Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE ESCAPE CLUB, “WILD, WILD WEST”
Gabby
Friday night, Ben impatiently waited in the hall for Olivia and me to finish getting ready for the party.
“I look like a hooker,” I said, standing in front of the full-length mirror after Olivia borrowed her friend’s Clairol Benders to use on my hair.
She finished the look by giving me mall bangs with her singed curling iron and a half bottle of hairspray. Then she painted my face in shades of blue, purple, and hot pink makeup, and dressed me in a short denim skirt with black tights, leg warmers, heeled boots, and a Van Halen T-shirt tied at the waist.
“Gee thanks, Gabby. I was going to say you look like me with shoulder-length brown hair. But now I know how you really feel.” She pulled on her tan, suede fringed boots.
It wasn’t fair that she got to wear jeans.
“You know what I mean. You can pull off this look. I can’t.”
“You won’t know until you try.” She relentlessly sprayed me down with her heavy, musky perfume.
“Stop!” I coughed and waved my hand in front of my face.
She giggled. “Let’s see what Ben thinks.” She opened the door.
He lumbered to standing and brushed off his backside while glimpsing at me. “What the fuck, Gabbs?”
I froze.
Ben rarely cursed in front of me. Maybe the occasional “damn” or “shit,” but I honestly couldn’t remember hearing the F-word come from his mouth.
“Doesn’t she look hot?” Olivia gushed.
“She looks like?—”
I interrupted him by clearing my throat. “I look like Olivia, only not as pretty.”
“Oh, stop.” Olivia accepted the compliment while swatting my shoulder.
My attention remained glued to Ben, daring him to say another word that might offend her, make me cry, or all-around ruin the night.
I looked like a whore; he didn’t have to say it. Had my dad seen me, he would have dragged my butt home to Devil’s Head, locked me in my room, and arranged for the rest of my higher education to take place at an all-women’s college.
“Here.” Olivia pulled on the neck of my shirt.
I jumped as she planted a condom in my bra.
“Always be prepared.” She winked at Ben, but he looked ready to murder someone.
“Let’s go, kids.” Olivia strutted toward the stairs.
I closed the door as Ben waited for me. “I’m not going to use it. And you don’t need to tell my dad. This wasn’t my idea, and you know it.” A tiny yelp escaped as I took my first step in the heeled boots and my ankle buckled.
“This is ridiculous,” Ben grumbled, catching me before I ate it.
I adjusted my skirt that wanted to ride up my ass, and Ben peeled away the stray hair that was stuck to my makeup.
“ My Gabby is stunning—always the most beautiful girl in the room. I don’t know who this Gabby is.”
“Except Olivia. She’s prettier,” I murmured, because I not only believed it, I knew it.
Ben wrapped my arm around his so I wouldn’t fall again. “ No exceptions.”
“Come on, you two,” Olivia called.
I gazed up at Ben, not sure I heard him correctly, but he kept his focus on Olivia as we made our way to her.
Since Olivia was the only one who had a car, she drove us to Matt’s house. His address was still on my arm, but the bangle bracelets that Olivia loaned me made the inked area less noticeable.
“If his girlfriend is there, you need to be nice. Nobody likes a catty person. If you’re nicer than his girlfriend, you’ll be the one he thinks about in the morning.” Olivia delivered her pep talk while parking along the street near his house.
Sitting by myself in the back seat, I pulled at my skirt. It was awfully short.
“Gabby’s always nice,” Ben said, getting out of the car and opening my door.
I stepped onto the curb and adjusted my skirt again, but it wouldn’t go any lower. Then I shot him a nervous smile and whispered, “Thank you.” I appreciated his vote of confidence.
Again, he wrapped my arm around his so I didn’t fall on my face. “Just take off those stupid boots when we get inside.”
“She needs the practice,” Olivia said.
I nodded nervously. Yes, I needed the practice. Yes, I needed to remove them if I didn’t want to kill myself.
Before we reached the driveway filled with cars, the rhythmic bass of “Wild, Wild West” thumped, reverberating through my body. Inside, people were packed shoulder to shoulder. Cigarette smoke filled the air, along with deafening music and people yelling over it. Olivia clasped Ben’s hand, pulling him toward the kitchen. He glanced back at me. I smiled and mouthed, “I’m fine.” As I bent over to remove my boots, someone bumped into me, sending me to the floor on all fours.
