Page 89 of The Second Kiss
The music changes and Brad pulls me close. I lean into him for support. It’s getting harder to stay up on my high-heeled boots. We kiss on the dance floor. His lips brush across my neck, my collar bone, and then in the middle of my chest where Jacob's locket once hung.
The song changes and I’m dancing with Rob. The guy with the ponytail cuts in. He's a great dancer. At least it feels that way. We do a couple of Samba steps. He spins me around and I stumble on my high-heeled boots. A hand catches me just before I hit the floor. I look up to give a gracious smile to my rescuer.
“Jess?” Jacob looks shocked, horrified, angry, and something else that my muddled brain can't process.
“Hey Jacob,” I laugh. “Wanna dance?”
He's still holding me up. “What are you doing here?”
I regain my balance and shake my hips to demonstrate my moves, “Dancing.”
Jacob leans forward. “And drinking. How many have you had?”
"Just a couple." I try to laugh it off, but shame churns with the alcohol in my stomach. I can’t meet his eyes.
“How did you even get in here?”
Brad jerks me back, so fast that I almost fall again. He's not as gentle as Jacob when he steadies me. “She came with me.”
Jacob looks from Brad to me. Disgust curls the corner of his mouth. “She's not leaving with you. C'mon Jess, I'm taking you home. Now.”
Laini appears at his side, her face wrinkles into an angry smirk. “No, you’re not. We just started having fun. You promised me tonight.” She nods at the circle of guys I’m with. “Your little friend has all the heroes she needs.”
Jacob ignores her and puts his hand on my wrist. “You're coming with me.”
I jerk away. “No!” My voice must be loud, people around us turn to stare. I don't care who hears me anymore. "Go away Jacob. I’m having fun. I don't need your help."
Jacob leans toward me, his voice low, “Please Jess. Let me call you a cab or something. I don’t trust these guys.”
“Is this guy harassing you, Jess?” Rob steps in front of me like he’s going to protect me from Jacob. The other guys fill in beside him. They make an intimidating row–a defensive line of college football players.
Brad, made braver by other guys, or the alcohol, or both, gets in Jacob’s face. “Time for you to step off, GI Joe.”
“C’mon Jake,” Laini is dragging on his arm. “She’s not your problem. You promised me we’d do something fun tonight.”
“I’d be happy to show you something fun tonight,” Ponytail Guy says. Laini gives him a death glare.
Jacob stands his ground. His face is a mask of calm, but I know him enough to recognize the fury behind it. He keeps his voice low. “You’re both underage. If I called the cops...”
“She’d go to jail too,” Brad sneers.
Rob pulls him back. “Look, we don’t want any trouble. Jess obviously wants to stay with us. You're with a lovely woman who just wants to have a good time. Why don’t I buy everyone a round of drinks and–”
Jacob's voice is low and icy, “I’d rather she go to jail than stay with you."
Brad shoves Rob aside and lurches toward Jacob. I scream. Brad makes it one step before his face meets Jacob’s fist.
Then his face meets the floor.
forty-four
Lost
“Feeling better?” Jacob hands me a bottle of water when I stumble back to the sidewalk after puking my guts out in the alley behind the club.
I take it and rinse out my mouth without answering.
All of us–Brad, Rob, the other three guys we came with, Jacob and Laini–got thrown out of the club. No one called the police, which I’m almost coherent enough to be grateful for.
