Lunacy (2 page)

For being as big as he was, easily six foot three and
a little over two hundred pounds of solid muscle, Jynxx moved
pretty quickly. I spaced for a second as the ball was headed right
towards me and he dove in front of me to spike it back before it
could take out my face.

“Thanks!” I said, my voice a little shaky with a
touch of fear and a healthy dose of embarrassment. I didn’t let my
attention wander after that. I stayed on the back line to prevent
anyone getting a potential up-skirt shot, and I was doing better
than I would have expected. I chalked it up to my lucky combat
boots.

Our side of the net was silent, all of us focused on
creaming the crap out of the lighter haired teens. Taunts came from
the other side about how we were all freaks and losers and needed
to just throw in the towel. Was this a social exercise in
segregation and prejudice? Maybe. More importantly, we weren’t
going to lose, and they were under the silly impression that they
weren’t either. We were up by two points, and there were only ten
minutes left before the bell would ring and send me to a study hall
before lunch.

Ideal conditions for a win and gloating rights, until
all hell broke loose. Tommy Gunter, a blond boy on the other side
of the net, spiked the ball when it came his way. It came hurtling
back towards the corner Jynxx and I were holding down. We both dove
for it at the same time, crashing into each other hard. I missed
the ball entirely, but he nailed it and Mia spiked the ball back
over. We scored that last point we needed to secure our victory
before the teachers called it.

Jynxx was still on his feet, but I’d been thrown to
the waxed hardwood floor, sliding across it like I’d just bounced
off a brick wall. Amidst the cheering of our team mates, he saw
that I’d fallen and came to help me to my feet. My arm was aching
like hell since it had taken the brunt of my weight when I fell,
wanting to maintain my dignity by not showing the entire gym my
panties as I toppled over. I felt strength in his hands that could
have crushed iron, but he was gentle as he pulled me up. I steadied
myself with a hand on his arm for a second, closing my eyes and
breathing deeply through my mouth as the room swam around me.

“Holy shit,” Jynxx said eloquently, the distress in
his voice making me look down at my left triceps which was
pulsating with pain.

The whole world around me seemed to slow down as I
saw the copious amount of red that was oozing from the wound in my
arm. Apparently human flesh couldn’t hold up to the friction of a
hardwood floor. It wasn’t huge or deep, but it was bleeding. And
there was more blood on the floor. I bit back the bile that tried
to force its way out of my stomach and swayed a bit. I never had
been good with the sight of my own blood.

Jynxx held the wound shut with one of his big, warm
hands. It didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. I saw the
crimson fluid trickle over his fingers and I had to look away,
almost revisiting my breakfast.

One of the gym teachers, Miss Ring, noticed what was
happening and ran over. She usually joked with me, picked on me in
a way that was friendly, but now her face was wholly serious. “Get
her to the nurse, Davison, before we have to take her to the
hospital for blood loss.”

He nodded and Mia was by my side before we even
started moving. “Are you gonna be okay?” she asked. “Can I do
anything?”

I shook my head and leaned heavily on Jynxx. “We’re
gonna get to the nurse and see if they can patch this up. If not,
can you grab my homework for me for the rest of the day? I’ll text
you to let you know how it goes.”

“Sure thing, ya klutz.”

Jynxx started walking with me, as fast as we could
both manage, the long distance from the gymnasium wing to the
nurse’s office. …All the way at the other end of the building.
Halfway there, I was starting to slow down and Jynxx stopped dead
in his tracks, dark eyes looking into mine for a second. “You’re
not going to like this, but it’s necessary. Don’t fight me.”

“What in the hell are you ta---“ I was interrupted by
him leaning down and scooping an arm behind my knees, the other
around the back of my shoulders, and he started carrying me. “Hey!
Put me down!”

He had the arm around my back pressing against the
gash and just shook his head. “I can walk faster than you right
now, and you need to be saving what little strength you’ve got. So
shut it.”

My jaw dropped and my mouth gaped like a fish before
reason prevailed and I sighed, relaxing a bit. “Prick,” I said
without malice.

He scoffed. “You love it.” My cheeks burned at that,
but I said nothing.

