by Mary Ting
“No…I thought I saw….” She paused, looking dismayed. “Never mind.”
“Do you have a habit of conversing with shirts?”
“What?” She knew why he made that comment. She hadn’t looked him in the eyes once since the conversation started, and now she was staring at his chest. For goodness sake, she didn’t mean to make it obvious.
“Unless you prefer that I take off my shirt and give it to you, since you seem to like it so much.”
That wouldn’t be such a bad idea. No! What was she thinking. “I don’t think so.”
Thankfully, the bartender came back at that moment with the beers, breaking their conversation. “That will be eighteen.”
Eighteen for three beers? What do they put in it, gold? Skylar reached into her purse to get her wallet out, but when she reached to give the bartender a twenty, her hand collided with Mason’s. Clearly he was trying to pay. Once again, some kind of exhilaration sparked down her spine.
“Ouch. You shocked me again. What are you, like the static king?” Her hand jolted back to her side with the bill.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, cursing underneath his breath.
“That’s okay,” she replied without making eye contact. Then she turned her attention to the bartender before he could walk away with Mason’s twenty and placed her bill in front of him. “Wait. I can pay for it. I’m treating them.”
Mason’s hand was slightly on top of hers as he carefully pulled it back. Even though his touch was gentle and light with hardly any pressure, her hand followed obediently. “You can pay for it, but you need to be twenty one. Are you?” His tone demanded attention.
He was right. Submissively, peering up to answer his question—which was a big mistake—she saw his supple, kissable lips. They spread across, giving her a smile she could die for. With her eyes fixated on his, she pulled her hand away slowly. At that moment every sound, every movement seemed to blur around her. Swallowed up by Mason’s world, she was breathless. His powerful body just inches away from hers caused a longing vibe to surge that she could not control. She hated how he could make her feel so weak all over. “Thanks. I’ll let them know you bought it.”
“There’s no need for that. Do you need help carrying it over?”
“Nope,” she snapped, then twisted her neck to where his date was sitting. With a compact mirror in front of her, she was checking herself out. The date reached into her purse, pulled out her lip-gloss, and glided it across her lips. Her beautiful blonde hair cascaded down, blocking one side of her face. “Shouldn’t you go back and entertain your date?”
“My date? You think I should?” He chuckled.
What kind of answer was that? She suddenly felt bad for his date. “You should do whatever you want.” She grabbed the bottles of beer and walked away as if she didn’t care, never looking back.
“I was beginning to worry,” Kayla whispered. “What was going on over there?”
“I’ll tell you later, but now we need to toast.” Skylar clinked Kayla’s and Nick’s bottles. “To you, and you, and me.” Then she took a sip and almost threw up. Squirting some out of her mouth, she quickly apologized and wiped it with a napkin. She didn’t know why people liked to drink something she imagined pee would taste like.
Nick laughed. “You’ll get used to the taste really fast.”
After several sips, Kayla wanted to dance. With Kayla’s persuading and the tugging of her hand, Skylar and Nick were pulled onto the dance floor. They were the first to break the ice, and more people joined in. Skylar was enjoying herself, but in a way it was forced. She wanted to prove to Mason, and herself, that she wasn’t at all affected by him.
Soon after, with more sips of beer, she found herself dancing alongside Kayla with a complete stranger. Once in a while, she would steal glances at Mason. Though he never fully looked at her, she could tell he was watching, and that made her happy, like she’d won a contest or something.
As the music continued to blast, the crowd got bigger, surrounding them, and she lost sight of Mason…not just him, she lost sight of Kayla too. Thoroughly enjoying dancing, the not so bad looking guy she was dancing with was all smiles. By now, thoughts of Mason vanished, and she disappeared into the crowd as she danced like she’d never danced before. The vibration from the bass pumped through her body, enticing and fueling her with energy that was buried within her. With both of her hands up in the air, she moved in ways she’d never dared to do—seductively. Certainly, she was having the time of her life.
