“Well, I don’t mind taking care of you baby.” She tells me; and I am so happy that she is happy to be with me right now. It’s all I care about.
Chapter II
Henry Joseph Mason
I am the future, and they all know it. Influence. Money. Power. These things emanate off of me, off of my tall, muscular frame as I stand at the bar. The designer label polo over my broad chest and the high-dollar watch fastened to my rock-hard forearm compliment the angular and Aryan features of my face. Women want me, and men want to be me.
I take a slow sip of my double whiskey and soda, studying its familiar and satisfying toxicity. I allow myself to enjoy a few more moments of egotistical feelings before returning my attention to the company around me.
Four of my fraternity brothers stand to my left, laughing and in loud conversation. John, my roommate in the House, is retelling a story from a few weeks ago.
“All the dude said was ‘Hey that’s my girlfriend’ and next thing I know, Bam!” He chuckles between words.
“Henry like slams him in the throat and throws him to the ground. It happened so fucking fast, man. He hit him like five or six times on the ground too before the bouncers could pull him off.” All of our brothers laugh and look at me. One of them addresses me.
“God, you’re crazy bro.” I give him a slight smirk and respond shortly.
“The guy had an attitude, man.” I laugh slightly. I remember the night. I know the feeling so well: the tight knot of competition and power in my stomach, centered closely to my navel. There is a darkness in my heart that blacks out all compassion at times. It fills me with a blind rage, a desire to prove what I know: I am the best and I get what I want.
“Hey do you all want to go across the street to the Patio?” John asks the group. I think he knows some girls at that bar. I hear a few mumbles of agreement before I respond.
“Nah, man. This place is starting to get packed and there’s like two or three girls up at the front that we should talk to.” I tell John and the guys. Without even listening to John’s response, I know that the group will do as I say. They follow me. It’s because of things like this that I ran unopposed for our fraternity’s president.
We drink heavily at the bar, doing shots of top-shelf liquor and bombs, many of which I know I won’t get charged for because the bartender comes to our fraternity’s parties on occasion. My brothers laugh at my stories, making noises of endearment spawned out of subtle jealousy. After about an hour or so, I find myself in a conversation with a tight-bodied blond; her hair dyed platinum like a magnet to anyone with a hard dick and bad intentions.
“Oh my God!” She says in her high-pitched voice, communicating to me that she has a near child-level intellect, like anything and everything in the world is a surprise to her.
“So you and your Dad just spent the summer in Hawaii?” She asks. I answer slowly, in a manner that suggests I could be more interested in almost anything else.
“Yeah, I was interning at one of his companies there, but it was pretty sweet. I had a few weekends off just to party at our beach condo.” I tell her. She laughs and continues talking. I say just enough to keep her close; her hands moving in an accidental manner to my abs and arms at times. I feign interest because my lust for her body keeps me near. I had quickly identified the familiar signs of a sure thing.
After a few more drinks, I am touching her now too. My hand moves slowly upward to her smooth hair, pushing it softly behind her ear so I can lean in to whisper to her; to plant the seed of my intentions.
“You know, you are so beautiful” I say quietly, but in a firm and deep masculine voice. She pulls back and looks into my eyes. I see myself as she does: my eyes the loving and caring shade of blue, but slightly narrowed and hardened by my fierce energy, pulsating out a power that goes beyond words into the realms of meaning. It is done. She is mine.
She kisses me. Her lips, painted light pink with a cosmetic, smoothly press against mine. The simple act awakens a bestial desire inside of me. I need to have her, to show her that I can have it all, to display my power in its entirety.
As the bar announces last call, we decide to walk back to the fraternity house to continue partying. Our group has gotten larger. My brothers have picked up two girls, and of course, the blond is at my side, holding my hand with laced fingers. I allow her grasp, as if I truly care about her at all.
Even though it’s late, there are a number of people still up drinking at the house. I’m greeted loudly with phrases like:
“Henryyy what’s up man?” and,
“Hey bro, where’d you end up tonight?” All the while, I think about how the other brothers must be checking out the girl that’s with me. John asks me to do some blow, so we sit down at a table in one of the large living rooms of the House.
The white powder is collected in the middle of a large, glass-topped table, resembling a small mountain covered in snow. As I sniff through a cut-off straw, I feel the cold power entering my body through the lining of my sinuses. Fuck it feels so good. We’re laughing wildly, recounting stories that are untrue in a hundred different ways. My vision spins and my body is energized and euphoric; then, blackness.
I wake up feeling the body of a female curled into the nook of my shoulder. It takes me a couple seconds to realize where I am: my room in the fraternity house. I vaguely remember having sex with her. She stirs as I begin to pull away, and her eyes open as well.
“Good morning,” she says in a high-pitched voice that I’m sure she’s rehearsed to make it sound cute, like she never has woken up with someone like this before.
“Uh, hey,” I say in a grumbled morning voice. My mind draws a blank when I try to remember her name. I’m unconcerned.
“What time is it?” I ask. To answer she grabs her smart phone from under one of my blankets and checks the clock.
“12:50” She answers. Shit, I slept through two of my classes. Again, I’m unconcerned. As long as I pass and get my degree, I’ll be fine. I sit up turned towards her. She caresses my bare chest with one of her hands as she begins to address me again.
“So I was thinking we could go get some lunch or something?” She asks me. Even before she gets the suggestion out, I already know my answer.
“Ah, well, I actually have to go meet some of my brothers for a study group in an hour so I can’t. I’m sorry. Maybe another time?” I completely make up the excuse. I’ve never gone to a study group and never will. She pauses for just one moment before responding, and I think that she might cry. What a crazy bitch.
“Oh sure, yeah, just let me give you my number and you can text me.” She says, and grabs my phone and enters her number. I get up and start heading towards my bathroom to shower. I explain that I’ll text her later today, but know full well that I’m about to delete her information from my phone as soon as she leaves.
As I shower, I think about the girl and of how little I care about her, or any of them. I’m a rich and powerful man. She is lucky that she got to be with me at all.
I guess everything I feel about women stems from my father. I remember one night when I was a little child. I was in my bed and was unable to sleep. I worried about my mother because she was out of town visiting family. Sleepless, I got out of bed and travelled down the long hall to my parent’s room, hoping to find my Dad. I stopped at the threshold to the master chamber, having heard a noise. I stood and listened for a long time, hearing the orgasmic screams of another woman. After a while, I just went back to bed. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized that my father had been cheating.
It’s the night of my graduation. My father has told me that I am to accompany him to dinner with some of his business associates. I agreed, of course, knowing that this is the future for my career. We enter a high-end restaurant and head to a private backroom for the party that