Page 5 of Perfect Chaos

Chapter Five

Maizyn

I’ve consumed way more alcohol than I should have. Every time an unwanted thought tries to wiggle in, I chase it away with a shot of tequila. Is that healthy? Probably not. Do I care? No, not really. I want to have fun and escape my mind for just a little while, even if I end up blackout drunk and it brings me a hangover tomorrow. For just one night, I don’t want to be myself. The fact I am currently standing on the bar top trying to attempt what I believe is dancing means I probably should have been cut off four shots ago.

Oops. Whatever it can be tomorrow's problem.

“Maizyn. You need to get down.”

I look down, expecting to find Atlas, but it’s Gavin below me instead. Hmm. okay, interesting. I'll bite. “What was that? I don’t think I heard you correctly.” I cup my ear as I say it, being overdramatic even though I heard his grumpy ass perfectly clear.

“I said you need to get down. You’re clearly drunk, and I don’t want you to fall.”

“Did Atlas send you over here to tell me to get down?” She questions me, clearly not caring either way.

“No.”

“Then why are you trying to ruin my fun?”

He lets out a frustrated sigh. “I’m not trying to ruin your fun. Will you just get down already?”

He reaches up like he plans to pull me down but I place my foot out between us. I plant my foot onto the center of his chest and push him away from me. “What are you going to do? Pull me down? You are not my daddy, Gavin. You can’t make me do shit. Now leave me alone.” I roll my eyes at his audacity. I can stand up here if I damn well please.

His eyes trace a line from where my foot connects with his chest and up the length of my leg before flicking to my face and backing away from me. He turns away from me and goes back to sit with Atlas. Something in the back of my head tingles like it is trying to tell me I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I can’t put my finger on why.

Gavin

We have been here for hours. Any normal night, I would have found a woman to bring home by now. So why am I four glasses of whiskey deep and the only woman I seem to notice all night is Maizyn? I don’t know how she is still standing at this point. I lost count of her drinks after the eighth shot or so. Atlas doesn’t seem bothered, but it’s starting to get under my skin. She climbs onto the bar top, yelling along to whatever Top 40s radio hit is currently playing, and I am on my feet before I can stop myself. She is going to fall and hurt herself. I stalk over until I am standing in front of her. She doesn’t notice my presence until I call out to her, telling her to get down.

Of course, she doesn’t make it easy. No, she gives me hell. She pushes me away with a foot to my chest, unintentionally flashing me what is underneath her dress. Absolutely nothing. Fucking hell. I was right with my earlier assumption and it pisses me off even more. She is dancing on the fucking bar top full of strangers with nothing on under her dress.

If she just showed me, there is no telling who else just saw. Don’t even get me started on her smart mouth. Telling me I wasn’t her “daddy” and she didn’t have to listen to me almost pushed me over the fucking edge. But she is not mine, and I shouldn’t care. Underneath the anger, though, is an entirely different problem. My hands itch to touch her. To see if her skin is as smooth as I think it will be. I don’t know why I even care, but the fact that any stranger in this bar gets to see her this way is fucking with my head. I walk away before I allow myself to do something I will regret, like pulling her down from the table and bending her over my knee.

Sliding back into the booth, I face a very relaxed Atlas. That's odd for him. I figured Mr. Always in Control would be flipping out by now, but he is just watching her with a smile on his face. “Are you not going to make her get down?” He laughs before turning his attention to me.

“The first thing you will learn about her is you cannot make her do anything she doesn’t actually want to do. She is fine. She is having fun and deserves to be happy for a bit. Plus, if anything happens, we are right here.”

It's as if he jinxed it. As soon as those words leave his mouth, raised voices carry from where I just left Maizyn. Atlas sees it first, already moving towards her as I try to process what is happening. A crowd has formed around Maizyn while a grubby man is trying to grab her from his position on the floor. Fuck. This is not how I saw tonight going. I rush after Atlas. Unable to stop him in time. Atlas grabs the man by the nape of his neck, yanking him away from Maizyn. The man spins to face Atlas, but eats the right hook Atlas just threw before getting a word out. I'm shocked to say the least. Very rarely does Atlas lose control like this. Atlas and I have been in a few bar fights before, so I know his swings are lethal. Hell, we have fought several times in this very bar, but it’s usually me who starts it.

The man falls to the ground, clutching his jaw and yelling a bunch of words which aren’t exactly understandable. Between him being drunk and his sore jaw, I have no clue what he is trying to say but whatever it is, he sounds pissed. Atlas follows the man to the ground, getting on top of him as he continues to throw punches. People are yelling and running around. Some woman is screaming for security. I scoop Maizyn off the bar, throwing her over my shoulder. My hand swats her ass automatically. “Next time fucking listen.” Oh Shit! Did I really just do that? Fuck, it wasn’t intentional. Maybe she is too drunk to notice. I keep her over my shoulder, my hand gripping her thigh to hold her steady while yanking Atlas back from the man who is now unconscious on the floor.

“Atlas, we have to go! Now! The cops will probably be called any minute!” He fights against me for a few moments before my words click in his head and he realizes what I am actually saying. His eyes go wild, scanning the room for Maizyn before realizing I have her.

“Fuck. You're right, let's go. Can you carry her to the car? I don't want to get the prick's blood on her.” His words come out flustered as he tries to regulate his ragged breathing.

Looking down, I see his knuckles are split open, and he is covered in splotches of blood. “Yeah, now let's go.” I say the words through gritted teeth. If either one of them would have listened to me, we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.

“Don't talk about me like I'm not here, assholes! I can fucking walk!” Maizyn spits out from over my shoulder.

“I know you can walk, Chaos. Just let him carry you outside, please.”

Maizyn mumbles something I don't hear over the noise as I rush us out of the bar and across the street to the parking lot we parked in earlier, while she punches my back the whole way.

I place her down gently, letting go of her once her feet are firmly on the ground. Atlas rushes up beside us, trying his best to wipe any of the blood off onto his pants.

“Is everyone okay?” I ask as I glance from Maizyn to Atlas.

“I think I am going to be sick.”