Read Nancy K. Duplechain - Dark Trilogy 02 - Dark Carnival for Free Online Page B

the
frustration and disappointment in him.

4
 
When You’re a Stranger
     
    After a mentally
exhausting day with Miles, I headed back to Cee Cee’s.  On the way, I found
myself wanting something to take the edge off.  I didn’t feel like hanging with
tourists, so I stopped at a bar near Tulane instead of going to Bourbon Street.
 College kids didn’t bother me, but I couldn’t take one more out-of-towner with
a neck full of Mardi Gras beads when Mardi Gras parades hadn’t even started yet.
    I
stepped into the packed little club and was not surprised to see all the
guys were wearing either Tulane sweatshirts or Saints football jerseys.  Most
of the girls were wearing miniskirts and tight, low-cut tops, despite the nip
in the air.  I managed to find a seat at the bar and ordered a Corona while I
watched a basketball game on TV that didn’t hold my interest in the
least. 
    “Hey,
who you pullin’ for?  Spurs or Knicks?”  I glanced to my right to see
a slightly cute guy in a faded Tulane t-shirt sitting next to me.  He
was nursing a beer and looking at the TV, but glancing at me in the corner of
his eye.
    “I’m
sorry?” I said. 
    He
motioned to the game and said, “Spurs or Knicks?” 
    “Oh.
 Knicks, I guess.  Go Knicks,” I said, and he laughed at my utter lack of
enthusiasm.  
    He
looked me up and down, but not in an entirely creepy way.  “So, what you
majorin’ in?” 
    Is
that the new pick up line for college kids these days?  I wondered and
laughed to myself, starting to feel flattered.  “I don’t go to school
here.” 
    “No?
 Where you go?”
    “I
don’t go anywhere.  I graduated from U. L. Lafayette in 2005.  And then I went
to UCLA.” 
    “Oh,
a’ight. Looks like I got me a cougar.”
    “What?!
 Cougar?!  Are you kidding me?  I’m only twenty-six!”
    “Oh
a’ight now.”  I glared at him.  ”’kay, be cool, baby.  You not into
it.  I get what you sayin’.  Ain’t nothin’.  Later, girl.”  He backed up
from the bar and moved onto some other girl by one of the pool tables.
    Across
from me, at the other end of the bar, was a very good-looking guy with a beer
in hand, trying to stifle a laugh.  I caught his eyes for a moment but he
looked away toward the TV.  He looked to be about my age, maybe a couple of
years older.  He was easy to spot because he was the only guy in the bar not
wearing a team logo.  His hair was jet black, short with a little height on top
and short sideburns.  I could make out a few muscles under his navy blue
t-shirt.  As he leaned against the bar, his elbow resting on a leather jacket
that was as black as his hair, I noticed a long, pink scar on the inside of his
left forearm.  His jeans looked like they were fitted just for him and, while I
hadn’t gone in the bar looking for anything other than a drink, I was starting
to want something else.
    I
felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.  I pulled it out and checked the caller ID.
 It was Lucas, and that suddenly made me feel guilty.  I looked back
at the other end of the bar, but the cute guy was gone.  I scanned the room,
but didn’t see him anywhere.  I put my phone back in my pocket, deciding to
call Lucas when I got back to Cee Cee’s.  I wouldn’t have been able to hear him
with all the noise, anyway.
    I
finished my drink, paid up and headed out.  On the way back to Cee Cee’s, I
couldn’t help but feel like I was being followed.  I glanced in my rearview
mirror and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  An impulsive urge overtook
me and I made a right at the next light, even though I needed to keep going
straight.  I turned, and two other cars turned behind me.  I made another right
at the next light, and one car kept going, but the other, a ‘60-something,
two-door, dark charcoal gray Charger, hesitated before continuing straight.
    At
the end of the block, I took a little longer at the light, checking my mirror
to see if anyone was going