by Melinda Minx
She looks up at me in astonishment. “Anton, do you like when I bust your balls?”
“Uh,” I say, wondering if I suddenly still have a shot at some PIV action. “Yeah, do you like squeezing--”
She lets go of my balls and slams her fist into my gut without warning. It knocks the air out of my lungs, and I crumple over on the couch.
“Don’t fucking worry about Liam,” she says. “I will pay you more money, just get Liam to hit you again. It shouldn’t be hard. Just threaten his precious little Amber.”
Threaten? That wasn’t part of the deal. I was just supposed to act like I still liked her.
“I’m not a threatening guy, though,” I say. “I like Amber, she’s--”
She moves as if she’s going to punch me again, so I defend my gut with my arms. She doesn’t punch; it was just a warning.
“Just do what you did before,” Cynthia says. “Okay? Whatever you did to get Liam on you last time, do it again. Understand?”
I nod. Then something occurs to me.
“Now that I’m, uh--cooler--”I say, “what if she really falls for me? What then--”
“You’re not cooler, Anton,” Cynthia says. “You’re...you came in under a minute. No girl is going to fall for you.”
My balls are still sore. I wish Cynthia would squeeze them even harder. I’m such an idiot. I shouldn’t have told her I liked it. I should have pretended I hated it, and then she would have kept squeezing them.
Now, if I disobey her, she’s just going to punch me. I don’t like that.
“Liam is pretty good at fighting,” I say. “I don’t think my chances of beating him are very good--”
“Of course you won’t beat him,” she says, sneering. “I want him to knock you out cold. The goal is to get him arrested.”
“Oh,” I say, biting my lip. “So I’ll let him win then.”
She rolls her eyes at me. Her eyes still look so pretty, even though she kind of hates me--no, especially because she hates me.
“Right,” she says. “Let him win.”
“He’s got good lawyers, though,” I say, thinking of how easily they bought me off. “I don’t think I can get him to stay in jail, even if I really do let him beat me good.”
“He doesn’t have to stay there,” Cynthia says, grabbing for her purse.
She looks at the dust on my table, and then at the bottom of her purse. Her lip curls up, and she grabs a paper towel and wipes furiously at it.
“Just get him held in a cell overnight,” she says. “And then you drop the charges. All I need is to have him locked away for one night.”
Then those big wonderful eyes look up at me. They lock right onto me, and she smiles wide. It’s exactly how I wish she would have looked at me when she was blowing me.
Maybe she’s going to change her mind on the PIV?
“Anton,” she says, fishing into her purse. “I know what will work for sure.”
She pulls out a ring, and it gleams as the light hits it.
26
Amber
Professor Copeland shuts the door to the classroom, and it’s no surprise by now that Lyla didn’t come back. I figured I might run into her somewhere on campus, but I haven’t. After she ghosted me so hard, it’s probably for the best anyway. How awkward would it be to run into her at this point?
I figure I spilled my guts to her a little bit too much, but then again, she was asking me all these questions. It’s not like I started rambling about my relationship with Liam unprompted and bored her to tears. She was the one asking all the questions, wasn’t she?
Professor Copeland squints through the window, and then I see the handle turn. The door pushes open, and Professor Copeland steps back in surprise.
“Anton?” he says.
I roll my eyes. What the hell is Anton doing here?
He walks into the classroom as if he just stepped out of his dumb Ferrari. He’s got his sunglasses on just like the last time I saw him, and he walks past Professor Copeland as if he wasn’t even there.
“Yeah,” Anton says. “It’s me.”
He pulls his sunglasses off for dramatic effect and places them into his blazer pocket.
“You dropped the class, Anton,” Copeland says. “Do you need something? If not, I need to start--”
He puts a hand up to Professor Copeland’s face, silencing him.
“Not something,” Anton says. “Someone. I need someone.”
I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or run away, but Anton’s eyes lock on me.
People start to laugh and snicker, and Anton moves toward me.
“Amber,” he says. “I tried to drown my feelings for you with fast cars and fast women. But sex and status isn’t enough for me. I was just kidding myself…”
He’s standing right in front of my desk now, and as much as I want to get up and run away, I feel paralyzed by fear. And embarrassment.
“I was with another woman just last night,” Anton says, a grin filling his face. “But I felt nothing. If my heart is a puzzle piece with three jaggy little pieces jutting out, then you are a puzzle piece with three little holes in it, specifically designed to receive the three jaggy pieces that jut out of mine--”
He stops talking and shakes his head dramatically. “Heh, listen to me, blubbering on like an old romantic fool. Amber, what I’m really trying to say is…”
He pulls a little box out of his pocket, and I nearly die right there on the spot.
“No…” I try to shout, but it comes out as a faint whisper. “Don’t…”
He falls down on one knee, and Chad starts a very ironic and sarcastic slow clap. Like right out of a bad rom-com.
“An-ton, An-ton!” he cheers, laughing.
Anton opens the ring box, and a silver or platinum ring--I can’t tell--with a jade stone instead of a diamond--is sitting in the box.
“It’s not even a diamond!” someone shouts. “He spent all his money on the car!”
