Breaking Away (The Man in the Shadows) (2 page)

She ran her hand through her hair slowly, in a lame attempt to be seductive, as one corner of her mouth turned up in a smile. Ethan wasn’t classically handsome. Not even close. But there was something about him to which Maika, after many years of knowing him and being his close friend, was drawn. He was different from other guys in significant ways. He listened to her.
Listened.
That was one thing she had never felt anyone had truly done for her, but now, there was Ethan, who would look into her eyes, rest his chin on the tops of his knuckles, and listen. He spoke softly to her, and always took care of her when she was not feeling well. Not only when she was sick, but also when she was having a bad day, or dealing with a misfortune of some kind. Once, her car got towed, which stranded her in downtown Minneapolis late at night. He drove sixty miles to pick her up, brought her to his house, at two in the morning mind you, and made her homemade crêpes. When her dad died, he’d sit at the bar with her, or join her for a concert in Uptown, to help her get her mind off of it. Now that she was finally single for the first time in the tenure of their friendship, her eye turned to him. He was perfect.

He didn’t notice her seductive move, as he was perfecting a section of the song about which he wasn’t sure, so in a last ditch effort to get his attention, her hand dropped dramatically to her lap. It made a loud
smack
as it hit her jean covered leg, which gave her, and Ethan, a start.

She brought her hands to her mouth and started to giggle. “Sorry, Ethan!” she said through her laughter. Ethan’s soft hazel eyes looked at her gently, and he chuckled.

“I’m the one who should be sorry,” he replied. “I’ve been ignoring you.” He sat his shiny, black acoustic guitar to the side, spun around to face her, crossed his legs and let out a quick, deep breath. “How are you, Darling?”

Her body shivered slightly.
Darling.
She secretly loved it when he called her that. Or any pet name, as a matter of a fact. She especially loved Darling, as she noticed that he didn’t call any of his other girl friends that particular name. Without warning she became self- conscious. Was her shiver of joy visible? Noticeable?
Should I be pretending to be cold now, to cover it up?
she thought. It was October, after all. How long had she been simply staring at him?

“Maika?”

“Hi.” Blush.

“Hey.” He chuckled again, and playfully hit her knee. “What do you want to do? We could go down to the train tracks and take pictures. We could go grab a bite at the diner.” He leaned in toward her and grinned suddenly. Mischievously.

Maika tilted her head to the side a bit, and raised an eyebrow. “Ethan. What?”

“I know just the thing.” He stood up abruptly, his heavy work boots hitting the floor with a
thud.
He held out both of his hands to her. “Join me.”

***

“What is this place?”

Ethan and Maika walked down a deserted street in the warehouse district of Minneapolis. Though it was deserted, she didn’t feel threatened by the place. There had always been, ever since she could remember, a good vibe about this part of the city. There were old warehouses all around, rusting and groaning, casting long shadows in criss-cross patterns across the sidewalk, but within all of the grime, pipes, broken windows, and weed filled boulevards, there was no fear. People here had no ill will towards man, or woman for that matter. Everyone believed in the mantra ‘live and let live’, and for the middle of a dense metro area, that was a rare treat indeed.

They gazed at a tall building like small children looking up at a massive Christmas tree. It appeared grayish pink in the night’s dim glow, but a truly dingy red in the daylight. It was three stories high, with wooden double doors serving as a main entrance. Each door was supposed to have a metal, ring shaped knocker, but over the years one had gone missing, making the building look like a one eyed monster. There were no markings on the outside of the building, not even a number. It was almost like the building didn’t really exist.

“This, my darling lady, is quite literally the best hang out spot in all of the upper midwest.” He said this a notch too proudly, and the look on his face declared that he meant it to sound that way. He was proud of the fact that he knew of this secret place, and that he had adamantly kept it a secret all these years, even from her. If he could have hugged the building at that exact moment, he likely would have. “I know you,” he continued. “You like all sorts of fun things. Books. Movies. Drinking. Dancing...” He trailed off and put his hand to his heart, mellow dramatically. “This place has all of those things. Mixed together.”

