Authors: Julie Johnson
“Ah, yes, precious time with your groupies is going to waste. All the more reason to leave me alone!”
“You know, I thought you were cute when you were mad, but you’re even cuter when you’re jealous,” he grinned cockily.
“And
you
are delusional.” I decided I’d had enough, pushing at his chest to get him to back away from me. I was absently noting how firm his chest muscles were beneath my fingers, my drunken mind conjuring up images of him shirtless, when he suddenly snatched my hands firmly in his grasp. His large fingers fully encompassed mine, his grip steely as his dragged me up tighter against his chest. We were fully plastered together, every part of our bodies perfectly aligned. In my heels, the top of my head was nearly level with his mouth, and my emerald irises were mere inches from his blue ones.
We stared at each other for several long seconds, my eyes moving unchecked between his dark gaze and the full lips nearly touching my forehead. I felt my breaths quicken and recognized the telltale desire pooling in my stomach.
Shit. The tequila was wreaking havoc on my self-control.
Finn
’s eyes widened infinitesimally as he looked down at me, seemingly as affected by our closeness as I was. He angled his head toward mine, moving further into my space as he brought our lips dangerously close together.
“We
shouldn’t do this,” I whispered against his mouth, knowing it was far too late to stop whatever was about to happen between us. Worse, knowing that I didn't
want
to stop it.
“
Shh,” he breathed, his lips grazing mine as his hands moved up to tangle in the loose curls at the base of my neck. Just as our lips finally brushed with a gentleness I hadn’t thought Finn capable of, the bathroom door banged open, slamming against the wall with a smack loud enough to shatter the almost-moment we’d just experienced. We quickly sprang apart as three girls stumbled in through the doorway.
“
Ohmigod! You’re Finn! Ohmigod!” The blondest of the three began bouncing up and down in excitement, her surgically-inflated cleavage nearly spilling out of her top as she completely dismissed my presence and honed in on the lead singer of her fantasies.
I avoided looking in his direction, cursing myself for what I’d almost allowed to happen. I assured myself it was only because I’d been drunk, only because my guard had been down after the shittiest day of my year. It wouldn’t happen again. Ever.
I squeezed around the trio of fans, nearly running in my haste to get out of the bathroom and away from his presence.
“This isn’t over, Brooklyn,” I heard him call after me as I fled.
***
“Remind me never to listen to you again,” I said, sliding back into my seat across from Lexi. “And to kick your ass.”
“What did I do this time?” Lexi grinned impishly, sliding my Long Island iced tea across the table. I took a fortifying gulp, hoping it might erase what had just happened in the bathroom.
“Remember how you assured me that
Finn had absolutely no interest in me whatsoever?”
“Maybe?” Lexi’s eyes widened in anticipation; whatever she’d been expecting me to say, it wasn’t this.
“Well, he just cornered me in the bathroom. And tried to stick his tongue down my throat.”
“And you didn’t let him?”
“Lexi! Jesus. I don’t even like him.”
“Who cares? He’s gorgeous.” She said, looking at me like I was crazy. “And since when do you care about liking the boys you sleep with? We both know you don’t do relationships. Neither does
Finn. The way I see it, this could be absolutely perfect.”
“It’ll get complicated. It always gets complicated.”
“Sweetie,” Lexi sighed. “Finn doesn’t commit. He’s a serial dater – if you can even call what he does
dating
. You’re clearly into each other and you’re both attractive, so just screw and get it over with. Then you can walk away, like you always do. A clean break.”
Lexi made it sound so simple, so easy. At that moment, I wanted to cave in. After the scene that had just played out between me and
Finn in the bathroom, I doubted I would be able to resist again. The truth was, I wanted him. I’d wanted him since the first time I’d laid eyes on him.
Sex with no strings had never been a problem for me before. I’d never let emotions get in the way with any of my relationships; as soon as I felt that things were getting too intense, I’d broken them off. Maybe it wouldn’t be any different with
Finn – I’d just have to be more careful than usual. He had a way of getting under my skin like no one else. He saw things in me no one else seemed to.
I’d have to hold him at arms length. I might consider sleeping with him, but I’d certainly never consider trusting him.
“I don’t think so, Lex,” I said, my voice unconvincing even to my own ears.
“
Mhmm,” Lexi hummed placatingly, not believing a word of my protests.
I chose to ignore her, turning back to the stage to watch the band members prepare for their second set.
Finn looked completely normal, laughing at something Tyler was saying and clearly unaffected by our interaction in the bathroom. It was silly to have thought I’d ever mean anything to a boy like that. I was just another piece of ass to him -- only, unlike his groupies, I offered a challenge because I didn’t spread my legs on command. He was interested in the chase, nothing more. For some reason that realization struck me like a heavy blow to the chest.
Ignoring the pang, I took another sip of my drink and refocused on Lexi, who was, as usual, blabbering about Tyler’s many virtues.
“And the drummer really is the one who holds the whole group together, you know? I mean, without Ty, they’d be nowhere. So—”
Lexi broke off mid-sentence, her eyes wide as she caught sight of something behind me. Before I could turn around, I was lifted from my stool and dragged back against an unfamiliar chest. Two beefy arms encircled my waist, holding me so tightly that
even attempting to fight was useless.
Not that it stopped me from trying like hell to escape. My stilettos propelled wildly in the air, trying to make contact with a shin or, ideally, the body part several feet higher and infinitely more precious to my attacker.
“Calm down, baby, I’m just messing with you. I know how skittish you can be.” Abruptly, the hands released their hold on me and I fell several feet to the ground, losing my balance and nearly landing face-first on the sticky club floor. One massive hand shot out and caught my arm just in time, halting my descent and hauling me face to face with my assaulter – Gordon O’Brien.
