Intrigue: The Night Muse Trilogy
Chapter 5: Spin the Bottle
The next morning as I entered the gym I tried to greet Rafe in a more formal way than a grumbled hello. I couldn’t really tell if my attempt was successful because he just seemed amused. I secretly sent up a prayer to the heavens that today I would knock Rafe on his eyas. No Such Luck. He constantly kept me off balance with questions about my life. Just when I thought the questioning was over, he went on to ask me about Thrace’s ex-girlfriends of which there were many. My Prince had left a wake of ex-girlfriends that saw me, not Thrace, as the enemy. He was just not the type of guy that could handle being alone, whereas I had sometimes been happier in my fairy tale world than in my relationship reality. Rafe seemed thoughtful as I shared much more than I intended.
He then switched tactics again by asking, “So are you looking forward to the pool party this afternoon?”
I mumbled, “I am not that comfortable in large social settings. Small group of friends, I’m fine. Large party where I am going to have to be the hostess—not so much.”
Rafe seemed puzzled, “Why will you have to be the hostess?”
I sighed and explained, “Thrace will take care of all the social host jobs, but I will have to take care of things like food, clean-up, making sure people aren’t in places they shouldn’t be, and taking care of anyone that isn’t feeling well. I get to be mom at these parties, so I rarely ever enjoy them like Thrace does.”
“I’m sorry. Do you get to have any fun?”
“Jazz and Key will be there so I will get to hear about all the dirty details of your interrogation. It’ll be fine, just not the highlight of my week or anything.”
Rafe gave me his most mischievous smile as he asked, “What was the highlight of your week, Calli? Keep in mind, if you say anything other than meeting me, I won’t believe you.”
I considered my week, then I considered lying, but I finally admitted, “I guess it would have been making friends with you. But, keep in mind, it wasn’t that exciting of a week. I really don’t want to inflate that ego of yours anymore than it already is.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, meeting you has definitely been the highlight of my summer so far. Of course, since I don’t care about inflating your ego, I can admit that I find you fascinating,” he threw my words back at me with a twist that made my stomach contract as if I had been kicked.
I shakily laughed and finally bowed to him after not making one direct hit. “I’m letting you off easy today since you are sparring my better half in a couple of hours.”
“Since you are cutting our sparring short, can you help me out with my calisthenics? I usually do them after you leave anyway.”
He went to his bag, grabbed a water, and threw it to me. He then did the one thing that would be sure to get my attention and had me drooling again. He took off his shirt. My eyes widened and my heart rate increased rapidly as he came back toward me. He asked me to sit on his feet and keep count while he did sit-ups. I looked down at his hand touching my bare arm and slowly gazed from this hand, to his forearm, to his bicep, to his muscular shoulder, and to his chiseled chest. When I finally worked my way back up to his face to meet his eyes that were now smoldering on me, I was well past my usual flush red.
Rafe teased me, “Are you done with your examination?”
He startled me out of my revelry, “Who takes their shirt off just to do sit-ups?”
Rafe replied in his cheeky manner, “Well, I thought I might have to give you a dress rehearsal since I will be running around the pool party in swim trunks. I figured if you had a preview you would be less likely to offend Thrace with your blatant eye rape of me at his party.”
“Generous. Always looking out for your fellow man. Since I am definitely not going to give you a preview, I’m just going to have to trust that you will behave yourself. You gonna actually do sit-ups or was that just an excuse to impress me with your manly form?”
“Both. Sit-ups, it is. I will keep doing them until you have to leave, so make sure you keep count while you are gawking at me.”
Just to be spiteful, I sat on his feet facing the opposite direction, so I would be absolutely sure not to gawk at him. He laughed as he came up the first time and whispered into my ear, “Chicken.”
“I prefer to call it prudence,” I replied as I kept count.
In retaliation, he made sure his hands touched my shoulders or ran down my arms, and he blew gently on my neck every time he came up for the sit-up. The chess match that we were playing was definitely disturbing my senses. He had just hit 214, when I announced that it was time for me to go. I wished him good luck with Thrace as I bolted out the door without looking back.
