Wicked Little Sins (16 page)

              Ethan shined a flashlight over the box of papers. He’d gone on the camping trip and was now sitting in his friend’s truck. Everyone else was passed out in tents. He just couldn’t let it rest; he was determined to figure things out—what all these papers meant. They
had
to mean something, didn’t they?              

The darkness devoured everything in sight leaving him illuminated by a single flashlight.

              Ethan thumbed through the shocking amounts of chicken scratch¸ shaking his head in frustration. It just didn’t make any sense. He shoved the papers across the seat in a fit of rage.

              “Easy there, killer,” Lainey Johnson said, approaching the passenger side of the truck. Ethan tensed up knowing how nosy she was. Austin had insisted on letting her and her two best friends go on the hike. He had been paired with Lainey who was the same age as him, but she had the maturity level of a high school girl.

              “Hey, I thought everyone was sleeping,” he said as she invited herself into the truck. Ethan barely got the papers off the seat before she sat down.

              “No, I can’t fall asleep out here in the middle of nowhere,” she said with a sigh, throwing her black UGG boots on the dashboard, her blue sweatpants hugging her thick thighs that plumed out in just the right places. She leaned her head back against the seat, turning her head to stare at Ethan. He admired her brown locks. Most brunettes wanted to trade their hair for blonde these days.             

“Yeah, me either,” he said, quietly staring out into the night. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, agitated he had been interrupted. 

              “What’s this?” Lainey asked, holding a small gold key, a red twist tie attached to the end.

              “I don’t know,” Ethan said, snagging it up in a flash. This could just be one more piece to the puzzle he needed to get his questions answered. He shoved the key into his shirt pocket, ignoring Lainey’s probing stares.

Everly traipsed through the cold and snow, large flakes drifting past her nose. She pulled her wool scarf tighter across her face, Club Red almost in sight. Maryland was suffering a major snowstorm, and she was tightly bundled up as she headed into work.

              “Hey, Ev,” Mark said. He was the owner of Club Red and he’d been her savior. He was the one person who’d given her and the band a shot, and now, because of his faith in them, she was doing extremely well.

              Mark was a tall, muscular man nearing forty. He had a slightly graying head of wavy blond hair, facial hair, and the greatest smile he used to dazzle every woman who graced the doors of his club.

              “Hey, Mark,” Everly said, pulling at her scarf. Mark was busy wiping down the counter.             

“How’s life?” he asked, giving her a quick glance as he set bowls of peanuts in perfect spacing from each other.

              “It’s life—it goes on. How’s yours?” she asked back.

              “My life has gotten less hectic; I actually have some free time. So, yeah, I guess you could say things are going well,” he said, cracking a smile.

He studied Everly as she turned away to hang her jacket up, her black leggings revealing a shapely backside. He’d always had an eye on her; she was simply beautiful. She stomped her feet at the door, shaking the last of the snow from her black boots.

              “What’s with this flannel?” he asked, grinning. She tugged at her form-fitting flannel dress that stopped nicely above her knee. The purple and black accented her raven black hair and milky skin.              “It’s the newest trend,” she said, laughing at Mark as he playfully gave her a hard time.

              “Break a leg,” he said, making his way out from behind the bar. Everly nodded as he touched her shoulder in passing.

              She walked down the small hallway leading to the band holding area. Her band sat content tuning their instrument--Johnny Pancakes sat plucking away at his jet black guitar, cradling it in his hands like a delicate piece of art, his hair hanging in his face.

              Luke banged away at the keyboard making it hard to hear the other two talking to each other. Mage
s
sippe
d
a beer as he spun his drumsticks
with the other hand. His freshly-shaven head towered above them all.

              “Well, look who it is,” Mages said, giving Everly a friendly poke, indicating he was happy to see her.

              “You ready for tonight…to sing the new song?” he asked.

              “Of course. Finality will be a hit, I can feel it,” she said, giving Mages a high five. Pancakes stopped playing, bringing his gaze up to meet Everly.

              “How was your little date last night?” he asked, obviously bothered. 

“And thanks to Vinnie for leaving me stranded. I had to go home with the bartender last night. Yikes.”

              “Don’t let him fool you, Ev, he has wanted that broad for some time now. I always knew he had a thing for the portly ones, eh?” Mages said, his thick Irish accent rolling right off his tongue as he chastised Pancakes.

