Fire Nectar Read Online Free PDF Page A

 
 
    Stewart and Anjelica were already at Nectar when Dani
arrived.  She made her way gracefully through the heavy crowd and surveyed
the surroundings. Monochromatic naked lady wallpaper adorned the bottom half of
the walls while a mirrored strip covered the top. The usual display of liquor
across the back bar wall was split in two sections by a statue of a devil which
sat in the middle, a nasty smile on his face. 1970’s light fixtures hung from
the ceiling with a rain lamp dripping oil complete with naked lady in the
middle added a nice kitsch factor to the corner where it hung.  The music,
oddly, was heavy metal.  She liked the place immediately.
    A man in his early twenties with several piercings and a
baseball hat blocked her way in an attempt to flirt. “Not happening,” she said
and stepped around him.  Just then the lights went out.  She looked
at the guy who’d stopped her, his attention diverted in the direction of the
bar.  She followed his gaze.
    The music stopped and a man’s voice yelled out from
behind the bar, “Alright, kiddies. Don’t try this at home.” People started
whooping.  In the darkness she keenly saw two bartenders dressed in jeans
and black t-shirts facing each other behind the bar – each with a shot
glass of Bacardi 151. They dipped their index fingers in, emptied the rest into
their mouths and held it, lit their fingers on fire and with all of their
power, blew the booze out of their mouths onto their lit fingers. Two huge
bursts of flames cleared the 10-foot distance and met in the middle in a
fantastic explosion.  The crowd went ballistic.  
    Dani didn’t move. She couldn’t. She stood frozen,
staring, as the crowd whooped and hollered around her. She could not move.
Seeing fire barely controlled, exploding in giant bursts dead center in front
of where she stood, incapacitated her. For the first time in over a year she
felt something.   Terror?   Maybe.   But another word for terrified is
“thrilled.” Electric shocks ripped through her and the wall of fog lifted.   She could not believe it. Jolting her
out of her walking-sleep, the lusciously dangerous fire   made her feel powerfully alive
again.
    The lights came back on. The hip crowd resumed their
normal chatter. Some enthusiastic customers ordered more drinks in celebration
of the show. Anjelica, still wearing her paint covered jeans and t-shirt as
promised, spotted her and waved her over.
    Dani forced her legs to walk. She was afraid it would go
away. That the numbness would return to take her down. She wanted to cry it
felt so good. Every sensation in her body heightened, she was back to normal.
The revelation stopped her cold and she touched the wall for balance. Could it
have been years?   It had to be at
least a year – but had it been longer?   How long had she been asleep?   She didn’t know.   Walk, Dani, she thought, you look like a
crazy person.
    The bearded guy in his twenties seated beside Stewart
looked up when Dani arrived.   She
looked a little nutty with her eyes dancing like that. He got up to give her
the seat.   She took it without
thanking him and he looked over his shoulder once more at her as he left.   Stewart and Anjelica exchanged a smile
and asked, together, “Did you see the fire?”
    “I did,” she answered.
      “I hope they
do it again,” Stewart added. Anjelica nodded.  
    “Will they do it again?” Dani almost demanded. They
shrugged and couldn’t help but look at her hand.   It was stroking the bar counter.  
      “Feel
something you like, Dani?” Stewart coughed.   She stopped stroking immediately.
      “I’m fine.”
She struggled to act casual.
    “Good. Because you kinda look
like you’re rolling.”
      “I don’t. Do
I?” she demurred, a cute smile tugging playfully at the corners of her mouth. On drugs? How hilarious…is that what it looks like to them,
she wondered, admitting that she really did need to be more careful. It was