“Whoa. Careful, that’s my friend,” Matt said, sliding his hands into my armpits to bring me back to my feet where I wobbled in the boots.
Oh my gosh!
The denim miniskirt slid above my butt. Thankfully, black tights covered it, but I was nonetheless mortified. As I shimmied it back into place, Matt pulled a chunk of hair-sprayed bangs out of my face.
“You okay?” he yelled over the music.
“I uh, was trying to take off my boots.”
He shook his head. “No need. It’s better if you keep them on so no one steps on your toes.”
Was it better to risk spraining an ankle while falling on my face or have someone step on my toes? It felt like a toss-up.
“Glad you made it. Come on, I’ll introduce you to Julianne.”
So much for hoping she couldn’t make it.
“You look different,” he said as we weaved through the crowd.
I gripped his arm for support like when I learned to roller skate and needed to hold on to Ben because he was great at it and never let me fall.
“Olivia loaned me this outfit and did my hair and makeup.”
“It looks good on you. And I’m not just saying that because I’m drunk. But I’m pretty fucking drunk.” Matt laughed, shooting me a grin before opening the sliding door to a weathered deck filled with people huddled around two kegs of beer.
I released him, and he hugged the back of a long-haired brunette, burying his nose in her neck and wrapping his arms around her.
My heart tripped like it, too, wore wobbly heels and could fall and get injured at any moment.
She turned, planting a big kiss on Matt’s lips.
“This is Gabriella,” Matt said with a slight slur to his voice as he stole her beer and took a long swig. “Gabby, this is Julianne.”
She looked like Brooke Shields with her big hair, striking blue eyes, and chiseled jawline. I died a little.
“Oh, the preacher’s daughter.” She offered her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
Yep, preacher’s daughter. That was the reputation I was going for in college.
I shook her hand and accepted my lot in life with a slight nod that matched my tiny smile. “You too.”
“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked. “I know you’re not twenty-one, but I won’t tell anyone if you have a beer. There’s also pop in the kitchen. Whatever you feel comfortable having. No pressure. Oh, and snacks. We ordered twenty pizzas or more. Please eat something.”
Ben was correct; I was nice. But dang it! Julianne was nice, too. It wasn’t her fault I loved Matt. Nor was it her fault that I took on thousands of additional dollars in debt to go to college out of state. Still, I had no intention of feeling bad for loving her boyfriend.
“Pop and pizza sound awesome. Thanks.”
“Can I get you anything, babe?” she asked Matt, pressing her hand to his cheek.
He leaned into her touch. “I’m good. Thanks.” Then he grabbed her butt and kissed her at the same time.
I blushed with envy.
She pulled away and rubbed her lips together. “Let’s go.” Julianne led me into the house.
With the help of a couple of walls, and briefly leaning into a few strangers along the way, I made it without incident.
“I don’t know how you walk in those boots. I’ve never been comfortable in heels,” Julianne said, handing me a plate, then opening the lids to pizza boxes. She stacked the empty ones in a pile, then tossed abandoned red cups into the trash bin.
Her aversion to heels and her tidiness immediately earned my respect. I would have done the same thing in her shoes. But I wasn’t in her cute white canvas sneakers, as she pointed out.
“They’re my roommate’s boots, along with the rest of my outfit. She thought I needed to fit in tonight.” I set one piece of pizza on my plate and lifted a second to my mouth.
Julianne opened a can of Sprite for me. “I bet you don’t drink a lot of caffeine.” She handed it to me after I set my pizza on the plate.
“Did Matt tell you that?”
Guys didn’t talk with their girlfriends about other girls who they almost kissed. That made me reevaluate our date night. Was Ben right? Did Matt not almost kiss me?
“My father isn’t a preacher,” she said, “but I was raised in a strict house, religiously speaking. No caffeine. No unclean meat. No swearing. No sex before marriage. No using the Lord’s name in vain.”
My heart sank. We were bonding. I wasn’t allowed to bond with Matt’s girlfriend and steal him from her. Why couldn’t she be awful and catty so I could be the nice one who he wanted to take home to his family?
“Right?” I didn’t wait a second to solidify our connection. “How’s the no-sex-before-marriage thing going?” Yep. I basically asked her if she’d had sex with my future husband.
