Reckless (51 page)

I swear, my worries about Christos had nothing to do with my sudden urge for an ice cream splurge.

I wondered if perhaps the red cartoon devil printed on the side of the ice cream carton would be waiting for me at the bottom of the tub when I reached it.

Nope, just cardboard.

CHRISTOS

Jake and I stumbled out of the bar a couple hours later. I’d lost count of how much I’d had to drink after the beers at Dick’s and those shots of Wild Turkey.

Whatever.

We cruised the streets, trying to sober up.

Neither one of us was in any shape to drive.

“Maybe you should call Sam,” Jake belched.

“Naw, we’ll be fine in a while.” I didn’t want to tell him that I felt like a dipshit for getting so loaded, and I didn’t want Samantha to see me like this.

“I can call Mads,” Jake said.

“We’ll be fine, just give it some time. There’s an all-night coffee shop around here somewhere. We can sit in it and suck back espressos until the booze bleeds out.” At this rate it was going to be sunrise before I saw Samantha.

We strolled through the thinning crowds on the sidewalk in the Gaslamp.

As we turned onto Fourth Street, we passed by Horton Plaza. “I fucking love that place, man,” I slurred. “It’s like the Disneyland of fucking shopping malls.”

Jake snickered. “Dude, you’re fucking wasted.”

“I’m fucking wasted,” I smiled.

We continued down Fourth until we hit the Hooters on the corner of Market Street.

We paused.

I cocked a thumb toward the Hooters. “Wanna get some more drinks?”

“And have a bunch of PG-13 strippers wearing those road-crew orange shorts hit on us all night? That shit is comedy, but I’m all good,” Jake smiled. “Hey, didn’t you used to bang one of the waitresses who worked here?”

“Probably,” I sputtered, meaning it.

Jake cackled, knowing I was telling the truth.
 

Jake and I both turned as the doors to Hooters opened and a group of rowdy guys poured onto the sidewalk. They were laughing and shouting and making a bunch of noise.

One of them was that guy Hunter Fucking Blakeley. He had his arms around two bar babes. They were clearly into him. He was clearly into them. Both bar babes looked toasted. Both were pretty damn hot in their tight skirts and tops. Neither were in Samantha’s league, but both were hot enough for a magazine cover.

They were gazing up at Hunter like he was Brad Fucking Pitt or some shit.

I could fix that.

I stood my ground as Hunter’s buddies parted around me and Jake like we were our own fucking continent, and they had no choice but to flow elsewhere.

I made sure to stare Hunter right in the eyes.

It didn’t take long.

“I know you,” Hunter said. “Where do I know you from?”

“From my girlfriend,” I growled.

He stopped. “Oh yeah! You’re Sam’s man. You were too pussy to fight me the other day.”

He could spin that shit however he wanted. But that wasn’t my point. I was strategizing.

It took about three seconds for his two honeys to turn their greedy eyes on my shit.
 

“Is this your friend?” the brunette asked Hunter.

Hunter had some game. “Yeah, sure,” he said confidently. He wasn’t ruffled yet.

Yet.

“What’s his name?” the blonde asked.

Hunter didn’t seem inclined to answer.

Both of the girls were drooling at me openly.

Despite the chill air, I wore a short-sleeve black V-neck. My tatted arms were cocked and loaded. I twitched both arms, making the muscles pop and stand out like hard-chiseled granite, all striated and rugged.

“Mmmm,” the blonde said. She literally released her grip on Hunter and stepped up to me. She slid her hand down my chest and abs. “I like,” she purred.
 

I was used to this shit. When I turned it on, like now, chicks went fucking nuts.

“What’s your name, honey?” she asked.

“Adonis,” I said. Fuck yeah, Adonis.
 

“Sounds like a hero’s name or something,” she said.

Fuck yeah, it did. “What’s your name?” I asked her.

“MacKenzie,” the blonde murmured. “Check him out, Kylie,” she said to her friend. “He’s yummy,” she purred.

Kylie the brunette was now gaping at me.

I cocked my dimpled grin at her.

As if hypnotized, her hands relaxed from touching Hunter and drifted slowly to her sides. She leaned away from him like she was hypnotized and floated toward me on her heels. She grabbed my belt with one hand and slid her other into my front pocket.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, her fingers gliding across my dick through the material.

