Breaking Noah (20 page)

I check my reflection in the bathroom mirror for the tenth time, running my hand down over my long, blond hair. I’m so fucking nervous something is going to go wrong. I check my watch. Noah should be here at any moment. Just as the thought enters my head there is a gentle knock on the door.

Switching off the lights, I make my way down the hall, my heels clicking on the polished floors.

“Hey,” I say, opening the door. He stands in front of me wearing a black leather jacket and a fitted pair of jeans. His dark hair is loosely styled and falling into his eyes. I lean forward for a kiss, my lips pressing against his as his fingers curve around the back of my neck.

“I shouldn’t be letting you leave the house looking this damn sexy,” he mutters. “Especially when it’s all for another dude.”

I roll my eyes at his jealousy, but part of me feels pleased that he thinks I’m sexy. I know the strapless black chiffon dress and chunky silver jewelry was a good choice.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” I ask hesitantly. He takes my hand and squeezes it as we walk out to the car.

“It will work, Zara. Just make sure you stick to the plan, okay?”

“And you’ll be there?” I know he will be. I just need to hear him say it.

“Me and campus security will be right outside. Anything goes wrong, I’m there.”

I nod and take a deep breath. My heart is racing, because I’m scared. I’m so used to looking out for myself, the idea of relying on somebody else makes me feel sick. I have to trust Noah, because I owe him that much, but in the back of my mind I can’t help thinking…what if I’m the one getting payback here? What if me getting raped was his way of paying me back for ruining his life?
Oh my God, I can’t believe I can even think that.
He would never do that…would he?

“You sure you’re okay?”

I jump, his voice breaking through my thoughts. I turn to look at him and smile. We’re out the front of the student union, about to kick this plan into action.

“Yep,” I say, swallowing hard. “Let’s do this.”

I see Luke standing in the shadows outside the union entrance. His eyes light up as his gaze slowly moves over my body. Noah tenses next to me.

“Hey, Luke,” I say, forcing a smile.

“Hey. You look hot.” He winks at Noah. “Hey, Mr. B.”

“Hey,” Noah mutters.

“So, let’s do this, huh? Dill is at a frat party tonight. I know as soon as he sees me with her he’ll be pushing me to buy whatever it is he’s selling.”

“You better make sure she doesn’t get hurt,” Noah growls. “If you touch her, I swear I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”

“Calm down, Mr. B., I got this. Come on, Zars.” It’s irritating, him calling me by a nickname that only Dillon, Karly, and Ryan used to call me. I guess I could use the anger tonight to keep me levelheaded.

As I climb into Luke’s car, that nasty feeling you get when something’s about to go wrong toys with my emotions. I’m not sure how we can fail, but on the off chance we do…I can’t even think about that. I need to keep my head in the game. Remember, I’m not just getting justice for Karly, but now for the man I could possibly be in love with. The man I falsely accused of being a monster, when in actuality I was sharing a bed with the real boogeyman.

“It’s gonna be okay, Zara. I promise he won’t touch you at all,” Luke reassures me. Smiling weakly at him, I turn my head to stare out the window at the buildings passing in the darkness.

“I just want to get it done. The thought of being in the same room as him gives me the creeps. Do you think we can make it fast?”

“Depends on how convincing you are,” he states flatly. He’s right. I have to give the impression that I’m totally into him so nobody in the party thinks it’s a setup. Especially Dillon.

Taking the flask full of whiskey out of my purse, I chug a huge mouthful. On an ordinary day, a swallow wouldn’t do anything for me, but I haven’t eaten and the warm honey liquid hits harshly in the pit of my stomach, inducing an almost immediate buzz.

“Okay, I’m good. Let’s just get in and out. Take what we need and we’ll go from there,” I say, courage surging through me.

I put away the flask and pull out my phone, typing out a quick message to Noah.

Me:
This is all for show. It’ll all be over soon.

Noah:
Don’t think about it. Just do what you came to do.

A sense of relief washes over me. Whereas I couldn’t tell Dillon my plans for Noah, I can be completely open with Noah about anything. He understands the parts of me that I don’t even understand myself. Heather was right, he’s the absolute best. And the greatest part of all of it…he’s mine. I just hope after tonight he’ll be able to see through all the ugly parts of what brought us together and still feel the same…even be able to love me.

