“Okay,” I say on an exhale. I’ve opened up to them about some of my issues with touch, and Megan suggested we come up with a code to communicate with each other in situations like these. It suddenly reminds me of having a safe word with Daddy Dom.
Nope. Not going to think about him and mess up my mascara. I’ve been doing so well. Frick.
Rylee must sense the change in me, and she stops walking. “Emma, what’s wrong?”
I look up at the sky, blinking rapidly, hoping the cool fall air will stop the tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. “Sorry, something just reminded me of someone and—” I cut myself off from saying more, realizing I haven’t told them anything about Daddy Dom.
“Do you need a minute?” Megan asks, placing a hand on my shoulder. I glance at her hand. “Sorry, is this okay?” she asks, suddenly pulling it back.
“It’s fine. The touch thing is just with men. I think? Actually, I’m not sure. It could be anyone trying to get in my pants.” I’m rambling, my nerves getting the better of me.
“You’re hot, but you’re not my type, so I’m not trying to get all up in that,” Megan says, waving a hand in front of my crotch.
We burst into laughter.
“Thanks, I needed that,” I say, swiping a finger under my eye.
“Anytime. Comedic relief is my specialty,” Megan says, laughing.
Rylee turns to me, drawing my focus. “We don’t have to go to this party if you don’t want to.”
“I want to,” I assure her. “I want to have normal college experiences. Go to parties, have a drink, all that. I don’t want this hang up preventing me from living my life.”
“Maybe it’s like Cinderella!” Megan squeals. “You have to try on a bunch of shoes until you find the one that fits. You just have to let a bunch of guys touch you till you find the one that doesn’t make you want to throat-punch someone.”
“Cinderella didn’t try on a bunch of shoes, just the one. The prince had to go through a bunch of women before he found her. Totally not the same,” Rylee says.
“Close enough,” Megan chirps.
“Also, you do realize that in this scenario you’re suggesting our friend let a bunch of randos touch her?” Rylee adds.
“Metaphorically, not literally.” Megan groans.
“Do we need to go over the definition of those words again?”
Their banter always makes me laugh, and I’m thankful for the distraction. “I want to go, and I’m fine. I’ll scratch my nose if I get uncomfortable, but I’m not trying on any shoes tonight.”
We resume our walk to the frat house, but as soon as we are inside, I get a bad feeling. The vibes are off, but I shove it aside not wanting to ruin the night for my friends. I just made this big speech, and I want to show them that I can do this. I can handle hard situations.
I make my way to the kitchen to grab us drinks, and when I return to the living room, I can’t find my friends among the crowd of people. They were just here. I continue moving through the house on my search. They wouldn’t just abandon me, but there are more people here than I thought there’d be, and my anxiety is making it feel like the walls are closing in on me.
The door to the deck is propped open, and I step outside, my hands full with our drinks. I hear voices below, so I walk down the steps to the patio but it’s empty.
“Is this the infamous Emma?” a voice behind me asks.
When I whip around, I’m face-to-face with the guy that knocked me down when I was opening the door to Professor A-hole’s classroom last year.
“How do you know my name?” I ask nervously.
“Oh, you’re famous around here.” He circles me like a shark about to devour its prey.
He comes up behind me, getting close to my ear. I can feel his hot breath on my neck as he speaks, and a chill runs down my spine.
“Wanna go upstairs? I’ll make it really good for you. I don’t even care if you bleed on my sheets.” He snakes a hand around my waist, covering my stomach as he pulls me against him. Bile rises in my gut, and my heart rate increases when I feel his erection press against me. I need to get out of here. My elbow connects with his gut as I throw the drinks behind me and run.
“Come back here, you little bitch.”
I take off around the corner of the house, running as fast as I can to get away from him. I can hear him shouting behind me, but I ignore it, squeezing my fingers into my palm, balling them into a fist as I pump my arms and legs harder, scaling the slight incline to make it around the house.