“Jade is a calming stone,” Anton says. “And Amber, baby, your heart is a tempest. You think you love Liam, but you’re lost at sea.”
“You didn’t even say it!” Chad shouts.
“Oh, yeah,” Anton says, lifting the box higher. “Marry me, Amber.”
The guys erupt into thunderous applause, jumping out of their seats. I see Dana looking at me with a worried, sympathetic look.
I finally find the courage to move, and I jump to my feet. I look down at Anton and shout, “God, no! Leave me alone!”
I turn from him and rush toward the door. I didn’t even remember to grab my books, but I don’t care. I shove the door open and rush into the hall. I still hear loud laughter and applause from the classroom even when I’m halfway outside. It doesn’t stop until the door slams shut behind me.
I text Liam in a rush. “Please come get me from campus.”
I don’t expect him to respond right away, but he does. “What happened? I’m on the way.”
“Anton proposed to me in the middle of class. I feel so gross.”
There’s no response this time; Liam has already told me he’s on his way.
I don’t stop walking. Liam usually picks me up just past the bridge, so I head in that direction.
And just like deja vu of a nightmare, when I look back over my shoulder, I see Anton coming after me.
This time, though, Chad and the other boys from class are following behind him. They can’t turn away from the spectacle--laughing at my misery.
I keep walking as fast as I can without breaking into a run.
I see Dana behind them, carrying my books and waving at me. There’s no real danger at this point of Anton laying his hands on me. Chad and the other guys are assholes, but if Anton actually got dangerous, they wouldn’t stand for it. Still, I can’t stand to see his face again, or hear him compare my heart to a puzzle piece or a storm at sea.
So I keep moving.
When I look back, I see the crowd has stopped moving. They are all turned
away from me, looking back at Anton, who is walking away from me now. Dana is approaching me, while everyone else is following Anton.
I let Dana catch up to me.
“Here are your books,” she says, forcing a smile as she hands them to me.
I open my bag and scoop the books into it. “Thanks…”
“I’m so sorry,” Dana says. “That was awful. Men are awful.”
I take her by the hand and pull. “Walk me to the street. Liam is coming to get me. Can you stay with me until he gets here?”
She nods.
We reach the road, and I sit down on a bench with Dana. I cry, and she puts an arm around me.
I see Dana look up and frown. I turn to see what it is, and I see Chad and his friends approaching.
“Leave her alone!” Dana shouts.
“Hey,” Chad says, putting his hands up. “I just wanted to apologize--”
“You apologized!” she shouts. “So go!”
“We’re sorry, Amber,” Chad says.
His bros start muttering their apologies, as well, from where they’re standing behind him.
“I just wonder how a dude like that got a Ferrari,” Chad says. “I mean--”
“Who cares?” Dana says. “She’s traumatized. Can you please just leave her alone?”
“Uh,” Chad says, turning around. “You sure you want me and my boys to leave? Looks like he’s coming back.”
I look up to see Chad pointing down the road. The bright orange blur of Anton’s Ferrari whips around the corner, and its engine whines as it races toward the bridge.
“God, no, no, no,” I say, dread filling my stomach.
He wouldn’t do anything crazy, would he? Of course he would; he is totally mental. I get up from the bench, wanting to move as far away from the road as possible.
Then Chad and Dana look toward the bridge, and Chad says, “Some 2 Fast 2 Furious shit up in here!”
I see a yellow blur from the bridge, racing toward us from the other direction.
It zooms past and whips into the left lane, going straight toward Anton’s Ferrari.
“Woah!” Chad’s friends shouts. “Chicken!”
The yellow car’s engine roars as it accelerates, and Anton’s Ferrari swerves hard out of the lane. Its road tires lose grip, and the back end spins wildly out of control as the car’s thin, low frame crumples and tears as it plows up and across the curb and onto the sidewalk and grass. The momentum carries it sideways across the grass, but it’s too low to flip over. It slides and swerves more than a hundred feet onto the grass. Several students have to run out of the way to avoid getting plowed down.
When it skids to a stop, the spaceship doors pop open, and Anton stumbles out. His sunglasses are broken, and he throws the broken frames to the ground.
The yellow car slams on its brakes and does a skillful 180-degree spin, putting it squarely in the opposite lane. It shifts gears and drives right up to the sidewalk.
A door opens, and not really to my surprise, Liam jumps out. He rushes straight toward Anton.
“Liam, no!” I shout, but he’s either too far away or too blinded by rage to hear me.
Anton is still dazed and stumbling, but as soon as he sees Liam Lions rushing toward him, he turns on his heels and runs.
Liam quickly catches up to him, and tackles him to the ground.
By the time I reach them, Anton’s face is just as bruised and bloody as Liam’s knuckles.
“Liam,” I say, grabbing his arm. “Please, stop!”
It takes Chad and his bros to actually pry Liam off Anton.
Liam shoves Chad--a big guy--away like a twig in the wind, and he straightens his tie as he spits down onto Anton.
“You broke our deal,” Liam says. “Break it again and I’ll break every bone in your body. Got it?”
Anton looks up through a mask of blood. “You see what I did for you, Amber?”