Skylar felt carefree, and at the same time, she felt light headed from the alcohol. Now she knew what feeling buzzed felt like. Though she didn’t know if she liked the feeling, she knew it made her feel braver, more daring…like the way she was dancing with a total stranger. As they continued to sway to the beat, sweat trickled down her forehead. Blood rushed to her face, making her feel hot from all the movement.
Unexpectedly, her dance partner placed his hands around her hips and pulled her in. Not only did he reek with alcohol, he was sweating like he had just gotten out of the shower. His hands were all over her, uncomfortably. Wanting him off her, she pushed him, but he didn’t budge and continued to hold onto her. Then he pulled her arms behind her back to lock them in place. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to react.
“Stop!” she yelled. The people around her were so hypnotized by the sound of the music, they were unable to hear her cry for help. Skylar desperately tried to push him off, but with all her pushing and yanking, and him moving to her sway, it looked like they were dancing together.
“Get off me!” she yelled again. Thank goodness her mom had made her take a self-defense class. Think. Think. Think. Recalling the demonstration she’d observed and practiced during a class session, she thought to try it. With the only part of her body that was free, she jabbed her heel on top of his shoe as hard as she could, and kicked him on his shin to push him away.
Stumbling several steps backward, looking like he was in great pain, he moaned loudly. With piercing eyes that held a look of rage, he pulled his hand back to swing at her. Just before contact, he was thrown across the floor, knocking people down who happened to be in his path.
“She said no!” Mason looked at Skylar. “You okay?”
Feeling humiliated and stunned, tears streamed down her cheeks. Unintentionally, she darted to Mason and threw her arms around him. She couldn’t help herself. She didn’t plan on doing it—it just happened. Skylar only did it for one reason—to thank him.
Chapter 9
“Skylar? Skylar!” Kayla shouted, sounding concerned.
Hearing her cousin’s voice, she pulled herself from Mason. “Sorry,” she whimpered, looking up at him as she wiped her tears away. His eyes gazed into hers with a look of concern; or was it a look of annoyance because she’d hugged him? She didn’t know. Whatever the reason, his hands were straight down and his muscles were tensed, so she was all too glad to have Kayla come to her rescue.
“Are you okay?” Kayla asked, pulling Skylar away from the dance floor and toward the exit.
Looking over her shoulder, Skylar had a clear view of Mason still standing there stiff as a board. Her body continued to tremble as tears dampened her cheeks again.
Kayla pushed the door open and led them half way down the block. “What happened?”
After Skylar explained, Kayla thought it was best to go home. Not wanting to ruin Kayla’s night, Skylar convinced her to stay. She told her to ask Nick to drive her home, and she would take Kayla’s car.
“Are you sure?” Kayla asked, letting out a conflicting heavy sigh.
“Yes. I’m a big girl. Please go back and have fun. I don’t want Nick waiting for you too long, and I don’t want to be the cause of you going home early and ruining both of your nights.”
“Wait…this is like your first beer. Are you feeling buzzed?”
“I’m not sure what feeling buzzed feels like, but if it was what I was feeling awhile ago, then I’m fine now
. I don’t feel that funny feeling, like you’re floating on clouds, anymore. I only drank half the bottle of piss water.”
“What?” Kayla laughed out loud. “You won’t be saying that after several rounds more.”
“That’s because I’d be too drunk to even notice.”
“Ha ha…let me at least walk you to my car.”
“I can drive her home,” said a male voice, handing Skylar her purse.
Where had he come from? Skylar wanted to ask if his date would mind, but thought twice. Since she didn’t know what to say, only that she needed to be polite, she said what first popped in her mind. “Oh, thanks.” She took her bag. “I can drive home…thank you.”
Skylar recalled how Mason didn’t hold her after the altercation with the drunk…his arms had remained rigidly down at his sides. Not that he should have embraced her, but he could have comforted her at least. A pat, a smile, or any little gesture would’ve been fine, but no. His body was so uptight it was as if she was the plague.
“You still smell like alcohol, and if a cop pulled you over, you would get arrested…unless you prefer to spend time in jail.”
