It's a Love Thing (14 page)

“
Pain in the . .
.”

“
I get it.”

“
So?”

“
I just . . . argh,” he
stomped off in frustration, but I caught up to him
easily.

The one and only benefit to being
small is the ability to easily travel through crowded
spaces.

“
You just what?” I
demanded.

“
I can’t.”

“
You can’t
what?”

“
I can’t tell you, so why
don’t we just leave it at that?”

“
Why don’t we not? What the
heck is up between you two? It’s like you're mortal enemies or
something.”

“
Or something,” he
grumbled.

“
It’s ridiculous,” I
declared.

“
You don’t
understand.”

“
Then enlighten
me.”

“
I . . .”

“
Can’t?”

“
Right.”

“
That’s also
ridiculous.”

“
You don’t . .
.”

“
Understand? We’re talking
in circles now, Lucas. Why don’t you try a different
direction?”

“
If I offer you some
friendly advice, would you take it?”

“
Depends what it
is.”

“
Stay away from
Jason.”

“
No, probably
not.”

“
I didn’t think so. I
should probably take you home now.”

“
Yeah, you probably
should,” I agreed.

The ride home was tense and the
silence in the car was nearly deafening. Finally Lucas decided to
grace me with some more words of wisdom as we pulled into his
driveway and he threw it into park.

“
Just be careful tomorrow.
Use your head while you’re at the club. Don’t be
stupid.”

“
What’s that supposed to
mean?”

“
Just remember what I
said.”

He climbed out of the car and without
waiting for me to do the same, headed off towards his house. This
time I opened my own door and cut across my lawn towards home,
still trying to figure out what had happened tonight.

*****

The next evening mom was at work
again. Good thing because otherwise she probably never would have
let me out of the house in what I was wearing: a red sequined top
over a denim short skirt with fishnet stockings underneath. For a
moment I considered if this was part of the ‘don’t be stupid’
advice that Lucas had given me, but shook it off. I had no idea
what he was talking about. He was probably just trying to mess with
my head, and I wasn’t about to let him ruin another night for
me.

Jason arrived promptly at eight
looking fantastic in a pair of tight jeans and another sexy button
down shirt. His hair was artfully mussed and he looked downright
delicious. I wondered if it would mess up all his hard work if I
kissed him right then. I decided not to risk it and settled into
the seat beside him instead. The drive into the city took less than
half an hour and it was still early when we arrived. The club
didn’t even open for another hour.

“
Why didn’t you tell me
eight was too early? You could have picked me up later.”

“
And miss spending extra
time alone together?” He looked aghast at the very thought of it.
“Never.”

A smile crept onto my lips. He was
charming in an entirely different way than Lucas.

“
So what are we supposed to
do for the next hour?”

“
I have a few ideas,” he
said, waggling his eyebrows at me.

What exactly was that supposed to
mean? The thought of kissing him came back to me and I wondered if
we could keep that up for an hour. Probably. Who was I kidding?
Definitely. At least an hour. Before I could make my move though,
he reached into his glove box and pulled out a glass bowl and a
small baggie.

“
Want some?”

Was he serious? Drugs? Right there in
his glove box?

“
Um, no thanks.”

“
Come on. It’ll help put ya
in the mood. I have a joint if you’d rather that.”

If it took drugs to put me in the mood
for this place then maybe Lucas had been right, maybe the club was
a bad idea.

“
I don’t think
so.”

“
It’s alright. I’m not
going to tell anybody. Here, just have a hit. You’ll like it. Go
ahead,” he insisted, shoving the bowl in front of my
face.

“
No. Thanks, really, but
I’d rather not.”

In fact, I’d rather get the hell out
of there. I pushed the door open and climbed outside.

“
Where are you going?”
Jason asked.

“
Just for a walk. I haven’t
seen the city yet. I thought I’d take a quick look
around.”

“
Hold on, I’ll go with
you,” he said, stuffing everything back into the glove box. “The
city can be dangerous at night. You shouldn’t be walking around by
yourself.”

He took my hand and led me down the
sidewalk toward a more populated street with wall to wall shops
along both sides. Most of them were closed, but there was still so
much to look at. We strolled up and down the street looking at
window displays and joking around. By the time nine thirty finally
rolled around all the awkwardness from earlier had been forgotten.
Jason was just so easy to talk to, so funny and laid back. I loved
being around him.

Despite arriving practically the
minute the doors opened, the place was already hopping. The only
lighting in the place was track lighting on the floor and flashing
strobes across the ceiling. It made it almost impossible to see,
and the music made it almost impossible to hear. It pounded out of
the dozens of speakers, sending a pulsing rhythm through my body.
It was more of the techno stuff that Jason loved to play in his
car. It was actually starting to grow on me and I swayed my hips to
the beat as Jason led me through the jam packed dance floor. We
pushed our way through hundreds of bodies all gyrating to the
music. At a back table we met up with Jenna and Kyle who were
already waiting for us.

“
Hey, guys,” I called
loudly to be heard over the music as we slid into the booth
opposite them.

Jenna waved with a smile and Kyle
nodded. Not exactly the spot for quiet conversation. A few minutes
later a woman in a half-apron approached the table and pulled out
an order pad.

“
What’ll it be tonight?”
she shouted.

“
Whiskey sour,” Jason
ordered and then turned to look at me.

Drugs, and now alcohol? Who did this
guy think I was?

“
Diet Coke,” I told the
waitress and Jason eyed me dubiously.

