CRRAAACCK

Went the next cinder block, shattered in half by Marco's iron fist. He had already destroyed seven by then, rendering them into a pile of rubble that stood half his height.

CRRAAACCK

Marco couldn't even feel his right arm anymore. Not that it was injured in any way, but his body had gotten so used to the feeling of hitting solid cement that it became as normal as wading his arm through air.

CRRAAACCK

Marco remembered being a highschool freshman when he first started doing Karate. He remembered the first time he tried to break a cinder block with his bare hands. He ended up wearing a cast for a month.

CRRAAACCK

Marco couldn't help but laugh whenever the memory popped up. To think a cinder block could break his arm back then.

CRRAAACCK

Now his arm could break an army of cinder blocks.

CRRAAACCK

Twelve. Already a dozen.

"Marco?"

CRRAAACCK

Thirteen. Unlucky but thankfully never a stopping point.

"Marco."

CRRAAACCK

Fourteen.

"MARCO!"

Marco turned around to see who yelled his name. It was none other than his little sister, Mariposa. She stood looking stern, arms crossed and foot tapping the grass.

Standing right next to her was her best friend and bane of Marco's existence, Janna. Marco wasn't the biggest fan of her, but Mariposa liked her and seemed to be uncorrupted by her borderline criminal antics, so he allowed her on his property as long as Mariposa kept her in line.

"You know I've been ringing the doorbell for like ten minutes, right?" Mariposa's brows furrowed in frustration.

"Oh, right." Marco rubbed his arm anxiously. "Sorry about that. I've been uh, busy."

"Busy breaking cinder blocks in the backyard again?"

"You know I always break a bunch when I'm stressed out."

"But you've been doing it every day for the past week!" Mariposa, exasperated, threw her hands up.

"Geez dude, did a cinder block touch your no-no spot or somethin'?" Janna jokingly said.

"Watch it, you." Marco pointed at the beanie-wearing rascal. "I'm in an 'anti-material' mood right now and I'm not afraid to extend it to spines."

"Mmm, ya sure ya don't wanna break me in half some other way?" Janna's eyebrows raised twice.

Marco pinched his forehead, refusing to dignify her with a response.

"Janna, when are you gonna stop being weird about my brother?" Mariposa asked.

"Soon as he stops pussing out and takes me already."

"Janna can you, for God's sake, not?" Marco chimed in.

"Ugh, let's just go inside and do our project already!" The younger Diaz pulled her friend by the arm and through the sliding door into Marco's house.

"Seriously, why do I even bring you over here?" Was the last thing Marco heard before his sister closed the sliding door.

The man was embarrassed about his recent negligence towards his sister. But the stress had been eating away at him and he had no idea who he could talk to about… what happened a week earlier.

Marco decided to take a break. He walked back into the house, grabbed himself a bottle of water and took a seat on his couch.

He didn't even bother to turn the TV on. Just stared back at the tired man on the tinted LCD.

"C'mon Diaz, this isn't you." The reflection spoke, a smug smile on his face. "You're really gonna let some girl get the better of you again? What are you, a dumb, awkward teenager?"

"Y'know it's not that simple." Marco responded. "She's… y'know."

"Hey, you didn't know. And besides, with that body, that face, and that expertise, how could you? Makes you wanna tap that again, don't it?"

"Dude, what the fuck?"

"Oh, don't be such a prude, just look."

The reflection of Marco on the couch changed to a memory of that night the week prior.

It showed Marco bending Jackie over the armrest of his couch, going hard as he took her from behind. The man glistened in sweat, body brimming with energy he enjoyed exerting. With glazed eyes and mouth agape, he girl took every inch and every stroke as if it was her last.

And it all came flooding back to him. The heavy smell of sweat and sex, the feel of her smooth, supple skin, and the hot, soaking tightness if her pussy stroking his aching cock in the best of ways. All of his senses felt as if he was reliving that blissful moment all over again.

