Z Day -4,711

  JAMES

  I blocked the first strike with my sword and dodged out of the way of its follow-up. I liked the longer weapons. I could strike low and take out the legs of my opponents like I was doing now. I made short work of my target and turned to see how Shae was doing.

  Shae’s movements were fluid. She seemed to dance in and around her opponents, quickly downing two before turning to a third. An arrow sailed through the air straight towards the back of her head. I was sure she would get pasted, but she leaned to the side at the last moment and it struck her last opponent in the chest.

  I watched as Trent, complete in his lizardman costume, took the archer out with a few well-placed blows. Trent was an upperclassman in my school and had been the one to introduce me to this game. He quickly became one of my best friends.

  Shae turned and looked at me. Her bronzed face was positively glowing with the size of the grin on it. She seemed to have gotten a little more sun since the last time I’d seen her.

  I was still shocked Shae had shown up. Our boffer group wasn’t anything fancy, just a dozen or so folks dressing up and beating each other up for the most part. I’d never taken with the dressing up part, usually wearing my black military pants and a tank top. I’d taken to wearing that sort of thing as it didn’t tear easily, unlike some of the ‘period’ clothes others wore to the park. To tell the truth, I found the military-style clothes relatively comfortable.

  I still hadn’t figured out what it was about Shae that kept me so befuddled. I mean, yeah, she was beautiful, but it was more than that. Every time she was around, I couldn’t help but be completely enamored. All I could think about was her and the strange looks she’d give me as I talked about the most mundane things. Or that silly grin of hers that would make her eyes crinkle.

  I’d finally done as Shae said and sat beside Megan at lunch. I didn't really say anything to her other than “Hey.” But after a while, the awkwardness seemed to fade. She turned and asked me a question, and I gave her a normal answer.

  After that, we returned to the old 'normal.' I would walk with her to my house, but that was as far as I went. I didn't walk her all the way home anymore, and she seemed OK with that.

  Megan eventually asked me about Shae.

  “So, who's the girl that's been giving you rides home?”

  “What? Oh, that's Shae. She's a friend.” After that, Megan didn't ask about her again. I couldn't tell if there was something more to that or not. After a while, I didn't care.

  The only thing that bothered me about my new-found relationship with Shae, aside from the fact that it didn’t seem to be moving out of the “just friends” stage, was that I hadn’t been able to track her down. I didn't have a phone number or address or anything for her. I had no way of contacting her until she just showed up.

  “James, get your head in the game!” Mark said, breaking my flashback. I followed his lead as he blasted through one opponent after another as if he’d been made for this. Mark was another of my best friends from school. He was my age, and I tried to keep up with him but didn’t have his prowess, so he soon left me behind.

  I caught a glance of Shae and couldn’t look away. I chalked it up to the cut-off jeans she was wearing that were showcasing her legs. Her borrowed white tunic barely contained the two things any red-blooded boy couldn’t help but notice. My heart was beating out a rhythm you could dance to, and it wasn’t because of the melee.

  Shae caught me looking, and another of those odd looks I could never decipher flashed across her face. She moved to me through the few remaining combatants and whispered in my ear, “We’re going out tonight.”

  Her words caused me to freeze, allowing the approaching foe to decimate me. Not that I minded; her words had just caused my heart to stop. I suddenly blinked, not realizing how I’d ended up on the ground. The guy that had beat me down was asking if I was OK. I waved him off and looked around for Shae. I found her next to a water jug someone had brought.

  “What did you say?” I managed, dusting myself off. I could still feel the flush in my cheeks from her words.

  “Hmmm? Oh, we’re going out tonight. I know just the club you’d like.”

  I didn’t know what kinda club I liked; I’d never been to one. “But I don’t have an ID,” I said.

  “An ID?” Shae asked.

  “Yeah. I mean, I’m 18 and all, but my mom said I couldn’t get a driver’s license until I graduated.” This was true. This was a rule my mother laid down in hopes it would give me motivation to stay in school and actually pass my classes. So far, so good; I mean, getting all Cs was still passing.