As soon as I finished my run and took my shower, Thrace was on the phone asking me to pick up the usual barbeque provisions and set up his house while he was sparring Rafe. I agreed and he stopped by to drop off money and a grocery list. I felt guilty as I gazed upon my adoring boyfriend that was thanking me so sweetly for doing his errands for him. I felt like the housewife that secretly lusts after the pool boy. Situations like this were why I still was bitter that Clio’s parents moved her to Cleveland. I really needed to call my plane friend this weekend to unburden my soul. Instead, I ran to the grocery store to pick up the food. Then, I called Jazz and Key to have them meet me at Thrace’s house at noon to help set up. We managed to get everything together in record time in a way that would minimize any evidence that a party had taken place. Jazz and Key had become pros at collecting things like plastic tablecloths and sheets that could be draped over anything that had the potential of being in harms way. We also moved any knick-knacks that could get broken in the wake of a party. Jazz kept up a running discussion of her work out with Rafe the whole time we were setting up.
“Calli, that boy has even more evasion skills than you do. I think I got out the minimum of important details. He lives with his dad in one of those high-rise condos downtown. No idea about what happened to his Mom, or even what his relationship is like with his dad. I only found out that his dad was in the Air Force and is retired now.”
Key jumped in with the most important question, “What about girlfriends—past, present, future.”
Jazz put on her most devious grin, “Well, we all know that I’m his future boo. There is no present girlfriend. But I might have to actually develop patience cause his last girlfriend died in an accident, and he’s not looking for that kind of hurt again.”
Key seemed shocked as she said, “That’s horrible! What kind of accident?”
Jazz looked very solemn as she said, “Car accident. He wouldn’t talk about it other than to say that she was his best friend, and he had no current plans to ever replace her. I think that is why he seems so happy to be in Detroit. It’s a fresh start for him here.”
“Yeah, you don’t hear too many stories about people moving to Detroit for a fresh start. It’s kinda like going to Vegas in search of true love. In either case, I don’t like the odds. However, sending a bunch of singles to Vegas each week in search of true love would make an excellent reality show,” I observed.
Both Key and Jazz laughed. Key replied, “I’d watch it! But in the mate department, I’ll set my sights on someone with less drama than Rafe. I invited the hottie basketball player here for a try out on my turf.”
I cocked my head to one side as I inquired, “What does your Suitor Checklist include?”
Key answered as if reading off it. “Is he nice to my friends, does he know how to handle himself in public, what are his vices, what are his expectations of a girl he’s dating or is he just tryin to hook-up, what does he look like with his shirt off. You know all the basics that a girl has to consider before pursuing her prey.”
Jazz piped in, “Chica, you crack me up.”
Key seemed confused, “What? You practically helped me develop the list. Too many girls just throw themselves at guys with little or no understanding of whether the guy will be worth it. I do my research. It mak
es me much more likely to pick The Keepers and avoid the Players and Losers. I’m not saying Rafe will be either one of those, but he sounds like too much work. And for me, I would always be wondering if he was constantly comparing me to his dead girlfriend. It’s too much pressure to live up to someone that he will always have on a pedestal. And let’s face it, I’m the type of girl that does not share her pedestal!”
Jazz pondered Key’s remark. “I am always up for a challenge. But you’re right. If it’s too much work, I might want to hedge my bets and pursue at least one more hottie. Did you say Mr. Basketball was bringin any of his friends along?”
Key and I marveled at how practical Jazz was. Key announced, “Yeah, I think he is bringin a couple of his wingmen.”
Jazz shook her head and said, “Well, looks like I got all my bases covered,” just as we heard cars pull into the driveway.
Thrace and Rafe headed in the front door already decked out in their swim trunks, t-shirts, and sandals. They both were in a good mood as they called out their greetings to us.
Thrace gave me a hug and said, “Place looks ready to go. You girls should prep party houses professionally. Thank you. Since Rafe kicked my eyas in sparring, he has to be in charge of the grill and give me a shot at beating him in Mortal Kombat, later.”