Maika bit her bottom lip and studied the front doors, her eyes narrowing. She could hear no music coming from inside, nor see any lights emanating from the windows. “And how exactly does that make any sense?” she teased, and walked towards the doors slowly. He grabbed her arm.

“No,” he exclaimed, curtly. He composed himself and smiled. “Don’t go in yet. Not without me. I know the password.”

She couldn’t control a single chuckle from escaping her lips at his last remark. “Ha! A password! What is this hot spot run by, the mafia?”

He didn’t respond to her, only lead her to the double doors, his hand still on her arm. She could feel his fingers grasping through her light, corduroy jacket. She became uneasy with his silence. “Ethan... Is this shady business, because if so, we should probably get going...”

Maika looked up at him, which, when he was that close to her was a feat, as he was very close to a foot taller than her, and his serious expression turned into a smile. Only teasing, as she should have expected. She brought her arm closer into her body, and then thrust it outward with all of her might, right into his ribs. “You’re scaring me on purpose, aren’t you?”

“What gave you that idea?” He snapped his fingers, and pointed to her, accompanied by a cheesy grin, just like a gambler out of a big 1950s Hollywood movie. He then opened both wooden doors at the same time. They were greeted by darkness. Now she could hear a distant thumping of bass. Then it hit her: Whatever this place was, it was located in the basement. It was, quite literally, underground.

They walked through the darkness, and she clung to Ethan’s arm as one would cling to a life preserver, as she could not see a thing. The way Ethan confidently strode through the place, it appeared he had been there before, and knew where everything was located, because they did not bump into anything. Not one piece of furniture, not one wall, not one door frame.
Blind leading the blind
Maika thought comedically as they kept making their way forward.

He stopped abruptly, the echoes of their footsteps carrying on a second further. Out of nowhere, he said in a loud voice, “Infinity!”

Nothing immediately happened. Maika gripped his arm harder, starting to think this was all a cruel joke. Her mind began to spin.
It couldn’t be a surprise party, not in the middle of the week,
her mind explained to her.
And of course he’s not leading you into the hands of an axe murderer... You watch too many horror movies, girl,
her thoughts jokingly comforted her.
Maybe he’s just putting on a sho...

Before her thought could finish processing, camouflaged doors flung open directly in front of them with such speed that a gale of wind blew her hair back. She wanted to gasp and scream at the same time, yet the resulting sound was a pathetic little, “Eep!” A blindingly bright light came rushing towards them, and she ducked, as if the rays of light could push her down. All the while, Ethan stood there like a statue, tall and steady, a look of awe on his face. This part never ceased to amaze him.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a bouncer standing to the side of the doors. Ethan said again, more quietly, composed, “Infinity.” Although this time he added, “I’m with the Père.”

Maika stood up straight again, as she realized foolishly that the rays of light could not hurt her. She was given a fright at the sound of that last word. Père. The father.
This really is the mafia.

“Enter, Sir Ethan,” the other worldly bouncer answered at once. He was a dark shade of mocha, with no shirt on, revealing an impossible amount of muscles. Although his skin was dark, he was covered in tattoos and piercings, making him look like a step above human. More like a cyborg, or maybe a hologram. Something sculpted and perfected by the hands of humans.

“Sir Ethan?” she hissed leaning in to him, unbelieving, as they walked further into the building, past the bouncer. Ethan just silently laughed, winked at her confidently, and brushed a hair out of her face, as if to tell her,
You ain’t seen nothing yet.

As they walked along, dark again, they reached a set of winding, twisting, wrought iron stairs. Each step was made of thin slats, which allowed Maika a chance to see what she was walking into. The room below looked like a library, the walls lined with books. There were several couches placed along the parameter, with people laying and lounging on them, often with a book in hand. She found this curious, as the music must have been at ear piecing decibels. Between the couches, there were small tables. On each table, was a miniature bar, stocked with every type of liquor. Intertwined between the books, couches, people, and booze, were dancing people. Projected on the floor to ceiling bookshelves were vintage horror movies, with black and white damsels in distress and men dressed up like Godzilla and Frankenstein. It was chaos, but organized, as there seemed to be an unspoken rule about which people were to be located where, as if orchestrated. Up higher, on the walls, were wrought iron cages, with go-go dancers plucked straight out of the 1960s. Maika grinned. She did not know this place existed until now, but she belonged there.

