But Julian doesn’t return my gesture. Instead, he takes several steps toward me, closing the gap between us. His face is now within inches of mine, and I can smell the sour scent of whiskey coming from his mouth. The smell makes me cringe, and small bumps form along the surface of my skin.
His mouth twitches and his emerald green eyes turn dark. He bites his bottom lip and lifts his hand between us, dragging his finger along my bare chest, starting with my collarbone, tracing a line along the edge of the fabric covering my breasts. I swallow nervously, finding myself pinned between my car and Julian. When I turn my head, I now realize he’s caged me in with his body and his arms. The street is empty, and where my car is parked, there’s no overhead light. His face is covered in shadows.
Pushing his hips into me, he watches his finger dance along the open fabric of my dress. I lean back, pressing myself against my car as close as I can.
“What- What are you doing?”
With hooded eyes, he looks up at me, keeping his finger resting subtly between my cleavage. “Come on, Sara. Don’t tell me you don’t know.”
I can tell the whiskey has had an effect on him. A dark caramel color now fills his once bright green eyes and fear creeps under my skin.
“I’m sorry, Julian. I can’t, not tonight.”
Moving his hand from my chest, he runs his fingers through my long blonde hair, tucking the loose strands behind my ear.
“Sara. Please don’t let tonight go to waste.” He matches his eyes to mine, sending me a look with enough intensity, it makes my body run cold. “Remember what I told you earlier? I really hate losing.”
Balling my hands into fists, my nails dig into my palms, sending a sharp pain throughout my body. Not really knowing how to handle the situation I’m in, I try to go with the easiest route. I try to play nice, remembering how the Julian I see now is not the Julian I first met. The Julian from earlier was cocky but was still laced with a small amount of polite confidence. This Julian is confident as well, but now it’s only filled with darkness. And I’m starting to think if I don’t choose my words carefully, this could go a completely different way. I bring my hand up to his chest, resting my palm against the warm fabric of his shirt.
“I know you do, and you aren’t losing. But I need to go.”
He dips his head and inhales several hot, heavy breaths. I silently beg him to let this go, to let me go. But when he brings his head back up, he doesn’t even give me a chance to understand what’s going on before he places his mouth on mine. At first, I jerk back, but he quickly raises his arm, grabbing the back of my head with his hand and, keeping my lips pressed against his. A gasp escapes me. He opens his mouth, parting my lips with his tongue. His mouth is sour and tastes like whiskey. The kiss isn’t all enjoyable, and I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing it would end. But he keeps his hand on the back of my head and places his other hand on my waist, fisting the fabric of my red silk dress. He continues to swipe his tongue along mine whenwhile his hand gripping my waist slowly moves to the front of my upper thigh.
I press both of my palms against his chest and try to push him away. My heart is thrashing inside my chest. But the more I try to muster the strength to push him away, the more pressure he places on the back of my head. He continues moving his hand along my thigh, lifting the fabric of my dress, exposing me even more. The warm air brushes between my thighs when panic finally settles in the pit of my stomach.
“Julian,” I say against his lips.
“Sara,” he replies. He runs his fingers along the front of my panties, and a cold shiver washes over me down to my legs.
“Julian, stop!” I yell. Pushing him away from me with all my strength, he stumbles backward a few steps. I wrap my arms around my chest, shielding myself from him.
My chest rapidly rises and falls with every breath I take in. Julian rakes his fingers through his golden blonde hair, keeping his gaze focused on the sidewalk. He hasn’t looked up at me since I pushed him away, and I can’t figure out whether he’s ashamed or angry.
Tears build behind my eyes, longing for the comfort and safety of my car, my home… Graham.
I’m frozen, and it takes me a few more silent, agonizing moments before I can bring myself to move. I take several steps, walking around the front of my car.
From behind me, I hear Julian’s voice. “Sara, wait. I’m sorry. Please don’t go.”
I turn around, afraid of what might happen if I give in, if I choose to stay a moment longer. The softness has returned to his eyes, but they do nothing to comfort me from what he was doing to me just moments ago.
“Sorry, but I think you lost this time.”
I don’t wait for his reaction before I’m in my car and finally heading home. I don’t even take a breath until I’m in the safety of my own apartment.
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thank you to every single one of my readers. Thank you for taking the time to read Lena and Logan’s story. This story came to me over a year ago and for a while I had it sitting on the back burner to work