I looked at Rafe and remarked, “Wow. We need to make sure we bet with you a lot in the future.”
Rafe laughed and said, “Yeah, I don’t know exactly how that worked. Thrace has a real future as a used car salesman. He can talk anyone into anything.”
Thrace smiled and said, “On that note, I need to steal Calli away for a second,” as he pulled me into the den without waiting to hear any snarky replies.
He let go of my hand and went to a drawer that usually contained DVDs and pulled out what looked like a small ring box. He handed it to me and said, “Let the games begin.”
I opened the box and found a little folded white piece of paper that said, “Step 1: Holding hands.”
I looked up at him and gave him my most endearing smile as I said, “I don’t know Sparky, are you sure you’re ready for this? It’s a big step.”
His heated gaze locked with mine. He ran both his hands down my arms lightly trailing one finger so he would give me goose bumps. When he reached my hands, he entwined them in his as he leaned forward to gently rub his scruff against my neck. He whispered in my ear, “I’m hoping we can move on from this one rather quickly.”
I shivered as I said, “I think that can be arranged, but I think we best get a move on cause I think I hear your first guests arriving and I haven’t changed yet.”
Thrace sighed deeply, “Please tell me you’re not wearing that bikini you wore this week. I think it might kill me, and it would definitely make me want to kill anyone that I caught staring at you.”
I gave him a frown of disapproval, but I told him that the bikini was locked safely away back at my house. There was no way I would wear it in front of a large group of people. I was still shy about wearing any bathing suit in a crowd. Luckily, I had a Tankini bathing suit by Betsey Johnson that worked perfectly for these occasions. I quickly grabbed my suit and shorts from Thrace’s room and headed to the bathroom to change. When Jazz and Key emerged from the guest bedroom, they were both clad in bikini tops and shorts. I filled them in on Step 1 as we headed down the stairs.
By the time we got to the pool about 10 people had already arrived, and Thrace was in full mingle mode as the perfect host. He talked to everyone. He introduced everyone to Rafe, who had already attracted followers--one of which was Jazz who was trying to mark her territory. I headed into the kitchen to start getting the food and drink out before the natives got restless. I put the meat on a tray and took it out for Rafe to get started with his duties.
He thanked me with a knowing look as his eyes followed me back into the house where I finished prepping the rest of the goodies. Thrace seemed to have attracted his own followers as well. I tended to worry about his fidelity because I had yet to cave and he always loved female attention. I made my way towards him to fend off one of the more blatant ex-girlfriends that seemed to have Thrace in verbal handcuffs. Siena was one of those people that you couldn’t get out of a conversation in less than ten minutes. Apparently, my boy needed a rescue, so I merely walked over and said, “Excuse me, Thrace. Rafe needs you over at the grill. The food is about ready.” I linked my hand in his and smiled sweetly at Siena. She, however, glared at me with pure malice. To this day, I still swear that she was the one that created a blog under my name called Virgin Ice Queens Anonymous.
“You rock, babe,” Thrace leaned down and whispered in my ear.
“You should introduce Rafe to Siena. Just for the flock of it.”
“Hey, I’m starting to like the guy—that’s just not nice,” he laughed.
There was a lull in my duties, so Jazz, Key, and I did some sun bathing. We linked our chairs, grabbed our water, and shoed the guys away. We got the scoop from Key about how her potential suitor was scoring on her checklist. Key thought he was doing fairly well. Pretty soon the heat started getting to us, so we eased our way into the pool. None of us wanted to have to deal with getting our hair wet, so we stayed at the shallow end. But to no avail, we were soon in a splashing war with the guys as the whole pool erupted in torrents of water from everywhere. Thrace managed to tackle and dunk me. We wrestled around for a bit before he got the better of me, swept me up into his arms, and spun me around into submission. We laughed then he dropped me back in. We goofed off for a while longer before Thrace and I got out to dry off. Luckily, I brought my bag down, so I could comb out my hair straight so it didn’t dry all funky. Then, we shared a lounger with Thrace to dry off. He put his hand on top of mine and laced them together. I noticed Rafe didn’t join in the battle. He still had a small group around him—one of which much to my amusement was Siena.
