Page 67 of Dance for Me

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

“Doug?” Vanessa scrunched in her eyebrows at the look of him, he had dark circles under his eyes, his hair wasn’t neat like it usually was and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. She hadn’t talked to him since the text but he didn’t respond to her. So, him showing up at her apartment right now was a little odd. “What are you doing here. Are you okay?”

He didn’t say anything, just stood there, hands planted on both sides of her door frame. “Hello Vanessa.” His stare was unnerving, cold, dark. “Can I come in?”

She really didn’t want to invite him in, but she felt sorry for him since he didn’t look good at all. “Um, sure.” He looked her up and down before she let him inside, his eyes lingering a little too long on her breasts. “Can I make you some coffee? You look tired, exhausted actually.”

He didn’t say anything but sat down and just stared at her. It was making her uncomfortable. She heard her phone buzz and she glanced at it without picking up. It was a call from Jack. She shook her head and ignored it while she poured the coffee grinds in the maker.

“Trouble in paradise?” Doug asked. “The perfect Jack Angelos not so perfect anymore?”

Vanessa heard her phone buzz again, with another call from Jack.

“I’m sorry Doug, but I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” It was true, he didn’t deserve any details about her and Jack, it wasn’t any of his business.

“Right, stringing me along wasn’t any of my business.”

She turned around to face him, with a sterner look on her face than she had when she first invited him inside. “Doug, I don’t want to fight with you okay? I didn’t mean to do that, honestly.” Another buzz went off. “Dammit!” She turned around, with her back to Doug, and picked up her phone. She gave in and read the text from Jack and her heart dropped.

Jack: Vanessa pick up your fucking phone!! It was Doug in the video at your apartment. My guys figured it out. Call me! If not, I’m coming over!

She felt dizzy, nauseous, it couldn’t be true, could it? She didn’t have time to think of anything else because she felt a surge of pain from the back of her head and the world went black.

* * *

Vanessa felt like vomiting, the pain was too much. Her head was throbbing and pulsating. She slowly opened her eyes but the light made the pain worse. What happened? When she tried to move, that’s when she realized her hands were tied behind her back, behind her chair. Her feet were equally bound by the same zip ties used on her hands. What the hell was going on?

Panic mode started to sink in.

“Rise and shine princess.” Bile rose in the back of throat. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be Doug. Not her ex-boyfriend Doug. It just couldn’t be real. “You look surprised.”

She was fucking surprised because Doug was her stalker. He was crouched down in front of her wearing a smug look on his face. “Doug, please. What is this… what are you doing?”

He smiled. “I’m taking what is mine. What has always been mine. You.”

She could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks. “Doug, I haven’t been yours since we broke up a long time ago. Why are you doing this? This isn’t you.”

He touched her thigh and she jerked to try and get his hand off her. “Vanessa, you led me on. You led me on for months, thinking that we could rekindle what we had, but instead you wanted to be with Jack. He doesn’t deserve you. I deserve you!” He squeezed her thigh a little more causing pain.

“I told you that I just wanted to be friends. Nothing more.”

“Liar!”

She jumped and started to cry more. She hated being weak right now. He gripped her jaw with his cold and clammy fingers. “You invited me to that party! You wore that fucking dress that begged me to fuck you! And you know what? I could have, after you came running back to my place after Jack hurt you, I could have fucked you then. But instead, I was a gentleman Vanessa! I took care of you but you still chose him.”

She shook her head. “No Doug, I…”

“It’s too late! I even sent you fucking roses. Roses are your favorite Vanessa!” He dropped his head down in hurt, then met her eyes again. “But it was never going to be me, was it?”

Vanessa cried as she sat there bound. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but evil. This wasn’t the man she knew all those years back. “I’m s-sorry Doug. I really am.”

“That night I saw that video, the one with you dancing, I thought I was going to lose it. There you were, my Vanessa, dancing on stage like some whore. Where all the guys can see you. I couldn’t let that happen, so that’s when I followed you to the bar. I had to see you for myself in person but Jack got in the fucking way.”

Of course, she knew it was weird that he was there. He followed her. This man had completely lost his mind.

He ran his hand up her thigh. “You are so beautiful, no one else should have you, except me and only me!”

“Doug, what are you going to do?”

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