Chapter 18 Survival Guide

— Eveline —

We were seated on rickety chairs around tiny tables in a crowded mezzanine of a bar. The place was not big, and nearly half the space was for giant vats of stainless steel where they made their own brews, protected by large expanses of glass, separating the bar section from the factory side.

Darren was on my right on his own little rickety chair. On my left was a dark skinned Tyson. He had tight cropped black hair, a black t-shirt and jeans, and an infectious smile. He had a physique that screamed sport, maybe American football—definitively something physical. He wasn’t much taller than Darren, but he was much wider. And all muscles.

He seemed to know nearly everyone here, which only reinforce my idea of a sport-player. And he had the most outstanding blue eyes I’ve seen. With his dark complexion, it only made them stand out more, and I was sure he was a player.

I could see him watch every girl pass by, and he wasn’t looking at their faces either.

In front of me were two guys. One was Malik. He was a little paler-skinned than Tyson, but darker in complexion than Daren. He had luscious curly hair falling above his ears, and the shape of a swimmer—all lithe muscles. He wore a shirt reading ‘I speak fluent Sarcasm’, and dark denim.

He was a loud man. The moment he entered the bar, everyone noticed. He moved around making jokes and faces, getting laughs along the way. He sat on the bench like he owned the bar. But he was a little surly.

When he’d come in, the three other guys asked him about his date, and he’d seemed to have been stood up. Which apparently was the most hilarious thing in the world to them. So funny in fact, that Darren was bent over, and Zayn was wiping tears off his eyes.

It took a while for them to explain to me that he’s the most massive player they know, constantly bragging about conquests. Apparently he had a whole posse of girls waiting to date him. And the irony of the situation was not lost on them.

Opportunity which Tyson exploited to brag that he had a girl on her way to join them. “Glad I didn’t rely on Casanova here to bring chicks,” he told us, pointing his thumb at a grimacing Malik.

Zayn who was sitting on the bench between Malik and Darren seemed to be the quiet one of the three. He had red hair shaved on both sides of his face, and long and styled at the top, with an equally red two inches beard, a white button-down and black slacks. He looked like a mix between elegance and bad-boy, with obvious tattoos on his arms, visible by his rolled-up sleeves.

They were Darren’s crew.

When he spoke of them, he did so fondly.

When he was complaining about one of them, it was generally in good humour.

It was a little sad that distance was about to come between them. I was not particularly fond of the idea of putting a dent in his social life, but geography did complicate things between us.

Apparently, it was a thing to get a degustation set of all the different beers they brewed here, which is surprisingly a lot. So Darren ordered, and we got a set of eleven small glasses of beer, going from a white, blond, pale ale, red, all the way to black, and a few fruity ones in between.

Darren helped me a little with them.

Tyson got a text and went to get his date at the door.

“Everyone, this is Megan,” he wrapped his arm around her, facing us a little later. “Meg, this is Malik, don’t trust him, he’s a snake. This is Zayn, he’s tolerable, but don’t play pool with him, he’s gonna skin you alive. And this is Darren. He’s the asshole abandoning us for a piece of pussy. That here.” He finally pointed at me. “This little beauty here is Eva. She’s the one who ensnare my friend in a couple of weeks to drag him to the other side of the globe.”

“Piece of pussy, huh?” I asked unamused.

“Careful there big guy,” Megan told him. “You’re real close to having a fist in the face.”

“Nah,” I told them. “I’m too nice for that. I’m gonna wait for him to be drunk and then I will set things in motion so he’s going to humiliate himself, and no one will see my hand in the matter, but everyone will see the video on the internet afterwards.”

“Rock on!” she told me. “If you need help scheming, I’m your girl.” And she high-fived me.

She was maybe as tall as me, with chestnut hair. She had a t-shirt that read across her breast ‘small but real’. I think I liked her.

“Hey!” complained Tyson.

“Shut up bitch!” Meg told him. “You started this.”

“Won’t you do something?” he told the other guys.

Zayn raised his hands palms up in a gesture that meant, ‘I’m out of this one, mate’. Malik scoffed and said, “Never pick a fight with girls in a bar, everyone defends chicks and not one defend the guys. Even more so if the girl is cute. I know my survival guide.”

Darren looked at him unimpressed. “I’m gonna see how this plays out as you’re apparently losing, but if the girls want to kick you in the balls, I’ll hold your arms back and let them.”

