“Too late.”
I shove my phone back in my pocket and scowl at my friend, then I hunt around Sara’s mess of a room, looking for my things.
“What are you doing?” Sara asks, jumping to her feet.
“I’m sorry to ruin your fun, but nothing about this is funny,” I mutter, grabbing my shoes and my handbag. “I’m going home.”
Sara throws her arms around me. “Don’t go, Holls,” she wails. “We were just messing around.”
“I don’t care. This was too far. I need to leave before I say something I’ll regret.”
I stalk past my friends and walk out.
* * *
At least Idon’t have to walk far. Three blocks, to be precise, though given how late it is, it’s probably not a walk I should be doing alone. As much as I fantasize about being raped, it’s not something I want to experience for real. I increase my pace, the thoughts in my head fuelling my paranoia that someone is watching me. As much as it scares me, I can’t deny the little thrill that races down my spine at the thought of it being Andrew. But then I think about him reading that text and I want to die. I can’t even imagine what he must have thought when he read it. And the fact that he replied…
I make it back to my apartment in one piece and throw myself down on the couch and pull out my phone. I switch Nick and Andrew’s numbers back and then I click on Andrew’s name. I’m almost too scared to see what Eli wrote to him, but my curiosity wins out.
Andrew: How can I refuse an offer like that?
Me: Tell me what you’d do to me.
Andrew: That would ruin the surprise. I promise you I’ll exceed all expectations.
Holy crap.
This I was not expecting.
I can fool myself into believing I’m annoyed at my friends as much as I like, but the truth is, I haven’t been this turned on in a very long time. Texting Andrew is something I never would’ve done, let alone share something so intimate and personal.
But now, I’m not sure I can stop myself from taking this further.
I tap out a reply and press send before I can change my mind.