Page 143
Story: Sin City Lights
She fully expected some sort of question, but Adam said nothing, and his silence was much more powerful than words.
He began to rock her gently, nuzzling her hair.
Crickets and frogs.
And moonlight.
And Adam, sheltering her from harm.
She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.“I took your pillow.”
“It’s OK. I’m using yours.”
He kissed her hair.
She heard the question in his calm silence.
She’d never had a soul to share her burden. Could she share it with him? It required her to step into vulnerability, and it would allow him to see deeper inside her, but instinct told her he’d still be there after he knew.
It was a stunning realization.
“I told you about my scholarship at UF,” she began.
He nodded.
She swallowed.“I put everything into getting that. I was so tired of drifting, not having anything, feeling like nothing, having no one. I thought if I worked hard enough, I’d get away from all that. Better my life, myself.”
Find someone to love and marry.
She paused. He nodded again. She tried to snuggle even closer, even though it was impossible.
“I was determined to graduate with honors, so all I did was study. Guys asked me out, and I said no. Just like in high school, straightA’s were more important. Sometimes, my roommates convinced me to go out, saying I’d burn out if I didn’t take a break once in a while. That’s how I met Bart.”
He stiffened a little.“Danner.”
“Yes.”
She wasn’t surprised that he’d retained the name she’d blurted. Adam’s memory was a veritable steel trap. “I was a sophomore. He wasn’t a student. I learned later that he pretended to be, just to pick up girls in college bars. He seemed nice. His father was a local lawyer who had a huge law firm. His dad’s billboards were everywhere. Everyone knew who he was. So I began to date him. Nothing serious, I didn’t have time for serious. Things seemed to go well, but then…”
He kissed her temple.
“He started pressuring me for sex. At first, he hinted, but then he got more insistent. I said no. One night, he got aggressive, but I stopped him. He said he respected me for that.”
As she had done a thousand times, she asked herself if there’d been any clue of Bart’s real character. Again, she couldn’t find a single one.
“That night, he picked me up to go to dinner. He said he forgot his wallet, so he turned around. I wanted to wait in the car, but he insisted I go inside to meet his parents.”
Under her breasts, she felt Adam’s arm muscles spasm. His breath came faster in her ear, but he said nothing, and she was grateful. If she heard pity in his voice, she would start crying, and she was determined not to. Bart wasn’t worth her tears.
“There were several nice cars in the driveway, and the house was huge, so I believed him when he said it was his.” She swallowed hard.“It wasn’t. The house belonged to his friend, who was there, waiting with another guy.”
Her throat suddenly felt as if she’d swallowed sand.
She also felt their hands on her as they dragged her, screaming, to the bedroom. She felt the sweaty palm, stinking of cigarettes, across her mouth. She felt their bruising grip on her arms, the slap on her face, the rough hands opening her legs. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, blocking out the rest.
She turned and buried her face in Adam’s neck.“It was my first time, Adam,” she whispered.
“Christ.” His arms were steel.
He began to rock her gently, nuzzling her hair.
Crickets and frogs.
And moonlight.
And Adam, sheltering her from harm.
She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.“I took your pillow.”
“It’s OK. I’m using yours.”
He kissed her hair.
She heard the question in his calm silence.
She’d never had a soul to share her burden. Could she share it with him? It required her to step into vulnerability, and it would allow him to see deeper inside her, but instinct told her he’d still be there after he knew.
It was a stunning realization.
“I told you about my scholarship at UF,” she began.
He nodded.
She swallowed.“I put everything into getting that. I was so tired of drifting, not having anything, feeling like nothing, having no one. I thought if I worked hard enough, I’d get away from all that. Better my life, myself.”
Find someone to love and marry.
She paused. He nodded again. She tried to snuggle even closer, even though it was impossible.
“I was determined to graduate with honors, so all I did was study. Guys asked me out, and I said no. Just like in high school, straightA’s were more important. Sometimes, my roommates convinced me to go out, saying I’d burn out if I didn’t take a break once in a while. That’s how I met Bart.”
He stiffened a little.“Danner.”
“Yes.”
She wasn’t surprised that he’d retained the name she’d blurted. Adam’s memory was a veritable steel trap. “I was a sophomore. He wasn’t a student. I learned later that he pretended to be, just to pick up girls in college bars. He seemed nice. His father was a local lawyer who had a huge law firm. His dad’s billboards were everywhere. Everyone knew who he was. So I began to date him. Nothing serious, I didn’t have time for serious. Things seemed to go well, but then…”
He kissed her temple.
“He started pressuring me for sex. At first, he hinted, but then he got more insistent. I said no. One night, he got aggressive, but I stopped him. He said he respected me for that.”
As she had done a thousand times, she asked herself if there’d been any clue of Bart’s real character. Again, she couldn’t find a single one.
“That night, he picked me up to go to dinner. He said he forgot his wallet, so he turned around. I wanted to wait in the car, but he insisted I go inside to meet his parents.”
Under her breasts, she felt Adam’s arm muscles spasm. His breath came faster in her ear, but he said nothing, and she was grateful. If she heard pity in his voice, she would start crying, and she was determined not to. Bart wasn’t worth her tears.
“There were several nice cars in the driveway, and the house was huge, so I believed him when he said it was his.” She swallowed hard.“It wasn’t. The house belonged to his friend, who was there, waiting with another guy.”
Her throat suddenly felt as if she’d swallowed sand.
She also felt their hands on her as they dragged her, screaming, to the bedroom. She felt the sweaty palm, stinking of cigarettes, across her mouth. She felt their bruising grip on her arms, the slap on her face, the rough hands opening her legs. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, blocking out the rest.
She turned and buried her face in Adam’s neck.“It was my first time, Adam,” she whispered.
“Christ.” His arms were steel.
Table of Contents
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 90
- Page 92
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 156
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185