When they reached the bottom floor, after descending the stairs, Ethan uttered something to her. Over the ear crushing house music, it looked like he was just moving his lips; she had no idea what he had said. She got up on the tips of her toes and yelled, “What?!”

He put his hand on her jaw line, his long fingers splaying out onto her cheek, the middle one brushing her earlobe. He brought her face mere inches from his, her cheeks blushing quickly as she anticipated his lips on hers. Then, before she knew it, his lips disappeared and his cheek was directly against hers, his lips now touching her ear. Half relieved, half disappointed, she lightly pressed her cheek to his. She could feel his lips curl into a smile, his warm, moist breath sinking into her innermost core, and he cooed directly into her ear, “Go wild.”

She jumped up and down a couple of times, and pounced up to hook her arms around his shoulders in a hug. She had been so stressed with finishing school, finding a job, and the recent break up with her now ex, that she had been dying to let loose. He gave her that chance in that moment. Luckily, she was dressed for the part: A skirt with knee high boots, fishnet leggings, a tight black t-shirt, and a striped vest. She had felt like dressing cute that day on a whim, and it worked out to her advantage.

Maika took Ethan by the hand and they plopped down on one of the couches, made of crushed velvet of a pea green color. She took off her jacket and laid it over the back of the couch, in a heap. He came in close again, putting his cheek against hers again, and half yelled, “What would you like to drink, my dear?”

She leaned back by the slightest degree, their faces still touching, so he could see her eyes. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him in a questioning sort of way, then leaned back in. She retorted, “You should know this by now, Babe.”

He rocked back in his seat, laughing heartily. He didn’t even have to answer her retort. He opened a small door at the base of the table, and pulled out a can. Her favorite beer. He held it out to her on the palm of his hand, and waved his free hand past it, presenting it to her. She smiled, but quickly suppressed it into a smirk.
He knows me so well.
She took it from him daintily, opened it, and took a swig. He reached into the same door and pulled out a bottle of darker beer, opened it quickly, and discarded the cap with a quick
snap
, sending it zooming across the room. She jumped up, laughing at his total disregard for where the cap ended up, and they began to dance.

As the night went on, she had two, three, four more beers, and a couple hours later, she was feeling tipsy. Maika hadn’t felt that way for ages, and she was reveling in the sensation. Uninhibited, happy, loving everyone. She and Ethan were dancing, feet pounding against the floor, arms flailing, the room swaying slightly from intoxication, she was happy. Grabbing him by the waist, they moved back and forth to the calm beat of the music. She rested her head on his chest, and he hugged her back. As they swayed, he put his cheek on the top of her head.
I want to stay like this forever,
Maika thought. The music was a bit lower in volume now, so she looked up at him. She summoned, “Ethan?”

“Yes, Darling?” Swoon.

“Do you love me? I mean, like, really, really love me?”

He put his hand on the back of her head, and shoved it back into his chest. He stroked her long, black hair once before replacing his hand on her back. Distinctly hearing his breath swooshing in and out of his lungs, slowly, easily, she closed her eyes. She could hear his voice resonant through his chest as he answered, “Of course I do. You’re my best friend. I couldn’t imagine my life without you.”

Maika backed up and placed one hand on each of Ethan’s shoulders. This was the moment she had been dreaming of for so long.
I couldn’t imagine my life without you,
his voice echoed in her head, her dizzy head, her drunk head. She got up on her tippy toes, and slowly pressed her lips to his.

After a stunned moment, he closed his eyes and pressed back.

The fire that raged in her was let free at that moment, and she slipped her hands around his neck, and ran one through his fine, soft hair. Her tongue found his lips then, so sweet, so kind, so caring... He was perfect, not only that, but this kiss was perfect. She unanticipatedly felt a wave of heat come off his body as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body into his. Their bodies seemed to fit together precisely, like a jigsaw puzzle. Why had she been with, dedicated to, and wasted years with douche bag guys? In order to date assholes, she had been putting off this kiss, this moment, this ecstasy... She had dreamed of kissing Ethan for years, with several near misses along the way, but now, now it was really happening...