Life was a joke, and I was the punch line. But right now, I was trying not to be the punching bag.
Louis Larenzo, a 42 year old instructor and owner at Boxing Academy, was tossing cross jabs at me in the ring. He was also a good friend of mine, the best, actually. Knowing my crippling money woes, the guy offered me a free pass on the training sessions—a lifeline I clung onto desperately. Duking it out on stage was about the only thing keeping me off the edge lately, and I thanked him big time for that.
"Keep your guard up, Nolan!" Louis shouted, his voice reverberating around the room. "And stop thinking so much! You're in the damn ring, not a philosopher's den."
I managed a half grin, panting heavily and wiping the sweat off my forehead with the back of my glove. Twisting away from his next jab, I winced—my ribs still stinging from the last hit. My heart was firing in my chest and adrenaline surged through my veins as I prepared for Louis' next attack. He moved like a panther, quick and unpredictable. I shifted my footing to angle in a hook shot, but Louis pivoted his hips and dodged it.
"You're too slow!" he chastised, dancing around me with a smirk on his face, and then he wiped the smile off mine with a counter shot right against my cheek.
The room spun around me and I staggered back, blinking through the wave of numbing pain. I could see Louis' fists swaying before me, a teasing invitation to fight back. Baring my teeth, I lunged forward, aiming a punch at his ribs, but he was quick, dodging again and landing a blow to my gut. Air whooshed out of me and the pain pulsed through my skull. This lesson was free, and it came with an extra serving of pain.
I swear his shots hit harder today.
"Come on, Nolan," Louis taunted, circling me again like a predator. "You're fighting like ol' Grandpa Reggie."
He was giving that man too much credit. Grandpa Reg couldn't swat a fucking fly….
"Did Samantha break up with you or something?" I grunted playfully, trying my hardest not to buck over from the intense pain brewing in my stomach. "Because those power shots are deadly tonight."
He laughed. "Nah, you're just getting soft, kid. Let's wrap it up here. I can tell, your mind isn't locked in."
"No, I'm fine," I said, holding back a wince. "I can keep going."
Louis walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder and nodded. "You're done. Go home and catch some rest."
I bet my eyes were betraying me the way Louis was staring at them. I had exhaustion written all over my face. Usually I'd last longer in the ring, but Louis was right. I was distracted. Money being tight could do that to you, and I was no stranger in the land of Hard Knocks.
Boxing kept my mind off of how shitty things had been after my parents died in a car accident two years ago. Now, I was living with Grandpa Reggie, who smoked hotter than a god damn chimney. Grandpa Reggie was always high–it didn't matter the time or the day. He was the ripe age of 61, or so he called it. The guy barely had a wrinkle on him, but he sure acted like he was 90, swearing he was broken from the neck down and couldn't manage working another day of his life. Which was why he was living off of his social security income along with a can of charisma that never seemed to run dry.
Dad used to say that was where I got my charm from, but I begged to differ.
Grandma's smarts, and grandpa's swag. Mom used to laugh at him for the saying, but I did recall a few times when this charm of his allowed us to slide a few months of unpaid rent. Aside from being a lady's man, gramps was a bull, and he had no problem bragging about it, either.
Hell, I couldn't complain about his horny escapades with LandLord and recent widow Maria Lopez. Night City wasn't cheap, and the lights had to be on, hence my reason for pushing it at my dead-end job at Joe's Bar & Grill, the most decrepit joint in the heart of Night City. Mostly desperate souls looking to drown their sorrows in cheap booze frequented the place. I served as a waiter, where being barked at by drunks was the least of my worries.
I unstrapped my sweaty gloves and tossed them into my duffle bag, catching Louis' sympathetic gaze. He knew about my stressful situation—my finals around the corner, my dead-end job at Joe's, and the mountain of unpaid bills piling up on my kitchen table. If money wasn't tight for him, too, I knew he'd help me out. But these free lessons he was giving me were charity enough.
"Anything you want to talk about, Nolan?" he asked as he reached over a stool at the end of the ring and took his towel and water bottle. He tossed the towel over his shoulder and handed me the water bottle, the cold drink like liquid gold.
I guzzled it down, not knowing how thirsty I was until I finished the bottle in under seven seconds. When I brought my head back down, I took a moment to process his question, being caught up in finally being hydrated again.
I shook my head, forcing a smile. "Nah, I'm good. Just got a lot on my mind, that's all."
He studied me for a moment, his eyes filled with concern. "Alright. But remember, you ain't gotta face all these problems alone. Got it?" His voice, gruff as it was, held an undertone of warmth.