The thing was, this shit only worked when you did it for real. I was hard as a fucking rock.

“He’s huge, MacKenzie,” Kylie said to her friend, sounding astonished, like she’d just met God.

Hunter glared at me.

His buddies circled around me and Jake. There were three of them. Four on two. Jake could fight. We were going to be fine.

I could feel the tension on the street corner.

MacKenzie and Kylie hung off me like they were my harem.

The second I’d seen Hunter walk out the door of the Hooters, I’d wanted to kick his ass. But this was better.

“You guys ready to go?” Hunter asked the two girls who were humping my legs.

They looked at him like he was a ghost or maybe a gust of wind.

One of them broke into a stripper laugh. That was all either of them had to say on the subject of going anywhere with Hunter and his boys.

“Shall we?” I said to the girls. I nodded toward Jake. He opened the door.

I walked inside Hooters with MacKenzie and Kylie on my arms. Jake followed.

Hunter and his buddies were left out in the cold.

It was winter, after all.

Chapter 25

SAMANTHA

I was totally disgusted with myself for downing the entire pint of ice cream, I couldn’t even begin to think about calling Christos to come over. I imagined burping up the taste of ice cream in his face while asking him if something was wrong.

It didn’t seem like the right tone.

I went for a jog instead. Slowly, at first, until I was certain I wouldn’t puke, then settling into a normal pace until I’d run four miles.

I came back to my apartment, hoping there would be a message from Christos telling me he was on his way over. Nope, he still hadn’t called.

I took a shower and got ready for bed.

I considered driving to his house and surprising him by waiting in his bed. As much as I liked the idea, I felt like I should at least call first. I didn’t know the number to the Manos house, or Spiridon’s cell phone number, or if he even had one. I didn’t want to just show up unannounced. Although I suspected Spiridon probably wouldn’t care if I did, it still seemed rude.

I laid down on my bed with damp hair. My phone lay on the night table beside me, the ringer set to low, in case Christos tried to call. I did my best to keep my eyes open while willing my phone to ring.

Ring, damn it!

It didn’t work.

I woke up in the morning to an empty bed.

CHRISTOS

Inside Hooters, Jake and I had to buy drinks for MacKenzie and Kylie. We would’ve looked like dicks if we hadn’t.

Me and Jake drank colas. It was as good as coffee, I guess. And we both drank plenty of water on the side. Didn’t need a hangover tomorrow.

It turned out that MacKenzie and Kylie were not really drunk. I kept an eye on what they drank, and noticed neither did much more than sip. They were kind of fun to talk to. Both went to USD, over in Morena, just east of Mission Bay. They were law students, and they were pretty fucking sharp. Me and Jake couldn’t believe it. Not that they were smart, but that they were so good at pretending to be stupid drunk chicks, because it was a total act.

When it was last call at Hooters, I hit the Men’s room and drained for what seemed like an hour. At least I was down to a light buzz. I could probably drive.

Me and Jake walked the girls to their car, like gentlemen.

“You guys okay to drive?” I asked.

Kylie held up keys to her Audi and jangled them. “I’m as sober as a judge,” she joked.

“Then you better not drive,” I smiled.

“Touché,” she smiled. “I’m fine.”

“Since you’re law students,” Jake said, “You can represent yourselves in court if you get DUIs.”

“You guys
could
drive us home. In your car,” MacKenzie said.

“Sorry ladies,” I said. “Me and Jake are sworn to our girlfriends. We may as well be married.”

“He’s right,” Jake smiled.

MacKenzie shook her head. “You guys are two of the good ones,” she sighed.

“Damn right,” I smiled my cocky grin.

“If either one of you men ever ends up single, look us up,” Kylie said.
 

“Yeah,” MacKenzie blurted to Kylie, “I think either of them would be more than enough for the both of us.”

Jake chuckled.

“Will do,” I grinned. “But don’t wait around. Go find some eligible bachelors. I’m sure there’s some around San Diego somewhere.”

They waved after climbing into their Audi, then drove off.

Me and Jake turned around on the dark city sidewalk and headed back to my Camaro. At the end of the block we ran right into Hunter and his boys.

