Sometimes I thought my life would be easier if I were friendless.
I returned to the kitchen, and she followed. I’d left the sauce on a little too long and it had burnt around the edges. So much for not screwing up spaghetti.
“Geez woman, were you planning to eat away your troubles? You made enough for three people!” I just shrugged. I had nothing to explain why I was cooking for two people (one with a very large appetite).
I put a little bit of spaghetti on our plates, trying to leave some for Garrick, even though I had no idea when he’d get to eat it.
I ate quickly, letting Kelsey dominate the conversation, which was about how long it had been since she’d had really good sex. I nodded along, laughing in the right places, shoveling food into my mouth the entire time. I cleared my plate before she’d even made a dent on hers. I placed my plate in the sink, and then headed for the hallway.
“Where are you going?” Kelsey asked.
I called “Bathroom!” over my shoulder, and kept walking.
When I reached the door, I glanced over my shoulder, glad to find Kelsey preoccupied with her spaghetti, and I slipped inside the room.
“Is she gone?” Garrick asked.
“Ssshhh!” He was leaning against the sink, and I reached around him to turn on the faucet to cover our whispers. “No. I’m sorry. She’s actually eating our spaghetti.”
His lips puckered, and I leaned forward, smothering my laugh against his chest.
“Is she leaving soon?”
I peered up at him, but stayed close against him.
“No. She thinks I’m depressed about Cade, and she’s determined to force me to go out.”
He pulled me to him, and pressed his face into the space where my neck curved into my shoulder. He let out a growl that was oddly reminiscent of Hamlet.
I wrapped my arms around him, just as disappointed. “I know. This sucks.”
As if I’d given him the idea, his lips covered my pulse point, sucking softly. I laughed, and pushed him back.
“Garrick, she’s right outside.”
As if on cue, Kelsey knocked at the door.
“Enough stalling, chica! I’ve picked out your outfit!” The doorknob started turning, and I rushed to intercept her.
I kept my foot in the way so that only a crack of space formed.
I said, “I’m not stalling, just getting ready. Hand me the clothes, and I’ll get changed.”
She looked suspicious at my feigned excitement. I was never excited when she dragged me out like this. I kept smiling, like maybe the stress had gotten to me, and I’d just finally cracked.
She passed me the clothes, and before she had a chance to reply, I pushed the door closed, and locked it as quietly as I could.
When I turned around, Garrick was slumped onto the toilet. I switched on the radio, turning it up as loud as I could stand, and turned off the faucet.
“I’m sorry, Garrick.”
Sitting, his head was level with my chest, and he rested his hands on my hips, pulling me forward.
“It’s okay, love. This was bound to happen sooner or later.”
“I wish you could come with me.”
“Me too, love. But it’s okay. We’ll have dinner another time. You should get changed. The sooner you get out of here. The less likely we are to get caught.”
I nodded. My hands shook slightly as I pulled the clothes to my chest.
He said, “I’ll close my eyes.” And I dropped a quick, thankful kiss on his cheek
Smiling, he closed his eyes, and then leaned his elbows on his knees and his face into his hands. As quickly as I could, I whipped off my shirt, and shrugged off my shorts. I pulled a black tank top over my head, and then picked up the skirt.
My stomach dropped.
It was that God-awful, horrendously short miniskirt. I must have made a noise because Garrick raised his head. He kept his eyes closed as he asked, “Everything okay?”
I said, “Yes.’
Even though I was thinking hell no.
I slipped on the skirt, and it was just as short as I remembered. I sighed. There was no way I could wear this.
I touched a hand to Garrick’s shoulder, meaning to tell him that I was going to go outside to find something else, but his eyes opened and fixed on my legs, which suddenly felt weak, like pools of fabric instead of muscle and flesh and bone.
One of his hands curled around to tickle at the back of my knee, and I had to steady myself with a hand on his shoulder to keep from collapsing.
“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” He choked. “Isn’t this the skirt you told me you’d never wear?”
“And I won’t be wearing it tonight. I’m going back to my room to find something else.”
I turned, and his other hand touched my thigh. “Wait.”
His hands trailed up to the indecently short hem, and around to the back of my thighs, inches below the curve of my butt.
“You. Are. Unbelievably. Sexy.” His voice was so low it rumbled, and I could feel the vibrations soaking into my skin. He leaned down and punctuated each word with a chaste kiss up the side of my thigh. I could have been clay in his hands, the way he was controlling me. If he had tried, I might have given up my virginity to him there in the bathroom without much of a fight.
But Kelsey’s fist pounded on the door, snapping me out of my lust.
“Damn, Bliss. Would you hurry it up already?”
With her words, came back my fear. Sure, he thought I was sexy now. But virgins were pretty much the least sexy things ever. Would he change his mind when he found out?
“I have to go. I’m sorry. There’s probably spaghetti still left over if you want some after we leave. I’ll… I’ll call you, okay?”
He nodded, his eyes still dark, unwavering.
I tumbled out into the hallway, a mess of hormones and emotions. I was so distracted that I didn’t even remember I’d intended to change until I was already buckled into Kelsey’s car and we were on our way to the club.
Chapter Twenty
Ecstasy, the club, was dark and hazy when we entered. The beat of the music pounded through the walls and the floor, seeping into my skin, setting me on edge. This wasn’t my scene at all, but Kelsey loved it. I figured all I had to do was hang out at the bar, maybe chat with a guy or two so she’d get off my back. Then she’d probably go home with some guy and leave me her car. That’s how these things usually went.
What I hadn’t anticipated was the way my change in attire would change the normal plan. We were barely in the doors for a minute before a guy had asked me to dance. I declined, which earned me a glare from Kelsey.
“What?” I shouted over the music. “You said I had to come, not that I had to dance!”
We stood at the bar, and I worked to flag down a bartender, while she berated me.
“You are the most infuriating person I have ever met! You look smoking hot tonight, and all you’re going to do is sit over here and pout like always!”
“Then maybe you should have let me stay home and pout!”
A guy tapped on my shoulder, and I didn’t even wait for him to ask before I said, “NO!”
Kelsey fixed her hands on her hips, and for a Barbie look-a-like, she was still pretty intimidating. “I realize you are upset, and you’ve got a lot going on. I’m trying to be understanding, but what is your problem?”
“I don’t have a problem, Kelsey. I just don’t like that you think you can drag me places without any concern for what I actually want!”
“Fine! Nevermind! I give up! Sit here and pout! I’m going to dance!”
She spun around and pushed through the crowd, spilling several drinks and knocking people out of her way.