"Yeah, I know. You're always here to talk. Aspiring psychologist and all." I chuckled. "Hey, don't quit your day job." I teased Louis, laughing it out. He knew he sucked at that deep conversation stuff as much as I did.
"Who needs a shrink when you can solve everything with a couple of punches, eh?" Louis snorted, extending his fists and giving them a prideful look. I smiled, appreciating his attempt to lighten up the mood.
"Well, I'm gonna head out," I said, heaving my duffle bag onto my shoulder. "Thanks for the lesson."
"Same time tomorrow?"
"You bet."
Boxing was an escape, a constant that I could rely on to suppress the aching pains I endured every day of being so unbearably commonplace. I was trapped in a routine of hustling it, and the future didn't look too promising, either. Sure, I could move, but moving required money, and money was something we rarely had. Gramps swore I was making a big deal out of it, and that my 'grass is greener on the other side' mindset was utter nonsense.
Honestly, I just think that the idea of living alone scared him. He'd never admit it, but I was the only thing gluing him in place after his only daughter had died, so even if I technically could leave him behind, my conscience wouldn't let me.
So, here I was, 21, ready to graduate college, with literally no aspirations in life and nothing to look forward to other than my extended stay in our rundown apartment with my 420 friendly grandpa. I walked a few blocks to said apartment to pick up my laundry bag, passing said grandpa who was sprawled out on the couch. Half asleep, half dead, I couldn't really tell, until I did a double take. He began to snore, his Luscious Ladies show on the TV still chirping in the background.
After I took a quick shower, I scooped up my laundry bag from my tiny bedroom. Then I slung it over my shoulder and walked another two blocks to the laundromat. There was a small Latin food truck there and I hadn't had dinner, so I turned to the stout man in his late fifties who had a smile brighter than the neon sign above him.
His apron was greasy, and his name tag read "Miguel". I had probably paid his rent many times over with my weekly food truck visits. God knows gramps and I didn't know how the cook worth a damn. Miguel's authentic Mexican food was the one thing I looked forward to every day, but not because it was cheap, that was for sure. Miguel and his father Fabino loved to switch up prices, depending on what they saw coming out of your wallet. For the big corporate man upstairs, two fish tacos would come up as ten dineros. But for someone like me, they were the standard six bucks.
No one complained because the food was always top tier. So I ordered what I usually did from Fabino's—two chicken quesadillas. Except when I reached down into my wallet to pay, I noticed that I was a few bucks short.
I looked up to Miguel, who made it obvious that he'd looked at how broke I was too when he snapped his head back around and began whistling to himself. He turned back to the kitchen and his two spatulas and continued cooking that amazing chicken grilling my stomach into The Great Depression. I didn't bother asking him for a favor because I knew he wouldn't give me one. And honestly, I didn't really like handouts, unless I was really close to someone like my boxing trainer.
So with a sigh, I turned around and went inside the laundromat so I could hurry up with my load and then go to a 7/10 to get one of their cardboard pizza slices for cheap, before I had to reanalyze my crippling money problems again.
"Crap, between food and laundry, I don't have enough on me," I said, staring vacantly down my wallet again as I stood in front of the washer machine. I pivoted my head to the left, where I felt someone was staring at me. An old lady folding clothes on the counter gave me a weird stank eye before she turned back around and minded her own business.
I grumbled. Food or clean clothes? Which was more important?
"I think I saw an old cup of noodles in the cabinet," I whispered to myself. "I'll manage."
After I did my laundry, I went up to my apartment, my phone suddenly buzzing in my pocket. It was a tutoring gig flagged urgent.
What perfect timing!
Even though it was after hours, being 10pm, I was desperate, and apparently, so was she. I opened the message and read: 'Need to cram in a study session for Mr. Hobo's Chemistry exam tomorrow! Please, send help!'
She meant Mr. Hibbins, the raggedy-looking Chem professor at Acadia University.
Her name wasn't familiar though—Laura Lockley. I knew just about everyone in Acadia. Not that I made it my business to, I just had a very good memory. I was also the highest rated tutor on campus, a badge that I'd like to wear proudly. In Laura's case, she was having trouble with her chemical reaction equations. I found the location selection odd, since most students preferred meeting up at the main campus library, but I didn't think anything of it. Her place was less than a five minute walk, so after laundry, I skipped dinner and went out to snag a quick fifty bucks for my wallet.
++++
She lived in a condo complex way more luxurious than anything I could afford. I could tell her parents were rich, and as soon as she buzzed me into the lobby, I felt out of place. From the marble floors, chandelier lights, and gilded elevator doors, everything screamed affluence. I adjusted the strap of my worn-out messenger bag and made my way to the 3rd floor. Up the stairs I went, until I reached a hallway with only four doors.
