No Way Back (Mia's Way, #1) (2 page)

Does he recognize me? I don’t know. He’s staring back at me.

I look down at my drink. He’s with a small group, two girls and three guys. Whichever girl is his girlfriend is lucky. He used to be tall and skinny, but he’s tall and muscular now, with his daddy’s Hollywood looks and his mother’s blue eyes.

Lost again in my thoughts, I don’t notice he’s standing beside me until he clears his throat. I jump and look up into those eyes.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” I reply. My heart is already somersaulting at how close he is. Ari would kill for the blond-haired, blue-eyed college hunk!

“I feel like I know you?” he asked.

I shrug. “Your dad’s a politician, right?”

“Oh, god!” He rolls his eyes. “Don’t tell me – you hate his politics! I run into more disgruntled people at parties than anywhere else.”

I giggle and shake my head, having run into people like that at other parties. Usually, Ari and I laugh them off and drink. Robert doesn’t seem to remember me, or he’d know my daddy isn’t from The Other Camp.

“I’m so sick of politics,” he goes on. “It’d be a shame to know I couldn’t see someone as beautiful as you because your father votes for someone other than mine.” He smiles, and dimples appear in his cheeks.

My face feels even hotter than it already is. He’s checking me out, and I straighten out of my slouch, as Mom always tells me to. Suck in my gut, pull back my shoulders, sexy pose. Just like Mom – a French actress who broke up Daddy’s first marriage – taught me.

I like what I see on Robert’s face and how warm his look makes me feel from my head to my toes.
That look
is the same one every guy I’ve ever known gives Ari when he sees her for the first time. No one ever notices me, when she’s around. It’s like I don’t exist.

Tonight, I do. I kinda like the feeling.

“Want another one?” Robert asks, motioning to my empty drink.

I don’t remember drinking it down so fast, but I nod eagerly. He takes the cup, and our fingers brush. I feel warm and fluttery.

“I need your ID,” he says. “Never seen any bartenders like these.”

I dig it out and hand it to him. He takes it and walks to the bartender. I watch. He talks to some other guy as he waits in line, probably one of his friends. I stare at his tight ass and long, lean legs. What a difference a couple of years make! He doesn’t seem to recognize me, though, which isn’t much of a surprise. If Ari isn’t drawing the attention of the guys I’m interested in, my mother is. I’ve been stuck in the background my whole life.

Struck by an idea, I pull my cell phone free and snap a pic of his backside to send to Ari, who is a fan of a man with a perfect butt. My fingers are clumsy, the effect of drinking, and I giggle as I mash up the words in my text to her. I finish finally and hit send just as Robert returns with a drink.

“Here you go, Julie. Long island ice tea,” he says and hands me the drink and ID.

I stare at him blankly, about to correct him for calling me Julie. Then I glance at the ID and remember.

“Will the most beautiful girl here walk towards the garden with me?” he asks.

“Garden?”

He points. For the first time, I notice the makeshift barrier acting as a wall behind the bartender. I sip my drink and nod. Robert holds out his hand. Thrilled, I take it, and we walk into the dark garden.

I trip at the spot where the cement around the pool ends and the uneven stones of the garden path begin. Robert catches me in his arms and suddenly, he’s kissing me. He shoves his tongue into my mouth, and I almost gag. He tastes like whiskey; I hate whiskey! I barely stop my drink from spilling and wonder what Ari does when this happens. Do men usually move so fast with her?

“Sorry,” he says and lifts his head. “I’ve wanted to do that to you since I saw you standing there, all sexy and alone.”

“You think I’m sexy?” My irritation is gone at his words. I’ve been called a lot of things, but never sexy! I’ve never had a real boyfriend, because most of them fear Daddy or are drawn in by Ari.

“Uh, huh. And you’re beautiful,” Robert says. He takes my free hand and twirls me around a few times.

I laugh. The worlds inside and outside of me are spinning, and I feel giddy.

“Short dress, that ass.” He wraps his arms around me as he talks and pulls my backside against his body. I can feel his arousal against my butt, and it’s a total turn on. “Makes me want to do all sorts of things to you.”

My heart beats hard. I’m not ready to lose my virginity to some drunk I just met, but I love the way his words make me feel. Mom told me of the special power a woman has on men, and I’ve watched her leave an entire room full of men drooling. So this is what it feels like to be as beautiful as her. I always envied her so bad.