Luckily we find a parking spot within a block of the party that’s already in full swing. The cheers of drunk frat boys and the squeals of the vapid sorority girls echo throughout the entire neighborhood. I get out of the car and wait for Luke to join me. Hand in hand, we make our way up the sidewalk. Just before we enter, he adjusts something on his chest. When I stare at him, questioning his actions, he points between his pecs and mouths “wire.” I should have known.

As soon as we walk through the front doors, I’m reminded why I’m not much of a partier. The music is too loud, the smoke is too thick, and the scents of cheap perfume and stale beer have me ready to vomit, but still I hold my head high and keep moving.

“Breathe,” Luke reminds me, and I’m thankful. I wasn’t aware I was holding my breath until I took that next inhalation and my lungs burned. I’m not sure if I’m strong enough for this.

Yes, you are. You have no choice. This is a mess that only you can fix.

Straightening my spine, I hold my head high and continue walking through the living room, through the throngs of people flailing about to the toxic-to-my-senses music, and enter the kitchen. As if Moses parted the Red Sea, everyone clears a path so the first pair of eyes I connect with are Dillon’s. His jaw tight, he bores his angry brown eyes into me and holds my gaze. Remembering Luke’s earlier advice, I breathe, shallowly, but I’m at least not going to pass out. Thankfully the blood’s rushing so quickly in my ears that I can’t make out the nasty things that people are most likely saying about me while they’re whispering to one another.

Luke slaps hands with some other guys and hugs a few girls, all while I’m holding his hand so tightly, I’m sure they’re going to fuse together at some point. As we move across the kitchen, Dillon rounds the island, holding a red cup full of beer, and stands before us.

“What’s this shit about?” he asks Luke, gesturing to me.

“Figured since you were done with her, I could have a shot,” he replies, nonchalant. I’ve come to know Luke isn’t one of those guys determined to screw as many coeds as possible, but he sure does play the act fairly well.

“You know she’s damaged, right? Kind of a wack job? And a pretty lousy lay, too.” I want nothing more than to take off my six-inch pump and bash him in the eyeball, but I refrain and act like I don’t hear them. Putting on my act as well, I dance in place to the music and smile sweetly at the passing girls.

Luke just laughs. “I’ll catch up with you later, man. I promised Zara a good time and I want to give her the full experience,” he says to Dillon, then turns to me. “Ready to dance, beautiful?”

“Of course,” I say, my words sounding convincing.

Back in the living room, I can still feel Dillon’s eyes on me, but I refocus my attention on Luke. He promised to keep me safe. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt me, especially Dillon. Part of our plan is to make Dillon think that Luke and I are actually together, and I have to portray that if we’re going to get anywhere.

So as Luke holds me at a distance, dancing to a slow melody, I pull myself closer so there isn’t an inch between us. Flipping my back to his front, I slowly grind on him, wrap my arms backward around his neck, and rest my head on his chest. I try to let the music wash over me, but now that the whiskey’s doing its job and I feel more comfortable with Luke, I can finally hear the crude comments coming from the onlookers.

“Dude, Dillon said she was a bit of a slut. I’d be willing to give her a shot.”

“I can see why Bain threw everything away for a night with her. I’d do the same.”

“What a fucking skank. Wasn’t she just fucking Bain last week?”

“Luke, let me holler at you real quick.” That voice. I recognize it. My eyes fly open and see none other than Dillon in front of me.

“What’s up? I’m not leaving her out here with the leeches.”

“Dude, come on. Trust me, she’ll be fine.”

Luke nods and grips my hip, letting me know he’ll be right back. As he starts to walk away, a noticeably drunk frat guy comes up to me and grabs on to my waist, pulling me toward his pathetic excuse for an erection, grinding it into my hip.

“Back off,” I warn, pushing him, but his hold tightens.

“Listen, baby. I already know why you’re here. I can make you feel real good. Better than Luke. Better than Bain. Let me show you how a real man fucks a lady.” I’m about to knee him in the crotch when Luke’s fist breezes past my face, nearly taking me out with it, but instead connecting with the drunk guy’s face.

“She’s already got a date tonight. And she said back the fuck off,” he seethes, shoving the guy backward so he tumbles over the couch. Winking at me, he continues to follow Dillon down a long hallway and into a bedroom.