The bulk of the day was relaxed and mellow. But then day turned into night and the relaxed afternoon turned into a more wicked evening. And as often happened with Thrace, my lovely mellow Dr. Jekyll turned into a moody Mr. Hyde. It was like liquor gave people a personality transplant. They were much louder, more outrageous, more bubbly, or more of a moody flocker in Thrace’s case. Unfortunately, he somehow thought all my introvert characteristics would just float away if I drank more, so he felt the need to strongly encourage me to drink in these situations.
Here was the quick version of what has been repeated at least once a month with slight variations for the last three months: Thrace started drinking, and I refrained because I was the designated driver. Thrace tried to tease me into having just one drink, and I said no. Thrace backed off for a little while. Then, Thrace tried to guilt me into having just one, and I said no. Thrace backed off for a little while. Finally, Thrace started acting like a complete tool, and I tried to either take care of him or get him home while he generally called me an Ice Queen. I ignored his behavior and dropped him off. He apologized the next day. Under those circumstances, you could understand how alcohol had really never held that great of an appeal for me.
Several drinking games started up. Several dares were issued and various girls and guys ended up making eyases of themselves. I approached Rafe and asked if he could do a little more grilling. He said he was at my service and followed me inside the house to grab some more hot dogs and brauts. He quietly asked, “Is everything ok, Calli?” I looked out at the pool and saw Thrace playing quarters with his friends and just shook my head, “It’s fine now, but my guess is in about an hour my Dr. Jekyll will depart and Mr. Hyde will arrive.”
Rafe sighed as we started arranging things on the platter, “I best be gone before that happens, or I will have a hard time restraining myself from jumping in.”
I looked at him with a guarded expression, “It’s not that bad, and the last thing I need is a fight. Jazz and Key always have my back, and Thrace will see them as a lot less threatening.”
Rafe scanned the party an
d located both Jazz and Key cozied up with two of the basketball players in the living room. “It looks like they are currently occupied.”
I looked over at them and smiled, “Doesn’t matter. When I need them, they are always there for me. Better still, when I don’t need them, they don’t bother butting in.”
“Sounds like a little bit of a complicated game to learn. I guess more times than not you aren’t in need of a rescue, but guys tend to want to jump in and save you whether you need it or not.”
“Exactly. You learn very quickly grasshopper. It used to drive me crazy when Thrace and I first started dating. I would tell him about things that didn’t go as planned, and he always would try to lecture me on how to fix it when I really just wanted to vent. Fixing things is so part of the male mind that he just couldn’t help himself. So, I finally have him trained—I think.”
We had all the food prepped and headed outside to the grill again. Rafe looked around at his future classmates and said, “Yeah. It looks like this crew definitely needs food in them before they head out.”
I looked at him prepping the grill and replied, “Don’t worry, there is a mandatory DD for every car here. Your future classmates might seem a little crazy right now, but they are not that stupid. We take care of our own.”
Thrace saw Rafe and I chatting so he left the game to heckles and catcalls, so he could come mark his territory. He looked at Rafe and said, “Great idea, man. We were just sayin that we were all getting hungry again.”
Rafe smiled and said, “Glad to be of service, but it was Calli’s idea.”
Thrace put his arm around me and kissed me on the forehead, “She is definitely The Ringleader or a Mother Hen; depends on the day. You should join us for our monthly mystery destinations.”
Rafe looked at Thrace in a curious manner and inquired, “What’s that?”
Thrace laughed and tried to explain without slurring his words, “Bout once a month, Calli sets up a field trip for our group of friends. It’s always weird and usually fun. But she won’t tell us what it is until we actually get there, so she calls it Mystery Destinations.”
I smiled up at Thrace, but confessed to Rafe, “Not all my Mystery Destinations turn out to be fun. Some of them turn out to be just plain weird, but they are always memorable. Last month we took a road trip to Hell, Michigan. Got our very own Death Certificates at Screams Ice Cream, hung out in Hell in a Handbasket, checked out The Damn Site Inn, and got our college diploma at Damnation University, or as we like to call it, Damn-U. I really wanted to be Guest Mayor for the Day.”
