The Choice (14 page)

Forty minutes later, Ana comes out of our bedroom with a look of amusement while Heather’s is more one of fear.

“Now what?” I say as Drake laughs beside me. Before I can get an answer, Sophie steps out wearing the skimpiest dress I’ve ever seen in my life.

Standing, I’m unable to speak. I don’
t even know where she got this thing. She has lingerie that consists of more than this. A thin band of black fabric that barely covers her front and has her ass hanging out makes up the bottom. The top consists of another strip of fabric that just barely covers her tits. Everything is connected by a thin chain that runs down the front of her stomach. I don’t even want Ana seeing Sophie dressed like this, let alone half of Rockport. 

“Not a fucking word!
” she says in a low voice and grabs her purse, facing the girls who aren’t moving. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Sophie!” I manage, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration
.

“No! You aske
d me to change and I did!”

“I didn’t mean into something smaller!” I yell back, furious.

“I know that.”

“So you just blatantly… You just… Fuck! Sophie, you’ve got me so mad I can’t even talk to you!”

“Well, you work on that, I’ll be home late,” she snips, making me madder. “Come on girls, let’s go.”

“
What the hell has gotten into you, Sophie?” I say making my way over to her in time for her to whip around, facing me angrily.

“
I don’t know at what point you started thinking you could just order me around, but you are not my father, Chase! I’d strongly advise that you pick your next words wisely!”

“You know what Sophie? You’re right,” I start
with a slight nod before facing her again. “I’m not your father, but I am this close to taking you over my knee!”

“I wish you would!” she seethe
s. “In fact, I’m surprised you…”

I’m done. In two stride
s, I cut her off, closing the remaining space between us.

“That’s it! I’ve had it!” I say
, lifting her over my shoulder again and making my way towards our bedroom. She’s kicking and screaming like crazy by the time I kick the door shut behind us. Dropping her onto the bed, I hover over her. “Stop it, Sophie!”

“You stop it!” she yells back at me.

“Oh my God, Baby! Talk to me! What is
wrong
with you? Why are you crazy?”

“I don’t know!”

“Sophie, breathe,” I say softer this time. “Baby, you have
got
to talk to me. What the hell is going on with you tonight?”

It takes her a few minutes, but eventually she lets out a deep breath and looks up at me.

“I’m freaking out,” she says, her voice cracking.

“What are you freaking out about?”

When she doesn’t answer me after a moment, I gently move her head to face me.

“
We’re not leaving this room until we work this out,” I say softly. “Please talk to me, Sophie.” After searching my eyes for a moment, she finally releases a breath.

“Everything, Chase,” she starts quietly. “In the past seven months I’ve left the only real home I’ve ever known, moved to a new city, and gotten a new job. I met you, fell in love and
am now living with you after you nearly were killed. I’ve been to jail with a freaking assault charge because your ex-girlfriend is fucking crazy. My best friend and I are living apart for the first time in five years. I’m about to fly and I
hate
flying. I’m going to meet your
entire
family and be
in
your sister’s wedding. Meanwhile, I’m totally letting you down and hurting you left and right,” she starts crying and I release her hands and pull her to my chest. “My freaking mother emailed me today,” she sobs. “I can’t even open the stupid email because I don’t want to deal with her right now. I’ve been on a diet for two weeks and I’m pretty sure at this rate I’ll be a full blown alcoholic by the end of the year. You didn’t do anything wrong, I just hate being ordered around. Everything you said was true, you just got me at the wrong time,” she continues to sob and I gently wipe her smeared makeup away with my shirt. “I don’t want to fight with you, I love you. I’m just freaking out because everything is hitting me at once and I don’t know what to do about any of it. All I know for sure is that I want some fucking ice cream.”

“First of all, you’re not letting me down,” I say. She starts to argue with me, but I cut her off. “No, you’re not. I understand now and I told you I’d wait until you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere, okay?”
she nods. “Second of all, you have to talk to me about this stuff, Baby. You’ve been through a lot and you need to get it out. Otherwise, we’re always going to fight over dumb shit,” I say. “We’re in this together, okay? No more taking all this crap on alone, Sophie. I’m sorry I ordered you around, I just worry about you.”

