Metamorphosis (16 page)

One Thursday afternoon in early
November,
Evie
came bouncing up to me on the sidewalk
as we met after class to walk to our dorm. The weather had started cooling down
and the oppressive humidity was dissipating; it had become quite pleasant and
refreshing to walk around and spend time outside. She had a huge smile
plastered across her face and I knew she was dying to tell me her good news.

“Tomorrow night we have a book
boyfriend challenge and it’s going to be awesome,” she sang. I raised my
eyebrow in interest.

“Go on, you’ve got my attention.”

“Mina invited us to go with her to
listen to her boyfriend’s band play!” She squealed in excitement. “They are
playing at some warehouse where there’s supposed to be like three or four
different local bands performing. I am so excited!” Unable to contain her
enthusiasm for a chance to meet a sexy musician, she then started doing a
ridiculous dance on the sidewalk and I pretended like I was trying to escape her
embarrassing antics by running away. She chased after me and tackled me to the
ground. People around us stopped to make sure we were just playing as we rolled
around in the grass, but we soon couldn’t move due to our uncontrollable
laughter. I laughed until tears were running down my face and my side hurt and
I had to walk the rest of the way hunched over on one side with black streaks
marking my face.

“You know, you really need to get
laid,” I told her once I caught my breath. “How long has it been now?”

“Way too fucking long,”
Evie
snarled her lip up in disgust. She had met a few guys
around campus and at the Saturday night shindig, as we had started referring to
it as, but no one that she was interested in seeing more than a couple of
times. Her sexual encounters had been about the equivalent of mine since we had
been in Houston, except for the fact that I slept in bed with Ash once a week.
Even though there was never anything sexual going on when we did, it was rather
intimate and I knew it was something that
Evie
missed. “But don’t you worry, I plan to take care of that problem tomorrow
night.” She gave me
an
wicked look and continued, “I’m
just going to go ahead and let you know now that unless you plan on giving up
your V-card to an absolute stranger at this thing tomorrow, you have no chance
in winning our contest. You may as well plan on buying me breakfast Sunday
morning because I will not be denied. I am going to strain a muscle in my wrist
soon from gripping my damn vibrator so tight. I went ahead and bought a multi
pack of those batteries that it takes. The woman that checked me out kept
looking at me like she knew what I was buying them for… of course she knew,
what else takes that damn size battery? Nothing, that’s what
!
They might as well just call them ‘vibrator batteries’ on the package and come
with a sticker that says ‘Needs a Good Fuck.’”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the
rant she had gone off on. “It’s okay,
Evie
. Calm
down. We will go and find you a sex stud tomorrow. You really do need to get
some and get it out of your system. I’ve noticed your book selection as of late
have been moving further away from young adult and closer to pure erotica, so I
figured you were looking for some good material.”

The following 24 hours crawled by
as
Evie
and I anxiously
awaited
our big night out. I wasn’t quite sure what to wear to something like this so I
allowed
Evie
to dress me; however, I retained veto
power over her selections. She was finally getting to wear her red and black
striped
hoochie
momma
dress which
she paired with knee high black heeled boots. She looked even more amazing than
usual with her
jet black
hair piled in a messy bun
held together with black chopsticks. I wanted to wear pants so she dressed me
in distressed skinny jeans paired with a sheer black top and my black and red
lace bra underneath.
Evie
and I argued over what
shoes I was going to wear. I wanted
flip flops
, she
wanted stilettos. We compromised with sparkly black ballet flats. I kept my
hair down and straight, I felt a little less vulnerable when it was down,
almost like it was a layer of protection of sorts. I was a little apprehensive
about the rather provocative way in which I was dressed, but
Evie
assured me that I looked great and that we would fit
in just fine. I had no choice but to trust her. At 9:00 sharp, we headed out
the door and were off to pick up Mina.