"C'mon, look at your face." That voice spoke again. "It's been so long since you've felt that good, hasn't it? And look at her. She's begging for that dick. Bet both of you would jump at a chance for another romp on the couch, huh?"

"No, Goddammit!"

"Sup Marco, whatcha watchin'?"

"OH SHIT!"

Marco nearly fell off the couch when Janna popped up out of nowhere.

"Oh dude, this is my favorite show!" Janna hopped onto the couch, the cushions bouncing beneath her.

Right on the spot where-

"Spoiler alert." Janna pointed to Marco's reflection. "Dude dies in the end. Super embarrassing death. Right on the toilet while taking a dump. Didn't see it comin'."

Janna then points to her own reflection.

"See her? She resurrects the dude sitting right next to her 'cause she's a necromancer. And he becomes her undead manservant, tending to all of her needs for all eternity."

Janna leaned towards Marco, eyes closed halfway.

"And I mean aaaalll of her needs." She said before reclining on the armrest.

"Janna, d'you ever think about anything that comes outta your mouth?"

"Nope. I feel it would mess with my flow."

Marco rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you be working on something with Mari right now?"

"Takin' a bathroom break."

"This is the living room."

"Any room's a bathroom if you don't care enough."

"I swear, if you piss on my couch…" Marco balled his fists, ready to physically throw a girl out of his house. "I don't wanna hafta deep clean this damn thing again."

"Again?" Janna asked, eyebrows raised with piqued interest. "Why'd ya hafta do it the first time?"

"It's… fuck. Nothing. Forget about it!" Marco, flustered, turned away from the girl.

"Ooh, I know!"

In a split second, Janna closed the distance between her and Marco. Her knees on the cushions, arm hanging over the couch, and her face so close, he could feel the breaths from her nose.

Marco tried to back up but found nowhere else to go.

"You brought a girl over here, didn't ya?"

Marco gulped. His eyes shifted back and forth as he searched in his mind for a way out.

But the brief silence left in that slightest of delays only made things worse.

Janna gasped. "You did, didn't you?"

"No, Janna! You got it all wrong!"

"Geez, she must-a left ya hanging the next morning didn't she? Ya guys had a night wild enough to make a Succubus blush and she turned tail and left ya cleaning up the mess after. Damn, that's cold."

Marco groaned as he dropped his face into his palms.

"No wonder you've been stressin' out this past week. Probs thought it was love at first site and she went and stomped your heart."

When Marco sat back up to look at Janna, she jumped right onto his lap, her arms around his neck while her eyes locked with his.

"But I'd never do that to you," Janna's voice became low and breathy. She tilted her head and closed her eyes halfway while fluttering her eyelashes. "I'd never leave you, Marco."

"J-Janna..." Marco froze and shivered in fear and confusion. "Wha- what are you-"

"Shhh…" Janna pushed her finger to Marco's lips. Her voice lowered to a complete whisper. "Nobody needs to know. I won't tell anyone if you won't."

Marco gulped. The man was a few hundred pounds of pure muscle who could definitely cast a shadow that could cover Janna's entire body. He had just spent an hour in his backyard breaking cinder blocks in half like they were twigs. He's a 3rd Degree Black Belt going on a 4th with a wall full of First Place trophies, medals, ribbons, and plaques to prove his qualifications and accomplishments.

Yet Marco, for the life of him, could not push Janna away. He sat there, trapped in her lusty gaze, hands parted at his sides and shivering, eyes bugged out like a deer in headlights.

The girl rolled her hips ever so slightly, shifting just a hair closer to her prey. There was a faint stirring beneath Marco's jeans, and he prayed she didn't notice.

"Just a quick one." Janna hissed directly into Marco's ear, driving a soft gasp from him. "I'll even let you finish inside me."

The whole world turned blurry for several long seconds. When Marco's vision cleared, he found himself pinning Janna beneath him, holding her wrists above her head while both of his legs flanked her sides. There was a hungry, almost feral look in his eyes.

