Marks and Scars

Afterparty

“OKAY! Another refill, Kara?”

I jumped, pulling my hand away from him- from Jeremy. Tyler stood at the edge of the table. A tray full of used glassware on one hand, his other hand resting on his hip. He was outright glaring at Jeremy. My face turned red. I liked to think that Tyler had adopted me as a secondhand sister, it helped me to feel like family. But he was always a little more the overprotective type when it came to me. 

Jeremy smiled wide. It didn’t reach his eyes though. Instead there was a small hint of danger, as if he were daring Tyler. 

 “Tyler,” Jeremy said his name by way of greeting, acknowledging the hostile bartender hovering over my shoulder.

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Tyler questioningly. I could see a vein in his temple pulsing. So they knew each other -  and evidently -  they weren’t friends. 

“Kara, why don’t I bring you the check, and you can drag my sister home. She’s-”

He was cut off by Jeremy. “You can bring the check, I’ll take care of it, Tyler. Kara was just leaving anyway. We’re headed over to a party.”

I choked on air. I hadn’t actually agreed to go with him yet. Tyler looked like he was moments away from a melt down. 

“Tyler!” Cathleen called as she made her way back to our table. She pulled on his free arm playfully. “What are you doing, dude? Leave her alone, she needs this. She deserves it!”

My cheeks burned viciously. She had whispered the last half in his ear and I wasn’t confident that Jeremy hadn’t heard it. 

“Caty-” Tyler was cut off again. He should have known better- Cathleen hated being called Caty. 

“Kara,” she looked at me meaningfully, “Go! You guys have fun! Text me when you’re on the way home, okay?” 

She then drug Tyler off. He allowed her to, but only barely. 

I looked back at Jeremy, who seemed mildly amused. I felt thoroughly humiliated, and I was sure he would rescind his invitation. I was surprised at how nervous that thought made me. I really did want to go with him… I think, despite it going against all of my common sense. 

“Wait here,” he told me. “I’ll go take care of you and your friends check, then we can leave.”

I nodded numbly and watched him retreat. Scenes flashed through my mind of TV shows where dinner dates would pretend to go to the bathroom, then bolt through the entrance as a means to escape the awkward date. But I could see Jeremy as he walked just ten feet away to the bar. He flagged down the bartender- not Tyler- and pointed in my direction, making hand gestures. She smiled, I couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was. Am I jealous? She then took the card he handed across the bar. 

I felt a twinge of guilt; I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t think about the fact he was paying mine and Cathleen's bill, which couldn’t have been super cheap since we’d both had a few drinks each. 

He signed the receipt and made his way back to me. 

“Ready?” He asked. 

I only hesitated for a moment before sliding out of my chair and picking my coat off of my chair and pulling my bag onto my shoulder. “Let's go,” I answered, throwing all caution to the wind. 

Jeremy led the way across the patio to the public entrance where a line had remained formed all night, filled with patrons trying to get in for a burger and some music. He crossed the small, narrow street to a large, black Jeep Cherokee parallel parked against the opposite curb. I didn’t hesitate as I pulled open the passenger door, but I did faintly wonder if this was the night I would end up as the naive victim on a Dateline special. 

Inside the Jeep, Jeremy stuck the key into the ignition and the engine roared to life. I noticed that the radio was turned off, and briefly wondered what music he listened to.  

“So where is this party?” I asked him. 

He grinned. “Not far. It’s over at the Blue, on Oglethorpe Avenue.”

I nodded, impressed. The Blue was commonly known as a nice and upscale, but edgy bar.

“And what’s the party for?”

His grin deepened and his cold eyes grew dark. “My pack. We just had a few things to celebrate is all.”

“A pack? What? Like a club?”

He frowned a little, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “Sure.”

I pondered uneasily what kind of clubs Jeremy could belong to. Images of biker clubs and human trafficking rings flashed in the back of my mind. 

“How do you know Tyler,” I wondered.

“Tyler was a member of one of our rival… clubs,” Jeremy answered thoughtfully.

I scoffed. “The only club Tyler has ever been a part of was a branch of the military. The marines. I wouldn’t exactly call that a club.”

Jeremy didn’t explain. I kept wondering, left with more questions than actual answers.

“Are you all in the military or something?” Even though I asked, I highly doubted it. Jeremy could be described many ways, but in regulation with military standards was not one of them. Not with his visible tattoos and dark scruff on his face. 

Jeremy found this funny- he tilted his head back, letting out a huge laugh. “Not military,” he affirmed.

The car stopped. It had indeed been a short drive but we were there, parked across the street from The Blue. I was staring out my window at the bars tinted black windows when suddenly my door opened. Jeremy stood on the sidewalk, holding my door, one corner of his mouth lifted in what must be a permanent smirk. I hopped down, leaving my coat and bag in the floorboards of the Jeep and stuffing just my phone and ID in my back pocket. 

Jeremy took my hand again, as we hurried across the street. There was that electricity again, crackling on the surface of my skin, shooting up my arm and deep into the pit of my stomach. 

I gulped quietly. 

I would be making some more poor decisions that night, I could feel it already.

The Blue was a well known, newer establishment. It lived up to its reputation, I decided, as we crossed the threshold. 