Mina lived with her parents about
20 minutes away from campus. Our picking her up and meeting her parents
provided her an easy alibi since she was planning on staying the night at her
boyfriend Noah’s apartment. I was glad to see that Mina was dressed similar to
how
Evie
and I
were,
she
wore black skinny jeans, a metallic silver top, and black stilettos. I had met
Mina several times at the campus coffee shop and library, but I had never
realized how pretty she really was until then. Her naturally blonde hair
laid
in perfect curls just past her shoulder blades and her
stunning blue eyes shimmered against her top. After quick introductions with
her parents, we rushed out the door excited for what the night would bring.

A half an hour later we were
paying the
door man
our $20 cover charge to get into
the warehouse in the middle of nowhere. The doorman was Mina’s brother’s friend
who got us in as 21, but couldn’t do anything about the entrance fee. Even
though Mina bitched about it to him, I didn’t mind much because I hoped that we
wouldn’t have to buy many of our own drinks throughout the night.

Based on the outer appearance of
just a metal rectangular shaped warehouse, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect
when we went inside, but surprisingly, the dimly lit space looked like what I
assumed a regular club would look like. Bars lined the two walls to my left and
right; a good-sized stage was centered against the back wall; the main area was
filled with tables and chairs with the exception of the small open space
directly in front of the stage that was currently being used as a dance floor;
there was a door leading to what looked like a hallway on one side of the room;
and there were several pool tables set off to the other side. The place was
pretty full, all of the pool tables were in use and there were only one or two
open bar tables.

Before I had an opportunity to
look around anymore, Mina grabbed
mine and
Evie’s
hands
and drug us off towards a group of
people seated at some tables that had been pushed together. People stopped to
look at the three of us as we made our way across the
room,
it was impossible not to notice. I thought we may have resembled Charlie’s
Angels ~ the striking blonde, the
bad-ass
Asian, and
the mysterious brunette. Even though I wasn’t really mysterious at all, it was
the best I could come up with for myself… the ‘boring brunette’ just didn’t
have the same ring.

As soon as we reached the table,
Mina jumped in the lap of who I assumed was Noah and started making out with
him wildly. The whole table cheered at
them which
caused Mina to start laughing and break the kiss. She then introduced us to
Noah, who was just as nice as he was good-looking.

“It’s so nice to meet you both,”
he said as he shook both my and
Evie’s
hands. He then
looked over at Mina and told her, “I’m not sure I’m going to approve of you
hanging out with the likes of these two ladies. The three of you beautiful
women together will be nothing but trouble.”

“You know I don’t need any help
finding trouble. I found you didn’t I?” she teased while kissing his neck.

Noah laughed and moved her mouth
to his. “Yes, you did, you naughty girl,” he said against her lips.

Seeing the two of them together
made me so hopeful, yet so envious too.
I could see how much
they truly enjoyed being with one another
,
they were
adorable together
.

“Hey Mina, are you going to
introduce your friends to the rest of us?” one of the other guys at the table
called out. “I’m sure they didn’t come with you to watch you and funny boy
there kiss and make goo-goo eyes all night.”

“Oh, right! Sorry guys,” she said
as she jumped off Noah’s lap. She then walked us around the table introducing
us to the rest of Noah’s
bandmates
and friends.
However after the first or second introduction, I stopped processing the names
and faces because I caught sight of the lead singer of the band that was
currently on stage. In the excitement of our arrival, I had barely noticed the
band on the stage and the group of people gathered in front of them as well as
the loud music that filled the room, but my brain had been on such a sensory
overload, I had failed to notice just how incredibly hot the front man was. I
somehow made my way around the table, I think I had met a Max, a Seth, and a
Justin, but I couldn’t be sure about those and had no clue on the rest. Several
of them had girls in their laps or by their sides and I didn’t remember any of
their names either.

When we got back to where Noah was
sitting, he had beers and stools waiting for us and he explained to us the
setup for the night. This was only 32 Leaves’ fourth time playing here, but
Noah explained it was quickly becoming one of their preferred spots because of
the older crowd and the overall chillness of the place.

