Into You

THIRTEEN

MAXINE BROOKS

"Do you want sex on the beach?"

Rachel distractedly yelled the question above my head. She was looking for her friend Stephanie. Her pointed shoes with spikes were high enough to spot a missing person or two.

"Yeah, sounds good." I yelled back. We stopped somewhat close to the stunning, scantily clad women on the dance floor so Rachel could reply to a text message. "Are you still worried?"

"The idiot is gambling again!" Rachel was fuming mad. "Wait until I get my hands on him!"

After reading Stephanie's text the crazy woman dragged me into this den. There was no explanation for why we had to rush here, just a vague remark about shooting Stephanie's brother.

For us to blend in, we both wore black dresses that hugged our curves. With my straightened hair, smokey eyes and berry lips I was barely recognizable.

The crowd was wilder than the ones in the pub. A good looking man had pulled down a woman's dress exposing her large breasts. Miss Redhead didn't mind the attention but revelled in it. She rubbed her breasts and kept dancing under the red light oblivious to everyone staring.

"You seemed a tad off earlier," Rachel shook her head and made a tsk tsk sound in her throat. "The most effective way to forget a man is to replace him with another one," she nudged me with her hips, waving at the bouncer.

Hunter affected my mood, and it showed when Rachel came to see me at the apartment. With a miserable face and one-word answers to her questions, she had guessed there was a problem.

Rachel was more tenacious than a reporter. A break from thinking about Hunter was too much to ask for. I told her about the drive back to the apartment, an Uber driver was friendlier. Hunter was cold, his tone icy and polite as he said goodbye, take care. It hurt to think the moments we shared together were meaningless.

"I don't have to replace him. We didn't break up." The bouncer wasn't interested in consoling anyone. The idea of venting to a stranger was more horrible than eating pizza with rice. His gold teeth peeked out when he bit his lip while peering at me. "I mean, he's not my boyfriend." A few kisses didn't make him one.

In my skimpy clothes I was afraid of attracting unwanted attention. As soon as we find Stephanie's money-wasting idiot of a brother I am out of here.

It felt unsafe and uncomfortable being in a seedy place. Never got used to it even working in a pub with the crudest people you'd ever meet. I had to be alert at all times.

"Let's drink and forget about men," Rachel playfully grabbed my shoulder. "I'm determined to have a good night or it'll be a week before I can enjoy life again," she whined in my ear.

"Too busy at work?" I shoved her away and we both laughed.

"No, Mother Nature will be kicking my ass in a day or two," she winked at me. "stay here, dance and I'll get us another drink. Stephanie might be in the bar too."

I'd stand out if I didn't dance. Closing my eyes, I surrendered myself to the music. The rapid tempo caused my heart to race. So lost in the moment, I felt a euphoric sense of freedom to forget.

But I wasn't so drunk that I didn't notice when a large arm suddenly wrapped around my waist. His arm was hairy with an ugly mole shaped like a raisin. He smelled of stale beer and smoke. It made me choke when I held my breath in.

"Get your arm off me." I snarled in discomfort when he squeezed my rib cage hard.

I punched, pinched and clawed his arm like an angry lioness. An angry red mark appeared on his skin, but the ape was too drunk to care. Even when I stepped on his toes, he refused to let go. Shit, maybe that was someone else's toes.