by Brook Wilder
"This shot of yours put Garrett in jail," I said. "I could also lose my scholarships if the dean gets wind of this. I can't afford NYU without them."
"Well, you shouldn't be doing that sort of stuff anyway. You'll thank me later…"
"Stop!" I said tersely. "Just stop talking, Victor. Please, leave, and don't bother trying to contact me again. And while I don't owe you any anything, I'll make myself clear. I've never had any feels for you, not even before I met Garrett. Even if I did, they would've all went out the window the second you decided to spread nasty rumors about me over Facebook just because you were jealous over a man who actually had the courage to tell me he liked me."
"But I love you, and I still do despite everything that's happened. Shouldn’t that count for something? Just give me a chance," he said.
Victor then stepped toward me and pulled me in close to him. His grip was strong, and I tried to wriggle away from him without success. He tried to force his lips onto mine, and I turned my head away to avoid him while I pushed at his chest. He then pushed me onto my bed with a grunt, using his body weight to pin me to the mattress.
"Victor, let me go," I said as I squirmed.
He responded with a hard, opened handed slap across my face. I stopped moving and stared at him in astonishment.
"Do you like me now?" he said in a growl. "This is what you like, isn't it? Maybe I need to take it a little further..."
He started to claw at my clothing and I shrieked. He shifted his weight slightly in an attempt to get at the button of my jeans. My legs were now free and I took the opportunity to knee him hard in the groin. He yelped at the pain, and while he was distracted, I pushed him away and bolted toward the door.
"Hey, everything ok?" a confused voice called from the couch as I stormed through the living room.
"No," I called back as I put my hand on the door knob. I heard Victor behind me and felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned to him, my face contorted into a mask of fury. "Get your hands off of me and get out before I call the cops."
"You're going to regret this," he said ominously.
He pulled his hand away with a grimace and walked out the door. I waited until I heard the entrance of the building open and close below me before I exited. My entire body was humming with adrenaline and fury, and I wasn't about to sit and fume in my apartment. Thankfully, there was no sign of Victor when I stepped out onto the sidewalk. Without thinking, I started to walk down the street. On a whim, I pulled out my phone and dialed Kelsey's number.
"What's up girl?" she said when she answered.
"I need to talk, like right now," I replied. Tears were threatening to start spilling out at any moment, and I think my voice reflected that.
"Of course! Are you okay? Do I need to come get you?"
"No, I'm alright to walk to your place. I'm already halfway here, anyway."
"Okay, but call me if anything changes. I'll get a bottle of wine ready."
"That sounds amazing, thank you, Kelsey."
"Any time," she said as she hung up.
I threw my phone back into my purse, wondering when I'd had the foresight to grab it. I certainly didn't remember picking it up as I ran out of the apartment, but a lot of the events of the past couple of hours were growing hazy in my mind.
After a couple of steps, I felt drops of rain starting to hit the top of my head. I looked up to see angry, black clouds overhead and with a single crack of thunder, the sky opened up. I quickly ducked under a nearby awning, cursing the fact that I didn't have an umbrella. I braced myself and dashed back out onto the sidewalk with my purse overhead.
Thankfully, Kelsey only lived a couple of blocks away from me, so it wasn't long before I was hitting the buzzer at her apartment building.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
"Laina, oh my God, you're soaked," Kelsey said as she opened her front door.
"Yeah, the sky really opened up right after I left and stupid me forgot an umbrella," I replied with a grimace.
"Get in here," she said in a motherly tone. "I'll lend you my bathrobe while your clothes dry out."
She shuffled me off to her room and I quickly changed into a fluffy pink robe. After my clothes were scattered about her apartment and two big glasses of wine were poured, we sat down on her couch. As soon as I sank down into the cushion, it was like a cue to my body to start the water works. I started sobbing and Kelsey quickly grabbed my glass from my hands and set it on the coffee table. She then pulled me into a hug and we just sat there until I felt like I could speak again.
"Sorry to just drop by like this," I said with a sniffle. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"You're not, girl," she said. "And don't be sorry. You know I'd drop anything for you."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
"Only if you promise to do the same for me," she said, jokingly waggling her finger at me. "Now tell me everything."
I thought for a moment about how much I could tell her, but I was too tired and emotionally strung out to come up with a convincing lie. I started from the beginning, filling her in on everything that had actually happened between me and Garrett, including the sex fantasies and the money he was paying me. She listened intently, saying nothing. Though her eyes went wide at a couple of points in my story, I got the sense that she wasn't about to judge me for what I had done.
"So what Victor was saying was kind of true," she said after I had paused to take a sip of wine. I still hadn't gotten to what had happened earlier today, but I could tell that Kelsey needed a moment to digest before I continued.