I wait a few minutes and then go in the same direction. Lucky for us, the door is still open. Crouching down, I pull my phone from my purse, turn on the camera, and begin to record their conversation.

“Okay, so you needed something?” Dillon asks, and Luke nods. “Something to guarantee that Zara puts out tonight?” Luke smiles a disgusting pervert smile and nods again.

“I don’t want anything coming back on me, though. What do you have? Sorry, dude, but I’ve been trying to fuck her for a while. Now that we all know what kinda skills the girl has, I need to try her out.”

Dillon shakes his head, laughing. Fucking laughing. “She’s really not that great, but I feel you. Maybe it was just me. I had to be drunk to even consider it. Now, her cousin Karly. Holy shit, that bitch could ride a dick.” He lets out a low whistle and fire flames through my veins. I almost blow my cover, but I remember the plan. Remember why I’m here. Remember this isn’t just about Karly anymore.

Dillon pulls a small plastic bag from his front jeans pocket and hands it to Luke. All of this I catch on my camera. “I almost got caught last year, so my dad hooked me up with a guy that has this new stuff. She won’t remember a fucking thing. You’ll be clear. And it lowers inhibitions, if you know what I mean.”

Luke takes the package and eyes it for a moment before putting it in his breast pocket on his polo. “I’ll let you know how it works.” Slipping Dillon a few bills, Luke starts to make his way to the door. I stand quickly and open the door before either guy has a chance to make it out.

“You ready to go, baby?” I whisper, loud enough for Dillon to hear.

“Absolutely,” Luke responds, and the boys nod at each other. Sick to my stomach. I’m fucking disgusted.

“Have a good night, Zars,” Dillon calls out to me as we’re just about to the front door. I can’t even fake a response, so I put my middle finger in the air as the door closes behind me.

We still put on our charade as we walk back to the car. Noah’s standing at the passenger door, waiting for us. Letting go of Luke’s hand, I run to Noah and into his arms. “It’s done. I got it,” I mutter into his chest.

“You did excellent. We got the audio. Zara, send me the video.” I do as he asks. When he watches everything unfold, his face heats with anger, but the smirk is undeniable. “Do you have any idea what this means?”

“That we got him?”

“Yeah, but we can pretty much push for anything that we want. The dumbass implicated his dad on videotape.” I remember Dillon briefly saying his dad got him the drugs. Inside, I’m doing backflips.

“Watch this,” I say, sending the video to another recipient. Within a few minutes, my phone rings.

“Hello,” I answer, my voice sweet and happy.

“What the fuck? Goddammit, Zara. You’re a fucking lunatic.”

“I’m sorry, Dillon. What was that? I couldn’t quite make out your words over the sound of revenge clouding the line. Did you say that you can’t wait for the local news outlet to receive this video? To know that the future congressman is peddling drugs to his son in college so he doesn’t get caught screwing girls over?”

“What do you want?” Dillon concedes.

“School: Drop out immediately. Drugs: Flush them down the toilet. School board: Tell them that you manufactured the video you sent of me and Noah and face the consequences of that.”

“I can’t do—” he starts, but I cut him off.

“This isn’t a negotiation, Dillon. All of it gets done or the video goes to the news in the morning. Text me when you’ve fixed your fucking mess.”

Pressing end on the call, I look up at Noah to see a huge smile on his face. Kissing the corner of his mouth, I back away to give Luke a giant hug. “I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you so much.” I give him a chaste kiss on the cheek. Noah growls and Luke chuckles.

“Calm down, Mr. B. I’m not stepping into your space. She’s yours,” Luke jokes, raising his hands and backing away from me.

After Luke goes home and Noah and I are back at his apartment, my phone chimes. The text from Dillon lets me know that I’ve finally accomplished my mission. He doesn’t get to go to school, he doesn’t get to drug girls, and Noah might get his job back.

Later that night, the dean calls Noah, alerting him of the recent update in the case, offering him the position he had back. To my surprise, Noah declines the job, stating that there’s too much water under the bridge and he wouldn’t be able to get the respect he deserves from the students. They argue for a bit, but finally he wins and disconnects the call.

“Now what?” I ask, feeling guilty. I’ve cost him everything and he’s still here with me.