              “You know the deal with that, Johnny. I’m sorry he ditched you, but take it up with him,” Everly said, turning away. She was in no mood to talk about Vinnie. She’d cried over that man for the last day and a half. She couldn’t believe he’d had the nerve to take home some trashy blonde. It was way too soon to be flaunting women past her.

              “The two of you are some of the most stubborn people I know. Do you really think you’re going to find anyone better than Vinnie?” Johnny asked, plucking one lonely string. He raised an eyebrow as he stared at her and broke into a solo jam session. His voice grew louder the more he tried to convince her of her wrong.

              “Who said I was trying to find anyone? And, he broke it off with me,” she argued.             

Mages patted Everly’s back, doing his best to console her. He knew she was upset about the breakup. He knew how closed off she was with her emotions; the first time he had seen her cry was when her mother died. Pancakes shook his head in shock.

              “See? Stubborn. And if I were you, I’d stay away from the dating world. I hate it. you know how many psychos I meet a week?” heasked. “I had one girl want to marry me three days after I met her. Odds ar
e
you’r
e
going to fall in love with a crazed lunatic that locks you in a hole in his basement, while Vinnie is off plowing another wannabe model slash stripper.” The whole band stared at Johnny, floored at his theatrics. He knew she was going to lose him, just because she was so stubborn. Part of him wondered what Vinnie had ever seen in Everly. She was capable of ruining
anyone’s
mood.

“Hey, hey, you guys are on in five!” Mark shouted from the hallway.

***

              Vinnie stared at his own reflection as Mrs. Lovett tried her best at the Paso Doble.  He nodded his head every now and again; keeping his fist balled in his gray sweatpants pockets.

              “I just don’t feel like I am doing it right,” she said, feigning ignorance. He sighed as he snatched her arm, pressed his groin into her backside, and lifted her arm above her head.

              “Just like that, Mrs. Lovett. Now start from the top,” he said, releasing her. She reluctantly began again. Mrs. Lovett was in her late forties and not a beautiful woman. He crossed his arms watching how she never bent her leg the way he’d instructed her to. He was certain she did this on purpose so his hand would graze her inner thigh. He felt like everyone used him as their own personal boy toy.

              “Vinnie, how am I doing?” Janelle Bennington asked. She did an amazing spin on her heel, holding her arms in just the right position, giving the appearance of a cape. Janelle was thirty and on her way to wed the love of her life. That was the only reason a girl like her was here in his studio--so she could impress her guests at the wedding reception. She was toned with caramel-colored skin and athletic with a body much like Everly’s--perfect in all the right places. She had a full head of curly, light-brown hair, full lips, and the biggest and brightest green eyes.

              “Amazing as usual,” he said, coming to stand in front of her. She smiled, shaking her arms loose, making her way to him.

              “Thank you so much. You’re the best teacher ever,” she said, moving in for a hug. Vinnie gave her a cool smile wrapping his arms around her, pulling her in so her chest was pressing against his. He liked how her hair felt against his face, and how he could tell she fancied Lavender over any other fragrance.

              “It’s not so bad with students like you. Brad is going to be amazed with all you’ve learned. Where is he? Paso Doble is for two.” Vinnie looked around the room, the usual husbands chatting it up from the waiting area chairs. They seemed to think as long as they paid him, they were free to sit and watch football on their phones as their wives molested him on the dance floor.

              “Oh, he came down with a bug. I decided to come alone so I wouldn’t miss my lesson.” She smiled a genuinely sweet smile but quickly looked away when she noticed Vinnie kept watching her. Vinnie noticed her sudden timidity—afraid to look at him for very long all of a sudden.

              “Well, I’m glad you came,” he said, touching her arm.

              Mrs. Lovett nearly plowed her over trying to catch his attention. She took him by the hands, forcefully shoving them to her thick waist. He was immediately put off by her doughy skin and he didn’t like touching her.

              “I wanted to get my last few minutes in, get my money’s worth,” she said, moving closer to Vinnie. She kept herself close to his groin and smiled as she stared down at their closeness.

              “Every time, huh, Mrs. Lovett?” he asked, focusing on her frizzy auburn hair and not on the fact that she was grinding into parts of him that he didn’t want touching her.

              “How have you been since the breakup, Vinnie?” she asked.

