The front door of The Keep opened then, startling my attention in that direction. Theo, a guy I’d seen around a few times, ambled onto the porch and sniffed the air. “Fuck! It’s cold as balls out here.”
Ginger Baldwin followed out behind him with a guy that I guessed she was going home with based on the way they were hanging on each other. “Your balls are cold?” she asked with a giggle. “Is that a normal thing?”
“My balls aren’t cold,” her boyfriend of the night piped in, as if the idea would turn her off. “You’ve got a problem with your anatomy.”
“Har har.” Theo adjusted himself. “My anatomy is fine. Shall we whip them out and compare?”
“You’re always trying to get me to whip it out. Are you sure you’re not trying to tell me something?”
Theo huffed, angrily. “You know what? Fuck off.”
I lowered my head and eased into the shadows on the side of the steps. Casual socializing wasn’t my forte when all the participants were sober, much less when some were as drunk as these obviously were. I wasn’t in the mood for talking to anyone at the moment, anyway.
Unfortunately, the movement must have caught Theo’s eye. “Who’s that over there?”
I pulled out my phone and pretended to be texting someone, pretended not to be listening to them, but I could feel their eyes on me.
“I know her. She’s in my statistics class,” Ginger said quietly. Then louder as she came down the stairs, “Hey, Bree. You okay?”
“Yeah.” I pocketed my phone. “Just waiting for my escort.” Like a loser. With no one to walk her home like the cool kids. I’d managed to drag my roommate to one of the early parties, but it hadn’t been her scene. Besides, Sheri and I weren’t that close, for no other reason than that our schedules didn’t match up and she had a boyfriend who occupied her time.
Ginger smiled a little too widely, and I could imagine her thinking, thank god, I didn’t really want to deal with you, so I’m glad I don’t have to, while she kindly said, “Awesome. Glad you used the app.” She followed her boyfriend to his car parked in front of the house.
Her escort, like a gentleman, opened the door for her, then called out to his friend still standing on the bottom step. “Theo, you coming?”
Theo ran both his hands through his hair and shrugged. “Nah, I’m going to walk.” But instead of stepping down to the sidewalk, he strode over to me. “First, I’ll look out for Sabrina while she waits. That’s cool with you. Right, Bree?”
I didn’t know the guy except from having seen him at previous parties. The offer was odd and out of place. “It’s really not necessary.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ginger’s date said, standing with the door open on the driver’s side of the car. “Shouldn’t be out here alone. You can never be too careful.”
I wasn’t alone. There was a whole houseful of people behind me and an escort on the way. But if Theo felt like a good scout to wait with me and if it gave Ginger and her guy an easy way to get rid of their third wheel, so be it. “Right. That’s true. Thanks.”
If Theo thought I was going to be chatty, though, he had another think coming.
The car had just barely taken off when I realized it wasn’t chatting that Theo was interested in.
“Sabrina,” he said, inching closer to me. Closer than I liked. “You’re a lot prettier than you let on. I’m sure you get told that all the time, don’t you?”
“No. I don’t. Thank you, but.” I pulled on the back of my ponytail and turned my head from him to look at the curb. The problem with the escort service was it was understaffed. Especially on Saturday nights. There was no telling how long it would be before it would get here. Maybe I should have waited inside after all. It wasn’t too late to change my mind.
“Why do you hide all that pretty?” Theo reached his hand out and tugged at the belt of my coat, pulling it open.
“Excuse me?” I turned my head sharply toward him and yanked my coat back from him, but he wouldn’t let go.
“I bet you have a gorgeous body too.”
“Theo, thank you, but I’m uncomfortable with what you’re saying. And what you’re doing.” He was drunk. That was all. He was just being playful.
Except he wasn’t just being playful. He stepped closer. “I don’t really care if you’re comfortable with what I’m saying, Sabrina.” His breath smelled faintly of beer, but his words weren’t slurred. He was in complete control of himself. He knew what he was doing.
I tried to step around him, but he put a hand up on the wall behind me. I had nowhere else to go. I’d made a mistake when I’d ducked into the shadows earlier because now I was in the corner where the stairs met the house, and Theo was blocking my escape.
“Theo. Please.” I swallowed the ball at the back of my throat.
He sniffed, the second time I’d heard him, either from the cold or from snorting, I wasn’t sure. “Please what?” he said as if he really didn’t have any idea what I was asking.
“Let me go.”
He feigned consideration then shook his head as if he was sorry he couldn’t comply with my request. “Look.” He pulled his thumb along my bottom lip, which quivered under his unwanted touch. “I don’t want to draw this out, so here’s how this is going to go—I’m going to fuck you. You can either make it easy or you can make it hard. Either way, we both know who has the power here.”
I didn’t even think. I just opened my mouth and started to scream. “Hel—!”
Theo was ready for me. He clamped his hand over my mouth—cutting me off before I could get any real sound out—and grinned from ear to ear. “I was actually hoping you’d choose the hard way. I like it when girls struggle. It will be better for you too. I’ll come a whole lot faster.”
“Fuck you,” I said, muffled against his claw. And though I hated giving him what he wanted, though he was at least six feet tall and probably two hundred pounds, though I had no chance in hell at getting away from him, I fought back. I pushed against his shoulders with all my strength. I kneed at him. I wriggled. I cried.
Theo only chuckled. “Just like that, baby.” He pressed his body in tighter against me, using his thighs to keep my lower body from squirming. With his free hand, he undid his pants and drew out his cock.
I started crying harder. I’d seen a penis before. I was a virgin but not a prude. I’d had a high school boyfriend. I’d given him blowjobs and handjobs and he had done enough to me in return that I wasn’t even sure my hymen was still intact.
But looking at Theo’s cock made me want to throw up. It had to be the ugliest thing I’d ever seen. Everything about it was disgusting. I didn’t want it anywhere near me. Definitely didn’t want it inside me.
I had to get out of this.
I brought my hands up to his face and scratched as hard as I could. Scratched until I drew blood.
Theo cursed and let go of his dick so he could wrestle my hands down instead. When he had them pinned tightly under my breasts, he moved his other hand so it covered my nose as well as my mouth.