Counterpart (Succubi & Incubi Assn.) (5 page)

“Looks like I'm going home to change.” I finally stated, making this
my time to leave.

Tristan looked at my jeans for a few more seconds before he moved
his eyes up and nodded. “Yeah, I'll see you later, M.”

I watched him head back to the theater, probably to wait for Tori to
come out and be all PG-13 with him. I couldn't help but wonder what was running
through his head when he saw the stain. Judging by his face, I thought he was
going to make me take them off right here, just so he could burn them.
Actually, that's what I wanted to do right now.

If this was another life, I probably would've avoided this whole
thing altogether. Actually, I might have been the one that would be picked up
by Tristan, not Tori.

Turning, I groaned in my head. “Why couldn't I just be a normal
person?” I started speaking as I walked. “I had to be a demon. I couldn't be
Superwoman, or Catwoman but a demon was apparently free on the list. Worst job
ever.”

“I love your demon side!” Melinda exclaimed. “Okay, okay, let me get
the gist of this.
You
fucked
Ryan Smith
in the bathroom today? Oh
my God and what makes this better is that Tristan heard
everything!
” She
hunched over and laughed uncontrollably.

At least someone is entertained by this.

“Could you take this seriously, please?” I said, sitting down with a
bowl of popcorn.

“What's to be serious about? You unleashed your demon on Ryan and
then the demon wanted Tristan right after.” She wagged her brows seductively.

“You make it sound like I'm some kind of sex goddess,” I mumbled,
shoveling a handful of popcorn in my mouth.

We were hanging out on the couches in my dorm room. The living room
was small, but big enough to fit two couches opposite each other, a nice coffee
table in the middle, a medium-sized TV sitting in the corner, and a lamp. The
kitchen however, wasn't the greatest. The smallish space was enough for both
Jamie and I to fit in, but if you add another person, you're asking for a tight
squeeze. Jamie's bedroom was next to the bathroom which took up the left side
of the dorm, while my bedroom took up the front side. It wasn't perfect,
especially during the winter. The only thing carpeted was the living room. I
wouldn't change anything though, as annoying as hard-floors were, they were
easier to clean.

And this was home.

“Uh, Maya, if you haven't noticed, you practically are a sex
goddess. You have a body to kill for, a personality that kind of needs a bit of
work—”

“I find that offensive.”

She ignored me and leaned forward. “And you also have a demon inside
you that likes when a man is near, his arms securing themselves around you
while he trails hot and sexual kisses down your neck,” her voiced lowered down
to a rough whisper, her arms demonstrating the next part, “then he'll part your
thighs and place his key right into your ignition.”

I forgot how to chew and the lump of popcorn that was starting to
move down my throat was uncomfortable. “Wow, Mel, for a second there I was
almost horny.”

“Really?” she grinned.

“Of course not, what do you think I am, a car?”

I saw her eyes roll and she shrugged, leaning back. “If you like the
ride or die sort of thing.”

I stopped chewing on the popcorn altogether, and suddenly I lost
interest in the edible object. “You're an idiot,” I said, getting off the couch
and walking to my room.

“You love me really,” she called out.

“That's debatable.”

****

The arena wasn't exactly some extravagant thing. The first time I
went to one of Tristan's fights, I had it my head that we were going to this
huge stadium, and I'd be sitting in a seat. At that time, I didn't know what
the hell Mixed Martial Arts was or what was involved in it. I didn't even know
it was what MMA stood for until Melinda told me. I was so in the dark, or
obviously living under a rock.

The arena was about the size of a large hall. That's about all you
could explain about it too. There was nothing special about it, or
different—except for the fact that Tristan and the others fought here.

I parked my black 2007 Honda Civic beside the building. My car
wasn't exactly different from most of the cars here. It almost fit in. But
according to Noah, Tristan's best friend and flat mate, it was nothing compared
to his Audi R8—his baby. I could never understand how parent's trusted their
kids so much to drive Audi’s. Did they not worry about the car being totaled? I
guess it doesn't matter when you have all the money you could ask for.

Tristan's metallic silver SUV was in my vision when I maneuvered the
rear-view mirror to check my make up. The SUV was Tristan's baby as well—yet
another expensive car that I never understood.

Men and their cars.

The familiar low rumble that came from my right distracted me from
checking my make-up and I couldn't help but grin.

“Noah's here,” Melinda said, a flirtatious smile appearing on her
face as she fluffed out her light brown hair.

“Yes, he is.” I leaned back against my seat and watched as the white
sports car parked next to us. The tinted windows rolled down and Noah's grin
was as wide as it always was when he parked next to me.

Noah was your typical good looking Casanova. He liked to be the one
that teased a girl until she needed the release, or until she begged for it. He
and Tristan lived off campus in an apartment, which really could pass off as a
bachelor pad with the way they treated it. I'd been there a few times when it
came to parties, and well, I had to admit, it wouldn't be that bad to live with
Tristan and Noah. It'd pretty much be like living with the models of Calvin
Klein, and who would have a problem with that? Not me.

“Maya, when will you finally get a car that isn't easy to break
into?”

I looked into his dark brown eyes, seeing the teasing glint as his
lips pulled up. I grinned. “When you get a girlfriend that lasts longer than a
month.”

“Ouch. I was almost hurt by that comment.” Sure he was. I rolled my
eyes when he feigned a heart-ache and proceeded to get out of his car, nodding
his head towards the building. All teasing aside, he asked, “You guys coming
in?”

“Yeah, we'll be there in a minute.” I replied and he headed inside.

Melinda sighed when he walked through the reflection of her mirror.
“Tristan seems to have the best taste in friends.”