Janna's breaths came out short and ragged. She stared up at Marco not out of surprise or fear, but of total interest. Her smile never left her face, but her eyes became less longing and more challenging.

"Do it." She said with an unyielding fire in her eyes. "You know you want to."

Was it frustration? Stress? A gnawing hunger in the back of his mind? The aching heat beneath his pants? Marco struggled to figure out.

He shook his head vigorously, resetting himself as if he finally took his body back from whatever possessed him. His eyes became wrought with horror as the realization of what he nearly did struck him hard.

Marco tore himself away from Janna, his shaky hands hanging as he narrowly avoided committing an act he'd regret.

Janna stayed on her back with a look of shock, as if Marco had just slapped her across the face. The silence and tension formed a solid wall between them. Their shared stare never left one another.

"Pffttt…" Janna began to snicker, until she burst into loud, boisterous laughter. It got to the point where she nearly fell off the couch from rocking side to side.

"I knew it. You're too much of a goody two shoes to do something like that."

Marco didn't say anything. He just had an incredulous look that stuck on Janna the whole time.

He slapped his hands over his face, groaning as embarrassment and regret started creeping in. Even though nothing happened, it was put out there that he was on the verge of creating another problem for himself.

"That look on your face, though. Looks like I almost broke ya there didn't I? Better luck next time, I guess."

"Wait, you're not mad at me?" Marco asked, shock.

"Nah. I mean, if anything I feel blue-balled." Janna crossed her arms. She looked up ponderously. "Or blue ovaried."

Marco was almost relieved that she took it that way and even more so that she seemed to be nonchalant about it. For once, Janna's weirdness worked in Marco's favor.

But still, he needed to stop this kind of behavior once and for all. It was one thing to have a crush, it was another to try to downright seduce the man.

"Janna, look." Marco faced her directly, his tone sincere and his expression stoic. "This has to stop, okay? You shouldn't be messing around like that with guys like me. It's not right."

Janna chuckled heartily, raising Marco's eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just… just go on with your lecture." She waved at Marco to continue.

"Okay? Anyways, I get that it's not uncommon for girls like you to… take an interest in older guys, but ya gotta know that things between us won't work out… for obvious reasons."

Janna laughed a little harder, eyes screwed shut and her smile wide.

"Okay seriously, what is it?"

"Nothing, nothing." Janna swiped a finger across her eye. "It's just kinda rich coming from you."

"Uhhh, what?"

"There you are!" Mariposa stormed into the living room, grabbing Marco's and Janna's attention. "Have you been here harassing my brother again?"

"Eeyup."

"You said you were going on a bathroom break."

"Yeah and I decided to take a lil detour afterwards."

"Ugh, just… c'mon." Mariposa, annoyed, beckoned Janna back to her room. The black haired girl hopped back over the fence and followed her friend.

When Mariposa had already turned the corner, Janna stopped and turned to Marco. She pinched two fingers and swiped them across her lips in a zipping motion, then shot a wink before disappearing.

Marco slumped back in his couch, unable to parse what had just happened. So much went through his mind that it felt like a tall order to go through and break it all down.

Feeling in need of someone to talk to, Marco decided to turn to the one person he knew. He grabbed his cell and looked through his contacts. When he found the one he was looking for, he immediately called and waited as the phone rang.

"Yo, hello? Marco?" The comforting California surfer voice of Brantley spoke. "Wuz goin' on, dude?"

"Hey, Brantley." Marco responded. "I'm just at home, looking after my little sister and her friend while they're doin' homework. You?"

"Right on, right on. Me, I'm just on a break from the dojo right now."

"Ah good. Actually, I've got a bit of an… issue here."

"Oh forreal? Lay it on me, bro."

"It's a… girl problem."

"Oh man, what happened? Didn't wrap your tool some years ago and it came back to bite ya? If ya gotta 'disappear', I can hook ya up. Just say the word, bro."

"Nonono, nothin' like that, thankfully."

