Waiting on the Sidelines (Waiting on the Sidelines #1)(82)

I started to stand up and Tyler just looked at me with puppy dog eyes. “One more? Just one more?” he begged, poking his lip out to exaggerate the act.

“OK, but last one,” I said, tapping his nose. I was definitely feeling that last drink.

This round went down to the last few cards and finally the tall guy with dreadlocks at the head of the table stood and announced his victory. We all drank and I made it most of the way through mine, cheating a little and leaving my cup on a side table and standing up to leave the game.

Tyler kept his word and we walked back into the kitchen. I grabbed a handful of pretzels and nibbled on them, my stomach growling a little with hunger. I noticed a giant fire pit in the back yard and motioned to Tyler that I wanted to see it.

“Oh yeah, Jake’s house is pretty sick,” he said as he led us onto the back patio where even more people were gathered. The fire pit was pretty amazing. It was a long wall of fire, more accurately, and it was warm to stand by. I just stared at it, noticing the hot of the blue and the bright orange of the rocks it was coming from. My head was turning on me a little and I stumbled a bit backwards as Tyler caught me.

“Whoa, you’re buzzing a bit, aren’t you?” he chuckled. “Let’s get you inside.”

I laughed a little at myself, too, and followed him back inside through a side patio door. We walked down a long hall, still full of people. He leaned back into one of the doors that opened into a dark room. He reached for my hand and grinned a bit, asking me to come in. Still spinning in my mind and fighting to completely erase the face Reed had made when he taunted me with Stephanie, I joined him.

We sat next to each other on the edge of a bed, and I let my hands feel the softness of the comforter. “Whose room is this?” I asked, not really sure why I cared.

“It’s Jake’s,” he smiled, leaning in and kissing at my neck. I let my mind wander and get lost in his attention for a while. He reached behind me while he kissed at my neck and slowly leaned me down against the bed. Lying next to me, he propped his body up sideways and leaned over me to kiss me harder on the lips. It was a kiss I had grown used to, so by natural reflux I grabbed his hair and pulled him in a little closer.

His hands started to run up my leg, raising my skirt a little and roaming over my hip to the top of my dress. He moved his hand to the back of my dress to work down my zipper a little and then slowly slid his hand back to my skirt. This was making me nervous. I kept kissing him, but I was no longer lost in it. And when he reached for my underwear, I instinctively reached for his hand and pushed it away.

This made him stop instantly. Looking at me, he squinted his eyes a little. “Not OK?” he asked, almost offended.

I just shook my head no. “I’m not there yet, I’m sorry,” I smiled, embarrassed.

Tyler shrugged a little and started kissing me again as he did before. We continued to kiss for several minutes when his hand slowly found its way to the same spot and I scooted my body backwards and blocked him with my hand again. “Tyler, I said no,” I was more forceful now. And despite the small bit of alcohol flowing through me, I was now filled with adrenaline, too.

Tyler was still moving towards me, almost acting as if he didn’t hear me. I fought against him, pushing with my arms and legs as he tried to work his body over me. He was strong and the weight of him was growing more forceful and agitated. Panic was filling me and though I wanted to scream, I couldn’t seem to make a noise. I didn’t want anyone coming to my rescue, I wanted out of here on my own. I was mortified.

Without flinching, I brought my knee up swift and hard to his groin, leveling him into the fetal position so I could stand, grab my purse, straighten my dress, and get to the doorway.

I didn’t look back, but I heard him swear at me a little as I moved through the hallway. The music in the background was being drowned out by the heart beat pounding and the sound of blood flowing in my ears. I had no idea how I was going to get out of here, but I was going to.

No one noticed as I walked through the front door and then made my way to the street. I started to jog a little and realized my strappy heals were making it hard. I pulled them off and held them in my hand so I could run faster, my feet stinging from the cold of the sidewalk. When I made it to the gates, I jumped and waved, trying to trigger them to open. When they wouldn’t, I laid my body flat on the roadway and slid underneath, tearing the front of my dress a little and smudging my face with the oil from the blacktop.

I started running down the main roadway towards the more crowded neighborhoods. I made it a few blocks and then I thought I saw a car leave the gated community so I ducked into a side street and crouched behind someone’s landscaping. My hands were shaking so much it was hard to get the phone out of my tiny purse to dial. When Sean answered, I felt some of my panic finally release.

“Sean, please. I need your help,” I’m sure I sounded petrified.

“Nolan? What’s wrong? Where are you?” I heard the concern in his voice, and I couldn’t deny that I wanted him to be worried.

“Tyler. He tried…” I stopped. I didn’t know how to finish that, but I did know that things weren’t going in a safe direction when I left that house.

“Nolan, did he force you?” Sean sounded enraged.

“No, no! I left. I got away, but I need you to come get me, Sean. Please? I’m so sorry to ruin your night with Becky,” I was shaking more now, my voice cracking.