It obviously wasn’t a deal-breaker. After all, my oldest, slutty sister took the honor of robbing his virginity. Still, what if Julianne was saving herself? And what if that wasn’t as appealing to Matt? And what if I was willing to give him say … second base, all in the name of manifest destiny or a good old case of God’s will?
Julianne laughed. “By the end of the night, I’ll be so drunk I can hardly stand. I’ve already had unclean meat.” She looked around at the people in our vicinity and leaned in closer to my ear. “And I’ll be screaming God’s name with Matt balls deep in me by midnight.” She fanned herself and giggled.
I pretended to wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, but I was really hiding my gasp. She wasn’t like me after all. Matt made the same mistake of falling for another heathen like Sarah.
“Oh my gosh, I’m going to miss so many things about him, but the sex is very close to the top of that list.”
I cleared my throat. “W-what do you mean?”
Julianne frowned. “I’m moving to California. Transferring to UCLA at the semester. My mom’s moving out there, and since she and my dad split, she hasn’t been doing so well.”
“Sorry to hear that,” I said before taking several gulps of my Sprite.
She held a hand to her ear. “What?”
It was so loud.
With a jerk of her head, she turned, and I followed her back outside.
“I said?—”
Before I could repeat my condolences for her situation, Matt grabbed her face and kissed her. There was so much tongue involved, I nearly lost the contents of my stomach. They were experts at licking peanut butter from a spoon.
“Baby, you’re so drunk.” She giggled as he moved his lips to her neck.
“Just so fucking horny,” he mumbled over her skin.
It’s like I wasn’t there, but I was there. Right there. Yet, they ignored me and everyone else on the crowded deck as they groped each other. So I took another bite of my pizza, slowly chewing it while watching them. How could I turn away? And why wasn’t everyone else watching them?
Oh yeah, they were all drunk.
I wasn’t trying to be rude, but I had nowhere to go, so I took notes on how he liked to be kissed. How she touched him. And what noises she made that drove him wild. When his hand snaked up her red sweater, I stopped mid-chew. His other hand gripped her butt while she kissed his neck. That’s when he made eye contact with me.
ME!
Could I have been a bigger freak, just gawking at them?
She whispered in his ear, and he removed his hand from her shirt. Then they laced their fingers together and brushed past me toward the door.
“It was nice meeting you,” Julianne said. “Get more pizza. There’s plenty.”
Before I could respond, Matt pulled her into the house. When I craned my neck to look for Olivia or Ben in the crowd, something wet penetrated my shirt.
“Oh shit,” a tall guy wearing a baseball cap said.
I looked down at his beer soaking into my top and right through to my bra as well. Everyone could see the outline of said bra, so I quickly set my plate and pop can on the railing and pulled the material away from my skin.
“I’m so sorry,” he said with a laugh that didn’t feel as apologetic.
I offered a fake smile. “It’s fine.” I stumbled again in the stupid boots as I stepped toward the door, but thankfully I recovered without landing on the ground. Most everyone ignored me and my drenched shirt as I wormed my way through the throng of drunk people.
“Hey, how’s it—” Olivia cringed when she saw my shirt.
“Where’s Ben? It’s time to go.”
She shrugged with a Diet Coke in her hand. “He found some guy who’s a music major, too, and I think they went out front because it’s so loud in here,” she yelled. “Go get cleaned up while I look for him. The bathroom is upstairs.” She pointed toward the split-level stairs.
At the top of the stairs, there was arguing coming from the room next to the bathroom. It was Matt and Julianne. Despite it being none of my business, I leaned toward the door to hear better.
“Maybe your mom is only thinking of herself,” Matt said. He dragged out each word.
“You’re drunk,” Julianne replied.
“So are you. Maybe if you’d sober up, you’d see that putting yourself first isn’t always bad.”
“I hate it when you get like this.”
“Well, I hate that you’re fucking leaving me!”
I jumped at Matt’s outburst.
“Grow up! Not everything is about you.”
They were just making out. What happened?
“I thought we wanted this. If you loved me like I love you, it would be about us, not just me. Christ, Jules … you’re making me into the enemy so you don’t feel guilty about ending things.”
“I’m done. This is over. You can try to make me feel bad for taking care of the person who raised me, but that’s on you. Go find someone who thinks you’re the only person who matters in the whole world.”