There was a gasp and a short but deep pause.

"It's not 'her' again, is it?"

"No. Thankfully." Marco said, with a flat, almost dark tone.

"Oh okay. So what's up?"

Marco grit his teeth, hesitant to give Brantley the full details of his situation. Despite how long the two have known each other and what they've been through together, Marco still wasn't sure if it'd be wise to divulge sensitive information like this.

"I'm not sure if I can say…"

"Ah, I gotcha." Marco can somehow tell Brantley was nodding. He was relieved by his friend's understanding and glad he didn't press him. "So what can I do for ya?"

"Y'know I've been stressin' out this whole week." Marco rolled his neck. "Like, bad."

"How bad?" Brantley asked. "Like breakin' cinder blocks in your backyard kinda bad?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Ah geez…" Brantley said, gravely. "Has that been workin' out?"

"No, not really. If anything it kinda made more problems than it fixed."

"Oh damn. That's not good."

There was a pause. For several minutes, Marco could only hear an extended hum on the other line.

"Okay okay, I got the thing for ya. I know a guy, er, lady actually."

"A therapist?"

"Nah nah nah, better. A masseuse."

"Wait, a masseuse or a… 'masseuse'?" Marco asked skeptically.

Brantley chuckled. "Hahaaa, y'know what it is!"

"Uhhh, okayyy. I'm… not sure how that's gonna help me out with this."

"Nah, she ain't runnin' just any ol' parlor. She's indie. And she does some witchy, voodoo stuff that works like legit magic dude!"

"Uh, not sure how I feel about that 'witchy, voodoo stuff'. Is she gonna carve a pentagram into me or somethin'?"

"Nah nah, it's totally safe. Yeah she's kinda weird and she uses some kooky oils and lotions, but I swear to Mackie Hand, you'll feel like a new man. Like all the stress just, poof! Gone."

"Huh." Marco rubbed his chin, briefly considering the idea.

"Best part is…" Brantley paused for several seconds, leaving Marco in suspense.

"...tight."

"Tight?"

There was a hearty chuckle on the other line. Marco's eyes widened as he understood the meaning.

"You mean she… goes all the way."

"Yup. She doesn't just 'give you a hand'. She gives you the whole arm."

"Eww."

"Ohmygosh, that's not what I mean. Look, just give it a shot. You'd be surprised, man."

Marco slumped against the armrest of his couch, bringing his gaze to the ceiling. Maybe a massage was all he needed. Something to take the edge off while he searched for a way to deal with the new Wild Card thrown into the deck he called his life.

Marco let out a big sigh, loud enough that Brantley was sure to hear it.

"What's up, dude?"

"Alright."

"Alright?"

"Yeah, I'll do it. But I'm only getting a regular massage. Nothing more."

Brantley laughed.

"Okay, dude." The fellow Karate instructor said. "If that's what ya want."

"Just gimme some contact info or something."

"Yeah I can give ya her number. She won't answer calls though. Just text, but she'll only talk if you text her 'Nevermore'. Name's Night Raven."

"Uh, okay? Kinda weird."

"Yeah, I know. Also, whenever ya get to her place, ya gotta do a secret knock on her door or she won't answer it."

"Awful lotta hoops just for a 'masseuse'."

"Toldja she's weird, man. But y'know what, none-a that matters, because you'll be too deep in Cloud 9 to care."

"Okay, so Night Raven, Nevermore, secret knock." Marco recapped. "Anything else?"

"Nah, that's it. Oh and bring cash, obviously. 66.70 an hour. Yeah, don't ask."

"Geez...okay fine. With that price, she better actually use magic."

"Dude, trust me, she basically does. Look, I gotta go man, break's almost over. I'll text ya her number later. Seeya!"

Marco put his phone down as soon as the call ended. No soon after did he receive the promised text from his best friend with the number he's meant to text later.

The man looked at the clock and noticed how late it was getting. He got up and walked to the kitchen to prepare dinner for himself and his house guests.