I knocked on the door marked 3C, and not two seconds later, it opened, a lovely Laura Lockley greeting me with a sugary smile.
Involuntarily, my voice cracked when I greeted her with a simple, "Hey!"
"Hi," she said slowly, like she was locked in some type of enchantment. I wasn't exactly the hottest guy around the block, so I wasn't sure what she was impressed with. It certainly wasn't my messy brown hair, or my thick framed glasses that validated the whole nerdy look.
Soooo, maybe my height? Girls did love tall guys, and I was six feet tall.
I wasn't expecting my tutee to be such a hottie. The petite and curly vixen with the long silky black hair had on a pair of skimpy silk pajamas on, her jade eyes already inviting me in. She didn't look like someone ready to hit the books, maybe, hit the bed. For a second I thought I went to the wrong apartment before she asked, "Nolan Reiner?"
"Yeah! And I take it you're Laura? Nice to meet you."
"You're a lifesaver!" She bounced off of her feet, her voice suddenly chirpy and excited. "Thank you for taking the assignment in such short notice! I almost forgot about that stupid exam tomorrow!"
"Hey, no worries. I'm always happy to help when I can."
She stepped back into her condo, inviting me in. "Would you like to come inside?"
My response was lost in my throat, and I couldn't understand why I hesitated. There was an awkward pause between us before she broke out into a soft giggle, and insisted, "Come on, I don't bite!"
A hot girl invites me over for a tutoring session at her place, wearing barely anything at all, eyeing me like a full course meal. The moon was full, and the sexual tension was high, but there was something else about her that was making my palms sweaty….
Warning signs fired off in my head. Right after I accepted her invitation, my chest went tight. I ignored it, kicked my shoes off by the door, and followed her inside, trying to forget about the weird sensation so I wouldn't look like a total flake. Instead, I focused on how incredibly elegant her place looked—high ceilings, modern furniture and an artfully placed abstract art on her white textured walls that added an extra air of sophistication. Everything was so pristine and organized, almost like a staged showing for a property on sale.
"Nice place you have here," I complimented after she locked the door behind us. She led me to the living room, my eyes locked on her swinging hourglass hips.
"My domain caters to my high standards," she said with a smile.
"Your domain?"
"Y-you know, my space?" She stuttered, and then turned around to face me as she clasped her hands together. "Please, make yourself at home!"
My eyes turned to a plush white suede couch. I took a seat along the edge of it, and then I reached into my bag to fetch the chemistry textbook I brought to help her study.
"Right, so, we only have about two hours here. Let's make the best of our time so you could—"
"Oh, we have time for that later!" she beamed. "Right now, I have a guest to tend to. Would you like something to drink?"
"No thanks. I'm good."
She frowned. "I hope that's not the attitude you're going to give me all night."
"Huh?"
She drew a finger at the corner of her lip and popped her hip out with some sass. "I'm trying to be nice here. You're ruining the mood!"
Her directness caught me off guard. She seemed so much bolder than a girl who needed tutoring in chemistry, but I could tell in her tone that she was still being playful about it.
So I chuckled and nodded. "Heh, all right, then. Some water would be great."
"Perfect!" she bounced. "One tangerine flavored sparkling water it is!"
Wait, what?
She and her skinny waist sashayed out into the kitchen, which was open to the living room with the only thing separating the two rooms being a breakfast counter. Laura left me alone with my thoughts, and my first thoughts about her were interesting. She was a character for sure. Her energy filled the room even when she wasn't around. Assertive, zany, confident, and sexy. Clearly she had other thoughts other than studying in her plans tonight, but either way, I had to be professional about it.
When she came back with a tray of two glass cups, I straightened my back and sank deeper into the couch so she could pass me and the coffee table. She bent over to set the tray on the coffee table, and that was when I noticed a sparkling emerald necklace dangling over her busty breasts.
At first I didn't think anything of it until she tucked her cleavage away by pulling her collar up in an attempt to hide it. The collar of her low cut could only go so high though, and her eyes dodged mine, an uncharacteristic blush spreading across her cheeks. It was the first time that evening she seemed anything less than perfectly composed.
"Lovely necklace," I commented, trying to ease her apparent discomfort. "Is it a family heirloom?"
"Something like that. But enough about me. I want to learn more about you."
I smirked. "Is that what you really want to spend your two hours of paid tutoring time? On me?"
She shrugged, then reached over for our glasses, handing me one. "My money, my rules." She winked.