“Fuck, Hunter,” I smiled casually, “how long have you been waiting for us?” I laughed. “We were in Hooters for three hours. You must want a beating real bad.”

Hunter ground his jaw and curled his lips over his teeth.
 

“Dude,” Jake said calmly, “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

I knew what Jake was thinking. My trial. Me out on bail. If there was the slightest chance of cops driving by, or Hunter crawling to the cops after getting his ass beat, I was in for a good reaming. Bail revoked. Sitting in jail until trial. The new charges I would get for pounding Hunter would be further evidence used against me in my pending trial.
 

Jake had a point.

“I
knew
you were a pussy,” Hunter sneered.
 

I smirked at him. “I thought I taught you a lesson the other day, Hunter.” The question was, did I need to give him the graduate course on why he should not fuck with me? And would I stop myself before I murdered him? Fuck it. He deserved a full-ride scholarship. I was tired of his shit. “I’ll give you a free swing. Go for it, Hunter.”

I stood tall, waiting.

Hunter glanced at his buddies. They nodded. They were ready to rumble. His buddies were pretty big. Thick-necked gym rats. One of them was busy cracking his knuckles while making fists. Another lowered his center of gravity into a crouch. He maybe knew what he was doing.

Did Hunter?

“Throw it, bitch,” I said.

Hunter was considering.

I knew Jake was down. He turned to a forty-five degree angle facing the other guys. Fighting stance. He shook his arms loosely and cross-stepped to the side, lining himself up so that Hunter’s second buddy, the one beside him, blocked the path of the third guy behind him. It would give Jake more time to take down the second guy before the third guy in back could get at him.

That left me with Hunter and the fourth guy.

“Are we cracking heads?” Jake asked me quietly. It was his way of saying he had my back while giving me a final chance to walk away from this bullshit. He didn’t really care what we did. But we both knew the wisest path to tread in this situation.

Fuck wisdom.

“I’ll let Hunter make that call,” I grunted.

I watched Hunter swallow hard.
 

This bomb was about to go off.

I glared at Hunter. There was no way I was going to throw the first punch.

Please,
I thought to myself,
let me take you out. Please, come on, please.

Hunter was psyching himself up.

Shit, was this going to take all week? I was ready yesterday.

Hunter dropped into a boxer’s stance and fainted left with a jab a split-second later. I saw where this was going. Wrong move. His torso twisted as his shoulder tensed to deliver a hard right.

Too slow. I snapped forward on the balls of my feet and slapped his lead hand down before he launched his fist. The backs of my knuckles crashed down on his nose. At the same time, the toe of my boot slammed into his shin. Boxers never expected a simultaneous strike to come from that low. Their nervous systems weren’t accustomed to dealing with a low attack when their hands were busy.

Hunter tumbled to the ground, shocked. He was on his ass, staring up at me wide-eyed. He probably wasn’t even hurt. But he would have a bloody nose in about five seconds.
 

“Who’s next?” I asked calmly.

Jake laughed and glared at Hunter’s three pals. “Any time, ladies.”

Hunter’s buddies stared at me and Jake like antelopes staring down the barrel of a lion. They knew they were outclassed. The two smaller ones picked Hunter up by the arms.

“Let’s go,” Hunter grunted, pulling free from his friend’s helping hands, as if their grips were acid. He wiped his forearm under his nose, smearing blood.

“Better get that shit looked at,” I said. With any luck, I hadn’t actually broken his nose. I couldn’t tell in this light.

Fuck, I hoped he didn’t call the cops.

Was he that much of a pussy?

Only time would tell.

SAMANTHA

In the morning, I texted Christos, just to make sure he was all right.

I started to worry when I hadn’t heard back from him after I had breakfast, but I had to get to campus for classes. I finally received a text from him during Sociology 2.

Late night with Jake. Just woke up. Sorry. I love you. Talk tonight?

I replied,
Dinner at my apartment?
 

I’ll be there. What time?
he replied.

7pm?

Ok. I’ll bring food. ILY

ILY2
 
<3 <3 <3

I put my phone away and did my best to focus on the lecture. Knowing Christos was all right, I actually managed to take decent notes for once, and not just waste class time doodling in my sketchbook.