"In a way," I said. "That's what really made me upset that day. It would've been one thing if he'd been totally wrong, but there was a bit of truth in his rumors about me being an escort and that made me really start to doubt everything."
"So was he paying you for sex or not?" She asked. "I'm not judging you or anything if you are, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the situation."
"I would want to sleep with him even if he didn't pay me, so according to him, he's not paying me for sex."
"It sounds like paying your bills is his way of taking care of you," Kelsey said. "Some guys are just like that."
"I know, it's still hard to accept. I've gotten too used to doing everything on my own."
"Don't I know it," she replied. "But keep going. I'm getting the feeling there's more to the story."
I took a deep breath and started talking again, starting with the police bursting into Garrett's penthouse and how Victor had called them.
"No way," Kelsey said.
"Yeah," I said. "He insisted on following me back to my apartment after the police let me leave. When we got to my room, he tried to tell me his actions were excusable because he loved me."
"Wow, I mean, I knew he had feelings for you. It was super obvious, but I didn't know they ran that deep."
"Yeah," I said. "He kept going even after I told him to leave. Then he tried to pin me to the bed and…"
I stopped. I knew deep down that Victor had tried to rape me, but I just couldn't get the words out of my mouth. For some reason, I felt that saying it out loud would make it too real. I could tell by Kelsey's furious expression that I didn't need to go on, though, and she grabbed my hands tight while fresh tears started to roll down my face.
"The last thing Victor said was that I was 'going to regret this'. It's like my life is spiraling out of control, and I have no idea what to do next."
"It sounds like we need to figure out a way to get Garrett out of jail," Kelsey said, her eyes shining.
"What about Victor?" I asked.
"We can deal him later," she said. "And believe me, we will if it's the last thing I do. Do you know where they took Garrett?"
"Yeah, they told me to come down to the same station tomorrow to give my statement."
"What are you going to tell them?" she asked.
"I don't know," I replied. "If I tell them the truth, I could lose all of my scholarships. If I lie, Garrett could go t
o jail for a long time."
"Do you love Garrett?"
"Yes," I said without a second of thought. "Absolutely."
"Then screw the scholarships. You'll figure something out. Now, let's figure out exactly what you're gonna tell the cops…"
We spend the next couple of hours talking and planning, finishing the bottle of wine in the process. I wasn't sure if it the wine or the fact that I had finally told someone the truth about Garrett, but I felt as light as a bird by the time we'd decided our plan was airtight enough. Instead of going back to my apartment, Kelsey insisted that I should crash on her couch, and I gratefully accepted. I wouldn't have gotten an ounce of sleep in that bed.
We woke early the next morning and walked back to my apartment so I could grab a change of clothes. Panic spiked in me as I walked up the stairwell. I was half expected to run into Victor again at any second, and unwanted images from the night before crashed into my mind as I stepped into my bedroom. I shook them away and got ready in record time.
Kelsey and I talked over our plan again on the subway to the station, and I was feeling more confident by the second. This plan actually had a chance of working, and I might even have a shot at keeping my reputation.
"Excuse me," Kelsey said as we walked through the glass doors of the police station. "This is Laina Albertson, and she wants to talk to someone about the unlawful arrest of Garrett Rutherford."
She turned and gave me a wink, and I blushed in return. Kelsey always had a flair for the dramatic, and her speech made it sound like we were in an episode of Law and Order. It worked, though, and it wasn't long until I was in a back room with a detective, telling a condensed version of the events that had led to Garrett's arrest.
"So you're saying that everything the officers saw that night was… consensual?" he asked after I'd finished my story.
"Yes, sir," I replied. "The man who made the call, Victor Nassar, lied to the cops on the scene. He's not my boyfriend and Garrett Rutherford wasn't abusing me. Victor was just jealous and wanted to find a way to break up our relationship."
"I see," the detective said. "So you're not planning on pressing charges against Mr. Rutherford?"
"No, sir," I replied.
He made a couple of scribbles on a notepad before standing from his chair.
"In that case, I'll see if I can't get Mr. Rutherford released. If you don't mind waiting out in the lobby…"
I gave Kelsey the thumbs up as I walked into the lobby and it was only a couple minutes later when Garrett walked through the door. He looked disheveled, exactly like I would expect someone who'd spent the night in jail to look, but he was still one of the most handsome men I'd ever set eyes on. I was suddenly nervous, remembering the last word's he'd shouted at me as the cops dragged him away. My worries fell away, though, as soon as I saw the smile that spread on his face when he laid eyes on me. He rushed toward me and pulled me into a tight embrace.
"Laina," he whispered. "I'm so sorry,"
"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Garrett," I replied. "Why don't' we go back to your place. You look like you could use a hot shower."
