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The man landed with a thud on the ground, and he groaned as he rolled onto his side. “Bastard,” he muttered as he threw his weight forward. He swayed on his feet and leaned over and spat out blood.
He gave Lucas a smile that was full of blood, and Lucas felt a momentary sense of guilt for what he had done, but the man had it coming. He kept provoking him, and you can’t poke a bear without expecting to get bit.
Lucas studied his opponent carefully, wondering what the best course of action was. The man began to charge at him like an angry bull, and Lucas had a split second during which to make a decision. He raised his hand as if to shield himself from the attack, but in reality, he drew his hand back and punched the man squarely in the jaw.
The man landed with a thud on the floor, as he lay there inert, Lucas rubbed his raw knuckles. He hadn’t hit him hard enough to cause any damage, just enough to knock him out before he hurt anyone or himself.
The man’s friends stared in awe at their friends’ body, and they stared at Lucas in a mixture of admiration and fear.
Lucas shrugged. “Just make sure he puts some ice on that. It’s going to turn red in the morning, but the swelling should go down easily.”
The friends nodded as they moved towards their friend. They carried him to the back of their pickup truck and placed him gently in the back. Lucas watched the men drive off as he tried to ignore the throbbing in his hand.
He would probably need an ice pack too.
Chapter 2
“That was impressive.”
Lucas wheeled around surprised that he had an audience. He began to study the brunette who was standing in front of him. She was shorter then he was, short enough to fit under his arm with dark brown hair and gray eyes that reminded him of the clouds on a rainy day.
She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Enjoy the show, did you?” Lucas gave a flirty smile as he crossed one leg over the other and leaned against the railing.
The brunette looked at him in mild annoyance. “Not particularly. I just thought it was impressive how you managed to keep your temper in check. That guy was asking for it.”
“Not every man knows how to hold back,” he shrugged as he gestured towards the door. She swung the door open, and they made their way inside.
The brunette turned to face him, a quizzical brow raised. “How so?”
“It’s an art, a science if you will. Knowing when to push and when to hold back.”
The brunette studied him curiously. “I can’t tell whether that comment is arrogant or insightful.”
“Definitely the latter.”
The brunette shot him a look. “Of course you would think so.”
“I didn’t just develop this observation overnight.”
The brunette gave him an amused smile as she hopped onto a stool. “Do tell.”
“Well, I’ve spent years observing people, and how they react when they are given what they want, and how they react when what they want is so close, but they are unable to reach it.”
She cocked her head at him. “And what, pray tell, did you find?”
He could tell the brunette was humoring him, that she didn’t really believe a word of the crap he was pedaling, but he had to keep talking, he had to keep her interested, and he couldn’t figure out why.
“A person always follows their basic instinct, and that instinct is to protect themselves at any cost. Are you familiar with Segmund Frued?”
“Father of psychology. Of course.”
Lucas was momentarily surprised. Brains and beauty. He gave her a slow smile. “Freud believed that every action that we carried out had a latent purpose, subconscious if you will, and that in most cases that purpose was to satisfy a basic human instinct. In most cases, it’s sexual.”
“I know that theory of course, but then if we’re following that line of reasoning, you’d also have to dissect his theory the Oedipus complex.”
Lucas hopped onto the stool next to her. “Let’s take a closer look at it. In a nutshell, he believed that little girls were secretly attracted to their fathers, and little boys are secretly attracted to their mothers.”
