A glass shatters behind the bar, I turn to see the commotion. When I turn back, Esmeralda is gone. Scanning around the room I don’t see her anywhere.
The sounds of ‘You Look Wonderful Tonight’ begin.
A warm hand grips mine. “Dance with me, Tennie Girl,” Kohl whispers in my ear, leading me to the dance floor.
Reaching the floor, he pulls me into his body. Every hard inch of him is pressed against every soft part of my body while we sway to the music. Lowering his head, he sings the chorus into my ear. His breath spreading goose bumps along my flesh and wetness pooling between my legs.
“I want to bring in the New Year alone with you,” Kohl whispers, running his nose along the shell of my ear, as the song ends.
Meeting his heated eyes, I nod my head. “Let me use the restroom, tell Ronnie that we are leaving and we can go back to my dorm,” I say, releasing his hand and making my way to the ladies’ room.
Washing my hands, I check the mirror. My cheeks are flushed, my eyes are sparkling and my nerves are all over the place. He wants to be alone with me. You can do this. You’ve been alone with him before. He’s never looked at me so heated before but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s fine. You’re ready for whatever he has in mind.
Standing tall, feeling secure, I open the door.
Chase is leaning against the wall outside the restroom.
Ignoring him, I move to walk around and get back to the party. Reaching out, he grabs my arm. Pushing me against the wall, clasping both my hands, in one of his above my head.
“Where you rushing to, Tensanne?” he asks, his breath rancid with whiskey.
“Let me go, Chase,” I grit, pulling at my hands trying to get free.
Using his other hand, he starts at my knee, slowly running his hand up my thigh, “You know you want me more than Black.”
“Stop,” I plead, moving my leg away from his touch. Still pulling on my hands, I can feel the skin on my wrist starting to burn where he’s holding me too tight. “I don’t want you, Chase. Let me go and we’ll go back to the party and get a drink,” I say, calmly trying to appeal to some part of his brain that might still be sober, tears filling my eyes.
His hand is still climbing my thigh, reaching under the edge of my dress, bringing it up with him as it rises. He lowers his face down to my chest, running his tongue along the seam of my cleavage, up my neck to my ear. “Nah, I think we’re doing fine right here,” he mumbles running his tongue back down the way he just brought it up. When he reaches the top of my breast, he bites.
“Ow. Stop, Chase, please,” I cry, closing my eyes allowing the brimming tears to break loose.
His hand slides between my legs.
Suddenly, my hands are released and I feel a hard pull on my dress. Opening my eyes, Kohl has Chase tackled on the ground. Straddling him, punching him repeatedly in the face.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Kohl seethes in between punches.
Ronnie comes running into the hall. Gasping when she sees my ripped dress where he grabbed it on his way to the floor and at Kohl, beating the shit out of Chase.
Two security guards pull the men apart, standing in between them.
Kohl’s thrashing against the guy holding him, trying to get back to Chase.
“You don’t fucking touch her, you piece of shit. I told you to stay away.”
A sobering Chase blinks at Kohl, his nose and lips bleeding, his eye starting to swell. Taking in my ripped dress and my red wrists. His face fills with remorse and fear.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I don’t know what I was thinking,” he whimpers as the guards drag him away.
Once Chase is gone, the guard releases Kohl.
He rushes to me, gently holding my wrist he rubs the angry red, large finger-shaped welts that have formed. “Tensanne,” he whispers.
“Are you okay?” Ronnie asks.
Sobbing, I can only nod yes. My words were stolen by my fear. My heart is in my feet, my eyes burn from being afraid to blink and I can’t control the tremors wracking my body.
“Take her upstairs, Kohl. There are some spare clothes in the room at the top of the stairs. Please, stay here tonight,” she instructs somberly with a helplessness glossing her eyes.
Hugging me, she says, “Let Kohl take care of you. You’re safe now. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I reply between sobs when Kohl scoops me up as if I weigh nothing and carries me upstairs. I bury my face in the crook of his neck, his scent providing the safety I need to feel.
Entering the room, he leaves the light off and carries me into the bathroom attached to the room.
Setting me on the counter he turns the sink on. Wetting a washcloth, he begins to clean the makeup off my face. Gentle strokes down my cheeks, over my forehead.
“Close your eyes,” he commands.
Closing my eyes, he wipes the cloth across them cleaning my eyes.
“Take out your contacts,” he whispers.
Reaching behind me he removes the pins holding my hair back, while I remove the lenses from my eyes. One by one, they plink on the counter as pieces of hair fall free. Once he has removed them all and I have locked my vision away in its little disks, he moves to turn on the shower.
Pulling me off the counter, he turns me. Wondering what he’s doing, I feel the zipper releasing on my dress I shudder when the cool air hits my skin. The only sound in the room is the running water. My eyes meet
