“At what?” I ask with confusion. None of this makes sense.
“At not falling irrevocably in love with you.” He says simply, as if he were giving a lunch order. I stand frozen in time, processing the words I just heard.
“You can’t love me. You’ve only known me like a day. You’ve spent more time fucking me than talking to me.” I double down my efforts in denying his words.
“I know more about you than you think. I’ve known you longer than you could imagine. It’ll all makesense with time, I promise.” He says as he backs away to the door. He unlocks it and panic rises.
“Ghost, wait! What do you mean?” I spit out as he opens the door and holds it ajar while looking back at me.
“Do you trust me?” He asks with such honesty I could cry.
Without thinking, I answer, “With my life.” It’s true. I truly believe he would never really hurt me. Regardless of our history, I trust him in a sick kind of way.
“Then wait for me. Don’t forget about me. Okay?” He almost begs.
“Never.” I say honestly. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
He smirks below his mask and offers a curt nod before disappearing behind the closing door. I stand pressed against the sink, taking in his words. Taking in this fucked up situation that leaves me wanting more each time. The question is: when will it be more than I’m willing to accept?
Chapter Eleven
The Bachelor
James’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. I don't know how long I’ve been in this bathroom recovering from Ghost’s words. I can’t make sense of any of it.
“Everly!” I hear my name again. I look to my left to find James standing beside me. He has a hand on my arm.
“What? Sorry.” I say dismissively.
“We have been looking for you everywhere. I saw you taking off toward the bathroom. I thought you drank too much but when you didn’t return we got scared. What happened to you? You look like a hot mess.” Lucas cuts in from somewhere behind me.
“You look like you just got railed.” Ryon laughs to my right. I stare at him. Clearly too long because his face begins to match mine. Serious expressions take over their faces.
“Ev, I’m only going to ask this once. Were you raped tonight?” James says softly. He gulps. Fearful of my answer.
“No. I wasn’t raped, J.” I say matter of factly. Shaking my head at the thought, I move away from the sink where Ghost did anything but rape me. What we did was not rape. It felt more like a declaration of love, than anything. A heavy need for his presence takes over my heart. It clenches at the distance between us, wherever he is now. James nods softly, accepting my truth.
“Okay. Would you like to go back out to the party? No pressure. I can call a car to come get you.” He says kindly while rubbing my arm. The contact is comforting but he’s the wrong person to be doing it.
“Yeah, I think exactly what I need is to go get black out drunk on the dance floor. Play me some good tunes?” I ask gently. He smiles and nods.
They help me towards the door and before I know it there is a bottle of whiskey in my hand as I dance in a sea full of people.The song changes to “MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT” by Elley Duhé and I beam at James from my location. He knows I love this song. I clap to the beat and throw my body around in swift but coordinated movements as the chorus plays. Pulling the bottle to my lips I take large gulps. Soon my vision changes and I feel the effects of the amber liquid. I feel him before I see him. I look in all directions, searching for the presence. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a large black figure standing feet from me. Turning to take in the image before me I see this person wears a hooded cape. I see his face and begin singing along to the song, pointing at him periodically. Blake makes his way through the crowd until he reaches me. His arms come out and grasp my forearms. The contact settles any lingering nerves I have had. He begins dancing with me and I laugh at the unintimate intimacy of this moment. The connection you can have with someone when it doesn’t have to be hidden is magnetizing. I feel free with Blake. Go anywhere, do anything, and none of it has to happen in secret or in the early morning hours. It’s refreshing. He spins me around by my fingertips. It brings me back to our first dance. I smile at the memory. Maybe, just maybe, Blake could be more to me than an ally. With this, I grab his head and pull him to my lips. It’s soft but needy. It sucks the air from my lungs.
”Well, hello to you too.” He yells over the music. I laugh in response.
The song shifts to “Nasty” by Russ. Our bodies collide as we grind against each other. I'm not sure if it's just the alcohol or if it's him, but the skin to skin with this man is sensational. His hands roam my body as I turn around and press my ass against him. We bounce back and forth to the rhythms. Other patrons come close occasionally, rubbing against us. Between the heat, the alcohol, and him it feels like a sauna in July. I motion towards the bar and he nods in agreement.We make our way through the crowd and find a place to settle. Ryon notices our presence and walks up quickly.
“Hey guys, what can I get for you? Shots? Water? A cab?” He winks at the end and I roll my eyes at him. Looking at Blake, I beckon him to go first.
“Whiskey, neat. Thank you.” he smiles curtly at Ryon.
“You guys are a match made in heaven.” Ryon says while laughing and shaking his head. Blake looks on in humorous confusion.
”Whiskey is my drink of choice too.” I state to which he nods in response to this new information.
Ryon comes back with two glasses of whiskey. Blake presents a black Amex card, holding it toward him. Ryon shakes his hand dismissively towards it.
“It’s on the house for keeping our girl safe. Also, she'd probably kill me for trying to charge you for drinks.”
