For The Love Of A God by Rosanna Leo (ebook reader for comics .txt) 📕

close. “Sweetheart, what did he do to you? Please tell me. You have to tell someone."

She wiped her eyes and met her friend's gaze. “It's not what he did to me. It's what he did for me. He did something so ... horrible, but so wonderful, and I can never make it up to him."

Puzzled and misty-eyed too now, Dino just held her, not knowing what to say. He considered her disheveled appearance, her puffy eyes, and inhaled deeply. Finally, he declared, “Maia, you are coming out with us tonight, and I will not take no for an answer. Girlfriend, you need to party with some gays."

Stifling another laugh, Maia smiled genuinely for the first time in half a year. And then she heard herself say, “All right."

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Chapter Nineteen

Maia had seen a lot of flamboyant gay bars. This one was flaming hotter than a pink flamingo on fire. The chairs were pink. The dancers were dressed in pink. Even many of the drinks were pink.

"Isn't this great?” Sheila yelled over the pounding music, between gulps of her martini. She squeezed Maia's arm. “I'm so glad you're here with us!"

A very tall drag queen sashayed by their little group and pointed at Maia's Holly Hobby bag with her painted red nails. “Oh my God, love it!” And then she wandered away.

Her head pounding, Maia grinned and took her first sip of alcohol in a long time. She'd never drunk scotch, but it reminded her of Eryx and she wanted to try it. Her head exploded as it burned a path down her throat. But the burn was good.

Dino hustled them through the crowd on the dance floor and over to a small table wedged between a group of biker dudes and some lipstick lesbians.

"Is Geoff meeting us?” Maia shouted so she could be heard.

"You bet. Keep an eye out for beautiful blond hair. Oh, and girls,” he said conspiratorially, “the curtains match the rug."

Sheila tittered and the two of them launched into a discussion of bad male dye jobs. Maia settled into her plush chair and watched the colorful crowd. Between the loud music, the shameless flirting everywhere and the howling laughter at her table, she could barely hear herself think.

It was a good thing. Not being able to think.

Maybe this night was just what she needed.

With a sigh, she took another small sip of scotch and indulged in some people-watching. She was trying to decide which drag queen's outfit she liked better, the J. Lo or the Paris Hilton. The J. Lo's sequined ensemble showed off her conspicuous manly bubble butt, but Paris's short skirt highlighted her long legs. As Maia raised her eyes to inspect their perfect makeup applications, a flash of shimmering gold hair caught her eye.

She turned toward it, thinking she'd spotted Dino's Geoff.

From across the crowded room, Eryx stared back at her.

Her temperature soared. Her eyes fluttered. And in that moment, he was gone.

"Maia,” Sheila said. “Are you okay? You spilled your drink."

So she had. She was still clutching the overturned glass but the scotch had poured into her skirt and was dripping onto the sparkly pink floor tiles. She shifted her feet out of the fragrant puddle, still staring at the other side of the room. “Oh. Right. I'm ... I'm okay."

Dino pried the scotch glass out of her clawed hands. “Why don't we get you cleaned up?"

"No. Thanks. I'll go."

She dove into the crowd and headed for the bathroom, figuring her insanity was written all over her face. She pushed open a door labeled “Queens,” hoping very much it was meant for women. She breathed a sigh of relief upon not finding any urinals, and plowed inside. Once in, she splashed cold water on her face and some on her skirt. Then, she entered one of the stalls and locked the door behind her.

Not needing to pee, she lowered the seat lid and plunked herself down. Within seconds, her hands came up to support her aching head.

She was seeing him now.

No. It was impossible. Right now, he was probably being forced to pleasure Nemesis in all sorts of ungodly ways, if he was even still alive. Knowing her, she'd probably killed him out of spite.

"No,” she assured herself. “What you saw was just a very handsome gay man who looks like Eryx. Stop daydreaming."

But unable to shake the sensation she was being watched, she exited the bathroom.

Making her hasty apologies to Dino and Sheila, telling them she didn't feel well, which was mostly true, she left the bar. She hailed a cab and headed home.

When the cabbie took a shortcut through Chinatown, and she spied what appeared to be Dionysus in the company of several alluring Asian women, she just turned her head. It couldn't be him.

She continued to tell herself so, even as he waved at her, a twinkle in his dark eye.

By the time the cabbie made it to her building, she was almost sick to her stomach. Maia stumbled out of the cab and paid him. As she fished for some change for a tip, she was vaguely aware of a couple passing on the other side of the street. A blond man and a brunette woman. Holding hands. Flashes of gold and silver.

Apollo and Artemis.

But by the time she looked up, they were gone.

Not for the first time, Maia feared for her sanity. She raced into the building and into the elevator. She'd never quite wanted to see her bed so much. She wanted an end to her strange hallucinations and an end to the night in general.

As the elevator reached her floor, she breathed deeply. By the time her key was in the lock, she was debating the merits of booking a bulky timeslot with her friendly neighborhood shrink, as opposed to spilling the beans inside a dark confessional at St. Leo's around the corner.

Maybe she needed to get everything off her chest, even if no one would believe her. Hell, she