Thrace laughed down at me and replied, “Yeah, who doesn’t want to be Mayor of Hell. Somehow we manage to put the fun in dysfunctional. Since you guys are setting up again, let me grab you something to drink. Miss Calli-No-Fun, I am sure you want Diet. Rafe, what can I get you?”
Rafe just shook his head and said, “I’ll take a water for now. It’s too hot around the grill, don’t want to get dehydrated and end up with a hangover tomorrow.”
Thrace just laughed and said, “No such luck for me, I can already tell. I’ll be back in a sec.”
Rafe smiled as he flipped the hot dogs and brauts while I got the table ready again. “That wasn’t so bad.”
I just kept arranging the table and said, “It’s early.”
For some reason, it took Thrace a good 10 minutes to grab a diet and water from the kitchen. My social butterfly must have stopped to chat again. He apologized, “Sorry Cal, we didn’t have plain diet. Mom got me that cherry diet stuff. It must have been on sale. I added a little grenadine as well because it tastes like crap if you don’t.”
I laughed at his attempt to make me the perfect drink, “Wow. You are quite the bartender, Thrace.”
Thrace seemed pleased as he said, “Just trying to make sure my girl has a good time tonight and relaxes for once instead of having to take care of me.”
Thrace then went and alerted his friends that food was available again. Jazz, Key, Thrace, Rafe, and the basketball players all sat at the patio table and discussed the upcoming school year. Thrace’s eyes started to lose some of the glaze, and I started to relax for once because Thrace finally had seemed to learn from his past mistakes. As we started the clean up from dinner, Justin grabbed the ketchup bottle and decided everyone was just buzzed enough to play spin the bottle. He called the group over for a mandatory once around. Thrace pulled me onto his lap, so we could free up another chair or to make sure I couldn’t get away. Jazz and Key followed suit with their basketball players, as did other couples. This inspired Justin to require everyone to sit two to a chair, so there were no awkward spins. I looked over at Rafe who had Siena on his lap, and I couldn’t help smirking.
The game was funny at times, awkward at times, and provocative at times. I ended up having to kiss, yes, you guessed it, Rafe. Not once but twice! He was a total gentleman and kissed my cheek—well one side for one kiss, one side for the other kiss. Thrace was pleased that Rafe didn’t try to encroach, while other people at the table didn’t seem so inclined to behave in way that recognized current relationships. However, I had to say that the way he kissed my cheek made my pulse race and my face go up in flames. Thrace ended up being kissed by Siena his ex-girlfriend who practically ate his face. Of course, Thrace didn’t seem to mind. The Flocker!
The first round ended and Justin decided that we all needed to play I Never, so everyone went off to refresh their drinks. Thrace popped up and said that he was going to get me a refill and Rafe ‘a real drink.’ He soon came back with my cherry diet and a beer for Rafe. I could have told you all the questions before hand. We learned who was a virgin and who wasn’t. (I could also tell you exactly who was lying on that question). Both Rafe and Thrace drank on that one unfortunately. We learned who had hooked-up with whom. Who had experimented with what. Needless to say, I didn’t have to drink much, but I kept sipping on my drink as people were thinking of the next question.
Thrace stayed in his Dr. Jekyll persona, so that more than anything really allowed me to chillax for practically the first party ever. Since Thrace had to drink more than I, some of the glaze starting showing up in his eyes again. He kept holding my hand or wrapping his arms behind me in a hug as he leaned his head against mine. After the game was finally concluded, I got up off Thrace’s lap and my balance was all funny. It was like for a split second the room spun, but Thrace put his hands on my shoulders to steady me. It was about time to start to clean up, make sure all our DDs were good, and sheppard our classmates out the door with minimum fuss before Thrace’s parents arrived. However, I was still feeling a little fuzzy. I looked up at my boyfriend and asked him politely if I could steal him for a second to help clean up. He said sure in a good guy manner, and we headed into the house. I led him to the den.
I wasted no time in firing my accusation at him. “What the Flock did you put in my drink, Thrace?”