I took her offer, watching her take a sip of her drink before I took a sip of mine. I wasn't really a fan of carbonated drinks, but I was no douche.
"I bet there's a lot to know about Nolan Reiner. The smartest guy on campus."
I snorted. "You're being modest."
"And you're being humble. There's a reason you're number one on the tutor board. What else are you good at?" she cooed.
"I can make some mean scrambled eggs," I said, giving her a playful smirk. "Just about the only thing I could cook without burning my place down."
She laughed. She had a cute laugh, too. "Well, I'm sort of a cook myself, Nolan. I can craft all sorts of exotic things."
"Cooking is an essential skill. I wish I'd known that early on, otherwise, my dinners wouldn't be a combination of instant noodles and frozen dinners."
"Well, it sounds like you need a girl in your life."
I chuckled nervously. Was she volunteering?
"You know cooking is simply chemistry. Knowing when to mix things, at what temperature, for how long… A recipe is basically just a lab procedure. It's all about reactions." She lifted the glass to her lips again, her eyes holding mine over the rim.
"Seems like you already know your stuff, Laura."
"Tell me something. Are you as good at chemistry as they say?" she asked me softly, those jade eyes glued to me with an obvious raunchy thirst.
"I suppose that depends on who's asking," I responded with a light laugh, trying to keep the atmosphere relaxed. "But yes, I do know my way around the elements."
"So then you know that we have chemistry, right?" She smiled.
"Chemistry? Us?" I chuckled, taking one last sip of my drink before setting it on the table. "I don't remember seeing that on the periodic table."
She giggled, her cheeks glowing a soft pink under the bar's dim lights. "Why, that's because it's an unlisted element. Quite rare actually. Discovered only when you least expect it."
I grinned back at her, amused by her wit and charm. "What are its properties, then?"
"Well…" she began, putting her drink away and then crossing her legs before she leaned into me with wanton interest. "It's known to entice uncountable attraction, cause spontaneous arousal, and trigger unexpected happy endings…."
More than her words, it was her audacity that left me stunned. Sure, I had been hit on before, as rare as that was, but no one had ever approached me with the finesse and straightforwardness of Laura.
"Nolan, I like to be upfront with what I want," she cooed, her finger lacing along my jawline and her breath pouring over me like sweet wine. "And what I want is an exploration of this chemistry we have. A long and thorough study…."
Laura made the first move, inching into me and taking my lips with hers. Her intention was obvious, but it still sent a jolt through me I didn't brace for. Her lips tasted of cherry gloss and the bourbon she'd probably been nursing all night. She was brazen, and it was intoxicating, her body pressing closer as her curves molded perfectly against me.
My heart hammered against the walls of my chest as I wrapped my arms around her. The scent of her perfume caught my attention, a subtle hint of vanilla and jasmine. There was something else in there I couldn't identify, but the thought came and went, being lost between Laura's mouth distracting me instead.
Her fingers danced along the nape of my neck, making shivers run down my spine. I found myself wanting more of Laura as she reached under my shirt to explore my abs, the sensation of them making her moan in my mouth. I enjoyed her curves, too, her soft velvety skin along my fingertips as I stroked them down her smooth hips. It was impossible to deny the burning connection between us, as electrifying and potent as it was. Hot breaths, heavy pants, and all of that dirty talk she was pouring into my ears. I thought for sure I was going to get lucky tonight, until she whispered something over my neck that made me numb.
"I want your heart, Nolan. Right between my teeth…"
Before I could respond, I felt a sharp pain on my neck. The feeling of liquid pooling down my collarbone was unsettlingly warm. She continued to bite down, and I tried to push her away, but she held onto me with a strength that was shocking for a girl her size! The world spun around me as my heart hammered in my chest, and I began to panic, the first thought to cross my mind being some psychotic bitch was taking vampire role play to a whole new level.
Through a bout of stray elbow shots, I managed to wrestle her off of me, the both of us collapsing on the floor. She momentarily released her grip on me from the fall, my chance to crawl back and away from her. As she got up on her feet, she had a sinister look on her face that dropped my heart down to my stomach. I had this looming feeling that she wasn't playing around, and that she actually wanted to fucking kill me!
"Nolan," she murmured, her voice now a far cry from the sultry tone that she had seconds ago. "What's wrong? I thought you agreed that we had chemistry." She snickered. "All I want to do is create bonds with you, sexy."
Fuck that.
I was gone at the first sight of those big bloody fangs extending from her mouth. Forget my bag and the shoes I left by the door. The only thing on my mind right now was survival. So I stammered up on my feet and rushed down the emergency escape stairway like my head was on fire. The police station was the first thing on my route, and after I dashed out of the complex, I ran for Seabury Place.
