Page 36 of Fairy Tale Lies
As it turned out, luck, along with her sister, had deserted her.
Greta climbed the stairs to the second floor. With one hand running along the banister, she typed another message to Cindy. At the top step, she hit send and scanned the hallway.
Deserted, except for the one person she’d been trying to avoid all night.
Blake.
He caught sight of her, and his expression became one of drunken lust and reckoning.
Her evening was about to take a nosedive.
Drunken Blake was never fun. Mixed with his righteous indignation and disbelief that she’d left him and was refusing to come back would make him a monster.
Dread pooled in her stomach, and her feet became bricks, making it impossible to beat a hasty retreat.
“What are you doing? Trying to find me?” Blake slurred, coming closer. He encircled her waist, standing way too close. The overpowering reek of whiskey made her gag.
She jerked back and tried to wrench free of his grasp. “No. I’m trying to find my sister.”
He gave a drunken snort. “Knowing Cindy, you’ve come to the right place. She’s probably in one of the bedrooms.”
“Screw you, Blake.” Greta tried to go around him.
He shoved her against the nearest wall. “I’d be more than happy to screw you.” He leaned close enough she could taste his liquor fumes.
Panic flooded through her, and again she tried to shove him away, but he held tight. “Let go of me! If you want to get laid, find someone else. We. Are. Over.”
“I want you.” To her dismay, he kissed her rough and possessively.
No!
“Get off of me!” She yanked her head to the side, trying to escape his wet lips.
His hot, suffocating mouth found her neck. “Come on, Greta. Stop fighting me. Quit wasting your time with that reprobate. You belong with me.” Blake groaned, grinding his pelvis against her and sliding a hand under her dress.”
“Enough!” Panic and fury gave her the strength to escape his drunken hold. Taking advantage of her hard-won freedom, she ran down the stairs and straight to the crowded patio.
Once she was far enough away from Blake, her racing heart calmed. She tried calling and texting her sister.
Again, no answer.
Greta sat wearily in the nearest chaise lounge, ready to simultaneously cry and throw her useless phone into the pool. Until she noticed a recent missed call from Jacob. He must’ve tried to reach her when she was fleeing from Blake.
She needed to focus on finding Cindy, but the reassurance of Jacob’s calm voice was too much to resist. She hit redial.
“Hello?” His deep voice reverberated through the phone, sounding both distracted and tired.
“Am I calling at a bad time?” She sincerely hoped not because hearing his voice eased her emotions.
Which that itself worried her. Had she broken up with Blake only to become dependent on her summer fling?
“No, not at all. I was hoping you’d notice I’d called. I miss you and could use a break from this pain-in-the-ass piece I’m working on.”
She laughed, forgetting her worries. “I miss you too.”
They weren’t supposed to miss each other. Right now she didn’t care.
“Are you still at the party? You have a lot of background noise.”