“Traitor,” whined Tyson, and he sat back down.

Megan wriggled in between Tyson and me, and grabbed a chair to sit. Clearly making it a statement to Tyson, then she blew him a kiss, and gave him the finger before turning to me to start a conversation about the cool places to hang out around here.

— Daren —

Christi was obviously a no show.

I felt bad for Zayn. They were good together and I know he was getting serious. She’s not a bad person, I kinda like her. But I also understand the situation. And now more than ever. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how I’d feel after meeting Eva, if I had had a girlfriend prior. Things got serious quick. I’m kinda waiting for the moment when I’ll realize this is not working out as well as I thought, only it’s not happening.

I like waking up to see her there next to me, feel her skin against mine. She smiles and my heartbeat speeds up. The press of her lips is all I need to get hard. Her presence calms me when I’m upset, she gets me excited when I’m bored. It’s like we’ve known each other for so long. I’d fight for that woman.

I know part of this can be attributed to the fact that we get along well, that we seem to have very complementary personalities. Which is pretty much what all the stories say about mates. That they are one made for us, or selected as the best person for us, and such. But there’s also the bond itself. It does things to you. It affects you. There are times when it’s even difficult to decipher which is the bond and which is just plain chemistry. Maybe they are more interconnected than I thought.

But the bond is a powerful thing. It pulls you. I can know if she’s in a room without looking. I can know if she’s upset, or happy, or sad, or horny, without the need to ask, or look at her face. Every touch is like silk, and sex, and MDMA, all wrapped into one. I’m pretty sure erectile dysfunction can’t occur to mates. There’s something primal, that bypasses all your thoughts and goes straight into your spine. It’s both conscious and subconscious. And it’s so delicious that you don’t want to fight it, just indulge.

It makes everything simpler.

I may have dwelled on moving away for a while, if it had been for another girl. Now, with her, it’s hard to even slow things down. I tell myself I should take my time, be sure we’re both okay with this. Anxiety and insecurities really take the back burner.

It took everything in me not to mark Eva the first night we were together. Maybe even the first time we met. It’s like fighting instincts.

So for Christi finding her mate in someone other than her boyfriend—. She may love Zayn. She may truly love him. But this is probably tearing her apart. He said she’s ghosting them both. I’m sure seeing her mate would just shatter her willpower, and seeing Zayn would just break her heart on what’s about to happen to them. So unless she rejects her mate, sooner or later this is over. I think they should move on. The quicker the better. But I’m not in any of their shoes. Thanks the heavens. I wouldn’t trade places with any of them. Not for all the riches in the world.

The best would be for Zayn to find his mate, and they could all move on, maybe even stay friends. And I know my situation is just reminding Zayn of his. But I also wanted to spend time with my friends. It might be the last time in a while. And I wanted to share this with Eva. Maybe share a little of my life here with her before I leave most of it behind.

We were chatting, laughing. Eva seemed to connect with Megan. I was secretly thankful for Tyson to have brought her along. But that woman had a seriously foul mouth. I’ve rarely ever heard fouler. But she’s hilarious.

She has shot down every come upon of Malik like a freaking sniper to everyone delights but Mal’s.

Which may be why he decided to set his eyes on Eva instead.

I got a little worried, but when he tried to paint her in a corner one time too many, she didn’t snipe him, she obliterated him. She burned him to a crisp.

That made me proud.

“What is wrong with you guys?” Mal whined. “Where the hell have you find girls like that. They’re not normal. No one resists me like that. Are they witches? I swear they’re witches.”

Both girls burst off laughing. I just laid back with my arm on the back of Eva’s chair and smiled. There’s something inherently sexy in a strong woman.

At the end of the night, we slipped inside a taxis heading back home.

“I like your friends,” Eva told me. “Even Mal.”Her head dropped on my shoulder and she fell asleep for the rst of the ride..

It made me happy.

I knew they liked her. Everyone got a little too drunk at some point and kept telling one another how much we loved each other which was probably ridiculous to look at from any passerby’s point of view.

I guess my incoming departure did weigh on our mind more than I thought.

I was looking at her sleep with her mouth slightly open, snoring quietly, and I traced her nose and cheeks gently with my index finger.

I think I’m seriously falling for that woman.

And all this was a great distraction from facing my family conflict, for which time was now slowly running out.