Authors: Andrew Hess
“Damn girl, you lookin good tonight,” Johnny said. His button down dress shirt left hung open at the top, letting the neon lights reflect off the large gold chain around his neck.
“These two are scorchin bro,” Jimmy replied.
Being ogled by the two guys made Sara’s hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She took a step back, but felt a hand brace her shoulders.
“Relax,” Julie deviously smiled. “Let’s just dance with them for a bit, get some free drinks out of it, and we’ll go home.”
“You promise? Nothing else?”
“I promise.”
“Fine, but you owe me.”
Sara half-heartedly danced, keeping her attention directed at Julie while keeping Jimmy and Johnny off to her side. It was rude, but she didn’t care. They were nothing to her, nothing but a brief distraction. If it was up to her, she would be back in the car dragging Julie home, maybe stopping at one of their usual bars on the way. She tried to ignore the men, sipping her drink until she drained the bottle.
“You need another,” Jimmy asked.
“No thank you. I’m fine.”
“Come on; let me buy you a drink.”
Sara saw the pleading look from Julie, asking her to be nice and to let the guy buy her a drink.
It’s only one drink
, she thought.
What’s the worst that could happen?
“Sure, I’ll take another beer.” She handed Jimmy the bottle and watched him disappear through the crowd. Johnny leaned in and whispered something into Julie’s ear. She nodded and laughed.
What the hell was that about?
She ignored the playful exchange and kept dancing.
Jimmy returned a few minutes later with a beer in each hand. He inched his way in front of Sara and handed her the drink. “So where you girls from?”
She didn’t want to give Jimmy any real info about herself. It was bad enough Julie already gave up their names, but she didn’t want to reveal anything more than that.
“We’re from Northern New Jersey.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“We just decided to come down for the weekend.” Sara put the beer up to her lips, taking repetitive swigs just to keep herself from answering anymore of Jimmy’s questions.
“I like the way you move.”
Sara hadn’t noticed, but she started to sway to the beat of the music a lot more, letting go of her restraint. “Thanks.”
It was the only thing she could think of before taking another long sip of beer. She closed her eyes, pretending no one was around, only letting the music guide her. She barely noticed the hand smooth over her lower back, drawing her closer to Jimmy. It wasn’t until his other hand touched her leg, bringing it up over his own while his fingers worked their way up the slit on her skirt. Sara became acutely aware Jimmy was touching her, but the alcohol delayed her response. It wasn’t until she felt something hard pressing into her, underneath her skirt that she realized she was in trouble.
“What the hell,” Sara snapped. Her hands swatting at his, trying her best to get away. “Get your hands off me!” Her shouts were going unnoticed by Julie. She was too busy grinding with Johnny a few feet away. Sara shoved Jimmy, shouting at him to get away. It was no use. He was too strong for her, but that didn’t stop her from trying to get someone’s attention.
Jimmy pulled her closer. He lowered his head, licking his lips to moisten them as he brought them closer to Sara’s. She strained to turn her head away from him, pushing and smacking Jimmy’s hands and arms. Suddenly, Sara could feel a weight lifted from her, as if Jimmy’s body was ripped from her. She opened her eyes and found him sprawled out on the dance floor. His friend Johnny was too interested in Julie to see what happened.
Sara’s eyes traveled from the floor to the man standing in front of her. Her face registered a look of surprise, happiness, and fear. She was staring into the angry eyes of her boyfriend. His fist was clenched as his eyes darted between Jimmy and Sara.
“Evan,” she gasped. She wanted to jump into his arms, kiss him, and tell him how much she loved him and missed him. But she knew what he must have seen. He saw another man groping and grinding on his girlfriend. By the time she registered what happened, Johnny saw his friend on the floor and came charging at them. “Evan, lookout.”
He turned in time to see Johnny rushing towards him. Sara watched as Evan stepped to the side and landed a hard right hand to the side of Johnny’s face. He staggered momentarily, forcing Evan to turn his back to the man he knocked to the ground. Sara surveyed the trouble she caused and saw Jimmy rising to his feet. The fight was about to turn into a two on one situation, something she wasn’t going to allow.