“I know,” she whispers. “Sorry I’m crazy.”

“It’s okay. I happen to like your kind of crazy,” I chuckle. “I like this dress, too, but please find something else for tonight.”

“Okay,” she smiles. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I love you, Baby.”

“I love you, too
, Nutter Butter,” she says kissing me and making me chuckle.

Thirty minutes later, Sophie comes out of the room looking perfect
in what she tells me is a sheath dress. It’s shorter than I’d like her to wear out without me, but then what isn’t?

After making the others wait while I
sit her on the kitchen counter and feed her an entire bowl of rocky road, my girl’s finally smiling.

“Would you two stop looking at me like that?” I say blushing, trying to hide my smirk from Ana and Heather.

“I’m sorry, Soph. I just had no idea Chase manhandled you, you little freak,” Ana laughs, causing my cheeks to redden further.

“Oh my God, Ana!” I wail, rolling my eyes at her as I pay the smirking bartender for our drinks. “Think you can be more obnoxious?”

“It’s n
othing to be ashamed of, Sophie,” Heather laughs. “I think it’s hot!”

“I’m not ashamed of anything. I just don’t need
everyone in Rockport to know what I do with my boyfriend.”

Before I catch myself, I watch their eyes bug out of their heads.

“Holy shit Sophie I was just screwing with you before!” Ana laughs as I walk past her to our table, avoiding eye contact. “I thought that was a one-time thing! Does he tie you up?”

“Ana!”

“Come on, Sophie! Don’t be lame!”

Throwing my purse onto the table in front of us,
I take a seat in the booth. We’d originally planned on hitting a club in Corpus, but since Chase and I took so much time arguing, we ended up at Logan’s, the bar on the other side of Rockport. When I face the two evil women in front of me, they’re grinning like idiots.

“Yeah! Girl talk! Tell us all the dirty stuff Sweet Cheeks does to you!” Heather chimes in with a giggle.

“Heather! I expect this from Ana because she’s a perv, but I never thought you’d turn on me!”

“Blah
blah blah!” Ana says drily. “Spill, Sophie. What are we talking here? Full on bondage or just a little spank when you forget who’s in charge?”

Watching them laugh at themselves, I can’
t hide my smirk any longer. They’re ridiculous.

“Fine, I’ll tell you one thing.” I say, shaking my head at them when their eyes light up again. “He has a little exhibitionist streak in him.”

“Really?” They both say in unison, leaning forward on their elbows.

“Yes,” I start, laughing inwardly. “So when he got his new truck,
we drove all over town ‘christening’ it.”

“No way! You’re lying!” Ana says in shock and I laugh.

“You’re right, I am. That never happened. Well, not with Chase anyway,” I admit, taking a drink from my rum and coke, watching her face contort in confusion.

“But you’ve only been with…” Ana says, realization slowly creeping in as she connects the dots. “
Eww! Did you seriously just tell me a sex story about my little brother?”

“
That’ll teach you to stop being so nosy!” I laugh and return Heather’s fist bump.

“Well played, my friend!”
Heather says. Ana shakes her head and grins over at me before leaning back against her chair, feigning a pout.

“What’s wrong with you? Did I hurt your feelings?”

“No! You grossed me out, Soph!” Ana replies.

“I’m sorry,” I say with a chuckle. When she turns her head away from me, I roll my eyes at her. “Ugh! Fine! He has a filthy mouth and it’s really hot! Are you happy now?”

Grinning over at me, she nods and laughs. “What does he say to you?”

“I’m not telling you anything else!”

“I knew it!” Heather says, smacking the table loudly. “He smacks your ass and calls you a whore, doesn’t he?”

When the only reply they get is my blazing cheeks, Ana nearly spits her drink across the table.

“We’re not talking about this anymore,” I finally manage, avoiding eye contact with the both of them.

“Woo
hoo! Way to go, Sweet Cheeks!” Heather says with a smirk, causing the three of us to explode in girlish giggles.

“How are you ladies doing tonight?” I hear an unfamiliar voice coming from my right and
glance over to see a small group of men smiling over at us.