I wriggle against him then laugh and move away. I love knowing he wants me – and I have no intention of letting him have me. I stumble again and my drink falls from my hand and lands near my feet, drenching my new shoes.

“Dammit,” I mutter.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, taking my arm.

“I dropped my drink.”

“Wait here. I’ll get you another.”

He doesn’t wait for me to agree, and I grin at his dark shape as he moves back towards the lighted area. He’s a gentleman. I’m not sure any of the guys Ari toyed with would go back for another drink.

As I wait, my eyes adjust to the darkness of the garden. What had been lumpy shapes in the poor lighting take form, and I see there’s a low hedge lining a cobblestone path lined with softly glowing bubble lamps. They look magical, like fireflies, and I’m quickly fascinated enough by them to stumble down the path. My ankle twists as my heel get stuck between stones. I don’t feel pain as my ankle flip sideways – I don’t feel anything at this point. It’s like I’ve slipped from being drunk into a dream.

I pull off my shoes and continue to walk.

I see a large fountain long before I can hear it over the blaring techno. My eyes can’t focus on whether the statue in its center is a man or a large fish. Or both? I blink, trying to make sense of it while alcohol confuses my senses.

My purse is glowing. I stare at it then realize it’s the cell inside. It’s even harder to unzip it this time, and I manage to pull free the phone. Ari has texted me like, a million times. The light of the phone is too bright for my eyes, and I can’t make out any of the fuzzy words. I put it back in my wristlet and sit on the edge of the fountain.

I love Ari to death, but I’m suddenly happy she’s not here with me. For once, I get to be the center of attention. I get the guy. Maybe this is the story I’ll tell my kids of how I met their father. At a party, where we kissed in a romantic garden and knew we’d one day be married.

I want a huge wedding. Daddy had the kind of connections that would get us famous celebrities. I want them there instead of stodgy politicians. Have I told him that? I can’t remember. Maybe when I tell him about Robert, I –

“There you are!”

Robert’s voice warbles, and he has two heads. I stand too suddenly and feel like my head is going to spin off.

“I got worried when I couldn’t find you,” Robert says and shoves a drink into my hand. He kisses me lightly and I lean into him, loving how warm he is. One of Robert’s heads separates and moves away, morphing into another person. “This is Madison. He was my roommate at college.”

“Madison’s a girl’s name!” I giggle.

“I get that a lot,” the guy says. I can’t see his features well, except that he’s as tall as Robert with dark hair. His body blends in with the bushes around the fountain, leaving nothing but his bobbing head.

“Drink up,” Robert says. “Sorry I spilled your last one.”

“So, Julie, is it?” Madison asks.

He comes into focus and sits on the edge of the fountain, close enough for me to see his face. I don’t like his dark eyes. They’re like two holes starting at me. He doesn’t smile either, and he seems really tense for being in my happy dream.

“Yeah,” I say. I move away from him and the fountain and take a sip.

Madison is watching me the way Daddy watches the speeches of his opponents, like he’s waiting for them to slip up. I start to wonder if this guy knows my ID is fake. Is he an undercover cop?

Daddy would
kill
me if I got caught! I’m suddenly worried this
isn’t
some sort of weird dream, and he knows about the fake ID in my wristlet. I have the sudden urge to throw it in the fountain then reconsider. I have to text Ari when I wake up. Realizing I’m staring at my wristlet, I drop my arm and see the two guys hunched over something. I get closer. A leather case and … needles? Robert holds out his arm and shoves something shiny into the crook of his elbow.

“You want one?” Madison asks as I lean closer to see. He holds out the case.

The leather is dark brown, and it reminds me of …

“Do you play football, too, Madison?” I ask.

Robert breathes out hard. Madison nods at me then takes what’s in Robert’s hand. One of them mumbles about already taking a drug test or something before Robert turns to me.

“You wanna shoot up with us?” he asks. “It’ll make you feel awesome.”

My drink starts to slip, and I barely catch it. I take a huge drink, crunch on ice then on something weird. Chalky. Whatever it is, it tastes nasty. I spit it out then chug and spit another mouthful of alcohol to get the taste out of my mouth.

“Everything okay?” Robert asks.

“Yeah. Something weird in my drink.”

“What do you mean?” Madison asks.