"That sounds fantastic," he said. A small look of surprise flittered across his face when he turned and saw Kelsey for the first time.
"I'm Kelsey, Laina's friend," she said happily, "Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Rutherford. You two get on home, I'll find my own way back to my apartment."
She turned and walked out of the station, humming to herself. Garrett was already on the phone with his driver, and moments later a black SUV pulled up next to the curb. We both hopped in and I could help but remember the first time I'd climbed into this car with Garrett. It seemed like a lifetime ago, almost like the dinner at Per Se had happened to someone else.
"Are you mad at me?" I asked Garrett as the car sat idle at a red light.
"Of course not," he replied, his voice filled with surprise, "Why would I be?"
"I'm just remembering the last thing you shouted at me before the police dragged you off, that's all."
"If I could take those words back, Laina, I would in a heartbeat," he replied. "After I took a second to think it over, I realized that it was ridiculous to assume that you had called the cops. I'm sorry."
He leaned over to me and planted a kiss on my lips. It was gentle and sweet at first, but I could feel a hunger growing inside of him as the kiss deepened. I felt his hand go to my shirt, pawing at the edges.
"Wait," I said breathlessly as I pulled away. "Just until we get back into your penthouse."
"I will," he said mischievously. "But I'll have to punish you for denying me like that."
I grinned back at him, and this time I was actually excited by the prospect of spanking. It was amazing to me the difference trust made in our relationship, and now I was willing to do anything it took to keep everything going smoothly.
Garrett sat back into his seat with a huff, crossing his legs. He still held out a hand and I placed mine in his palm. We sat there quietly holding hands until the car rolled to a stop in front of his building. Garrett shot out of the car as soon as we stopped moving, and I had to dash after him. He was kind enough to hold the elevator door for me, but as soon as the doors closed his mouth found mine and began working frantically. I moaned in pleasure, feeling my knees buckle beneath me. The ride seemed to pass in an instant, and we stumbled out of the elevator toward the penthouse entrance.
Garrett fumbled with his keys, almost dropping them before he found the correct one. He had the door open in a flash after that, and darted in, dragging me along with him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Once he'd pulled me through the door, he twirled me around to press me up against the hallway wall. I could feel his hot breath on my face as he pushed the length of his body against me. He was already rock hard and grinding his hips against me. A wave of pleasure washed over me and I reached out to pull his head closer to mine. Our lips met, and he kissed me. It was like he was picking up where he left off in the car, and, once again he was grasping at the edge of my shirt. I wanted him to keep going, to ravage me completely, but he pulled away with me a rueful grin.
"You have no idea how much I want you right now, Laina," he said with a growl. "But this will have to wait until I've had a shower.”
I had noticed that he smelled muskier than normal, but he still looked surprisingly good for a man who'd spent the night in jail. Part of me wanted to argue against it, but Garrett wasn't a man to be swayed like that. An idea popped into my mind, though, that might make for a fair compromise.
"Who says we can't do both?" I replied. "I could use a shower too."
His full lips curled into a smile at my suggestion, but his expression made me wonder if he would accept the suggestion. I was delighted when, in one swift move, he scooped his arms under my legs and proceeded to carry me into the bathroom. Once I was back on the ground, he went to turn on the shower.
"Undress, Laina," he said gruffly.
"No teasing?" I replied cheekily. I knew I was testing the limits, but he seemed in a good enough mood today.
"You can tease a little if you want," he replied.
I pulled my shirt off first and then shimmied out of my pants, throwing both garments to the side with a little flick of the wrist. I then turned away to unclasp my bra and wriggle out of my panties, making sure to take just long enough to make him impatient. To top it all off, I reached up and pulled out my hair tie, letting my hair fall out of its ponytail and swing down to my shoulders. Once I was naked, I turned slowly to see that he was watching me with a wolfish expression on his face.
"I want you to stay there while I clean myself," he said as he undressed. "Once I'm ready, I'll call you in."
I watched as he pulled his dirty clothes off layer by layer, hungrily taking in each new inch of exposed skin. When he started to take off his pants, he turned away from me. This gave me the perfect view of his ass, but I was much more interested in the full frontal view. Instead of turning, he hoppe
d in the shower and started to run the water.
I watched with longing as steam clouded the shower glass, slowly turning Garrett into a hazy ghost. It billowed out the top of the shower until the whole room was hazy and humid. I watched as he washed thoroughly, taking care to work lather over every inch of his body. I would I was able to use my memory to fill in most of the details that the misty air hid from me, and I yearned to be the one rubbing my hands up and down his body.
"Laina," he called over the thrumming of the water, "I want you to get yourself ready for me. Make yourself wet while I wash my hair."