“Don’t look now, but your boy Jared is in the house.”
“What?” I twisted around in time to see Jared, now clad in leather pants and a biker jacket, sauntering through the doorway with his security. Oh. And the high-fashion woman in black. A man who looked like the club manager greeted him and directed him to a spiral staircase. I took a gulp of my drink and looked away as much as I could while still keeping tabs on him out of the corner of my eye. The group disappeared up the stairs, and Luke grunted.
“The poseur always gets VIP treatment. Must be nice to be rich and famous,” he said.
Something about his tone sounded weird. “Do you know him?”
“A bit. We hang in some of the same circles.”
“Did you know him before he got famous?”
“I know people who knew him, or sort of. He’s an odd guy. Mostly keeps to himself. Came out of nowhere with his debut album and blew it wide open, but damned if anybody’d really heard of him before that.”
I took another sip of my drink, and it didn’t taste nearly as strong as the first. “So no girlfriends or anything?” I blurted, and instantly regretted it.
Luke laughed. “Like I said, he keeps to himself. Why? You have the hots for him?”
“No,” I protested, mustering all the indignation I could. I laughed, the idea suddenly funnier, though I couldn’t say why. “I mean, I’d be the only girl at the concert who didn’t.”
“Yeah, he really slayed tonight. It was sick,” he said, and tossed back the rest of his drink. “One more for the road?”
I was only halfway through mine, but my head was already spinning. I could barely taste the alcohol anymore, but it was sure getting to me. “No. I’m good,” I said, and took another gulp. It went down easier every time. I looked around. “When are Sarah and Kate going to be here?”
He shrugged. “Probably any minute.” He signaled for the waitress and held up one finger. “I’m going to have another.”
“You’re driving,” I said, frowning. “You…” My voice drifted off. I’d wanted to say something, I guess, but darned if I could remember what it was.
Luke looked at me as if deciding something. “Maybe you’re right. Finish yours and we’ll get out of here.”
“But Sarah and Kate…”
“We’ll find them. Drink up.”
I downed my drink as quickly as I could, so I wouldn’t have to taste it, and Luke tossed twenty dollars on the table. I managed to stand with only a little extra effort. Luke took my arm and steadied me. He smirked and put his arm around my waist. “You really can’t handle alcohol, huh?”
“Told you,” I said, but to my ear even the two words were slurred. I couldn’t think of a thing to say to him, but I was thankful he was there to support me.
Once outside, Luke guided me down the block and stopped at the corner. I leaned against the building façade, and he shook a cigarette from a pack and lit it. He extended the packet to me and I shook my head, which was a bad idea, because the sidewalk rose and fell in waves. Unless that was me. Fortunately my back was against the wall, and I braced against it to hide my unsteadiness.
“We should get you to the car. It’s right over there,” he said, gesturing to the next block.
He dropped his cigarette on the sidewalk and stubbed it out with his boot, which is something I hate (just pick up after yourself, jeez), and then he practically carried me to the car. When we got there, I slipped into the back seat with a sigh of relief. Maybe I can sleep it off on the way home.
Luke lowered the window halfway and slid in next to me, and before I knew it, his face was close to mine. The stink of tobacco and alcohol on his breath was overpowering. He tried to kiss me, but I turned my face away.
“No,” I said, but he didn’t seem to hear, and then his hands were on me.
I tried to wriggle away, and said no again, or at least I tried to, but he continued to grope me, and I realized with some shock that I was on a deserted street with a guy I didn’t know, late at night…
Ugh. What is he doing? Wasn’t I clear enough? Why can’t he hear me? I tried to push him off me, but I couldn’t even shift him.
“Aw, come on,” he murmured. “Don’t be like that. Let’s just have a little fun. It’s been a good night.”
Fun? What was fun about being drunk and getting groped by some guy I didn’t even know, let alone like? Somehow I’d given him the wrong impression. I tried to pull myself together, to sit up and explain better. I struggled to say something coherent. Or should I just give in? How bad could a few kisses be? Is that all he wants, a few kisses? Or is he after something more? I had gone out with him. I had agreed to have a drink. Was this my fault? Was I supposed to let him kiss me? I felt so helpless. I could feel a tear drip down my cheek, and I lay there as if paralyzed, unable to think what to do.
Chapter 4
Luke leaned down to kiss me again; and then suddenly his body rose, as if an arm had reached around and pulled him off. In fact, there was an arm. Not his arm; a long, strong arm the color of coal. What the hell is going on? Were things about to go very much more wrong?
“That’s enough,” I heard a firm voice say, and in my drunken state, it sounded like Jared. That’s me – even when I’m totally out of it, I can
