by MJ Bockarie
I smiled. "Now if I told you, my wish probably wouldn't come true, would it now?"
"Yeah," Alec sighed. "We should do something," he said finally, "for your birthday."
I shook my head. "Your brother has just been shot, Alec. We don't have to celebrate. It's fine."
"No, it isn't fine." He retorted. "Andy and I were planning on doing something for your birthday, but Austin has ruined those plans, so it's up to me to make sure they're carried out."
This boy was serious, and I knew there was no way to persuade him into not doing this. I crossed my arms over my chest. "Okay, what did you two have in mind?"
"We take you to one of our friends' private clubs." He said. "We had to make sure, you know, that you didn't have access to a phone or whatever."
I nodded and looked down at the floor. "Yeah, right."
"Sorry," he mumbled quickly, "anyways, we take you to a club and you actually have fun for the first time is almost two weeks."
"It's only been two weeks?" I asked.
Alec shrugged. "Somewhere around there."
"Feels like forever to me." I whispered.
"Any who," he quickly changed the subject, "the club. You in?"
I shrugged. "Sure, okay. But I don't have any, quote-on-quote, sexy clothes?"
"I've got you covered." Alec smiled. I nodded and leaned my head back, staring up at the ceiling.
"He's going to be okay, Mariana." Alec whispered. He sighed and took my hand into his. "I know he is."
***
"Princess, ready to go?" Alec peeked his head into my room. I nodded and continued looking at myself in the mirror, admiring the dress he and Andy has gotten me.
"Holy shit," Alec whistled. "Glad it fits."
I smiled. "Thanks for this. You really didn't have to."
He shrugged. "Meh. I wanted to be nice for once. Ready now?"
I ran my fingers through my hair once more before nodding. "Yeah, let's go."
Alec held out his hand for me to take. I stared at it for a moment before actually taking it. He guided me downstairs – I was thankful for that since it had been ages since I had last worn heels – and out the door we went.
"Where's Austin?" I asked.
"With Andy," Alec replied, "he's spending the night with him."
I bit my lip. "Was the wound serious?"
Alec shook his head. "Nothing a little physical therapy can't fix."
It didn't take us long to reach the club. It was secluded. You could hear the music from the outside.
Alec and I stepped out of the car and walked to the door. Two huge bodyguards stood straight and eyed us both. "Get lost."
"Boys, boys," Alec chuckled, "do you not re-member me?"
They looked at each other, then looked back at him. "You Alec?"
Alec grinned. "In the flesh. This pretty lady's with me, so we'll just be going inside now?"
They stepped aside and Alec nodded at them before opening the door. The music was much louder now. Girls were grinding up on guys and vice versa. People were drinking, smoking, doing drugs, and in some cases, basically having sex.
Alec seemed to adjust to the atmosphere quickly. I grabbed on to his shirt as we weaved through the dance floor to the bar.
"Alec!" The bartender exclaimed with a smile. "Long time no see!"
"Mitchie," Alec shook his hand, "it's good to see you, pal."
"Who's the girl?" He asked.
"My girlfriend." Alec replied. I raised an eyebrow at him, but gave the bartender a smile.
"Mitchie," he held out his hand.
"Mariana." I shook it and he nodded.
"So what can I get you both?" He asked.
"The strongest shit you have." Alec smiled mischievously. "We're getting fucked up tonight."
thirteen
Alec wasn't joking around when he said we were going to get fucked up.
After six shots of vodka and too many beers to count, I was more than fucked up.
I was dancing on tables, strippers were grinding on me, and I had a lot of sexy dancing time with Alec.
The music made my body sway. I felt Alec's hands on my waist as we danced. I couldn't help but smile and I laid my head back into the crook of his neck.
I had forgotten all my problems. I had forgotten that I was kidnapped. I had forgotten that this man right here that I was dancing with was my kidnapper. I had forgotten that my family was desperately looking for me and probably breaking their backs in the process. All I knew was that I was having the best time I had had in a very long time.
The song ended and everyone on the dance floor cheered. Alec and I headed back to the bar, and I laid my head down on the cool surface. It felt good.
"Anything else I can get you two lovebirds?" Mitchie asked. I looked up and shook my head. I couldn't handle drinking anything else.
Alec nodded. "Give me another shot."
"Vodka?" He asked.
"Booze," Alec replied and Mitchie nodded, grabbing one of the bottles behind him and pouring the liquid in a shot glass.
Alec raised his glass and winked at me before downing it. He slammed the cup down and smiled.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. Obviously knowing it wasn't Alec, I turned to see a large man with his shirt half open and a beard that needed to be shaved. He reeked of sweat, cigarettes, alcohol, and whatever cologne he was bathing himself in.