Liam kicks him so hard he groans, and his eyes close--or maybe they swelled all the way shut finally.
When Anton finally shuts up, I notice the police sirens.
“Liam…” I say, grabbing his arm. “Now what?”
He grabs hold of my waist. “I can’t risk that guy hurting you,” he says. “Better that I take the fall, as long as you’re safe. This shit-stain won’t mess with you again, not after that.”
What good is having me be safe if Liam is in jail? I want to spend my life with him, but now?
I punch his arm. “You idiot. I just wanted you to take me home! Now you’ve messed up everything!’
“He disrespected you,” Liam says.
Anton’s eyes crack open, and he starts to laugh wildly.
“He disrespected you!” I shout, jabbing a finger at Liam.
I hear Chad making a whip-cracking sound, and I turn to him. “Shut up!”
He looks like he might, but then he makes a cat hissing sound at me.
The police are out of their cars now, and they stalk right up to us. “Mr. Lions?”
Liam looks up at them, his face answering the question.
“We have to take you in,” they say, and proceed to read him his rights.
“So cuff me,” he says.
They take Liam away in the patrol car, and they tell me I can’t even visit him.
James picks me up and takes me home, but it doesn’t feel like home without Liam there.
“How can he be so stupid?” I ask James.
James slides me a glass of wine. “He just wanted to protect you.”
“He can protect me without getting arrested!” I shout, taking a swig of wine.
“Liam has a hot temper,” James says. “I’m not pointing any fingers here, but you have to be careful when you sic him on someone.”
I scoff. “Sounds like you’re blaming me, James.”
James grins, “Liam can be a force of nature, and he won’t change. You have to be responsible when his anger comes into play.”
“I wasn’t trying to ‘make his anger come into play,’ James! I just wanted him to get me the hell away from Anton.”
“He’s a hunter, a warrior,” James says, then he winks. “A lion.”
I groan at the bad joke.
“Cringe all you like at my pun,” James says. “But does a lion run away from a zebra?”
“He’s a human being,” I say. “And he can think with his brain instead of his balls if he really wants to.”
“Don’t be so sure,” James says, taking a swig out of his own glass.
“What if he’s in there for years?” I ask.
“The lawyers are on it,” James says, though he doesn’t sound convincing.
“There were like twenty witnesses,” I say. “And this time, Anton had his back turned to Liam. It’s not like Anton swung first this time!”
“It will be fine, Amber,” James says.
He’s still not convincing me.
“I need to go put in my version of events,” I say.
James leans back and sighs. “You think Liam’s never been held overnight before?”
“He has?” I ask. “For what?”
James looks at me like I’m an idiot. “For losing his temper. Like right now.”
“He’s done this before?” I ask, realizing that he did it before, with Anton, right in front of me.
“Not quite this bad,” James says. “But yes. That’s why I’m not worried.”
He can’t buy off all the witnesses. Well, he could, but there’s no way to make twenty people all tell a fake account of what happened that lines up well enough.
Then it hits me. I know what I have to do.
“James,” I say. “It feels weird here without Liam. I think I’m going to go sleep in my apartment tonight.”
He raises an eyebrow at me. He knows I’m probably up to something, but he’s not sure what.
“You’re not going to sneak over to the police and create a huge mess for Liam’s lawyers to clean up, are you?”
I shake my head, and answ
er honestly. “No, I’m not.”
“I’ll get Hans to drive you,” James says.
That means he doesn’t trust me, and he wants to make sure I’m going where I say I am.
“Great,” I say. “I can sleep on the way.”
27
Liam
“Don’t think that just ‘cause you’re a billionaire,” the officer says, shoving me into the holding cell, “that we got some polished marble cell for you!”
“Polished marble wouldn’t be any more comfortable than this,” I say, pointing to the drab grey concrete.
“You know what I mean!” he says, slamming the cell door and locking it. “It’d look all fancy and shit.”
“I guess,” I say. “But if I could pay to have a more comfortable stay, I’d probably want a nice leather recliner, or maybe a--”
“Nice try, Lions,” he says. “But you ain’t getting anything like that! You can spend a full night like an average Joe, for once in your life.”
I grin. I don’t really care. I just wanted to give him a hard time.
I lie down on the crappy little bed, which is bolted to the wall. It’s stiff and hard, but softer than polished marble, at least.
“Ahh,” I say, stretching. “Pretty comfortable.”
He shoots me a look, then straightens his back to look down at me. “I got important stuff to do. You can stay here and think about what you’ve done.”
“Will do,” I say.
My anger from before is still there, and the cheery image I’m trying to project isn’t doing much to help it die down.
I’m not really mad that Anton broke the deal--I’m mad that he made Amber feel unsafe. I’m even more mad that she got mad at me for protecting her honor. Leave it to women to ask for something, and then get furious at you when you do it.
I doze off, but get awakened by the officer from before when he slams his nightstick against the bars.
“Wake up! Your lawyers are here. How many lawyers you need, man?”
They bring me to a room that is equally as uncomfortable as the holding cell, but this room has a table in the middle. There’s a harsh fluorescent light above, and it’s flickering and buzzing. It starts to give me a headache. I can’t help but feel it’s intentional.