  “Oh, that’s not a problem at Drakes for someone with your mature looks,” Shae patted me on the cheek

  While I didn’t feel as confident as she did, I was too busy focused on her touch. Her fingers grazing my cheek sent iced lightning jolting through me and straight down to my groin. My family wasn’t touchy-feely, so any touching was practically intimate to me.

  “Now, come on, I still have a little fight left in me,” she said, turning back to the field.

  (∞*0)?(0*∞)

  JAMES

  I wasn’t sure if the club called Drakes was my type or not. The building appeared to be a plain warehouse, but I didn’t catch much detail as I was distracted by her holding my hand. Her hand was icy cold, like she'd been holding a can of soda. I didn’t have time to ponder that as she quickly led me into the club's darkness.

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  I didn’t have much in the way of nice dress clothes. I wore my best pair of jeans (no holes) and one of the two button-down long-sleeve shirts in my closet. My jeans covered my combat boots, but they still looked decent.

  She was dressed almost as simply but didn’t look it. She wore a pair of blue jeans that I swear were painted on. A black sleeveless shirt ‘thing’ that buttoned down the front, coming to a point but leaving her midriff bare. She also wore black boots, but they had spiked heels that I had no idea how she walked in.

  As we walked in, a live rock band was performing rather loudly. I couldn’t make out the lyrics for the sound of the guitars, but no one else seemed to mind. The lights were dimmed down to non-existent. If it wasn’t for the stage, I probably couldn’t have seen my hand in front of my face.

  Shae continued to pull me towards a slightly raised set of tables well back from the humming amplifiers. She pulled me into a high-backed booth beside her.

  I saw her lips move but, thanks to the band, had no clue what she was saying.

  “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DRINK?” she shouted.

  “UH, A COKE,” I managed.

  She smiled at me and glanced at the stage.

  My eyes followed hers. There was a small dance floor we’d skirted on the way in. It was full of people facing the stage and dancing to the music. The cigarette smoke was thick and caused me to cough a few times. I really hoped she didn’t ask me to dance. I didn’t want to completely embarrass myself on our first date.

  When I glanced back at her, she watched me with an intense expression I hadn’t seen before. She pushed a glass towards me, one that I hadn’t seen arrive…or her order, for that matter. She held her own cup, not clear glass like mine but a dark ceramic-looking one, kinda like a coffee mug without the handle.

  I picked up the drink and took a sip. It was Coke, alright, but mixed with ice and something bitter. It wasn’t as bad as the beer my father had given me as a kid. That had been disgusting and still was to me. I’d had a sip of wine before, but it was too dry and bitter for my taste. How a liquid could be dry was beyond me. Aside from those and the occasional sip of a wine cooler, I’d never drank before. I must have made a sour face because she chuckled at me.

  Shae watched me over the rim of her cup as she took another swallow. She looked… strangely apprehensive.

  Not wanting to look like a “wuss,” I took a large swallow. The alcohol burned at first, but it quickly faded to a smooth, warm, smoky taste I kinda liked. As soon as it hit my empty stomach, though, it turned into a lead ball. I tried to hide my discomfort by taking another sip. The more sips I took, the more the bitter burning faded and was replaced with a smooth smokiness I liked. Far too quickly, my glass was empty.

  It seemed someone had turned down the amplifiers; that or my ears had gone numb. Regardless, a pleasant warmth was starting to fill me now. I turned back to Shae, and the room took a moment to catch up. When my vision cleared, she’d put her cup down and was in my face.

  Shae leaned forward, and our lips touched.

  I fell into the kiss completely. Our lips parted, and tongues danced. My blood roared in my ears while the warmth of her mouth seemed to fill me with need.

  I’d had plenty of kissing practice in the past. We used to spend weekends in Houston with one of my mom’s old high school friends and their family. They had a daughter, Chloé (the same age as me) and a son (the same age as Miria.) While our parents would talk and watch TV downstairs, we kids would be upstairs ‘playing.’

