“You ugly freak,” Christine spat. “You’re going to regret this.”
The people around us turned to watch, finding amusement in Natalie’s predicament. Josh’s eyes were two menacing slits, staring at me with such hostility that a shiver rushed down my spine. In an instant, my instinct screamed at me to move away from him. He curled his hands into fists and took a step toward me.
He’s going to hit me.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Melissa threw herself in between us, stopping him. “Hold on! Don’t you fucking dare put a single finger on her! Do you hear me?!”
He looked like he was going to hit her, but then Natalie grabbed his arm and drew him away from us.
“Let’s go,” she bit out and laced her arm with Josh’s. “I don’t want to stay here even a second longer.” She gave Melissa a dirty look. “I won’t take a step into your trashy house ever again.”
Melissa clapped her hands, grinning. “Wonderful! Now you really made my day. You know where the door is. Off you go!”
I shook my head when they walked away, finally able to breathe normally. Phew. I couldn’t believe I poured a drink over Natalie. I fought, and I won.
I did this.
Oh, the victory felt so good!
“That was awesome!” Melissa high-fived me, sharing my joy. “You rock, girl!”
“Yeah,” Jessica agreed, smiling from ear to ear.
“You turned into Super Wonder Woman Sarah and kicked their asses!”
I looked at Melissa in amusement. “Super Wonder Woman?”
“Yes! You were totally hot and dangerous, and your eyes were flashing with some power and—”
“Okay, okay. I get it. I was awesome.”
“You really were,” Jessica confirmed.
“You were awesome, too,” I told Melissa. “Thank you for sticking up for me.”
“No need to thank me. I would do it again if needed.” She formed a deep frown. “They have some serious issues.”
I shrugged my shoulders, too deep in my alcoholic daze to dwell on it.
“Anyway, girls, I think we should forget about those idiots and drink something else! Let’s go to the kitchen.”
I wasn’t so sure about it anymore. Not after I saw Josh, Natalie, and Christine, which could mean that Hayden was here too. Melissa led us out of her living room before I could voice my doubts, and as we pushed through a large group of people blocking the way to the kitchen, I thought it would be better if I left. There was no way I could stay if Hayden was here.
We entered Melissa’s spacious kitchen, and I stopped in my tracks. It felt as if someone was squeezing my heart so hard and blocking my airway when I saw Hayden sitting on the kitchen island countertop kissing two girls.
A blonde wearing a mini skirt and a golden top was in between his legs, moving her hands over his chest while kissing his neck. He was leaning into the redhead girl sitting next to him, kissing her passionately with his hand positioned low on her waist, and I had to look away, extremely embarrassed of what I saw. An unpleasant feeling spread through my chest, and I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t bothered by it. I was just ashamed and disgusted.
Obviously, Hayden and Christine were in their breakup phase again.
“Those are Blake, Hayden, and Masen,” Jessica exclaimed into my ear, and I looked around. Blake and Masen were necking with some girls in the corner of the kitchen.
Just why did all of them have to be here, of all places?
I must get out of here. If any of them saw me—especially Hayden—they would create mayhem.
“Do they have any shame? Kissing like that with those girls? Look at Blake! That girl is straddling his lap and grinding against him! Why don’t they get a room or something?” Jessica continued, but I didn’t bother to answer, plotting our escape tactic.
I tried to even my breathing, my heartbeat too fast. I was about to tell Melissa that Jessica and I needed to go to the bathroom, but it was too late because Melissa didn’t even notice us stopping, on her way to the fridge on the other end of the kitchen.
There weren’t many people here, so if Hayden decided to finally break that long kiss he was sharing with the redhead, he would spot me immediately. Opening the fridge, Melissa glanced at us over her shoulder. “Sarah? Why are you still standing there? Come here!”
As if someone used a spell on him, Hayden immediately broke his kiss and looked in my direction. The shock on his face was evident as he took me in. He gave me a slow once-over, and I grew unusually hot, extremely self-conscious. The urge to run away was overwhelming.
“Jessica, come with me.” I swiveled around and caught her hand, hoping to hide us among all these people, but Hayden was always there to catch me whenever I tried to escape. We barely managed to get out of the kitchen, when Hayden took a hold of my arm, breaking my connection with Jessica, and dragged me after him. I glanced over my shoulder at Jessica, extending my hand toward her, but the crowd separated us and Hayden took me away.
Why couldn’t he just let me go?
He forced me inside a small bathroom underneath the stairs before I could protest and slammed the door behind him. I couldn’t believe him!
The panic rose in my chest when the darkness enveloped us, his body flush with mine. This room was too small for us two. His large frame was taking all available space with no way for me to break the contact between us. He turned the light switch on, and I blinked a couple of times to clear my blurred vision. He was staring at me in the way that paralyzed me, his eyes containing pure fire.
I was too aware of his body. I was too aware of how we touched and how warm and strong he was. His black jeans and shirt hugged his muscles all too tightly, revealing those perfect curves and lines of his body. He looked too handsome for his own good.
“What are you doing here? Who invited you?”
“I could ask you the same question,” I jeered at him, surprising us both with my alcohol-induced boldness.
I was confounded because my response didn’t further aggravate him. On the contrary, it slightly cooled down his anger. He looked at me with a newfound interest, and my gaze fell onto his separated lips. Had they always been so ample and kissable?
Kissable?
Oh hell no. That stupid thought didn’t cross my mind. It didn’t.
“You were always so weak and pathetic, and it was repulsive watching you crawl around and beg for mercy, but now all of a sudden, you think you can talk back to me like this?”
He placed his arms against the tiles, trapping me in between them. His smell mixed with his cologne, alcohol, and cigarettes did wonders to me. He wasn’t completely drunk, but his glimmering eyes indicated he wasn’t sober either.
“It’s only fair because you were torturing me for quite a long time. You deserve much more than that.”
His nostrils flared, his breaths coming out more quickly. “What did you just say?”
I was supposed to be scared. I should shut up, try to calm him down, or do anything that would help me get out of this place that reduced the whole world to only Hayden and me. Only we mattered.
No, I wasn’t scared. I was excited. I loved being this daring and saying what I’d always wanted to say. I loved seeing him react like this. What is wrong with me?
“You heard me well, or are you deaf, on top of your stupidity?” I used the exact sentence he said three months ago when he wanted me to twerk in front of the whole cafeteria, catching him off guard.