As Evan squared himself to Johnny, Sara eyed up her target. She took off her heels, got a running start, and kicked Jimmy between the legs before he located Evan. The circle of spectators backed off as security entered the dance floor. She felt their hands close around her arm as another pair grabbed Evan.
“Alright you two. You’re outta here; let’s go.”
Neither of them struggled to fend off the guards, they knew better than that. Instead they walked out silently until they were brought outside.
“Wait here,” another bouncer said. “The police are on their way. You better hope those two guys don’t press charges.”
There was nothing but rage in Sara’s eyes at the insinuation that she would be arrested for defending herself and her boyfriend against two men that were trying to take advantage of her and Julie.
The bouncers entered the bar, leaving one behind. Sara turned to Evan, trying to mask the anger she felt moments ago. “Evan, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on tour?”
“I told you before I’d be home sooner than you thought. The tour ended last night. I wanted to surprise you. I guess the surprise is on me.”
“What?” Sara tried to think about Evan’s words. They weren’t making sense to her, but maybe that was the beer clouding her brain. She thought about what he said and what he walked in on. “Thank you for getting that guy off me.”
“Why was he on you? And why were you here? I thought you said you were going to hang out with Julie.”
“I was…I mean, I am.” She took a deep breath and launched into the story of how Julie convinced her to take another random road trip down to Atlantic City. She told him everything from the moment she showed up at Julie’s place to the moment he found Jimmy groping her on the dance floor. “I tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. No one seemed to notice me pushing him away.”
“I did,” Evan finally said. “I was searching the bar for you, and heard your voice. I turned around and saw you pushing some guy away. I guess he didn’t get the message, so I made sure he did.”
Sara buried her face in Evan’s chest. “I’m so glad you’re here.” Her arms wrapped around his back. “I just wanna go home.”
“I know me too.”
“So Evan, your tour ends in a couple of days,” Audrey said as she stared across the table. “Do you have any big plans for when you get back?”
Evan smiled knowing he would be going home to his new apartment, and to the woman he loved. “I’m going to surprise my girlfriend and take her out to a nice dinner to celebrate.”
“You mean she doesn’t know you’re coming home yet?”
“No, the last two weeks have been pretty busy for us, and never got around to telling her. I figured showing up at the apartment would be a nice surprise.”
Evan watched Audrey as her finger circled the rim of her wine glass. Her eyes were focused on him, causing an uneasiness between them that Evan had come to know as Audrey’s charm.
“I was talking to Mr. Waters the other day, and went over the numbers of your book tour.” Evan’s eyebrows rose with anticipation. This was the conversation he had been waiting for, the one where he would know if he was a success or a flop. “It looks like congratulations is in order. The tour proved very profitable.”
Evan sat in stunned silence. It was exactly what he was hoping to hear, but his mother’s nagging voice kept attacking his every thought. “Are you serious,” he finally asked.
“Of course I am. Once the tour is over, Mr. Waters and I will sit down to go over the final numbers. Once we have everything sorted out, we’ll send you your check.”
“So what happens next?”
“Well, that depends on you and the outcome of my meeting with Mr. Waters.”
“Me? Why does it depend on me?”
“For starters, we need to see if there are potential areas to market your book on the west coast and the mid-west. If there are, then we need to know if it would interest you to do another book tour.”
Another tour?
Things were happening fast for Evan, faster than he ever thought possible. “I-I’d love to.” The words left his mouth before he had a chance to consider where they would send him, how long he would be gone for, and how Sara would feel about him going on tour again.
“Great. I will let Mr. Waters know you are willing to go on tour again if needed.” Audrey continued to stare at Evan. “One more thing. Have you come up with any ideas or outlines for your next book?”
“I have a few ideas. I figured I would work on them when I get back to New York.”
“Wonderful. It looks like you may have a very profitable future.” She pinched the stem of her wine glass with her perfectly manicured fingers. She held it in the air halfway across the table. “May I suggest a toast? To your future, and the money you and I will make from it.”