He gave me a wide grin, showing off his gold teeth. I cringed.
"Hey beautiful," he cackled, "why don't you leave this loser and take a dance with me?"
I shook my head. "No thank you."
His smile disappeared and his face started turning red, or maybe it was from the lights in the club. Either way, he looked angry. "Come on, baby! Just a dance."
"No thank you," I said again, "now please leave me alone."
Alec was eyeing the guy up and down. He was sitting quietly, waiting.
The man grabbed my arm and pulled me off my chair. Alec stood up and ripped me out of his grip. He pointed a finger at him. "Don't you ever fucking touch my girlfriend again."
The man scoffed. "And what the hell are you going to do about it?"
Alec gently shoved me back before taking a swing and punching the gross dude straight in the jaw.
He stumbled back, holding his face. Alec was fuming. He was breathing heavily and his fists were clenched at his side. He was seriously ready to fight.
The gross dude came back and punched Alec. I watched as he stumbled back and fell to the ground, sitting the side of his head on one of the bar stools.
Two other guys, the same size to the first one, appeared behind him, and they slowly began to approach Alec. I jumped down from the bar stool and lifted Alec up, then got the both of us the hell out of there.
As we entered outside, Alec shoved me off of him. "What the fuck is their problem?" He growled angrily. "Who gives them the right?"
"Alec, calm down." I slurred my words a little bit. The alcohol was hitting me again.
"No!" He yelled. "That fucking moron thinks that he can just lay a hand on you and I'm not going to do anything? He had it coming!"
"Yeah, and then he and his pals were going to be the living shit out of you and leave you for dead!" I exclaimed and Alec shut up. "So just be grateful that I got us out of there before anything serious happened."
Alec blinked multiple times before walking over, cupping my face, and kissing me. I was surprised at first. I didn't know how to react. But soon enough, I gave in and started kissing him back, too.
We backed up until my back hit the cement wall of another building. Alec's hands travelled from my face down to my waist. He pulled me closer to him, so now our bodies were completely touching.
"Wait," I breathed out as I pulled away, "we can't do this here."
Alec sighed and looked around. "There's a motel right there. Let's go."
He took my hand and the both of us walked – more like waddled and stumbled – to the motel. Alec paid for the room and bef
ore I knew it, we were back at it again
We had to stop because, you know, he had to open the door to the room. The door was closed, the lights were off, and slowly, our clothes were coming off, too.
I pulled away from the kiss and stared at his face in the dark. I couldn't see everything, but I was able to make out his blue eyes and soft features.
"Want us to stop?" He asked.
I could've chosen to stop. I could've pushed him away from me and just fallen asleep, but I didn't. I shook my head and gave him a small smile, kissing him gently again. "No, don't stop."
Alec slipped off my dress, and I unbuttoned his shirt and threw it across the room. We stumbled backwards towards the bed, and I fell, Alec following, not breaking the kiss.
My hands made their way to his hair as his kisses trailed down my neck to my stomach. He looked up at me, and through the moonlight coming from the small window, I could see the kindness in his eyes and smile on his face.
This was the first time I had seen Alec relatively happy, and it made my stomach twist. In a good way, of course.
***
We had sex, and I was mentally freaking out.
Alec lay beside me, sleeping peacefully. I looked at our intertwined hands and sighed. This was wrong, but it felt so right.
I rolled over and leaned my cheek against his arm. Alec stirred, and eventually let out a yawn. "Princess?"
"Hmm?"
"Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I don't know."
Alec sighed and turned on his side, our chests touching. I looked up, and almost immediately our lips met. They moved in sync for a bit, then he pulled away. "Get some sleep."
"All right." I said and rolled around, so now I was facing the window. Alec's arm wrapped around my waist and he let out a quiet breath.
"Goodnight, Princess."
I bit back a smile and joined our hands again. "Goodnight."
FourTEEN
I never knew what people meant by having to take "the walk of shame" after a night out.
After last night, I finally related to them.
Walking out of the motel and down the street to the car was the most awkward ten minutes of my life.
People around us knew. My dress wasn't zipped up all the way and I had my heels in my hands be-because God knew I wasn't putting these things on my feet again. Alec's hair was all messy and his shirt was only half buttoned. I'm pretty sure his pants weren't zipped either.
The both of us climbed in his car in silence. He started it and began driving home. The radio was quietly playing "Wicked Games" by the Weeknd and I couldn't help but think of the irony.
Alec noticed too and shut it off. He sighed. "I'm sorry about last night."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I wasn't supposed to do that," he muttered, "I was supposed to say no and tell you to go to sleep."