He realized my Irish temper was in effect, so at first he played it off as nothing, “What are you talking about Cal? You were just havin a great time for once. Chillax.”
He tried to grab my hands from my hips and kiss my neck to turn the tide of my anger, but instead it got my Irish up even more.
“Thrace, I’m gonna ask you one more time, and if you lie to me, we are over for good,” I threatened ominously.
He seemed to finally take me seriously, so Mr. Hyde came out to defend his actions. “What’s your problem, Cal? Afraid to let go of an ounce of your self-control? You didn’t have to drive. What was gonna be your big excuse this time, Ms. Ice Queen? You finally relaxed, and we had a good time. Finally. Now, you gotta go and ruin it by actually being pissed that you had fun. You need a therapist.” He stormed out of the den and made his way back outside.
I hated causing a scene and being a drama queen usually wasn’t on my radar. So I quietly slipped out of the den, found Jazz and Key, and asked them to walk me home. In front of the guys, I told them I got a headache and wanted to run home to grab some a
spirin. The ladies told the guys they should start to get ready to bail so they could be out by the time Thrace’s parents got home. I scanned the room for Rafe and subtly waved good-bye. He looked puzzled but didn’t try to follow.
As the girls walked me home, I told them a brief version of the scene in the den. They were about as pissed as I was. Jazz remarked, “Why can’t he just accept you the way you are?”
Key seemed concerned, “Did he ever tell you what it was that he put in your drink?”
I just shook my head and said, “No. He was too busy making this all my fault. It probably had something to do with the cherry taste in my drink. It couldn’t be that strong because I’m still walking a straight line, and I only feel it a little.”
Jazz gave me a hard look as we reached my door. “If you don’t kick his ass for this, I will. I promise you.”
I laughed as I opened the door and remarked, “Well, without us there to clean up and herd everyone out for him, I think his parents are gonna suspect he had more than a few people over.”
Key hugged me and said, “Done and done. We’ll just call the boys to come pick us up here unless you want us to stick around for a girl’s night?”
I told her thank you, but no. I definitely needed a little ‘me time’ to process the latest drama.
Key dialed Tre and sweetly requested him to come pick her and Jazz up because my headache wasn’t going away. Tre and his friends dutifully arrived five minutes later.
Jazz announced, “We’re probably going to hang somewhere and watch a movie. You can come with.”
I smiled and reminded her, “No, I’ve got a headache, remember?”
It had only just turned 8:30 when they took off. I was less befuddled and more pissed, so I decided to go hit my bag around for a while. I changed into my workout clothes and threw my hair up in a ponytail. I put on my gloves and started to take my frustration out on the bag. I needed a clear head to decide what to do about Thrace’s latest stunt. I was in the middle of pouring out my frustrations and batting questions around in my head when someone said, “Knock. Knock.”
Rafe was leaning against the door jam looking way too yummy for a person who had been manning the grill all day long. His hazel eyes seemed to search my face to try to figure out what was going on. “Does this headache have a name?”
I smiled at his question, but kept hitting the bag as I replied, “I will give you three guesses and the first two don’t count.”
“What did he do?” Rafe asked in an understanding voice. “Or let me guess. Based on how you stood up after the game and Thrace fetching your drink, I’m assuming the cherry flavor was Sloe Gin and not grenadine.”
“What is Sloe Gin? And why didn’t you warn me if you knew,” I grumbled.
“Sloe Gin is kinda like schnapps, so not much alcohol, but it tastes like cherry. I didn’t realize what he did until you stood up all wobbly, and then you took off,” Rafe explained.
“Well that is one mystery solved. He wouldn’t tell me what he put in my drink. The last mystery is what I do about it.”
“It seems to me like you generally only have two options when you get in an argument with your boyfriend. Break up or forgive him. Which side are you leaning to?”