“We all have boyfriends,
our drinks are full and we’ve already found Jesus. Thank you for your interest. You boys have a good night,” I say with little enthusiasm. When they leave in a huff, the laughter at our table only doubles.

We spend the next hour or so gossiping over drinks while the bar fills quickly. Before long, the pace of the music picks up and we’re heading to the dance floor.
Halfway through the fourth song, I hear Heather gasp from beside me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my concern quickly fading when I see the dopey look crossing her face.

“Jamie’s here!” she says excitedly. “You don’t mind if he chills with us for a little bit do you? I know its girl’s night and all, so I won’t let him hang for long.”

“No,” I laugh. “It’s cool.”

“Hey, Baby!” she squeals up at him when he reaches her side. Leaning down to kiss her, he grins at her drunken excitement.

“Hey yourself,” he says, all his attention on her
as he plays with a lock of her pink hair. “You look hot as shit! Are you having fun?”

“Yeah,” she blushes. Taking in the giant, ink clad arms that are bounding from his
black t-shirt, her eyes glaze over and I can’t stifle my laughter. “Did you bring the bike?”

“No, not tonight,” he laughs at her disappointment. “No worries though, I’ll take you for a ride whenever you want, Sweetheart,” he says throwing her a wink. “I came with some friends.”

Glancing over at the two guys standing on his right, he quickly introduces them as Alex and Rob. Smiling politely, Ana and I continue to dance together, giving Heather and Jamie some space while his friends hover awkwardly, unsure of what to do with themselves. After a few minutes, “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore featuring Ryan Lewis fades into a slow song and I signal to Heather we’re making our way over to the table before we crash into the booth.

“I think we were just ditched,”
Alex laughs from the edge of our table. “Do you mind if we sit over here for a few minutes until they come back? Everything else is full.”

“Sure,”
I say as I watch Ana head to the bar for our drinks.

“So what do you girls h
ave planned for tonight?” Rob asks with a smile as he takes the seat beside me.

“Not too much,” I answer. “Just having some drinks and hanging out really. What about y’all?”

“Nothing really,” Alex laughs. “We said something about wanting to grab a beer and Jamie drug us up here to see your friend.”

“Yeah,” Rob
laughs. “Then the bastard ditched us.”

“Ah!” I nod and chuckle as I take my drink from Ana and raise it. “To being ditched by your friends!”

“Cheers!” They laugh and raise their beers.

Slipping into a
conversation about nothing in particular, we all chat as we take in the scene around us. About twenty minutes after they joined us, the music is more deafening than ever. Everyone is huddled a little closer to the middle of the table so we can hear each other, but something about how closely Rob is sitting next to me is making me a little edgy. He seems nice enough, but there’s just something about him that I don’t like.

“You wanna dance?” he
says into my ear, a little too close for my taste. Shaking my head, I try to decline as politely as I can.

“No, thank you.”

“Please? I’ll let you lead,” he jokes.

“No thanks. I have a boyfriend.”

“It’s just one dance,” he pushes. “He doesn’t have to know and even if you tell him, it’s not a big deal. Come on,” he grabs my arm, trying to encourage me, but only further creeping me out. I wish Ana and Alex would hurry back from the bar, but they’re nowhere in sight. “What’s wrong? You don’t like this song, Darlin’?”

“I like the song, I just happen to like my boyfriend better,” I spit back, pulling my arm away from his grip.

“Whatever, bitch,” he responds icily.

“What was that?”

“I said you’re a fucking bitch. I saw you shaking your ass out there,” he shakes his head as he rakes his eyes over my body. I’m so insulted by his words I can’t come up with a response. “You girls wear this skimpy shit, dance around like you’re riding a dick and act like men shouldn’t expect anything in return. Fuckin’ pisses me off.”

“
So you think because I wanted to dance with my friend in the vicinity of where you were standing, I owe you something?”

“I think you shouldn’t walk around acting like a whore if you’
re not for sale, Darlin’,” he says as his eyes hone in on my chest while he drains his beer.

Where the fuck is Ana?

“It’s cool though,” Rob says smirking down at me. “Every whore has her price.”

