Page 2 of The Butterfly Effect
When I reached for my glass, the angry man suddenly gripped my wrist, causing a shock that rippled through my arm. “Don’t drink that.” His voice was a low growl, and I shot my eyes to his face. He kept his gaze forward, but his jaw ticked beneath his beard. I watched the muscles in his neck when he swallowed, and instant fear made my stomach flip. I pulled my arm out of his grasp, and the edge of a tattoo peeked out from under his sleeve when he moved his arm back.
“Excuse me?”
“I said don’t drink that. His friend slipped something in it.” He glared at Devin, and I gasped.
“Is that true?” I whipped around to face him, my hair flying over my shoulder. “Did you try todrugme?”
“What? Of course not?” He said it like a question, his voice becoming defensive, and suddenly the attraction I had felt towards him a moment earlier was replaced with churning anger in my gut.
“Thenyoudrink it.” I offered it to him, and he pulled his hand back as if it could bite him.
He narrowed his green eyes at the man and then turned them at me. The clear voice he’d had earlier was more of a mumble as an acid-like nausea burned in the back of my throat. The bubbles in the glass in my hand danced, and before he could turn and storm back to his friends, I threw the contents in his face. The lime on the rim of the glass bounced off his cheek, and he shot me a furious glare.
“You’re a fucking bitch!” He wiped the tequila and soda from his face before turning his aim to me and curling his fingers into a fist.
I squinted my eyes at him. He was going to hit me, and I reflexively stumbled back a step in my narrow heels. I landed flat against a hard surface that smelled strongly of cinnamon, shuddering at the contact with the chest of the man now standing behind me. The stranger shot his hand out and grabbed Devin’s wrist, gripping hard enough to cause him to scrunch up his face. The end of the tattoo on his arm looked like part of a knife.
“Don’t even think about it.” The man dropped Devin’s hand and gestured with the flick of his wrist for him to walk away.
My mouth was dry, but I tried to gulp and turned around to climb on the empty stool Devin had been standing over. The stranger was already seated back on the barstool he had been occupying.
“I, um… thank you.” I sat facing the bar but turned my head towards him. Nerves flooded through me, but for once I didn’t feel the urge to giggle. I took a deep breath and clasped my hands together to stop them from shaking.
“Not necessary.” He barely turned towards me when he spoke, and I couldn’t help but stare at him. The skin under his clean-cut beard and haircut was a rich olive, and his brown eyes were so dark they were almost black. His pursed lips were full, but formed a straight line across his face. I tried to picture what he’d look like if he smiled.
“I think it’s necessary. I probably owe you a drink or something.” I paused. “Or at least a proper thank-you? I don’t even know your name.”
“William. Let me replace your drink instead. What did you say your name was?”
“It’s Jules.” He narrowed his eyes and then raised an eyebrow. “It’s short for Julianna.”
“Okay. Let me replace your drink… Julianna.” The pause before and the emphasis he put on my name caused my stomach to stir.
“I go by—” He interrupted me by holding up a single finger.
“I’d rather call you Julianna.” I gaped at him. Nobody had ever corrected my name before or insisted on calling me by my full name except for my mother. “Now please, what do you want to drink?”
“Um… tequila and soda… with lime. Thank you again. I should be so embarrassed.”I am so embarrassed.
He chuckled and signaled for the bartender, ordering me a new drink and adding it to his tab. His laugh was rich, and I caught another whiff of the cinnamon that had surrounded me when he stood behind me. I shivered when I imagined what could’ve happened if he hadn’t been standing there. He must have noticed it, and for the first time since we’d sat back down, he turned his head towards me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just… I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been here.” I swallowed the lump in my throat that usually meant I was going to cry.
“Yes, you really should be more aware.” He said it so matter-of-factly that my jaw dropped.
“Excuse me… ?” I widened my eyes, instantly angry at the man who had saved me three minutes earlier. “Howdareyo–”
“Stop. You know exactly what could’ve happened if you had taken that drink. You’re lucky I was here, but next time, don’t turn your back on your drink around a strange man.” William smirked as he slid the glass the bartender handed him in front of me.
I sighed. He was right. I lifted the drink and held it out to him with a smile for a cheers. “Not all strange men are terrible, I guess.”
He laughed and tapped his glass on mine. “Don’t make that assumption so early.”
We drank for a moment in silence before he set his empty glass on the table and gestured for the bartender to close his tab. My disappointment at him leaving mixed with the churning of the alcohol, and I quickly swallowed the last gulp of my drink.
“Come home with me.”