Skylar wanted to sniff herself. Did she really smell like alcohol? Unsure, she looked at Kayla, but Kayla was too busy rummaging inside Skylar’s purse. She pulled out her car keys and handed them to Mason. “Skylar drove my car,” she explained. “Thanks, Mason. I feel much better knowing she’s in good hands.” Kayla turned, gave her cousin an encouraging smile, and strutted back into the club.
Since she hardly knew him, and the times she had been with him were weird and awkward, Skylar felt a bit uncomfortable. Walking behind him, she took two steps to every long stride he took. With a click of a button, he opened the passenger’s side door for her. It was the second nice thing he had done so far, but how did he know which car to unlock?
“Thanks,” Skylar said, sitting stiffly as he unexpectedly tried to pull the seatbelt strap, but found it was stuck. With one forceful yank, it finally budged. Letting out an irritated sigh, he reached over and wrapped the straps around her as he spoke. “Do you have a habit of dancing with strangers?”
Skylar paused, taken aback by his rude question. Glaring at the back of his head, she fired back just as she heard the “click” sound. “Do you have a habit of asking people what their habits are? Apparently, according to you, I have lots of habits. And my answer is yes.”
Locking her in, he looked right at her, face to face, lips to lips. She gasped. Though he was way too close for comfort, she enjoyed the closeness, yet at the same time was frightened by his angry eyes that pierced through hers. “Well, you shouldn’t. It’s dangerous. I should put you in a naughty corner.”
What did he mean by a naughty corner? “I’m not a child.”
“Then stop acting like one.”
Startled by his tone and not wanting him to think she was the reckless type, she decided to tell him the truth. “No…my answer is no. I don’t have a habit of conversing with shirts, and I don’t have a habit of dancing with strangers, especially drunk ones. In fact, if you must know, this is my first time even drinking that awful piss water.”
“Piss water? First time, huh….” His face relaxed, his lips puckered. She could tell he was trying to hold in his laughter. “You must have enjoyed it somewhat. You sure showed it on the dance floor.”
“Do you have a habit of watching people dance?”
“Only the ones that demand attention.”
What was that suppose to mean? Embarrassed he had been watching her dance, she didn’t respond. Though she hated to admit it, he was right. As childish as it may seem, she was trying to get his attention.
“Lost your tongue? If you want to make me jealous, don’t dance.”
Skylar felt her face burn, knowing he knew what she was trying to do, and from his rude comments. “I wasn’t.”
“Uh, huh…you can keep saying that to yourself. I’m not buying it.”
“And I don’t belong in a naughty corner,” she added.
“We’ll see about that.”
With an infuriated sigh, Skylar’s eyes fell in the same line as Mason’s gaze, noting her dress had gathered up, showing more of her thighs than it should. His eyes moved up to hers again with a slight flush on his cheeks, and he turned away and stood up. His obvious stare made Skylar hot. It had almost the same effect as if he had run his hand up her thighs. She felt her face flush too, knowing that he took notice of her, but she couldn’t help but smile inwardly because he found her attractive enough to look at.
Skylar watched him enter his side of the car, but just before he entered, she saw him sweep the perimeter with his eyes, as if he was making sure no one was around. Maybe he didn’t want to be seen with her? Mason started the car, pressed the gas pedal, and took off. His hands held tightly onto the steering wheel without a word for several blocks. Finally, he spoke. “Would you like to hear some music?”
“Umm…no thanks. You can turn it on if you’d like,” Skylar replied, trying to sound polite. She didn’t know why her heart was beating with nervousness. He was just taking her home and not on a date. He didn’t answer; instead he looked over, gave her a quick sideways smile, and looked straight ahead.
Skylar didn’t tell him her address or how to get to her place, but oddly, he was going the right direction. She didn’t bother to ask how, though it was creeping her out. Instead, she kept her eyes glued to the familiar streets and the street signs, to make sure he wasn’t taking her anywhere else. Finally unable to hold in her curiosity, she had to know. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Yes, I picked up my brother at your cousin’s house.”