“Good riddance, babe. Don’t call me when you figure out your mom is fucking messed up.”
“Screw you.”
I stumbled onto my ass when Julianne suddenly flung open the bedroom door and stormed out. She stopped for a few seconds, eyeing me with confusion while she wiped her tears. Then she ran down the stairs.
“FUCK!” Matt yelled.
Before I could find my feet, he stepped out of the bedroom, stabbing his hands through his hair. And just like Julianne, when he saw me, he paused.
“I uh …” I scrambled to my feet, tugging at my skirt. “I was, um … on the way to the bathroom and she came out and I fell back. But not like it was her fault. And I totally didn’t hear anything …”
Matt squinted at my shirt, so I glanced down, forgetting about the beer. I pulled the wet cotton away from my chest. “Someone spilled their beer on me. I was just going to clean?—”
“Come on,” he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the bathroom, then kicked the door shut behind him. “Take off these fucking boots,” he said like he was mad at me or the boots.
I gasped when he lifted me onto the vanity. His bloodshot eyes met mine for a second before his gaze homed in on my wet T-shirt. I pulled the material away from my skin again. He lifted one of my legs and unzipped my boot, slowly removing it while staring at my chest. “We broke up,” he murmured before removing my other boot.
“I’m sorry.”
Matt let my boot drop to the floor. “That’s life,” he murmured.
“She uh … she was really nice.” My voice shook.
“I’ll get you a clean shirt,” he replied just above a whisper, but he didn’t move. Instead, he lifted my shirt above my head so quickly, I didn’t have time to think, let alone stop him.
Ohmgoshohmygoshohmygosh!
I covered my bra with my arms, and his drunken gaze returned to my face. He had the saddest expression I had ever seen. “I have the worst luck with women.”
What was I supposed to say? Even fully clothed, I would not have had a suitable response.
“You’re the prettiest one,” he said before wetting his lips.
Not only were my arms covering my breasts, they were preventing my heart from breaking through my chest. Matt was intoxicated, and I should have skedaddled, but the man of my dreams had me ensnared.
“Sarah and Eve were pretty like,” he twisted his lips, “conventional pretty, but nothing special. But you have this tiny mole on your cheek. And from a distance, it looks like a cute dimple.” He smiled. “And your eyes are mesmerizing and full of …” He blinked heavily. Yes, he was so drunk, but I pretended he wasn’t.
“Lashes so long.” He tried to touch them, but he nearly poked my eye. That made him grin. “And another tiny mole”—his thumb caressed along my cheek toward the corner of my eye—“right here. You’re just so very, like a lot … really pretty without all this stupid makeup.”
I was embarrassed by our close proximity with my shirt off yet amused by his fumbled and uncensored words.
I withdrew from his touch, looking for space, clarity, and an escape route. “You’re drunk,” I said with a nervous chuckle.
He bobbed his head in contemplation while curling my hair behind my ear on one side. “I’m not not drunk.” He laughed. “But I still know what I’m fucking talking about.” His gaze dropped to my chest, and he narrowed his eyes for a second before stepping backward and pinching the bridge of his nose while bowing his head. “Shit. I took off your shirt. That was wrong. I’ll get you one of mine. God, what was I thinking. I’m uh …”
“Nope, um … it’s fine. Well, I know I have to go. My ride is waiting for me. You’re not in a good place or sober. And uh …”
Matt ran his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. I’ve had way too much to drink.”
I hopped off the counter, but as I bent over to pluck my shirt from the floor, the condom fell out of my bra. I quickly snatched it and my shirt from the floor. When I stood, Matt gave me a look. He saw the condom.
My eyes were ready to pop out of my head.
The corner of his mouth quirked into a tiny smirk. “Gabriella Jacobson.” He clicked his tongue and slowly shook his head. “Aren’t you just full of surprises?”
I tossed the condom into the garbage by the toilet and pulled on my shirt in record time before grabbing Olivia’s boots and running out of the house.
“Whoa! Where are you going? Olivia just went back inside to look for you,” Ben said, grabbing my arm to stop me. He narrowed his eyes, giving me a full body inspection. “What the hell, Gabby?” Anger strangled his words while his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Your shirt is on inside out and backward.”
I pulled at the neck and dipped my chin to look at it. Sure enough, the tag was in front and facing out.
Worst. Night. Ever.