Wynter's Horizon (10 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Wynter—The Storage Closet

Jim’s was packed the first Saturday night back to school. When I tried ordering drinks at the bar, some guy from the rugby team a good seven inches taller than me edged me out. I glanced around, looking for an opening, and saw Beck sitting alone. He hadn’t been here in weeks, not since my failed attempt at asking him to our formal. Still embarrassed about that night, I squeezed in between two bar stools close to him. I leaned over the bar, motioning to Jim. He walked right by the rugby guy, and I felt a small flush of pleasure.

“Hey, girl.” He bent over and gave me a quick hug and kiss.

“A round of French hookers, please.”

“Coming up.”

As I waited on Jim, I caught Beck looking at me, a quizzical expression on his face, one eyebrow lifted, and a crooked smile. It burned me that he had ditched me that night. I hated that I told him about the accident. I never talked about it with anyone, and then I had gone and almost cried to him. I barely knew him.

“Hello, Wynter.” At least he remembered my name, which made my heart skip—that and the way he said it with his slight accent.

“Hey,” I answered. I didn’t want to seem too friendly. I glanced down at my phone and noticed the picture we had given Jim laying on the bar.

“Why do you have this?” I asked, picking it up. Beck looked at me.
God, those eyes were nice.
I wondered how old he was. He had faint laugh lines.

“I was just looking at it.”

“Oh.” I couldn’t resist adding, “that was the night you didn’t come to.” He looked uncomfortable, his cheeks flushing red.

“I…” He seemed to struggle for words.

“…ran away,” I finished. He probably thought I was a bitch. At the moment, I felt like it. It pissed me off that Jason had been right about him not liking me.

He smiled nervously. “Yes. I … don’t … like blood.” It was a plausible explanation but had some holes.

“Well—” Before I could finish, Jim came back and poured out the shots. The girls descended, and I passed them out. Someone knocked into me, catapulting me toward Beck. He reached out, grazing my hip in an effort to keep me steady.

“Easy,” he murmured, withdrawing his hand quickly.

“Sorry,” I gulped out, finding my balance. I threw the shot back and another unclaimed one. As I turned to go, he grabbed my wrist. His fingers were cold. I gasped, and he let go. “What?” I asked, staring at him. Stubble graced his jaw and it made him look tough. My heart skipped a beat.

He muttered something quietly and shook his head. “Nothing.”

I left then, joining the girls at the pool table. When I scanned the bar, I caught Jason staring at me from the darts board. I wondered when he’d arrived. Jim’s hadn’t been this crowded since the beginning of school.

“What’s with Captain Terminator?” Annie asked. She had nicknamed Beck that weeks ago before my failed date request, when we’d been in the furtive-look mode.

“The guy in Terminator had shorter, spikier 80’s hair,” I answered to avoid Annie’s question.

“Tell me you didn’t rent that over break,” Julia interjected, tipping the remains of her beer into her mouth.

“No. My brother did.” Which was the truth. Of course, I didn’t add that I’d watched it more than once. I laughed self-consciously and ran my fingers through my hair, giving my head a shake to fluff it up. I glimpsed Beck still looking at me, as if there was something to say. I pictured his hand on my wrist, and a chill ran up my spine. I finished my beer and set the empty bottle down on a vacant table, heading for the bar.

Jason intercepted me on the way. I had to admit, he looked good in his navy shirt and jeans. He smelled like Irish Spring soap. “Aren’t we hanging out tonight?” He stepped into my personal space.

“Um…” This was a new development.

“You know what today is, don’t you?” I racked my brain for special occasions.

“It would have been my two-year anniversary with Abby.”

My stomach dropped. I remembered her excited call to me after their first date: “…he took me to the Carnegie Bar, and we had oysters … he can really kiss…” Guilt washed over me and my chest tightened. The waitress passed with another round for our table, and I grabbed one off her tray, downing it in the hopes of obliterating any more feelings.

“Come on. Keep me company. It’s hard for me.”
Hard for him?
I was the reason she was in the ground.