“You did?”
“The night when you almost drowned, my brother and Kayla took you home in Kayla’s car. He left his car at the beach and asked me to pick him up at Kayla’s house.”
“Oh.” Now it all made sense. She began to relax, breathing again with ease. “I never got to thank you for saving me.”
He gave a short laugh and a quick grin, still looking ahead. “Which time? I mean…tonight?”
Which time? Was there more than one time? “Yes, tonight. Do you remember throwing a guy across the room?”
“Yes. He deserved it.” Mason sounded angry.
“And were you at the beach?” She didn’t know why she asked this question. It just slipped out.
“Nope,” he said flatly, gluing his eyes straight ahead. “Why would you ask that?”
“Yes…of course. Sorry. Cause I could’ve sworn I saw—”
“You were delusional. It happens when people are in the state of unconsciousness. But thanks for thinking of me before you almost drowned.”
What! I didn’t want to think of you. You would be the last person on Earth I would think of before I died. And how did he know I was unconscious? When Kayla found me, I wasn’t. Skylar blazed with anger. Being that his tone was flat, she didn’t know if he was being serious or if he was joking. Regardless, he was arrogant and rude. Not knowing what to say, she didn’t respond. Instead, she looked out the window.
Hot puffs of irritated breath Skylar blew out her mouth fogged a small section of the window. After she wiped it clear, she focused on the dim streetlights, thinking this was going to be one heck of a long ride. It was only a twenty-minute drive, but to Skylar, it felt like an hour.
When he pulled onto their street, it was dark. It was close to midnight, and the streets in their neighborhood had hardly any street lamps. Relieved she was home, she couldn’t get out fast enough.
Skylar unlocked the seatbelt and pushed the door handle just as he pulled into the driveway. But before she had the chance to step out, Mason opened the door wider and yanked her out in a hurry with a look of fury. Skylar gasped sharply. A scream for help reached her throat, only to get cut off by Mason’s hand. She was locked in his hold with his hand over her mouth. Twisting and fighting, she tried to escape, but to no avail.
“Shhh….” Mason whispered. “T
hey’ll hear you.”
Is he crazy? And how did he get to me so fast? Skylar’s eyes were wide and confused.
When he noticed her expression, Mason gestured his head to her house. “Something is in there.”
Sure enough, the front door was wide open. Skylar shook her head and muttered some noise. Unable to hear, Mason released his hand and lowered both of them beside the car.
“That’s my cousin’s house,” Skylar whispered, panicking. Why did he say “something” instead of “someone”? As sounds of crashing objects and loud inhuman groans filled her ears, she trembled. She had never witnessed a break-in before. “We’re being robbed? Call the police.”
“The police can’t help.”
“What do you mean ‘the police can’t help’? We can’t just stand here.” Skylar narrowed her eyes at him, thinking he was out of his mind. “Listen….” She stood up.
Mason yanked her down. “Shhh…they will hear you.”
“I don’t care if they hear me. Then maybe they’ll leave.”
“Trust me, they won’t.”
“Trust you?” Skylar scoffed.
“They aren’t what you think.” Mason sat on the cement with his back against the car. “How did I miss them?” he mumbled, raking his hair back and then standing up.
“How did you miss them? Are they your friends? What’s going on?” Skylar voice was loud. She didn’t care that he’d asked her to keep her voice down. Maybe if her voice was loud enough, they would be scared off and just leave.
Mason rolled his eyes. “Great. Now you’ve got their attention. Run!”
Two men suddenly stood outside the doorway, obviously searching for where the voices came from. They turned and spotted Skylar dead on. What they did next seemed impossible, but it was real…they morphed into beast-like forms.
She stood frozen, unable to believe her eyes. Incapable of moving by her own will, a forceful yank pulled her arm, taking her out of her trance. Mason had seized her wrist as he began to run. Wobbling and unable to run as fast with her two-inch heels on, she swiftly took them off one by one as she ran, and hooked the back straps over her fingers.