Gordon had been a mistake,
one induced by too many tequila shots at a frat party last spring. He was a football player here, supposedly a good one, but I couldn't be sure considering I’d never actually attended a game. One of those guys you could tell had been raised with money and bred to believe in his own superiority, he was good looking in a clean-cut, Ralph Lauren model kind of way. The attraction stopped there.
Gordon was the quintessential jock from every high school movie I’d ever watched and rolled my eyes at
– always the first to make fun of the nonconformists who refused to bow down to his clique of followers. If there’d been lockers at college, he would’ve been the one stuffing freshman into them.
He also seemed to have a problem with rejection. After our drunken hookup, I’d fled the scene as quickly as possible. Though he’d tried to contact me numerous times since, I’d always turned down his offers for a repeat performance. Four impossibly long minutes of a sweaty behemoth grunting on top of me had been enough Gordon to last a lifetime, thank you very much. There wasn’t enough tequila in the world to convince me otherwise.
“Aren’t you gonna give me a proper hello?” He said, lips pursed in a seductive expression I’m sure he’d practiced in the mirror.
“Hello, Gordon. Goodbye, Gordon,” I said, spinning around to face a wide-eyed Lexi and my table. I heard the band laun
ch into their first song, a Bon Iver cover I loved.
“Not so fast, Brooklyn.” His hands wrapped around my upper arms tighter this time, with enough force that I knew I’d likely have twin bruises tomorrow. He gradually increased the pressure as he pulled me back against his chest once more, causing my eyes to water in pain. Lexi, recognizing that this situation was more than I could handle, hopped off her stool and made a beeline for t
he door, no doubt in search of Billy the bouncer.
“Let go of me, asshole,” I demanded through clenched teeth. My arms were aching and my breaths were getting shallow. I didn’t like to be casually touched by anyone unless I was in control
of the situation, and this was far more than I could handle.
“Brooklyn,” he
whispered, his mouth in my ear and his rapid breathing hot against my neck. He was excited by this, by hurting me; he was sicker than I’d originally given him credit for. “Why can’t you be nice to me, baby? You were
so nice
last spring. Don’t you remember?” He shifted suddenly, and I could feel his erection pressing against my lower back.
I looked desperately for Lexi, but didn’t see her anywhere among the crowd. Everyone else in my vicinity seemed conveniently occupied
– either too intoxicated, scared, or self-absorbed to get involved. Finn’s voice filled the air around me, singing lyrics about running home and former lovers. I tried to focus on it but all the sounds from the club were quickly dimming. Everything seemed somehow distant now, blurred around the edges. Gordon continued to whisper to me, but it was no longer his voice I heard in my ear. It was another voice, a voice I’d tried to forget for fourteen years.
I’ll
fuckin’ kill her. Don’t you fuckin’ come any closer or she’s dead.
A gun pressed against my temple. A grip so tight I couldn't breathe. Blood, so much blood. Yelling police officers. Wailing sirens.
Put down your fuckin’ guns or she’s dead.
I couldn't get a breath into my lungs. Gordon was still talking, but I was long past hearing. My eyes squeezed shut as
I tried to make it all go away. Distantly, I thought I heard the abrupt sound of the music cutting off, but I wasn’t sure of anything at that point. My head was spinning from a lack of oxygen.
Then, as suddenly as it had
taken hold, Gordon’s grip was simply gone. I crumpled to the floor and didn’t even attempt to stand up this time, knowing I was out of commission. Hearing the unmistakable sound of fists meeting flesh, I lifted my head enough to see Finn straddling Gordon, repeatedly punching his face.
“Don’t you ever fucking lay your hands on her again.”
Finn snarled. Gone was his normally playful grin; he was feral, his brutality fully unleashed on the writhing linebacker beneath him. Though Gordon was bigger by at least thirty pounds, Finn was clearly faster and more skilled.
“You hear me, fucker? If you so much as
think
about talking to her again, I swear it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”
Gordon moaned in response, unable to form words.
Abruptly, Finn stopped raining down punches and the rage cleared from his face. He leapt off Gordon, who didn’t look like he’d be getting to his feet anytime soon, and was at my side faster than I’d have thought possible.
His arms hooked beneath my knees and around my shoulders as he scooped me into his arms, not unlike he’d done the first day we met. I immediately turned my head into his shoulder, blocking out the rest of the world as he carried me out of the club.
When we reached a truck in the parking lot, he opened the door and climbed up onto the front bench seat without ever loosening his hold on me. When the door shut behind us, he continued to cradle me in his arms, his mouth pressed into my hair. It was silent except for his occasionally murmurs.
“You’re okay, Bee. You’re okay. I’ve got you. Just breathe.”
I was still hyperventilating. With conscious effort I tried to slow my breathing.
“That’s good, Bee
. You’re alright now.”
My hands were fisted in his t-shirt in a death-grip and I was shaking with repressed sobs. I wouldn’t cry. If I cried now I might never stop.
Time passed – it could have been minutes or hours. Finn didn’t seem like he was in any hurry to leave; he didn’t push me, or tell me to stop crying, as any other boy would have. He simply held me and let me breathe.
Eventually, I stopped shivering and felt the panic dissipating from my system. My voice was nearly unrecognizable when I tried to speak, a cracking, shaky whisper that surely belonged to someone else.
“What…” I cleared my throat before trying again. “What happened?”
“You had a panic attack,”
Finn said simply, as if that explained everything.
“But…you were on stage?” My voice was unsure, seeking clarification.
“I saw that asshole gripping your arms and then I saw your face. I had to get him off you.”
“So you just leapt off the stage mid-song?” I said incredulously, my voice sounding more like my normal self. “
Jeeze, do you have a flair for the dramatic or what?”