I shook my head. "Alec, it's fine. Don't beat yourself up about it."
He glanced at me before looking back at the road. "You don't even realize, do you?"
"Realize what?" I asked.
"Mariana, I took your virginity!" Alec exclaimed. "I took your fucking virginity! Do you know how much trouble I'm going to be in?"
"Calm down," I mumbled, "I'm not a virgin."
"What?" Alec asked. "You're not a virgin?"
"Technically not," I sighed. "I was raped when I was eleven by a colleague of my father's. I never told anyone, though. My family thinks it was some semi-serious boyfriend I had in high school. That colleague of his took my virginity, but I didn't want to believe it so I always considered myself a virgin."
"I-I didn't know," Alec was at a loss for words, "Mariana, I'm sorry."
"Don't be," I shrugged, "it was a long time ago. I've moved on."
We didn't speak for the rest of the car ride home. Once we pulled up to the house, we could see another car in the driveway.
Alec's eyebrows furrowed. "I didn't know we were expecting someone today."
"You guys have guests?" I scoffed.
"Only for business." Alec nodded. "Today's Saturday, though. I don't understand who could be here?"
We climbed out of the car and walked to the front door. He unlocked it and we snuck inside.
"Go upstairs to your room. There should be multiple bags in your closet. Put on some clothes and fix your hair before coming downstairs." He whispered.
"You bought me clothes?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Andy did," he replied, "now go change."
"Okay, okay." I said before quietly jogging up the stairs. I went to "my" room and opened the closet. Just as Alec said, there were many bags. I decided to take a quick shower before changing. I reeked of alcohol and sex.
I shook the thought away, then headed to the bathroom. I showered and washed my hair thoroughly. I wrapped a towel around myself and went back to my room.
After rummaging through the bags, I changed into a pair of black jeans and a black floral shirt. I slipped on my old converse and towel dried my hair, then pulled it into a bun.
I felt uncomfortable not wearing my own clothes, but I don't think whoever was here would appreciate me wearing battered grey sweatpants and a long sleeved black shirt made of thin material.
I slowly crept down to the middle of the stairs. Austin was sitting with someone on the couch, and they were in a deep conversation. I was expecting to see Andy, but then I remembered that he was still in a coma.
I went down the rest of the steps and the man Austin was speaking to took notice of me. A smirk slowly appeared on his face as he sat up straight. He looked at Austin. "There she is."
Austin turned around and faced me. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "When did you—never mind, that isn't important. Mariana, meet Mr. Nathaniel Woodrow."
"We've met before." Nathaniel stood up and ex-tended his hand. "It's nice to see you again."
I forced a smile. "You too."
"So there's a few things we need to explain to you." Austin said. I nodded and sat down.
"She knows about the auction already, Austin." Nathaniel nodded. "Alec and I discussed this with her a few days ago."
"Oh, I wasn't aware." Austin said. "Well, in that case, I guess you're not needed, then."
I looked at Nathaniel. "You promise nobody's going to outbid you?"
Nathaniel put a hand over his heart and gave me a reassuring smile. "I promise. I'm one of the richest men in the world, who could outbid me?"
Austin gave Nathaniel an "are you serious?" look, but it was replaced with his previous expression and nothing came from him.
"I guess I'll be leaving now." I said and stood up. "It was nice seeing you again."
Nathaniel gave me a wide grin. I spun on my heels and quickly headed towards the stairs. Alec was halfway down.
"Who's here?" He asked.
"Nathaniel," I replied and he groaned, rolling his eyes.
"What does he want?" He grumbled.
"Austin was going to tell me about the auction, but I'm assuming you didn't tell him that I already knew?" I asked and Alec shook his head.
"Never came up." Alec shrugged. "I'm going to speak with them."
I nodded and watched as he trudged down the stairs. I sighed and went to "my" room and laid down on the bed.
Truth be told, I didn't want to leave. I was somewhat safe here. Sure, nothing would be wrong with living with someone as attractive as Nathaniel, with his sandy blond hair and gorgeous hazel eyes, but I learned the hard way that the good looking ones are the dangerous ones.
FIFTEEN
Andy
I fucking hated that beeping sound.
I opened an eye, a bright light blinding me. I tried to sit up, but two hands were placed on my chest, gently pushing me back down. My head was pounding and I could hear the heart monitor beeping faster as my heart sped up.
"Calm down, Andy." A soft voice sighed. "Everything's going to be okay."
I’d woken up disoriented and even though this was not the first time I had
woken up since I got into the hospital I asked the same question. "What the fuck is going on?"
"Austin shot you." The same voice replied. I finally opened my eyes and saw Mariana sitting away from me. "You've been out for a while. How’re you doing?"