and I pushed down the lump building in my throat.

“It’s her twenty-first so I want to show her a good time. Here you go.” He slid the glasses and pitcher my way. “On the house.”

I pulled out a twenty. “No thanks, man. I’d rather pay.”

Nick frowned but kept his eyes on Sydney.

“Gotta keep the SpaceRoom in business,” I said, walking backward toward the table. Nick nodded absentmindedly, but his stare at the DJ never faltered.

Katharine watched me the entire way back to the table.

As I sat down, she leaned in and grabbed my arm. “Oh my God, is that Nick Sharbus? I can’t believe he’d show his face around here. He should’ve been kicked out of school a long time ago.”

I began pouring beer in the glasses. “What are you talking about?”

“Puh-lease,” she said, like I should’ve known this already. “I’ve warned all my sisters off him. He has a tried and true method of sleeping with women. Gross.”

My hand tightened around my glass, and I felt a weight pull across my shoulders. “What do you mean, Katharine?”

Her eyes remained wide as she cautiously glanced between Nick and me. “Well, let’s just say he’s a fan of pharmaceuticals,” she whispered, then took a sip of her beer.

Coach’s words popped into my head, and immediately, my eyes darted to Sydney, then over to Jack.

Sister
. Shit.

No, I didn’t have a sister, but Jack did. I might want to crush Sydney’s soul, but I didn’t want to stand by the wayside and let her go out with a sleaze like Nick.

“God, look at her.” Katharine had moved off the subject of Predator Nick and onto Sydney. “She looks ridiculous up there. Seriously, why the hell would she wear that? It’s like she doesn’t even give a shit.”

Sydney was jumping around to the music, and every so often she’d flex for the audience and shoot off a repulsor ray. The crowd was eating it up, and she was enjoying herself. Then she yelled into the mic, “Five minutes,” and slipped on a premix.

The mob responded with one long groan, and that’s when I realized I could’ve put her in a Hitler costume and these people would still be on her side. My next move would have to be off her home turf.

“Drool much?”

I turned to find Katharine glaring at me.

“You’re looking at her like you want to rip off that costume.”

I shook my head. “No, I wasn’t. I was just looking into the crowd. There’s a hot chick in a hula girl outfit out there.”

Katharine slammed her glass on the table, sloshing beer over its side.

Sydney headed straight for us, wrapped a padded arm around Jack’s head, and playfully pretended to strangle him. She grabbed a straw off the table and plunked it into her water, pulling it under her mask. I hadn’t seen her face all night, just as my note specified. She took direction well.

She hopped from side to side, listening to the music as Nick walked up behind her. From over her shoulder, he handed her a shot. When he gave her a light slap on the ass, my first impulse was to break every finger in his hand. For Jack, of course. Then he rushed back to the bar.

Easy as pie, Sydney took her straw out of the water and sucked up the shot in two seconds flat, slamming the empty glass upside down on the table.

Glancing in my direction, she tapped her repulsor rays while simultaneously flipping me the bird.

Then she focused on Fernando.

Fernando’s eyes hit the table. He was still embarrassed about the tires. She tenderly rubbed his back, and he looked up. Then she leaned in, whispering something in his ear. He nodded and stood from the table, heading with her into the dancing crowd.
Traitor
. His three hundred-pound frame nearly shook the roof of the building every time he jumped around.

Eventually, they both moved up the stage, which I expected to collapse under his weight. But as she placed her headphones over Fernando’s ears, my heart began racing in my chest.

Christ, I knew what was coming next.

She splayed out her hand, showing Fernando five fingers, and helped him find the beat to the song by nodding their heads together.

Fernando, poor fool, had a shit-eating grin on his face. Then she tapped a button on the mixer like she was showing him what to do, and walking around his backside, she switched off a knob, disconnecting the sound from the headphones.

Fernando’s eyebrows furrowed and he pointed to the earphones, mouthing something close to
I can’t hear
. Sinister leaned in, whispered something in his ear, and plopped the headphone back down. Giving him a thumbs-up, she hopped off the stage to join the dancers, and Fernando stood there like a moronic elephant, just nodding his head.

“What is he doing?” Chance whispered into my ear, then leaned back chuckling.

“He’s the DJ,” I growled and pounded my beer.

Sydney lifted her hand in the air and counted down from five with her fingers. When she lowered her last finger, Fernando hit the button.

“THIS DJ SUCKS COCK,” rang out through the speakers. The whole crowd looked at Fernando, who now had his eyes closed as he continued to nod his head.

Chance spit his beer in one glorious spray all over the table. Jack’s face was now completely colorless. Katharine, Allison, and the blonde looked at one another and started laughing. I leaned back in my chair, shaking my head, as Sydney danced circles around the paid skull-mask drama girl in the corner.

When the deaf Fernando opened his eyes, the crowd lifted their fists in cock-sucking solidarity.

He grinned and pushed the button again. “THIS DJ SUCKS COCK.” And then again. “THIS DJ SUCKS COCK.” By now, anyone with a cell had it raised, recording Fernando’s declaration to the world.

“
C
an you take the mask off now?” Nick asked, sitting next to me in the booth. “Not that I don’t love me some Iron Man, but you’re so much prettier to look at.”

I was just about to take it off, but now I had to wait a few seconds because I was sure my face was the color of cabernet. When I did pull it off, I got a clear look at the bar.

Nick had taken me to the Elbow Room. It was a rundown dive with a jukebox in the corner and the smell of stale cigarettes embedded into the pleather seats.

“Are we meeting your friends?” I asked, shaking out my hair.

“Oh, they bailed.” He rolled his eyes. “But you’re okay with just me, right?”

