By the Fire: Issue 3 Read Online Free PDF Page B

and put his hands up. “Whoa, I didn’t mean that you should track her down. I was just giving an example.”
    “Don’t worry” she replied. “That’s what I do.” She jumped up from her chair. “Now how about you and I get out of here? Maybe go dancing or just back to your place.” She shimmied again as she spoke and Bobby felt his heartbeat pick up watching her move.
    “Uhm, how about one more drink before we go?”
    Her smile perked up. “Ok, sounds like a plan. I’ll be right here waiting.”
    Walking away he spotted Jake at the bar talking to a different girl than earlier. He clapped a hand on his shoulder. Jake turned around and gave him a drunken smile.
    “Hey, I’m going on home.”
    “What? Why? The night is young!”
    “I met a crazy one. I’m escaping while I can.”
    “Oof! Yeah, run away my friend. Run away.”
    “Are you good to get home” Bobby asked.
    “Oh yeah man. If I even come home.” Jake wagged his eyebrows up and down.
    “Ok. See you tomorrow. Be safe. Penicillin shots ain’t that cheap my friend.”
    He drove home in silence to an empty apartment. Several episodes of rerun sitcoms later he passed out in his bed. The next morning he woke to the sounds of pans crashing followed by giggling in the kitchen. He jerked awake and when he tried to get up too quickly his sheets wrapped around his legs. He fell to the floor and groaned in pain. Pushing himself up he disentangled himself from the sheets and stumbled into the kitchen.
    “What the hell is going on in here” he asked rubbing sleep from his eyes.
    Jake was standing in front of the stove with his arms around some brunette. The two were giggling. Jake was just wearing pajama pants and the girl was only wearing one of his oversized t shirts.
    “Oh, sorry man, we didn’t mean to wake you up. We’re making pancakes. Want some?”
    Bobby covered a yawn before replying. “Sure. I’ll make the coffee.”
    “Excellent idea. But first I have to drain the lizard.”
    He picked up the coffee pot while Jake wandered out of the room. While he was filling it with water he tried to catch a glimpse of the girl’s legs. Ruff! While he was loading the coffee maker he felt her move beside him. She slid something onto the counter. He picked it up.
    “What’s this?”
    “You forgot to close your tab last night so I took care of it for you.”
    “Oh, thanks, that was….. what the hell? Five hundred dollars?”
    He spun around to find her leaning in close to him. “I told you that I always get revenge. You shouldn’t have ditched me.”
    He stepped away from her mouth hanging open. “Plus, you could have had all of this.” She ran her hands over her body while she spoke.
    “I don’t believe this. You can’t be Stephanie.”
    “And why not? Not blond enough?” Her hair changed from brown to red to blond and then back to brunette.
    He started sliding along the counter trying to get away. “Oh crap oh crap oh crap!”
    She smiled at him sweetly. “You should have known better” she said in a sing song voice.
    “What happened to just keying cars” he asked.
    You drive a ’93 Toyota. Why would I key it and add to the scratches and dents it already has?”
    He closed his eyes “This can’t be real. It can’t.”
    “Oh don’t worry honey, it’s real alright. And you’ll be seeing plenty of me around here from now on. I told you I always get my revenge.”
    “What kind of revenge is sleeping with my roommate?”
    “Oh I’ve got plans for you. If I were you I wouldn’t expect to bring too many girls around here. And you should just give up on sleep. I’m what you might call a screamer.”
    He shook his head frantically. Stephanie, or whatever her name really was, leered at him until Jake walked back into the room.
    “What’s going on in here? Do I need to be worried about you and my roommate” he asked with a smirk.
    “You don’t need to worry about me honey. Now how many pancakes would you like?”

Freedom