              Vinnie bit his bottom lip really wishing he hadn’t said anything. He spun her in a circle to avoid the question. Janelle smiled, watching him squirm in his misery, as she took a drink from her water bottle.

              “I’m fine, Mrs. Lovett,” he said as she moved closer, her hand pulling his face down to her level.

              “It’s Jane, and I have a daughter who is single,” she whispered. Vinnie gave her a big smile, ready to lose patience with her. Her daughter was once a student of his, and she was nowhere near anyone he would
ever
consider dating. She was a large girl with bright red cheeks and breasts the size of watermelons. She was the spitting image of her mother with an additional hundred pounds. She stuck around until the day Pancakes publicly refused to do a lift with her for fear he’d break his back. That was the last day he ever saw her.

              “I know, Mrs. Lovett…er, Jane, but I’m not ready for dating. It’s really nice of you. I will see you Thursday,” he said.

              “I hate to see you going home alone every night,” Mrs. Lovett said.             

Janelle was approaching Vinnie with a sympathetic smile on her face and Mrs. Lovett continued to flirt with him. She watched intently as Vinnie tried his best to discourage her.

              “I like being alone, it’s good for the soul sometimes. That’s what my mom always said,” he said. How did Mr. Lovett handle having her as a wife?

              “You will have to come over for dinner sometime. I make the best enchiladas. And I do make fabulous Italian dishes. You like Italian right?” she asked, clamping her red nails down on his bicep.

              “Yeah, I like Italian food. I think Janelle might need to ask me something. You have a good night, Mrs. Lovett,” Vinnie said, sending her toward her husband. Vinnie shot a quick glare in her direction, resisting the urge to flip him the bird.

              “She really likes you,” Janelle said, laughing at Vinnie’s horrified expression as he made his way back to her.

              “Yeah, no kidding. Did you need to talk to me about something?” he asked, grabbing up the towels and empty water bottles from around the studio. Janelle followed behind him, the two of them showcased in all the mirrors lining the walls of the studio.

              “Yeah, I wasn’t sure if I got the last part of the Tango down. I’ve been practicing at home for weeks; I just can’t seem to get it,” she said.

              Vinnie nodded and locked the doors, flipping the open sign to closed. He wondered if Janelle was honestly concerned about the dance or if her concerns were more directed toward him.

              “Show me what you’ve got and I will see what I can help you with,” he said, leaning up against the railing. He crossed his arms, a smile creeping across his face.

              Janelle made her way to the center of the floor. She took her position, sliding her leg slowly from in front of her to behind, gliding her hips in half circles, her hands extending perfectly. She stamped her dainty foot in front of her, sending an echo through the studio.

              “It’s almost art. Do you mind if I show you one thing?” he asked, coming to stand in front of her. She shook her head indicating she didn’t mind. She watched his eyes and how intently they focused on the task at hand. She loved how he bit down on his lip or the way a small bit of his tongue peeked out of his mouth every time she moved her hips. Holding her hands tightly, he moved forward as her feet followed suit going back in perfect timing. He kicked, then turned his foot and slid it up her leg in total character with the dance.

              “Lift me,” she suddenly said.

              “What?” he laughed.

              “Lift me, like you showed us in the video,” she insisted. Vinnie sighed, knowing where this was probably headed. He grabbed hold of her tiny waist and brought her above his head, her smile growing brighter. She came down as practiced, slipping right between his legs.

              “Very good, Janelle. Why do I get the feeling you already perfected this one?” he asked, helping her back up.

              “Well, of course, I did. You’re an amazing teacher,” she said, playing it off.

              “Brad’s a lucky man. You’re going to make one beautiful bride,” he said, paying her a much-deserved compliment.

              “Thank you. Your girlfriend is stupid for letting go of a guy like you,” she said back.

              Vinnie couldn’t figure out if she was flirting or just being nice.

              “Too bad
she
doesn’t think so,” he said, nodding his head.

              “I’m serious. You seem like a really great guy. Brad says I talk about you too much sometimes,” she said, acting naïve. Vinnie took two steps closer, waiting to see her reaction. She held her ground keeping her eyes locked on his.

              “Do
you
think you talk about me too much?” he asked her. She just nodded, and stepped forward with their bodies barely inches apart from the other. Vinnie didn’t want to be the one to come between a couple about to get married. He was certain she was coming on to him, so he waited patiently for her to lift her head up to look at him.