  I didn’t know what my sister had been doing, but Chloe’ and I had been in her room teaching each other to kiss. She’d been the one to start it; I’d not had the nerve, of course. Chloe’ was a good practice coach, but we’d never gone beyond kissing. This continued for a while until my mom stopped going to Houston. It had been fun and educational while it had lasted.

  Combining all that time into one kiss still didn’t compare with Shae’s lips. Thanks to liquid courage, my hands began to roam Shae’s body of their own accord; she hesitated momentarily but didn’t stop me. But I kept coming back to her mouth. It just pulled me in, bringing me closer to her until I was deep in her arms. The rest of the world seemed to slip away.

  The music broke off abruptly as the crowd roared, breaking the trance, mood, or whatever we had been in, and I found myself out of breath in Shae’s arms. I lifted my head from her shoulder and slowly sat up. The whole room seemed to spin lazily.

  “Easy there,” Shae said in a normal voice now that the band was on a break.

  I grabbed the table with both hands to stop it from jumping around. My stomach chose that moment to start complaining about what I’d put in it.

  Shae seemed to sense my state and shook her head, “First time?”

  “What? No,” I croaked, staring at the table and willing my body not to get sick.

  “Not the kiss, silly. You’ve obviously had some coaching; I meant the Jack,” she said, stroking my hair.

  Jack Daniels, so that’s what had been in my drink. My expression seemed to be answer enough for her.

  “The bathroom’s around to the left,” She pointed.

  “I don’t,” I started to protest, but then I realized that I did. “Thanks,” I managed through clenched teeth as I attempted to get to my feet. My legs obeyed through sheer force of will and started me across the room. Either my head was on crooked, or the world was tilted. I knew I was walking in a straight line, but with every step, it felt like I was trying to walk up the wall beside me.

  I managed to make my way, as dignified as I could, to the bathroom before being violently ill. After throwing up everything but my shoes, I took a few minutes and washed my face. The cold water seemed to help. While the world still moved awkwardly, it didn’t feel like I was walking through an earthquake anymore.

  Luckily, there were small toothbrush/toothpaste packages next to the sink. I hadn’t seen them on the way in, but I was a little preoccupied at the time. Twenty minutes later and three times brushing my teeth, I slid back into the booth beside Shae.

  “Sorry,” I croaked.

  Shae shook her head and smiled, “I thought you might be hungry, so I ordered you something.”

  I started to say the thought of food would send me running back to the bathroom, but the smell of the burger at the table made me realize I was famished. I wolfed down the burger while she watched on.

  When I glanced at her, she said, “I’m on a diet,” and waved off the food.

  I didn’t believe her. From what I’d seen, she didn’t need to be on a diet. But then again, maybe that’s how she managed it. Her body was toned, but not the ribs showing skinny you see on models nowadays. She had hips and curves, ones I admired every chance I got.

  We left shortly after, and she drove me home. I couldn’t believe we’d been in there for over three hours. I vowed to be careful if Jack Daniels and I crossed paths again. My ears rang, and my clothes stank of cigarettes, but my head slowly cleared with the cool night air.

  Shae took my hand and kissed me again when we parked in my driveway. Her hand was warm now, not like before. The kiss wasn’t like the one in the club, but it still caused my heart to start racing and my pants to become uncomfortable.

  After a moment more, she broke it off. “Next time,” she purred.

  I managed to extract myself from the car without embarrassing myself and quietly snuck into my house. I balled up my clothes and buried them in the closet, hoping my mom wouldn’t smell the smoke on them. I usually played Dungeons and Dragons on Sundays, so she was used to me staying out late. But she also knew none of my friends smoked. I was too worried about my mother finding out where I’d been to notice the blood stains on my collar.

  Once again, sleep eluded me as the events of the evening churned in my mind. I was just too keyed up. Somewhere in all that chaos, sleep finally found me.

  The next day, I discovered what a hangover was. I was sick as a dog and ended up staying home from school and lying in bed all day. I’d always heard you had a headache and threw up and such, but I hadn’t known about the chills and fever. Apparently, not only was I a “lightweight,” but I think I may be allergic to alcohol.