As much as I didn't normally comment when she brought up how hot
Noah was, I had to admit, Tristan did know how to pick them, which sucked. It
wasn't like I didn't like Noah or anything. He was just Tristan's best friend,
and he was also a no-go for our demons. So there really was no point in even
thinking about going there. We could look, but not touch.

“How do I look?” I asked, averting our concentration from the dark
haired male. Melinda turned and took one long glance at the length of me. My
dark brown hair was wavy and traveled well past my shoulders. My tanned skin
wasn't perfect, but it was nothing that foundation couldn't fix, and there was
also a hint of eye liner and mascara around my brown eyes. It wasn't much, but
I liked keeping it simple.

“If I was a male, I'd so fuck you,” she finally said after a
thorough inspection. “What about me?”

“You're fine, Mel.” Melinda was the complete opposite to me. She
knew she was stunning, with her exotic green eyes and olive toned skin. It was
only a matter of time before
Victoria Secret
picked her up, or some
modeling agency in
New York
.

I grabbed my handbag and got out of the car, trying hard not to
laugh. “By the way, nice to know your lesbian affection towards me is still
there.”

Melinda glared over the top of my car. “That was one-time, Maya!”

It was my nineteenth birthday. The party was in my small dorm, over
fifty people coming in with their own beer and vodka. Long story short, we
drank way too many and ended up making-out. Of course we had a crowd, and it
wasn't long before we were separated and put in different parts of the dorm.
Apparently, it had affected more than the people around us, and the males that
had whisked us away got the short end of the stick when our demons pretty much
drained every piece of energy that they had to offer, all while keeping them
alive that is. After that, I wouldn't let Melinda live it down, because she was
the one that started it.

“It's okay to still be attracted to me, Mel,” I said, meeting her at
the back of my car, “I'm totally fine with starting an orgy.”

“Whatever. It's not like you didn't enjoy it,” she said, turning on
her heel dramatically and walking towards the entrance.

“I'm not saying I didn't,” I said in a sing-song voice, following
after her.

A long line of people waited at the front, each eager to get inside.
I almost felt sorry for them. I used to be one of those people, tapping your
foot impatiently, checking the time every five seconds while glaring at the
people that didn't need to wait in line, planning ways in your head to laser
beam their asses to ashes—okay, maybe not that far—but there were perks when
you knew one of the fighters. There was also some perks for knowing the
bouncer.

“Hello ladies.” The bouncer—I forgot his name—smiled as we walked
up. “Nice to see you two again, go on through.”

“Thanks, Brad,” Melinda said.

Ah, Brad. Must remember that.

I flashed a grin towards him and walked past the usual glares—I felt
their pain—and into the packed lobby.

The fighting events here weren't a huge thing when you lived in a
state that was all about football and basketball, but a fairly large amount of
students from campus knew about it, so it wasn't surprising when you saw most
of college population practically in front of you. And it wasn't just filled
with jocks and models, but a few book nerds—like Jamie—enjoyed coming,
sometimes.

Melinda and I maneuvered through a large group of people that were
crowding the entry into the hall, and when we reached a side door I was
relieved to finally be able breathe air that wasn't being used by a hundred
people. We walked down a long hallway—that was really only used for the
fighters and officials to come through—and pushed open yet another door that
led straight into the hall.

This was when the party started.

Strobe lights danced around, sending different colors across the
area and illuminating the bodies surrounding the place. A DJ booth was in the
far end of the hall, playing the latest hits. This was definitely why most of
us came here. It was like entering a club but the music soon died down when the
fights began. Alcohol was served along the side, but even though it wasn't a
club, it was treated like one—you still had to be age appropriate. Lucky for
us, we knew the bartender, so being underage—even by several months—wasn't that
bad.

“Hey, Stuart,” I leaned forward and gave the bartender air kisses.
Stuart was a close friend of ours, and lucky for my shopping, he was also gay.
Pale white hair was slicked to the side, and his brown eyes brightened inside a
set of dark lashes. If Stuart's taste in girls weren't non-existent, I'd so be
on that. I've always hated when someone as good looking and smart as Stuart
turned out to be rooting for the same side as me. My female hormones can't
handle the rejection of that fact. Then again, I'm a succubus so they'd have to
deal.

Either way, he was the best guy out there and I'm happy for him to
be my fashion advice when Melinda isn't around.

“I've been waiting for you girls to show up all night. It's about
time. I'll get your usual.” He gave Melinda the same air kisses and turned to get
our drinks. I took this time to lean back against the bar and my eyes surveyed
the room.

The circle ring was set up in the middle of the hall, a solid cage
surrounding it. Admittedly, I was scared of this cage for a while. I always
thought it was some slaughter ring, and the only reason there was a cage around
it was so you could beat the shit out of each other, and no one could stop
you—or you couldn't escape. Little did I know I almost hit the jackpot.

People waved money in the air, and it instantly reminded me of mine.
The Bets. It was gambling for the ones that weren’t old enough to get into a
casino. Someone walked around yelling '
Bets, place your bets
' and the
ones who placed their bets usually went home with some sort of profit,
especially if you bet on Tristan.

“Ladies,” the regular guy dipped his head down. He was tall, yet
scrawny. Shaggy brown hair covered most of his forehead, but not his gray eyes.
He was cute, but that's it. Sometimes I wondered if he was 16 or something. He
still looked like he could gain a few feet of height. “Same bets this week?”

“You got it.” It was pretty dodgy when a kid comes up to you, asking
for money. But he hasn't disappointed, so what could it hurt?

My wallet.

I threw a 20 in the bucket and Melinda put her usual 50 in. She
always put a lot of money on Tristan, only because she always ended up going
home with triple what she bet. “You know, one day you're going to lose that
50,” I said, almost hoping Tristan loses tonight, just so she loses that money.