I hesitated. “Aren’t you going with that sophomore? The one you took to the formal.” He made a face as if she wasn’t important. “What about the guys?” I asked, trying to stay in neutral territory.

“They’re leaving after the game.” I saw the girls still by the pool table. We were going, too, heading to some party on campus. Jason grinned and edged closer, staring at my sweater where it clung to my chest. “Come play darts with us.” He smiled genuinely now, that rare sweetness I hadn’t seen in a while.

“I should go. I don’t want them to leave without me.”

Jason grabbed my arm, pressing me lightly against one of the tables. His fingers were not as cold as Beck’s but also not as gentle. I eyed the bar, but Beck had his back to me, and his friend Quinn had shown up.

“I missed you. Don’t leave me alone tonight.”

Julia came by and interrupted us. “Jason. You missed class yesterday.” Jason and Julia had a friendship rooted in sarcasm, but I knew she didn’t trust him or like how he treated me.

“Hey, Julia. I’m taking it pass fail. Where’s Brian?”

“On campus with his friends.” She turned her attention back to me. “We’re getting ready to go.” I nodded. “Are you staying?” She glared at Jason sideways.

He smiled sarcastically back at her. “Wynter’s agreed to be my darts partner.” I lifted my eyebrows at her as if that was an answer.

She pulled me closer. “Whatever you do, just don’t take him home and sleep with him.”

“I know. I know. I won’t.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

She stared at me, her look a mix of concern and frustration. “All right then. Have fun.” She handed me a fresh beer and left. We wandered over to where the guys were joking and throwing darts. I watched the girls departing, and my stomach lurched as Annie glanced back, her disapproval obvious.

Jason wrapped his arm around me and turned me to face him. “I’m glad you stayed.”

Jack looked over at us. “Yeah, Jason could use a good darts partner. I’m whipping his ass.” I pushed the girls out of my mind and, pulling up a bar stool, hopped up to watch the game. Jason came over between throws to talk about our history class and campus gossip. As soon as I finished my beer, he ordered another round. It was easy to fall into our old patterns. He could be charming when he wanted. It didn’t take long for him to start talking about last summer, brushing up against me, trailing his fingers on my arm, leaning on me between throws, and all the while making it casual. My phone buzzed. Julia’s text scrolled across the screen.
U ok? At Hrknss. Fun. Meet us.
I clicked on
K
and hit send.

“Hey, we’re heading back,” Jack said after his last throw.

Jason flashed a grin. “I think we’ll stay. I’ve got my car. See you back there.”

Andrew and TJ followed Jack out, TJ throwing an obnoxious smile over his shoulder.

“Do you want to go?” I asked as we polished off our beers. Jason shook his head, handing me another one.

“Why? Do you?” He slid his hand up my thigh. I pushed it away.

“I don’t care. I’m just running to the bathroom. I can sneak the beer out if you want to go.” I slid off the stool, feeling surprisingly dizzy. That second shot may have been overkill. I made my way across the bar, definitely buzzed and dangerously close to drunk. I repeated my promise to Julia in my head. After all, I didn’t even know if he was dating that girl. I left my unfinished beer on the sink and opened the door. Jason blocked my exit. I stared at him surprised. A girl brushed past me into the bathroom, pushing me out and into Jason’s arms. Grinning, he leaned down and kissed me.

“What are you doing?” I whispered. He pressed me backward and the doorknob nudged my lower back.

“What do you mean? Don’t you want this?” He brushed his lips up my neck, stopping just behind my ear. My skin sizzled.

“No.”

“No?” He teased, his tongue sliding downward.

“Well … maybe … but not here in the bar. Aren’t we heading back?” I gasped. The combination of alcohol and Jason—and my body’s physical reaction—made it hard to breathe. He slid his hands around my body, backing me down the hallway through an open door.
Please, God,
I thought,
don’t let this be the men’s room.
I looked around frantically. I could see rolls of paper towels and cleaning products. The storage closet.