I sighed and looked at his tempting face, “It’s more complicated than that. Our parents are best friends, or at least our moms are. When he’s not acting like a flocker, he’s my best friend. I left the party so he would have to clean up his own mess, which he won’t. So he’s gonna get busted and grounded. He’s gonna blame me until I threaten to tell my dad how he slipped something in my drink. He will grovel a bit, and then we will be fine again until he pulls his next stunt. I just don’t know whether it’s worth it this time to forgive, or if there is anything to forgive because I am a control freak and an Ice Queen.”
“Calli, you do realize you guys are almost at the Dr. Phil level of drama with this latest stunt,” Rafe commented.
“Exactly. Had it been GHB or X, we could have been in one of those cheesy Health videos. I have spent so much of my life trying to get his attention that sometimes I lose my backbone.”
“You want me to knock some sense into him?” Rafe growled.
“You would have had to get in line this time. I just feel like now that he’s a senior, he wants things that I still can’t give him. Essentially, he wants the slutty party girl and that is not me. It’s never gonna be who I am. But, he will convince himself that is not what he wants, and he’ll persuade me. Then, we’ll be right back here a month from now when he does this again.”
“Why don’t you just agree not go to the same parties. Skip the ones he’s at and your problem is solved.”
“Maybe. He says he needs me at his friends’ parties to fend off the other girls, which unfortunately is true. Boys suck sometimes. Of course, I am gonna exclude you from that statement right now, and thank you for only kissing me on the cheek during the game of spin the bottle. You saved me a much bigger fight with that piece of chivalry,” I flashed him a grin.
“You have no idea how much that chivalry cost me,” he replied in a lofty manner.
“What? Your cred with the ladies blown all to hell because they found out you’re a ‘nice guy.’ Or did you have to fend off Siena for the rest of the night?” I teased.
“I did have to fight off Siena all day and night. You have no idea how badly I wanted to dip you back right in his face and kiss you for real after Thrace’s antics.”
“I’m glad you abstained from that one—it would have been ugly.”
“I promise you, the kiss would have been worth it, and you owe me not one but two kisses someday when you are free of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Rafe said in a husky tone as he took a step closer to me.
I looked at his golden brown hair, infectious smile, and dazzling hazel eyes and wished I could be that girl that said, “What are you waitin for,” or even “Sure.” I finally said with enough regret in my mixed message, “Rain check—if things don’t end up working out with Thrace, after an official mourning period, and then only if you convince me that you are not looking for Ms. Slutty Party Girl.”
Rafe shot me a devilish smile and promised, “I’m going to hold you to that rain check, Calli. Don’t worry about the rest. I’m only a junior. Only senior guys want Ms. Slutty Party Girl.”
I laughed and thanked him for that clarification. Finally, I told him I was ready to go in, take a shower, and then vent to my girl, Clio, who I definitely needed to call. He gallantly walked me to the door and gave me a body-melting hug with another tempting kiss on the cheek.
“Am I going to see you in class tomorrow or will you be there in the morning?” Rafe asked right before I shut the door.
“I am sleeping in tomorrow, Mr. Overachiever.”
He laughed back at me and his eyes met mine while he said, “Keep believing that is my motivation. Sweet dreams, Calli.” Well, he definitely had me beat for mixed messages—hands down, no contest.
After I showered and calmed down, I threw on my pjs before I called Clio to unburden my soul. Cinderella, Ariel, and Belle were not supposed to dump their Prince cause he was too boozy—that was not the ending!!! I knew my lifelong fairy tale that I built up in my head was too good to be true. I definitely needed Clio’s advice to sort this out. Although we only talk a couple times a month, our conversations tended to last about two hours. I filled her in on the evening, then backtracked and gave her the scoop on Rafe and his sudden appearance in my life. I finally asked her for advice about Thrace.
“If a guy put something into my drink, what would you do?”
It didn’t take me a second before I announced, “I would make him cry.”
Clio laughed, “Exactly! Why don’t you deserve the same type of respect? Why do you have a backbone with all your friends except him.”
“You mean all four of them? Clio don’t you remember all the times Thrace stopped people from tormenting me in elementary and middle school?”
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She sighed, “I do, Calli. He helped me as well because I was with you, but that does not mean that you have to put up with all the shite he has thrown your way. He was lucky to get you, not the other way around. When are you going to realize that?”