We got to the nurse’s office much quicker than we
would have if I’d been trying to walk on my own. Jynxx hip-checked
the door open and we were met at the door by Miss Fawn, a mousy
woman with light brown hair and startling violet eyes. “Kacea! What
happened?”

I was carried to one of the beds and the crinkle of
paper was loud like the snapping of bones under my weight. I missed
the feeling of being in Jynxx’s arms already, and the pain seemed
intensely magnified now that he wasn’t holding on to me any longer.
Through clenched teeth, I managed to explain the situation as
quickly as possible. “Business as usual, Miss Fawn. The gym floor
jumped up and bit me.”

She was rushing about, grabbing antiseptics and
gauze, mumbling to herself as she collected everything she needed
to patch me up. Jynxx stepped out of the way and I slid back on the
bed so I was sitting up. Miss Fawn tugged on a pair of latex gloves
and lightly poked and prodded at the wound. I hissed lightly at the
examination and she winced like she felt my pain.

“Sorry, Kacea. Just checking to make sure it isn’t
deep enough to need stitches.” Those violet eyes seemed to assess
the damage silently before she nodded and poured some iodine onto a
cotton ball. “This is going to sting…” With no more preambles, she
set to cleaning the wound.

Sting was an understatement. The salt content in the
iodine made it feel like someone was holding a blow torch to my
arm. It must have shown on my face, because I felt the warmth of
Jynxx’s hand in mine and I squeezed it as hard as I could to keep
from grinding my teeth together against the agony. I looked away
from it and squeezed my eyes shut to hold back the tears that
fought to escape me.

After a few minutes that dragged on like eternity, I
heard Miss Fawn’s voice like it was from a distance. Jynxx lightly
shook my uninjured arm and the lights of the room were bright
around me when I opened my eyes. “You’re all done now, Kacea.” I
brushed back moisture on my cheeks with a shaky hand, nodding my
thanks. She gave me instructions on how best to care for the wound
and change the dressings and she asked me if I was ok to finish my
classes for the day.

I thought it over. First day of school, probably not
a good idea to skip out on classes and miss the overview. On the
other hand, my arm was a pulsing mass of burning, aching torture.
“Do you have anything I can take to dull the edge a little?” Miss
Fawn nodded and handed me a small plastic cup full of water and two
Advil pills. I downed them and the water without batting an
eyelash. I waited a few minutes and convinced myself that they were
kicking in already.

“I think I can manage three more classes after
lunch.” Jynxx helped me to my feet and I found myself fighting
embarrassment at being so vulnerable around him. Worse than that, I
had appeared weak in front of him, and that just wasn’t
acceptable.

Miss Fawn tossed me a juice box and a snack sized
package of Oreo cookies. “Eat and drink that. Get your blood sugar
back up. Go enjoy the rest of your lunch period.”

“Thanks.”

He walked me back to the cafeteria and we chatted
about random things on the way. I sighed at the thought of bussing
tables later that evening, with my arm like it was. “Never thought
I’d hate being a waitress,” I groaned.

“Oh? Where do you work?”

“The Palace,” I answered simply, trying not to look
ashamed.

“Really?” Jynxx asked with a smirk, giving me an
appraising look that lingered on my chest for a second. When he met
my eyes again, I was as red as a tomato. “Tavern wench, huh? I can
see it.”

“
Thaaaanks,” I drawled, rolling my
eyes with a dismissive chuckle.

The rest of the day was free from inflicting any more
damage to myself, and Jynxx lingered in my thoughts even after the
last time I saw him. He’d looked down at me with those dark eyes,
and they were anything but cold when he gave me a rare smile. He
patted me on the head and smirked a little at my disapproving face.
“Take it easy on yourself, okay?”

I had been, but now that school was done, I had to
get in my car and go to work. Strutting around in a tavern wench
outfit with a bum arm was going to be a bitch.

Chapter 3

I rolled in to the parking lot of The Palace, parking
my car and sitting in it for a moment to collect myself. I was
exhausted, but it was time to leave all that at the door. I touched
up my makeup and headed inside to change. Emerging from the women's
small locker room, I walked right into the broad, leather covered
and half bare chest of my boss.

Prince, a tall Nordic looking man with eyes as icy as
the Adriatic, eyed the gauze and tape on my arm with
disappointment.

