Page 45 of The Dance

The three of us clinked the glasses together and then threw the vodka back.

I took the glasses, threw them into the wash bin, and walked in the opposite direction of where Stacey waited. I wasn’t going to talk to her. I had nothing to say. Walking up to Conrad, I said, “Mind helping the brunette at the end of the bar?”

He turned. “You mean your girlfriend?”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I spat.

He held up his hands. “All right, whatever. Let’s close this bitch down.”

* * *

Three shots later,I’d almost forgotten Stacey was waiting at the end of the bar. Conrad said nothing about me taking the shots with the two girls, Emily and Millie—fake names for sure—nor did he kick Stacey out. She had waited and waited, and I’d ignored her and ignored her, and fucking ignored her. Though I knew she was there, I pretended to not care.

“Ready to bounce, ladies?” I asked, coming around to their side of the bar. I could feel the vodka running through my veins. I was feeling good and had every intention of leaving without giving Stacey attention.

“Blake,” Stacey called as the women hooked their arms through each of mine. I didn’t stop. “Blake!”

Emily, the hot one, stopped. “She’s calling for you.”

I closed my eyes and turned to face Stacey.

“Can we talk?” she asked.

“Do I know you or something?” I questioned, not moving, and the girls were still on my arms.

“Please?” she begged.

I wiggled free from the women and looked Stacey directly into her brown eyes. Lowering my voice, I whispered, “Go. Fuck. Yourself.” I started to turn, but vodka wasn’t good for my tongue. “Or better yet.” I pointed my finger in her face, my voice rising a few octaves. “Go fuck some old geezer with saggy balls and leave me the fuck alone.”

Turning, I grabbed Emily’s and Millie’s hands and walked out of the bar. “Where to?”

“Um,” Emily said. “We took a rideshare here.”

“Doesn’t matter. My truck is in the parking lot.” I tugged them to my truck, and we climbed in. I didn’t bother to turn and check to see if Stacey had exited the bar or was watching us.

I didn’t care.

Not long after I pulled out of the parking lot and toward the hotel the women were staying at, red and blue lights flashed behind me.

Just like on my eighteenth birthday.

14

Stacey

Five MonthsLater

It seemednothing had been going right in the last year except I’d graduated and received my degrees.

Ever since the night of the attack, I felt like nothing mattered anymore. Molly helped me a lot because, besides Blake, she was the only one who knew I’d been raped. Since I had enough money saved from previous dates, I’d stopped dating for the rest of the school year. I stayed in our apartment, only going to class or whatever I needed to do for dance, and then back home. Even though I was going to class each day, I wasn’t there. At least, my mind wasn’t. I had a hard time focusing on the circulars, and I wasn’t doing any of my assignments. I’d almost failed my final exams in every class.

The only thing I looked forward to was dancing. It was my escape and the only reason I made it through, but since graduating, I’d been to a few auditions for backup dancers and never got the job.

So, I went back to Sweethearts.

I’d always thought that after college, I would move back to San Antonio, but since I had to keep dating for money, I couldn’t chance my parents finding out. I told them I loved Houston and living with Molly. It was almost true.

Dating again was hard at first. I had Molly come with me and hide in the shadows to make sure the men were who they said they were. I also had her wait and watch to ensure nothing happened to me. Once we had our three dates and I was comfortable with the daddies, I would go on my own, but since that night, I hadn’t accepted a date with someone younger than sixty. Of course, some older men were fit and could overpower me if they wanted, but I hadn’t come across one I was worried about.