I tried very hard to pay attention
to the conversation that was going on around me but I kept finding my attention
and eyes tuned in on the guy holding the microphone. I was awestruck. He was
tall, probably six-five or six-six, and his defined muscles were on display via
the sopping wet black t-shirt was plastered to his chest. His dark hair was
shaved close to his head and tattoos covered both arms and crawled up the front
and back of his neck. Small piercings in each nipple were also evident through
the thin cotton shirt that clung to him.

Mina leaned over close to my ear
and said, “He’s pretty amazing, huh.” It was more a statement of fact than a
question and I nodded without breaking my focus.

“I think I’m in love,” I murmured
only loud enough for her to hear.

“You, me, and every other girl in
here,” she chuckled.

And at that moment, as if he heard
our conversation over the loud music and across the crowded room, he turned in
our direction, locked his eyes with mine and flashed me a wicked grin.
Instantly, I looked away, mortified that he had caught me staring at him.

A few moments later Mina said,
“He’s still looking at you,
ya
know?” I shook my head
no and kept my gaze on my drink that sat on the table in front of me.

“I’m sure he’s looking at someone
else,” I
replied .

She just shook her head at me and
laughed. “Ok-ay, well in case it was you that he was eyeing and you end up
talking to him later, I’ll tell you what I know about him. His name is Mason but
everyone calls him Rat.” She made an ugly face when she said the
nickname which
mirrored my thoughts exactly. “His brother
owns this place and he’s basically treated like a rock God around here. When
their band,
Jobu’s
Rum, isn’t playing, him and his boys
sit at those reserved tables over there, and there’s always a herd of groupies
surrounding them.” Mina motioned her head towards a collection of tables that
were positioned perfectly in between the bar and the pool tables and that also
had an unobstructed view of the stage.

“I came here a handful of times
with my brother before Noah and the guys got this gig, so I’ve been here maybe
ten times or so and he’s always here, always with a different girl, sometimes
more than one in the same night,” she continued. “Not that I can blame him
though, if I looked and sounded like he did, I would probably be a male whore
as well.”

Learning that the Mason guy was
one that got around was not a surprise in the least. Like Mina had said, with
his looks and voice, I’m sure naked women were lined up for his disposal around
the clock. I turned to say something to
Evie
, but she
had moved around the table and was engaged in a cozy conversation with one of
the other members of 32 Leaves, Max was it?

The room got a bit quieter and I
noticed that Mason (I refused to refer to anyone as Rat) and
Jobu’s
Rum had finished playing and there were some workers
taking down the instruments. I then glanced over to the tables that Mina had
pointed out, and I was disappointed to find that they were still empty. Feeling
silly for actually looking around for a guy, I decided to do an inventory of
the people in the pool area, maybe finding some other possibilities for the BB
challenge. And it was then that I saw him.

Ash and a group of five others,
what appeared to be three couples, were stationed at a pool table up against
the far
wall.
The other two couples appeared to be
shooting a game of doubles while Ash sat on a barstool next to a cocktail
table. A blonde girl, big surprise there, stood between his legs so that I
could only see her back. Not long after I noticed them, they started making
out. I had a straight shot view of his one hand buried in her long straight
hair while the other caressed her back and ass. It was like a car wreck for me,
and I couldn’t tear my eyes away. My stomach felt as if a brick had just been
dropped inside it and my mouth was free of moisture. Even after they broke the
kiss and she turned around to lean her back up against his chest, seeing him
tenderly stroke her arm and bury his nose in her hair made me sick. I didn’t
quite understand why I was freaking out so bad seeing Ash with another girl.
First of all, it wasn’t like I had any claim on him. I knew he dated and slept
with lots of girls, all the time. Second, I saw him every Saturday evening with
a different chick and not only was I obviously okay with it, but I would then
crawl in bed with him hours later. Maybe that was it. Maybe because on Saturday
nights I knew that I was ultimately the one that was going to be sleeping in
his bed, it didn’t bother me so much. Or maybe on Saturday nights because I
knew what to expect, I had a chance to prepare for it.