It was my turn to laugh, “When I live in bizzaro world, not the real world. And when I don’t see girls constantly throwing themselves at Thrace whenever I turn my back.”
She thought about it for a second and fired back, “Thrace slipping something in your drink is Kreepy with a capital K. It’s stalker, Kreepy. It’s peeping tom, Kreepy. It’s stranger with candy, Kreepy. This might be the best time to break it off if he is pressuring you about sex and booze. I find that guys always need to push you about something, but two things is one too many. I want you to think long and hard about why you love him if he treats you this way before you let this slide.”
I promised her I would think about all her sound advice before I did any forgiving and forgetting. Luckily, she then got me up to speed on her life and her summer romance. Just as I was about to grill her for more details, I heard my parents come in the door. It was after eleven, so I was a little surprised. I alerted her to their presence and started heading downstairs as I heard my dad bellow my name. Clio ended with, “Tell em I said I miss em and call me soon, sweetie.” I replied I would do just that and got off the phone as I walked in the kitchen.
My parents looked suspiciously at my pjs, wet head, and phone in my hand. My best guess was that they just busted Thrace and thought I ran away to avoid detection.
“Clio says hi and that she misses you,” I remarked. Then I asked innocently, “How was dinner?”
My dad got his suspicious face back on and said, “It was fine til we came home and found Thrace throwing a rager.”
I put on a confused face. “Seriously? Jazz, Key, and I were over at his house til about 7 hangin at the pool and grilling out. There were some people around when we left, but it was definitely not a ragin party. How much trouble is Thrace in?” I asked in a concerned manner.
“At least 30 kids, Thrace drunk off his ass. We had to grab everyone’s keys and call their parents to come and get them. Every room was occupied, but the house wasn’t too bad. Someone managed to keep the trash under control, the furniture covered with sheets, and the table had an outdoor tablecloth on it.”
“Well, the tablecloth and the trash bags were definitely me from this afternoon’s grill out. I didn’t want to get anything on Honey’s kitchen table, so I bought an outdoor tablecloth when I went to the grocery store this afternoon. But Thrace and I got in a tif, and it had been a long day and I didn’t feel like dealing with it so I bailed with Jazz and Key. I’m sorry guys, if we had stuck around it probably wouldn’t have gotten out of hand.”
My dad was satisfied, but of course, my mom seemed curious. Dad finally replied in a gruff manner, “Well, I’m glad one of you is capable of using the common sense that God bestowed on you. And you won’t have to worry about making up with Thrace anytime soon, cause that boy is not leaving the house for any reason other than school for a while.”
Mom came over and put her arm around me as she said, “What was the fight about, sweetie?”
I laughed and replied, “Mom, when have I shared those kind of details? It’s bad enough you and Honey trade notes without me giving you gossip for free. You’re just gonna have to find my diary for those kind of secrets.”
She just shook her head and said, “You know you can share those details whenever you want, dear. We will always be on your side no matter what!”
I smiled at her sweetly and replied, “I know, mom, and thanks for the support, but if you don’t mind I am ready to crash.”
I went off to write in my journal and sleep my problems away.
Hermes Field Log: August 2007
I have definitely established a presence in the life of my Aegis. Same gym. Same karate class. And soon exact same class schedule. I also need to figure out what after school activities she’s involved in other than karate. Apollo will be pleased that I have entered her life with little to no suspicion of my true intent. Apollo’s interest does not seem to be romantic in nature, but that might be wishful thinking on my part. I’m afraid she could cast a spell over me—luckily I am Olympian—not your typical male. I planned on becoming her suitor, so I could have complete access to her time—but my feelings keep growing stronger with every day, not more distant. I practically had to stop myself from drowning her boyfriend in the pool at least 3 times tonight. He does not truly value what he has in Calli, but their lives are so intertwined: friendship, family, romance. One thing is for sure after tonight Thrace will self-destruct without any help from me. It seems that human males want immediate gratification in everything. No patience or control. Maybe it is because their lives are so fleeting and short, especially here in Detroit with Ares ruling.