“And how didst thou come by such a grievous wound, my
lady?”

“My apologies, milord! ‘Twas a roguish minstrel what
thought to get grabby. Thou shouldst have seen what ill befell him
by my hand, good sir.” I added the last with a wink, the almost
Irish accent coming to me easily. Did I mention we had to talk like
the Dark Ages, too?

Prince smirked and patted my head. “Nice cover story,
ya klutz.” I stuck my tongue out at him and he smirked, saying more
loudly, “Perhaps when thou art of non-jailbait age, fair
Kacea.”

I rolled my eyes and headed behind the bar, grabbing
a knife and some lemons. I prepped them for garnishes and waved a
lemon wedge threateningly at Prince. “Get thee gone, knave! Lest I
squirt the juices from yon foul fruits into thine eyes…”

He nearly cackled at that and went back to his post
by the door, looking every bit like a Viking invader with his long
blond hair, riveted leather armor, and a very convincing broadsword
with intricate carvings up and down the length of it. Prince wasn’t
just the owner; he was the head of security, too.

You wouldn’t think that such a cheese ball idea would
do so well, but the place was packed five or six nights a week.
During the summer, it was full every night. Even now, at five on a
Tuesday evening, a lot of our regulars had already filed in for
dinner.

The Derringer triplets - John, Josh, and Joe -
occupied their usual booth. John, the oldest by a whopping fifteen
minutes, threw me a wave and a smile that melted most girls into
their socks. I grinned and waved back, then set to making my first
few drinks.

***

The night seemed like it would remain uneventful
until about eight o’clock rolled around and some of my biggest
fears were realized. Jynxx, a regular customer whose name I was
almost positive was Teigan, and three other guys I didn’t recognize
came through the door en masse, all of them taking seats at the
bar. I had the sudden urge to crawl under a rock and die. I knew
that mentioning where I worked had been a bad idea…

The five of them were grinning from ear to ear and I
dropped my gaze to the floor briefly, taking a deep breath to
collect myself. When I lifted my eyes again, I caught Prince’s
concerned look and slapped a smile on my face.

“Jynxx… I am so going to kick your ass for this…” I
said quietly, the simpering smile still pasted to my lips.

One of his friends, his eyes the same artificial
crimson as his curly hair, laughed and slapped Jynxx on the back.
“I like this one, Jynxxie. She’s got spunk.” His voice was light,
but the look he settled on me was filled with heat and dark,
dangerous things.

It set me on edge and my mind worked quickly to seek
out something else for my eyes to focus on. I noticed that the
three other guys were all wearing glowing bracelets that warned the
bartender that they were underage, as well. I wasn’t sure of their
ages, but everyone -aside from the long haired guy with the honey
colored eyes- wasn’t old enough to be partaking of alcohol. “So,
what would you guys like to drink?” I asked, careful to avoid
direct eye contact with the guy with the red hair.

Teigan –his name was definitely Teigan- smiled at me,
the calm he always seemed to exude making my stomach stop doing
agitated cartwheels and bringing my heart rate down from
near-coronary levels. “You know mine already, I believe.” His voice
was smooth, cultured, and lightly accented. He was a regular
customer who always made me smile, no matter how miserable my day
had been before I’d gotten to work.

“A Barking Spider. Got it.” I nodded to him, smiling
in spite of myself and throwing the very alcoholic drink together
without even needing to look at the bottles I poured into the
glass. I set it down on the bar in front of him, looking to the
others. “I can make almost any drink without booze, and we do just
have sodas. Um…” I tapped my chin with a finger as I pondered for a
second. “I can do milkshakes back here, or smoothies. Just about
anything you could want, so long as there’s no alcohol in it. I’d
like to keep my job and not go to jail.”

Jynxx laughed as I rambled off the potential
virgin-drink menu. “I’ll take a cherry limeade.”

The guy with the red hair piped in, almost
dissipating my temporary ease in a second, “I’ll take a Shirley
Temple, since we have the same hairstyle and all.”

I set to it almost robotically, having been working
behind my parents’ bar for parties at home since I was thirteen or
so. Jynxx and his red-haired friend were sipping their drinks
eagerly when I finally got to their other two friends.