“Jason … stop,” I slurred. “Let’s wait until we get back to campus.” I sucked my breath in as his hands found my bra and unclasped it. He cupped my breast, and I bit my lip.

“I missed you…” he mumbled. His hand skimmed down my skin toward my waist as his tongue and lips slid up my neck to find my mouth. A familiar and welcome ache throbbed within me. I struggled to catch my breath, vaguely thinking of making him stop. But it felt good to have him want me, to feel his hands on me, his mouth on mine. He knew what to do—to make me forget everything and everyone else. As I felt his fingers tugging at my zipper, I gave up thinking.

***

He pushed away from me, looking for his shirt while I scanned the floor for my thong. The room was small, cramped, and dirty. I found it under a bunch of paper towel rolls that we knocked off a shelf. Gross. I threw them in the garbage. Pulling on my jeans, I wondered what to say to Julia. And Jim.

Already dressed, Jason moved toward the door. He turned back, his body halfway through, grinning. “Hey, Wyn?”

I peeked through my hair as I placed all the rolls back on the shelf. “Yeah?”

“You are a guy’s dream for sex.” I narrowed my eyes. “Want me to ask your English guy for you?” I pitched a roll at the doorway, but he was already gone.

Chapt
er Twenty

Beck—Aftermath

Something cracked.

“You just ripped off the bottom lip of the bar,” Quinn said casually.

I nodded, not taking my eyes off Jason as he walked quickly and purposefully through the bar. I turned the piece over in my hands and wondered if I could throw it and pierce his brain without harming any of the other patrons.

Jason leaned down as he passed a table of guys. “Gentlemen, observe,” he said, nodding toward the bathrooms, and exited the bar. I listened intently, already suspecting what he intended. Sure enough, a car engine started, revved, then faded. He had left her behind. I twisted the piece of the bar in my hands and wished I hadn’t hesitated. There were a group of girls playing pool and laughing about her. Anger churned through my gut, rapidly escalating.

“Hey, David Banner,” Quinn said, “Are you going to metamorphose right here?”

I took a deep breath, trying to regain control, focusing my sight on the edge of the beer mug. When I felt the anger abate, I lifted the glass and drained it in one gulp. Nothing would be gained by losing control now.

She came out then, her cheeks flushed red, her lips swollen. She dropped her eyes as she passed me, and I could hear her heart drumming rapidly. Grabbing her coat out of the corner pile, she paused, and then fussed through the heap some more. Clearly searching for something, her eyes darted this way and that. She looked frazzled. I could see her lips moving quickly. “I didn’t break my promise. I did what I promised. I didn’t take him home to have sex. No, instead I had it here. What is wrong with me? Where the hell are my gloves? Please, don’t do this to me, not now. How could I do this?”

It was somewhat endearing, her mumbling, but it
tore at me, too. I could see her gloves from where I stood, tucked under one of the fake animal furs worn by the pool table girls. She finally gave up, moving toward the door, and I wondered what she would do when she realized he had left her. I grabbed my jacket off the back of the bar stool.

“Where are you going, and what in God’s name do you think you can do?” Quinn asked. I motioned to Jim, reaching into my wallet for two hundreds. Jim arrived, looking at me expectantly.

“This just came off.” I explained, handing the sizeable hunk of wood and money over.

His shocked expression amused me. “It came off?” He stared at the broken piece, then at the sheered section of bar. The counter was a solid piece of oak.

I pointed to the corner joist, as if this could explain the break. “Just came off.” Before he could say anything more, I left. I could hear Quinn’s grumbling, but I paid no heed.

Chapter Twenty-One

Wynter—Taxi Ride

Of all the possible scenarios I could imagine for this night, sex in the storage closet was not one of them. I felt everyone’s eyes on me as I walked toward the door, though I tried to persuade myself it was guilt making me see things. I reached for the door handle, wondering just how I’d let my life get so fucked up. It should have been me, not Abby, that night. At least she would have done something more, like make the National Team. I was screwing in a bar storage closet.