My first thought: I was one of
those
girls. The type of girl a guy didn’t want to be seen with so they took them to dirty bars. I mean, I was in a little boy’s costume. The average age of the Elbow Room patrons was mid-fifties, and the ceiling tiles were dingy and stained. Not the type of place you take a girl you want to impress.

“Umm, yeah, that’s cool,” I said, trying to keep my tone cheerful.

Nick looked me over, searching my face. “Really, I want you to meet my friends, but they went to some lame house party. You’re twenty-one, so you should at least have a drink somewhere other than the SpaceRoom.”

He scooted closer until our legs were touching, and I couldn’t help the goofy grin on my face. Nick was right. I could go to parties all I wanted, but I could drink with fifty-year-olds
tonight
.

“No, this is fine,” I assured him.

“That was pretty funny.” He smirked, chuckling to himself. “Poor Fernando was up on that stage for five minutes before Gray pulled him down.”

I refrained from tapping my fingertips together like an evil villain. Technically, that was all my dream-wrecker wanted to hear. Just that phrase played during the set. It didn’t say
I
had to be the one doing it.

“Yeah, well, Fernando should think twice before jacking tires from my truck.”

Nick laughed and stood from the booth. “I’ll go get us some drinks.”

I’d already had four drinks tonight and a buzz was crawling over my skin. Warm and subtle, the alcohol was beginning to reach my brain. My phone scuttled across the table, and at first I thought I was hallucinating until I saw Jack’s name pop on the screen.

Jack
:
I’m having an awesome birthday, sisssttaaa! Allison says HHHIIIIII

I wanted to stand and take a bow—mission accomplished: Jack and Allison.

Glancing at Nick, I sent him a quick wave as he stood in line. A couple girls approached him from the side, and he let them slide in front of him in line. I was mildly annoyed, but maybe he was just a gentleman.

The doors of the bar swung open, bringing in a draft of fresh air. But why does fresh air follow bad people? Okay, maybe that question makes no sense, but this time it did, because my throat swelled shut when Peters and Chance came barreling through the doors.

Peters pointed to the bar, and Chance ran up to stand behind Nick. Then, as if he were a welcomed party, he sauntered over to our table, plopping down across from me.

“What in all that is holy are you doing here?” I sneered, crossing my arms.

Peters smiled, picking at the crumbling edge of the table. “I’m going to be really straightforward with you, Sydney.” He glanced up, locking eyes with me. “I know you’re stubborn and anything I say you’ll do the opposite. So when I tell you this, it’s coming from Jack’s mouth, not mine.”

I kicked him under the table, but he didn’t flinch.

“You’re not going home with Nick Sharbus.”

A curt laugh came from me. “What the hell did you just say?”

“He’s got a reputation.” He continued. “And that’s all I’m going to say. So here’s the deal. You leave with Chance and me, say you don’t feel well, and we’ll take you back to campus.”

Smug bastard.

“Or we can just hang out on your date all night long.” He leaned back in the booth, spreading his arms over the top of the seat. “Because I promised Jack,
my
friend
, no harm would come to his sister on her twenty-first birthday.” He pointed a finger at me. “After tonight, it’s on you. But Jack is currently getting it on with Allison in your dorm room, and he doesn’t need to be worried about you.”

The Brown-eyed Virgin is getting laid?
By Allison?

“No, he’s not,” I clipped, delivering a sharp glare.

“He is. I swear. Send Allison a text if you don’t believe me.”

I looked down at my phone, tempted to text, but Jack would never forgive me if I interrupted such a momentous occasion. He was with Allison still. Damn it, why couldn’t he have taken her to his room?

Wait, I knew why—Jack’s stuffed animal and
Toy Story
figurine collections were enough to send Allison running for the hills.

“Jesssusss,” I drawled out, rolling my eyes. “Why won’t you just leave me alone, Peters?”

He reached out a hand, covering mine. “Because Jack is a good person, with a big heart, who loves his crazy-ass sister. It’s your birthday, but it’s his too. This is my present to him. Bring his sister home intact.”

“Intact?” I cringed at his words. “You of all people should know I’m no longer
intact
, Peters.”

I slid my hand from his and glanced over at Nick, who was watching us with intense curiosity.

“Shit, you mean… ” Peters whispered, his face paling at my revelation.

“Shut up.” I locked eyes with him again. “I was never going to go home with Nick tonight. I barely know the guy. You think I want another one-night stand where I overhear a guy bragging about, and I quote,
taking some dirty bitch to Pound Town
?’”

Peters turned green as a tremendous scowl formed on his face. Asshole had his words thrown back at him. Slowly, he turned his head toward Nick.

I kicked him under the table again, and his eyes shot back to mine. He grabbed my wrist and pulled my arm across the table, sending me flying forward. Luckily, the Iron Man suit was excellent for impact.

“I never said that, Sydney,” he said through gritted teeth. “I would never say that about you.”

He looked down at his hand and released my wrist. “I would never say that about any woman.”

I rubbed my wrist just as Nick walked back, plopping the drinks on the table. “What was that all about?” Nick glared at Peters, then looked at me. “Syd, everything okay?”

“I don’t feel well.” Giving Nick a grim look, I pulled my bag into my lap. “I called a cab. It’s going to meet me outside.” I clutched my stomach for effect. “I think I had too many drinks earlier. I’m not a big drinker.”

Nick let out an annoyed sigh and looked between Peters and me. “Don’t worry about a cab. I’ll take you home.”

I held up a palm. “You just bought a round, Nick. Please, stay here and drink with these assholes. I’ll be fine.” And flashing Peters a death look, Tony Stark left the building.