A long bar occupied most of the space at the very back of the restaurant. Tall pub tables littered the space in between the entrance and the bar. On the left and right walls were booths set into alcoves built into the blackened brick walls. 

Despite the name, the main theme in the bar was black. The shelving behind the bar was black, the bar itself an expensive black marble with some flecks of white. The bar stools and chairs were all made of black polished wood. The booths were cushioned with black leather. All of the tabletops seemed to be made of the same black marble as the bar. 

The only blue in the space seemed to emanate from the lights overhead, which gave off a dim, cool glow. They weren’t too blue, they didn’t distort my vision or give off a blue tint. But it was enough to notice, if you were looking. 

Inside of The Blue - it was packed. There was barely room to move, let alone breathe. The crowd was mostly a mix of men, young and old. They all looked much like Jeremy: tall, intimidating, and what I could only describe as rough. They all had neat, crisp outward appearances, but there was something else that made me think I should be avoiding them rather than waltzing right into their inner sanctum. Maybe it was there auras, or something, not that I’d ever put much stock in auras. These men didn’t make my heart thump quite the same way as Jeremy, though. Which was interesting to me.

Interspersed throughout the groups of men were women, too, I realized. It had taken me a moment to see them. They all seemed normal in appearance - pretty and made up for a night out on the town. Although, they too gave off an edgy vibe.

I felt the distinct urge to turn around and leave, go back the way I came. But Jeremy pulled me along. The crowd parted as we walked, making a clear path for us. I couldn’t help but notice that as we passed, everyone stopped their private conversations and watched us. Most seemed mildly surprised. Others were shocked, confused, and one or two actually seemed angry. 

Jeremy led me to a booth in the back corner, to the right of the bar, his hand still firmly holding mine. I slid into the booth first, and Jeremy slid into the opposite side, finally having to let go of my hand. The booth effectively offered us privacy from the other patrons' stares. The conversation around us slowly picked back up after a few moments of silence. I stared around, wondering if I should ask what the deal was. But Jeremy spoke before I could.

“Have you ever been here before?” he asked.

I shook my head, “No, but I’ve heard it’s a nice place.”

He nodded, and waved down one of the waitresses wandering around the tables. She immediately came to the table, her hands folded in front of her. “What will it be Mr. Greystone?” 

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“I’ll take my usual drink. Kara, is there something you’d like?”  Jeremy stared across the table at me. 

“Um..” I struggled for half a second, “Just a water would be good.”

The waitress bobbed her head once, then jerked her head back to Jeremy, as though he’d spoken to her. She nodded after only a second and turned around, toward the bar to put in our orders.

I turned back to Jeremy, resisting the urge to fidget in my seat. 

“So are all these people friends of yours?” I asked him when it seemed like he wasn’t going to say anything.  

Jeremy scratched the top of his head. “Friends? I guess you could say that.” He cracked another smile.

The waitress was back surprisingly quickly with our drinks. She set down a tall glass of what looked like cola in front of Jeremy. If I had to guess, there was some liquor mixed with it. In front of me she set down a glass of water, along with something else. The second drink was orange in color and the rim was dusted with something red. I opened my mouth to say something, but she explained before I could, seeing my confused expression.

“Mr. Greystone thought you might like this,” she told me. “It’s a good drink.”

With that, she turned around.

Everything about The Blue and the people in it - including Jeremy- was just odd. I looked up to Jeremy, waiting for an explanation. What the waitress had said implied that Jeremy had told her to bring this drink as well, but I didn’t hear him say anything.

“Try it,” Jeremy insisted. “My bet is you’ll like it.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the time. It was only a few minutes away from midnight. If I continued drinking, I wasn’t sure I’d make it home before morning. 

“It’s kind of late,” I said, holding my phone up to show him the time. 

“What are you afraid of?” he asked. He moved his glass off to his right as he spoke and laid his arms on the table in front of him, leaning forward. His hands weren’t far from mine, which were clasped together around my phone on the table in front of me.

“Afraid of?” I questioned, looking from his hands to his eyes, puzzled.

“What are you afraid of?” he repeated. “Right now. What’s stopping you?”

“I don’t think I’m afraid of anything,” I said honestly, raising my shoulders. “I’m just trying to be responsible.”

“Responsible?” Jeremy laughed. “Are you telling me… don’t you know?”

“Don’t know what?” I asked him. 

A storm of frustration clouded his eyes and I instinctively shrunk back into my seat. 

“You know what?” I slid out of the booth. “I think I’m going to go.”

Before he could say anything else, I turned and hurried to the door.  I wasn’t sure if he followed. I had to push my way through the throng of people around the bar to get to the front door. Outside, I pulled out my phone to call Cathleen. I had just pulled up her contact when a hand closed on my upper arm. He pulled me back, trapping me in front of him. My back was pressed against the brick of The Blue’s exterior. It was quiet outside, only the noise of the music and chatter in the bar drifted out onto the street. 

“Where are you going?” He asked, sounding genuinely confused. 

“It’s late,” I repeated, “I’m gonna head home.”

“We just got here,” Jeremy pointed out. 

“I-”my voices died in my throat when he placed his hands on my arms. 

He was looking at me so intensely and with such familiarity that I felt exposed. He came closer. 

“What are you doing?” My voice was a frail whisper. 

His lips crashed against mine.