"Help, somebody!" I cried out, but the road was stark empty. I bolted with adrenaline pumping through my veins, my feet barely touching the pavement as I ran. The night air ripped through my lungs as I panted, but I could not afford to stop. My heart pounded like a drum in my ears, drowning out everything except for her laughter that echoed around me.
All of a sudden, I felt something hit me hard, something so strong that it sent me flying. It flung me into the park across the street, my body bashing right into a tree.
I swear I blacked out for a second, but I forced myself to recover as quickly as it could. When my vision stopped dancing, I realized it was Laura who had hit me, still standing there in a charging pose like a damn linebacker.
Why did a girl no taller than 5'5 and no heavier than 120 hit like a fucking truck?
"You still have your strength I see," she said cheekily as I tried to scramble myself off the cold grass. "I guess the toxin I crafted into your drink wasn't strong enough to slow you down."
Toxin?
"No worries! I do love a good chase! After all, the toxin wasn't all useless. You're still unable to utilize your powers to defeat me."
What the hell was she mouthing off about?!
Just when I thought this night couldn't get any weirder, she paced closer to me, those pink polished nails on her fingers turning black and stretching ten times their size!
"I wish we could have had our fun together tonight," she said, her voice velvety and low. "but when I noticed my brew having no effect on you, I started to panic. You didn't get woozy at all!" She giggled. "Silly me, I should have been more patient! Passing a night of hot, steamy fun with a demi-god sextoy before a feast is foolish, isn't it?"
"Wait, wait, wait!" I begged, but before I could bargain with her, she lunged at me. The ever assertive and upfront monster girl Laura going after what she wanted. Luckily, I dodged her attack, and I circled around to escape her. She was blocking the route to the police station, so I made a U turn and ran right into an abandoned warehouse building for safety.
Home was on the route, but I didn't want to bring crazy around more people. I figured my best bet was to lose her in here, and then when the time was right, buck it to the police station. Except there was one problem with my plan—she was stupid fast.
And not marathon-runner fast. She had a quickness to her that wasn't human. It was like she was teleporting from point A to point B, making escaping her that much harder.
I scaled the height of the moonlit warehouse, barely dodging her as she tried to slash at me with those big claws. I couldn't stop moving for one second, because I knew that if I did, it was game over.
I tried tossing all types of shit in her way to slow her down, but when I threw a steel pipe at her and she sliced through it, my hopes of getting out of this mess alive went out the window.
Just like my luck did as I accidentally drew myself to a dead end inside this four floor warehouse office.
"Nowhere to run, Nolan," she said with a twisted satisfaction in her low voice.
Behind me were rows of glass, and behind that, a four story fall….
"I'm almost disappointed that our time together is cut so short. But I can't have you sabotaging my operation back home."
My mind was rushing so fast that I couldn't even mouth a response. That pain in my chest started to fire up again, but before I could react to it, Laura lunged at me. This time, I didn't run. I gritted down on my teeth, squared my shoulders, and braced for that psycho bitch! When she drew close, I step-dodged and crossed her, Louis' training coming in handy. I caught her off guard, angling for a square punch against her face, but she noticed me. When those jade green eyes pivoted my way and flickered red, I almost lost my shit. She grabbed me by my collar and chucked me into the wall, my forehead bashing right through.
I heard ringing in my ears, the pain that came with it triggering a deep rage inside me. Her persistence woke a primal beast side of me that wanted to match her energy. She wanted me dead? Fine. But I wasn't going to go down without a fucking fight!
I grappled her, trying to keep her claws wrangled so she couldn't build momentum for her strikes. She caught on, and she didn't like that, flinging her body into mine and tossing the both of us through the four story glass wall!
The only thing I could think of at the moment was coming out of this fall alive, no matter how thin the chances looked. As the shards of glass rained around us and the wind whipped at my face, I reached out with a desperate hand. Grasping Laura's wrist, I twisted her into the path of our fall, but then something weird happened.
The ember necklace around her shoulders began to glow, and so did my chest…
Except the light coming from her gem was green, and mine was a cryptic red.
At first, my thought was to swing her around and behind me, using her body as a cushion to land on the ground softer. But something told me to snatch that necklace in the process, believing it might have something to do with her supernatural powers.
Sure enough, it was no regular necklace, because as soon as I snatched it off her neck and squeezed it in my fist, a warbling portal opened up underneath us, swallowing us in.
An echo called out in the void whipping with bright bands of translucent colors and cosmic dust. It was an ethereal sound, feminine too, and it said in a balmy, accented voice:
Welcome to Etheryn!