Once Jenna and Kyle had ordered their
drinks, both alcoholic as well, the waitress left without ever once
asking to see an ID. Interesting place. By the time the drinks
arrived the temperature in the room was skyrocketing and my shirt
was starting to stick to my back. The ice cold drink Jason passed
me was just what I needed. I gulped it down and Jason ordered me
another before pulling me out onto the dance floor. It started out
innocently enough but after a couple of songs Jason was inching his
way closer and closer. Where exactly did he think he was going to
go with that hand? Yeah, not there. Pulling away from him, I
excused myself to get my drink and plunked back down in the booth.
Kyle and Jenna took a turn out on the floor and we babysat the
table for a while.

“
So, how do you like the
place?” Jason asked as I sipped my second soda.

He'd ordered another whiskey and was
well on his way to polishing that off as well.

“
It’s cool.”

Dorky, I know, but I really didn’t
know what else to say about the place. It wasn’t the most relaxing
venue on earth.

“
I knew you’d like
it.”

He was leaning in so close to talk to
me that his lips brushed my ear as he spoke. He shifted closer and
suddenly his tongue was there instead. Alright, hold your horses,
pal.

“
I’m going to go use the
restroom,” I told him, sliding out of the booth.

“
Alright, hurry
back.”

My head was starting to feel fuzzy as
I pushed my way through the crowded hallway. I was pretty sure the
lights and noise were starting to make me light headed. How can
guys even ask why girls go to the bathroom in groups? Have they
ever seen the line? It was about five miles long, but I waited even
though I didn’t really need to go. I just needed a break. Besides,
if you waited until you actually had to go then you’d never make it
in time.

A month later I tossed my balled up
paper towel in the overflowing trash can and headed back out to the
table. Jason was still waiting for me, as was another glass of
soda.

“
You were almost out so I
ordered you another. Diet, right?”

I nodded. That was nice of him. After
my brief respite in the bathroom, the club was feeling pretty
stifling again. When I saw Kyle and Jenna headed back our way I
gulped the rest of my drink before Jason could pull me back out on
the floor again.

We danced together for a long time,
slowly getting closer and closer to one another until he was
practically on top of me. His hands were getting friendly again but
this time it didn’t feel quite so grabby, it actually felt kind of
nice. I leaned into him, my head spinning and pressed my lips to
his. He responded eagerly, pulling me closer, wrapping his arms
around me and strategically placing his hand on my butt. I didn’t
mind.

“
Come on,” he said into my
ear after a few minutes of making out right there in front of
everyone. No one seemed to notice.

I followed him willingly
into a dark hallway. I had no idea where it led and I really didn’t
care. All I cared about was when Jason pushed me back against the
wall and lowered his lips to mine again. His hand traveled south,
caressing my thigh, but when he started fiddling with the hem of my
skirt, Lucas’ voice unexpectedly rang clear in my mind.
Don’t be stupid.

“
Wait, wait.” I pulled away
from him and steadied myself against the wall. “I’m feeling dizzy,
I think something’s wrong with me.”

“
That would be the vodka,”
Jason said off handedly.

“
What vodka?”

“
The vodka I put in your
Coke to help you to loosen up. Come on, admit it, it’s better this
way isn’t it? More fun?”

“
No. No, Jason. It’s not
‘better this way.’ I feel sick. I want to go home.”

“
Alright fine,” he looked
disappointed; maybe even a bit angry. “I’ll take you
home.”

“
No, you’ve been drinking.
You can’t drive.”

“
I hate to point out the
obvious, but so have you, honey. How else are you going to get all
the way back home?”

“
I don’t know. I’ll figure
it out.”

“
Don’t be
stupid.”

Don’t be stupid. Now he
sounded like Lucas. Well, too late. Leaving was probably the
only
smart
thing I
had done all night.

“
Let me just tell Kyle
we’re leaving and I’ll take you home.”

“
Don’t bother. I’m not
getting in a car with you.”

“
Mel . . .”

“
Don’t!”

“
Fine. Good luck getting
home tonight, then.”

With that he turned his back on me and
disappeared into the writhing crowd. Now what was I supposed to do?
My head was swimming and my vision was blurry. How much vodka had I
had? My stomach churned as I pushed and shoved my way towards the
front door. Where was I going? How was I ever going to get home? I
didn’t have money for a cab and there was no way I could call my
mother. She would kill me on the spot if she knew where I was. I
was such an idiot for letting Jason talk me into this. By the time
I reached the door tears were already burning streaks down my face
and I couldn’t stop them. I panicked. Shoving open the heavy door,
I stumbled outside and nearly fell right into the arms of some
unsuspecting stranger coming down the street. He gripped my arms to
steady me and I looked up into his face. It wasn’t a stranger at
all, it was . . . Lucas?

“
Lucas? What are you doing
here?”

He hesitated for a moment before
sighing. “I came to check on you.”

“
Me? Why would you do
that?” I asked, slurring my words slightly.

The sidewalk seemed to tilt beneath my
feet and I stumbled several steps to the side before Lucas steadied
me again. Apparently heels and alcohol don’t mix.

“
Have you been drinking?”
he asked.

“
Not on
purpose.”

“
Not on . . . Are you
crying?” he asked, taking a closer look at me.

To my humiliation I could still feel
the tears sliding down my face and I tried to wipe them away, but
it was too late.

“
What happened?” Lucas
stiffened. “What did he do to you?”

“
Nothing, nothing. Please,
can you just take me home?”