Evan brought his wine glass to the air and clinked the side against Audrey’s. Hearing her say he had a profitable future was the final confidence booster he needed to rid his mind of his nagging mother’s voice.
***************************************************
The last day of the book tour ended early. Evan arrived at the hotel by four and began packing the moment he opened the door to his room. He was a four and a half hours from home. To him, it didn’t make sense to wait until morning to catch a flight. Being able to hold Sara in his arms, was the only thing Evan wanted, and he wasn’t going to wait a minute longer than he had to.
He waited until his bags were packed before arranging a rental car to pick him up from the hotel. Then he called Audrey to let her in on his plans. She wasn’t happy with his decision, more so about losing the money for his flight, but eventually she accepted his choice.
He waited another hour for the room phone to ring. The front desk called to let him know the rental car was there to pick him up. Evan was quick to grab his bags and race downstairs, taking care of both the rental car and checking out of his room at the same time. Once he was given the okay, Evan jumped in the driver’s seat, marked his destination on the G.P.S. and hit the road.
It wasn’t an easy drive. Driving into gridlocked traffic added an extra hour on the road he hadn’t accounted for. He waited until he was at a dead stop before reaching for his phone. He looked up Sara’s name and sent her a message as if he were checking-in like he was still on tour. She wrote back telling him she was going to hang out with Julie for the night. A look of disappointment registered on his face. He was rushing home to surprise her, and Sara was going out with Julie to go bar hopping.
Throughout the drive, he occasionally checked his phone. There weren’t any new messages, but saw she left the G.P.S. notification on her Facebook Messenger. Knowing Sara was in Jersey, he expected to find her in Clifton. Thoughts of the night they met swarmed through his head. It was as if fate brought them together that night. Maybe it was fate bringing them together again. He pulled to the side of the road, ready to check the navigation for the best route to Bliss, when he noticed Sara’s Facebook Messenger tell him she was in Atlantic City.
“What the hell is she doing there?” Better judgement would say to go home and confront her about it when he wasn’t tired and jumping to conclusions. But Evan wasn’t in the mood to let his good judgement interfere with what he wanted. He set the navigation for Atlantic City, and made a speedy U-turn.
With his foot pressed firmly on the gas, Evan swerved in and out of the lingering traffic, cutting his driving time in half. Of course he had no idea what he would do when he got there. There was no telling what hotel she was staying at or what club she was in unless she told him or if she messaged him from her Facebook again. Even if he did find Sara, what would he say to her? He pulled to the side of the road again, stopping just outside of the Tropicana. He took his phone from the console and searched Sara’s page. Fortunately for him, Julie had tagged her in a post telling him exactly where to find them.
He entered MurMur and stood near the bar, hoping to catch either Sara or Julie on one of the trips to buy a round. After twenty minutes, he caught a glimpse of a girl that looked like Sara, only she was dressed like a man-catcher; short skirt, revealing top, and sexy shoes. The woman took him by surprise and was gone, swallowed by the sea of people that crowded around the dance floor. He tried to move through the club, finding it increasingly difficult to move.
Frustration overwhelmed him. It took him five minutes to move five feet in the club. He was sure the woman he was following already found her way back to whoever she was with. There was no telling if he would be able to find her again. Coming to terms with his inability to find Sara, he decided to push his way back to the exit and go home for the night.
“Get your hands off me,” a woman shouted. The voice was masked by the music, but Evan faintly heard it.
Sara!
There was no doubt in his mind it was Sara’s voice. He didn’t know what was wrong, and didn’t care. He marched through the crowd with a purpose, bumping into some while pushing others aside. His eyes widened in anger as he hit the dance floor. He found the woman he saw at the bar earlier. It was Sara, and she was in the middle of pushing some guy away. The man’s hands groped her waist, her back, and her ass as he tried to pull her in close for a kiss. Anger consumed him. It didn’t matter how Sara ended up in that situation. All Evan cared about was some guy was pawing his girlfriend.
He clenched his fist, took three steps and pulled the man off Sara. Before the man knew what hit him, he was on the floor staring up at the swirling neon lights.
“Evan,” Sara gasped with a loving look in her eyes.
