Emma controls her breathing.Observe observe observe.He’s pale-eyed behind the glasses, with dark brows and hair. Not unattractive, but there’s a fullness to his lips that she finds unnerving. He has a dimple in his chin, and smooth cheeks from a recent shave.
He leaves a gentlemanly space between them, in a way that would make a regular girl feel reassured. No grabby hands like Snakeskin Guy.
He gives her a casual smile. ‘Cool place, right?’
Emma glances back quickly, searching out Bell near the bar. No dice. She nods on automatic. ‘I guess. I don’t usually go to nightclubs, but this is cool.’
He tilts his head. ‘You don’t like clubs?’
Painful experience has taught her the right ways to respond – the pliant, necessary reactions. She shrugs placidly, wrinkles her nose. ‘I like to dance. I just don’t like … all the noise and people.’
She hates that she knows what he wants, that she is so good at producing the required gestures and facial expressions. She tamps that feeling down.Focus.
He draws a pack of Virginia Slims from his shirt pocket. ‘Cigarette?’
Clever targeting – the brand is popular with women. Emma declines gracefully. ‘No, thanks.’
He lights one for himself with a Bic from inside the pack. He has bitten nails, short damaged cuticles. ‘So, I guess if you don’t like clubs, you don’t come here so often.’
‘It’s my first time,’ Emma acknowledges.
The College Killer grins, exhales smoke. ‘Me too.’ He holds up his wrist, and the nightclub stamp glows in the darkness. ‘First time getting my wings. What’s your name?’
This is not your first time.Emma smiles, replies to a lie with a lie. ‘Kelly.’
‘Peter.’ Even now, he doesn’t reach over to shake, or do anything overtly pushy or aggressive. He cranes to look toward the bar. ‘Wow, your brother is taking a while.’
This guy is good.It’s no problem at all for Emma to let some of her nervousness show. ‘Yeah, he might have seen his ex. He knew she was going to be here tonight.’ She rolls her eyes. ‘I told him to hurry up, too – I’m thirsty.’
Peter sets his bottle of Evian on the table. ‘Here, take my water. I only sipped out of it once, I swear.’
It’s the first time Emma sees a flash of something in his face: a glinting, vulpine look behind his glasses. Now she has to pretend she hasn’t seen it. Her heart trip-hammers in her chest.
I think he buys them a drink.That was wrong. He gives them the Evian – innocuous, unthreatening. What could be dangerous about water?
Emma feels his hunger on her skin. This is the choice: take the water, risk the drug she’s sure is swirling inside, or block his play, maybe scare him off.Don’t blow it now.
Then she remembers – she’s not alone. Her choice is not about the water. Her choice is whether to trust Travis and drink, or withhold trust and delay.
Emma reaches for the bottle with a convincing smile. If she can find a way to keep the bottle, Peter’s fingerprints will be on it. ‘Thanks.’
She unscrews the cap, brings the glass lip to her mouth. Her hand is shaking, but she doesn’t think Peter will notice in the gloom of the club. Then it’s too late for second thoughts: the water is cool, refreshing, with a bitter aftertaste.
Peter is leaning forward now, his glasses opaque in the purple light. ‘You remind me of someone.’
Emma sets the bottle back on the table, closer to her. She’s unable to prevent her voice from becoming deadpan. ‘Really? Like a famous actress?’
She watches the lines of his face as he examines her dispassionately. ‘I don’t think you’d know her.’
‘You’re right,’ Emma says, aware that he is comparing her to an image of her own sixteen-year-old self, lost to time. She fights the urge to throw up. ‘I probably wouldn’t know her.’
She checks her sensations to see if the drug is taking effect, but there’s too much adrenaline in her system. Her pulse is thumping, and everything inside her is skating on a thin, sharp edge.
She needs to keep this conversation going. ‘Are you from Pittsburgh?’
‘Born and bred,’ he replies with a smile. He finishes with his cigarette, steps on it. ‘You too?’
‘Ohio.’ The truth slips out, unbidden. ‘I just moved here to my brother’s place for college.’
