Page 2 of Good Girl

Through it all, even as I tried to sway with the crowd to the pulsing music, all I could think about was howhotit was. An ocean of people surrounded me, sweaty bodies writhing and grinding on one another like it was the only thought in their minds. Human contact like that was a guttural need rather than a choice. As Haley ran her fingers through the stranger’s hair and pressed herself close enough to be a tattoo, a pang of sharp yearning shot through my chest.

I would never have that. Men didn’t look at me like I was something to be desired and consumed. They looked at me with surprise, sometimes bewilderment and pity like I was nothing more than an armrest for a gorgeous woman like Haley. It suited me most days. I was happy burying myself in books and studying, or painting when I had the time. This kind of lifestyle was not for me.

The music pulsed, and the crowd swelled so suddenly that several people bumped into my back, sending me sprawling into Haley and her new beau. She squealed in surprise as the three of us stumbled. The man managed to gather his footing, and he caught Haley easily. One hand shot out to catch me, but the moment he felt the pull of my weight as I staggered, an alarmed grunt escaped him.

Haley laughed, and my skin lit on fire.

I couldn’t bear to stay here a second longer. Getting my feet underneath me, I yanked my arm free from the stranger and smoothed down my top over my stomach. Reflex had me breathing in and tightening my core as if that could make any difference to how anyone here viewed me.

“Haley!” I yelled over the music. She was oblivious to me, burying her face into her new date’s neck.

“Haley!”

“What?” She rounded to me angrily, and I took a step back.

“I’m going to go!”

“What?”

“I said, I’m going to go!”

“What?” Haley’s eyes widened, and her mouth immediately pulled south. “Oh, come on, Charlotte, don’t be boring! Stay and have another drink with us. We haven’t even done shots yet!”

“Yeah,” the strange man purred against Haley’s cheek as he kissed her. “Let’s do shots.”

Asminimallytempting as that was, as well as leaving Haley on her own, I was at the end of my social battery, and with classes tomorrow, I really didn’t want to turn up looking as rough as I surely was going to feel.

“No, I’m sorry!” I yelled. “I have class early tomorrow. I want to go home and get some sleep, so I’m going to go.”

“Charlotte, sweetie.” Haley smacked her lips together and leaned into me. Both her hands cupped my warm cheeks, and she gave me a gentle shake as her eyes struggled to focus. “Sweetie, listen to me. You are never going to get anywhere in life being a boring frump! Running home because of alarms and deadlines and...whatever. Stay, have fun, let your hair down for once.” She flicked both hands into my long hair to prove her point, but the desire to leave only increased.

“I have to go,” I insisted, “and you should come too. We have the same class, and—”

“No class talk.” Haley pouted and turned back to her man. “You’re already abandoning me on my birthday night out, so don’t you dare talk about class.”

“Haley, I’m not abandoning you, I’m just really—”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

Just like that, Haley was over whatever I had to say and the arms of her new interest were where her focus lay. It wasn’t the first time this had happened and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Any other attempts to talk to her were lost in the music, so I dug out my phone and made sure our devices were linked, then I headed out of the club.

By the time I reached the outskirts of the crowd, it was easier to push my way through, but true relief didn’t come until I stepped outside and breathed in a deep lungful of cool night air.

“Holy shit,” I breathed out. I was tired and sweating in places I hadn’t even known I could sweat in.

“Good night?”

I turned to see the bouncer offering me a smile, and a polite reflex had me returning it tenfold.

“Yes, thank you.” I nodded. “It wasn’t what I expected.”

“It never is,” he replied. He stepped forward, kind enough to wave me down a cab, and as I watched the vehicle roll to a stop, my mind lingered on Haley. Specifically, what she had said.

You are never going to get anywhere in life being a boring frump.

She had a point. College was supposed to have been a new start for me, but two years in, I was still the same cotton-and-bow good girl from high school.

The bouncer opened the car door for me, and I shot him an appreciative smile then climbed inside. Was he judging me too? Going home this early from a nightclub had to be some sort of social faux pas.

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