Secrets, Lies, and Summer Skies

Chapter Six

Maybe I shouldn't have hung up, but I didn't appreciate being spoken to like I was a child. Grayson wasn't my father or my boyfriend. Sure, he could worry about me, but I could also make my own mistakes. Besides, it wasn't like I was an idiot. If I'd not been sensible about the issues in the area, I wouldn't have parked my car so safely. I also carried pepper spray in my purse just in case anyone came at me. I'd never needed to use it, but I felt safer knowing that it was within easy reach.

I dumped my phone back into my purse and returned to the club. I dodged the guard's hands on the way. He didn't complain, he just laughed. He probably thought I was playing hard to get or something. Gross. I pushed him out of my mind. All I cared about was finding Jenny so I could tell her I wanted to leave. I hadn't been happy about how the night had gone in the first place, but Grayson had put me in a worse mood. A small, bratty part of me wanted to stay out even later just to spite him. I knew it would work, but ultimately, I'd be the one to suffer for staying in the club until the early hours.

It hadn't been fifteen minutes, so I waited by the bar and waved off anyone who approached and offered to buy me a drink. Even if I hadn't been driving, I wouldn't have wanted it. I'd heard too many horror stories about people being drugged to accept anything a bartender hadn't put into my hands. As the minutes ticked by, I grew worried about Jenny's whereabouts. If I tried to call, she wouldn't hear her phone, just as I hadn't when Grayson had blown mine up. While the thought of returning to the crush of bodies didn't appeal, I knew it was the only way to find Jenny.

The task wasn't as easy as I'd hoped.

Lights continued to flash overhead, and the moments of darkness obstructed my vision. People shifted like birds in the sky. They moved fluidly and closed in around one another, twisting and turning. Paths that were once open soon closed, and I soon lost my bearings in the fray. When I did eventually find her, it was immediately clear why Jenny had forgotten our arrangement to meet at the bar. Her arms were around some guy's neck while he held her hips and basically humped her through their clothes. From the way her head lolled, and her eyes had lidded, I deduced she was too drunk to know what she was doing. The man also wasn't her type. Jenny was into burly dudes and the person holding her was tall, skinny, and had long hair tied back in a low ponytail. I didn't like to judge people on appearance alone, but the scary facial tattoos set me on high alert.

I had to get her away from him.

Elbows jostled me as I forced my way through the crowd. My gaze never left the pair. I knew that if I looked away, I'd lose them again, and the entire ordeal would start over. The situation appeared worse up close. Jenny was barely awake. In fact, the only reason she was still upright was that the man had supported most of her weight.

I tapped my hand against her shoulder and said loudly, "Jen', we gotta go."

The man's grip tightened. "Can't you see she's having a good time?"

I ignored him and tugged on Jenny's arm. "I'm not kidding, Jen'. We're leaving."

The man turned her away and out of my reach. His gaze slithered over my body and found a home over my breasts where he stared without any attempt to hide his interest. The man's lips twisted into a smile that made my skin crawl. "If you're jealous, baby, you can party with us. I know a few guys who'd love to get to know you."

Bile rose in my throat. "Take your fucking hands off my friend," I snarled. "I'm not asking, I'm telling you. Now."

If Grayson had been the one giving the order, the man might have been intimidated. When it was a twenty-one-year-old woman with little muscle to speak of and silly little high heels, not so much. Rather than get into an argument, he opted for the simplest solution to my presence. Namely, to thrust out his hand until his palm struck my chest. The shove knocked me off balance, and I was soon on my backside on the filthy club floor. Pain shot through my leg, and I reached down towards my ankle.