“I don’t know.” I dump my drink and toss the cup at the bushes. “Just tastes funny.”

“Oh, I’m feelin’ it already, Madison,” Robert says. He has a loopy grin on his face and looks like he’s enjoying my dream more now.

He wraps his arms around me again. He kisses me, and I don’t even notice the taste of whiskey. I kiss him back. We both giggle, and he sweeps me around in a clumsy dance that almost ends with both of us falling. Instead, we laugh hard and steady one another, and he kisses me again.

I forget all about creepy Madison as my caged hormones takeover. I never knew what it was like to want someone as much as I do Robert. He pushes me against a tree, and his hands are everywhere, squeezing my ass, touching my breasts.

The world goes dark, as if I blinked and got stuck there, like the dream is over and I’m about to wake up.

When my eyes open, I’m sitting on a bench on the opposite side of the fountain. I feel like I’m falling. I push Robert away to try to catch myself and stare at him. He looks like Madison. No, wait, he
is
Madison.

Am I drunk or dreaming? I hear techno music and begin to think this isn’t a dream. I look around. Robert is standing near the fountain, and Madison beside me. I don’t remember seeing them move.

“I think I should go,” I say and wobble to my feet. “Ari will be-”

“C’mon, stay a little longer,” Robert begs and wraps his arms around me. “Stay with me.”

“No, I feel kinda sick,” I say and try to push him away.

“It’ll pass,” he says, holding me tight. “I promise. Just a few minutes, and you’ll feel better. Promise. Madison and I will make sure you’re okay.”

“Okay,” I mumble, not at all certain I could find my way through the garden anyway.

He kisses me hard this time, and his fingers unzip my dress. His hand touches my breast.

“Hey, chill,” I say and push his hand away.

“Don’t stop me, baby,” he says and takes my wrists, pinning them behind me. “Trust me. You’ll love what I do to you.”

I’m not sure what’s going on, until his hand unfastens my bra then travels down my stomach. I try to pull away but he pushes me back against something hard and shoves a knee between my thighs. He shoves fingers into me
there.

“Wet and hot,” he whispers into my ear. “Ready for me, aren’t you?”

This is too weird to be real, even if I can hear the music and see my wristlet light up, indicating a call or text. But I can’t feel much. My body isn’t working right, like in those nightmares where I’m trying to run from someone chasing me but can’t move.

I blink again, and when my eyes open, I’m somewhere else once more. It’s like living in a strobe light. I have glimpses of my world between dark pauses. I don’t know how, but my dress is gone and so is my bra. I’m dancing among fireflies while two still gnomes sit on the edge of a fountain with a dancing fish.

Blink.

Robert is holding me from behind and on his knees in front of me, kissing my belly.

No. He can’t do both. Who’s holding me? I’m trapped, and my body won’t work. I feel like I’m watching myself in a dream, trying to tell myself something important.

Blink.

I’m sprawled over a low, stone bench that hurts my ribs. Someone is holding my hips, and my cheek is rubbing against the stones on the ground. I can see … legs? Behind the bench I’m slung over. Mine are slender and smooth. The other ones are hairy, and someone’s pants are down around their ankles. I don’t feel it or whatever is slamming against my butt.

I need to warn me. Something is wrong.

Blink.

This dream still? I’m on my back. Someone is on top of me. The fireflies nearby light up a face framed by dark hair. His face is blurry. I hear him grunting. He smells like whiskey. He’s holding my hands above my head. I tell myself to move. The bartender can help me. He has a phone.

Blink.

On my belly. This time, I’m not watching me. I am me again. The dream is over- I think. Why am I just lying here? My cheek hurts like it’s been rubbed raw. I’m not sure why. I touch it with one hand. Am I naked? The stone beneath me is cold. It’s not my bed, that’s for sure. My head is pounding, my right ankle hurts and my … private parts feel sore. I feel hung over. It’s still dark out; I wonder how long I was sleeping.

“My turn.”

The speaker is behind me. I push myself up. He plants a boot in my back and shoves me down. I lay still, not sure what’s going on. I’m not even sure where I am, and my head hurts too much to think. The blare of techno is familiar.

Is someone touching my butt? My body still isn’t quite right, but there’s new urgency in my mind. This isn’t a dream. Something is wrong. I hear the techno music again. In my dream, I told myself to run.