He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to take her in his arms, but the anger and rage that coursed through his body wanted to leave her there with the scum she was dancing with. He turned to walk away, finding another man, similar to the one he knocked down, rushing towards him. He moved to the side, striking with a right cross as the man staggered past him. Evan glanced back at the man on the floor. He was slow to get up, but knew things were about to get ugly.
He watched as Sara squared herself to the man she was dancing with, reared back and kicked him in the groin.
That’s my girl
, Evan thought while turning his attention to the man’s friend. Evan had never been in a fight before. He did his best to avoid confrontation throughout his life. This time, there would be no way out. He needed to be a man. He needed to protect Sara. He needed to use his anger to beat this guy within an inch of his life.
Evan closed his fists, poised to strike again until a massive hand grabbed him by the shoulder. “Alright; you’re outta here,” a bouncer said.
Relieved to be taken out of the club before either of the men he attacked had a chance to strike him, Evan went calmly with the bouncers. Sara was escorted out with him. They must have thought she was the cause of the problem.
Evan and Sara argued outside the bar. They were told not to go anywhere since the police were on their way. All Evan wanted was for the night to be over and to wake up in his own bed.
“I tried to fight him off,” Sara pleaded. “I tried, but he was too strong, and no one noticed.”
“I did,” Evan admitted. He noticed her when no one else did. He heard her calling for help when no one would listen. Now he wondered how much he would pay for following his heart.
“You don’t think they’re really going to arrest us do you?”
Evan moved closer to the door. One of the bouncers went back inside the bar. The other was talking to someone inside the bar, barely keeping the door open with his foot.
“The car is only a couple blocks away. If we run, we might get away before anyone notices.”
“What about Julie?”
“What about me,” a woman said as she stumbled out of the bar. Her eyes were half shut while she used the wall to guide her towards Evan and Sara.
“We got her,” Evan whispered. “Now, we have to go.”
“She can’t run like this.”
“You run; I got her.” Evan scooped Julie in his arms and started jogging down the block. He glanced over his shoulder to see Sara ripping her off her shoes and taking off at full speed after him.
They continued down until they were able to slip between the buildings. “Wait,” Sara breathlessly shouted. “What about Julie’s car. We can’t leave it here.”
“It’s fine, we’ll get it in the morning. Let’s get my rental and find a hotel to stay in for the night.” Evan continued down the block with Sara trailing behind. They arrived at the car within minutes and drove to the nearest hotel away from the boardwalk. Evan took the lead when they walked through the sliding glass doors. “Hi, can I get two rooms, preferably adjoining rooms if possible.”
The woman behind the desk quickly typed on the keyboard and shook her head dismissively. “I’m sorry; there are no adjoining rooms available.”
“Are there two on the same floor?”
“Afraid not.”
As angry as he was, Evan was not about to leave the girls by themselves for the night. If something happened, he needed to be close enough to help them. “Do you have any rooms with two beds?”
The woman typed the request into the computer. The corners of her mouth slowly turned up. “You’re in luck. We have one available with two full sized beds.”
It was better than nothing
, Evan thought. He looked back at Sara as she sat with Julie in the lobby. “We’ll take it.” He waited at the desk while the receptionist gathered the room keys. He took them from her and hurried back to the girls. “Come on; we got a room.”
They took the elevator to the fifth floor. Evan carried Julie to the door while Sara unlocked it. “You didn’t have to carry her,” she said.
“I’d rather make sure she gets to the room safely.” Sara opened the door for him and clicked on the lights. Evan slipped past her and placed Julie gently on the bed closest to the bathroom. It wasn’t an ideal room. The beds were very springy and dipped down several inches the moment someone sat on it. The pillows were thin and old unlike the kind he was used to.
Evan took the second bed. His eyes glanced up at a confused Sara as she tried to choose which bed to sleep in. He watched as she placed the shoes in front of the nightstand and slipped out of the dress she wore to the club.
“Evan, I…”
He held a hand up to silence her. “We can talk in the morning.” With a handful of sheets, Evan pulled them up to his shoulder and turned towards the window.