Before I can even
process what’s happening, he leans back in the booth and pushes his hand between my thighs.

“Get off!” I try and he meets my eyes with a glare of pure anger.

“Shut the fuck up!” he spits, leaning back far enough to give me a glimpse of the knife resting in the waist of his jeans. “You make one fucking sound and I’ll make sure you regret it.” Gesturing towards where Heather and Ana are laughing completely unaware near the bar, his eyes find mine again. “You got it?”

If he’d just threatened me, I’d fight back and he
knew that. I’d never risk Ana and Heather’s safety. Sensing that I understood, a smirk crosses over his face as he chuckles darkly under his breath as he slides his hand further under my skirt.

“I knew you were a smart girl,” he said quietly into my ear, causing me to shudder in disgust. Sliding his fingertips along the edge of my panties, I noticeably tense and he grips my thigh roughly, pulling my legs apart with force. “The more you fight me, the more I’ll hurt you. Do you understand me?” I nod weakly, fighting the bile that is making its way into my mouth. “Do you?” he insists.

“Yes,” I manage.

“Okay, now cut the shit,” he says, pushing his hand against my panties again.
To keep from screaming or being sick, I bite down on the side of my hand and turn so that I’m facing the wall. Choking back a sob when I hear Ana and Heather approaching our booth, Rob pinches me and leans over, his lips brushing against my skin as he speaks. “Ditch them.”

Nodding silently, I try my hardest to compose myself before facing my friends.

“Sophie?” Ana says in shock when she sees I’m not fighting how cozy Rob has become with me.

“Hey,” I say facing her as calmly as I can
manage. “Listen, I think Rob and I are going to head back to the apartment. Do you have your key?”

Praying she’ll understand what I’m trying to do, I almost sigh in relief when I see it flash in her eyes.

“Yeah, I have my key. Do you need me to follow you home?”

“No!” I say with too much force, earning me
another sharp pinch. “No, we’ll be fine, thanks. Can you cover for me though? Just say I drank too much and went back to the apartment to sleep it off.”

“Sure,” she says softly, the crack in her voice unnoticeable to anyone but me.

“I need to use the bathroom before we leave,” I tell Rob and after shooting me a warning look, he nods and throws me a fake smile.

When I slide out of the booth, I move to grab my purse so I can call Chase myself but it doesn’t work.

“I’ll watch your purse, Darlin’,” he says meeting my eyes. “Make it quick,” he mouths.

Nodding, I rush to the bathroom and immediately push my way into the stall to throw up. After sobbing on the floor of the stall and emptying the contents of my stomach numerous times, I force myself onto my feet.
Rinsing my mouth, I fix my tear stained face as quickly as I can, fighting the images of Chase that are running through my mind relentlessly. He may never forgive me for willingly allowing another man touch me, regardless of the reason. I know it, but I can’t let him hurt my friends and no part of me believes he was kidding when he said I’d regret fighting back.

I’m so sorry, Chase.

Forcing myself out of the bathroom, I plaster on the calmest look I can manage. Rob is standing with his back facing me and I try to mouth to Ana to call Chase, but I don’t know if she saw me. Once her gaze meets mine, Rob whips around face me and hands me my purse.

“Say goodnight to your friends
, Darlin’,” he orders.

Hugging them tightly to me, I say goodnight to Heather and Ana.

“I love you,” I whisper into Ana’s hair and when she doesn’t let me go right away, I know she understands. Before I can risk saying anything else, Rob is pulling me away from her.

“Come on,” he says. “Night guys,” he smiles at Jamie and Alex who seem completely clueless. As we make our way to t
he front door of the bar, Rob leans down and whispers into my hair, causing my blood to run cold. “You’re about one stall away from killing our deal, Darlin’. Don’t look back, don’t stop walking or you can kiss the brunette goodbye. This is your last fucking warning. Tell me you understand.”

“I understand.” 

“Good,” he starts. “Remember what I told you about not hurting you?”

“Yes,” I manage.

“You just ruined that shit with your little bathroom break stunt. Hope that piss was worth it,” he spits, causing tears of fear to bubble up, stinging my eyes. “If you’re gonna cry, put your fucking head down.”