Chapter 16
Anna
“Anna! You gotta do one more shot!”
I let out a tired laugh and shake my head at Ethan, my lab partner. “No, thanks.”
“Oh, come on!” he says. He opens his mouth like he’s going to try to talk me into it, but then he sneezes.
I wince and hand him a tissue from the pocket of my jeans. He blinks, his eyelids heavy like they always get when he drinks this much. He squints at a server, who walks by with a tray of what looks like apple martinis.
“I want one of those,” he says as he walks off after the server.
His girlfriend Alexis rolls her eyes and walks after him. “No more alcohol for you, Ethan.”
We’re at a bar inside of Caesar’s Palace that I can’t remember the name of. It’s dimly lit with dancers performing behind these screens, but you can only see their silhouettes as they move seductively to the EDM music playing over the speaker system.
I watch as Alexis brings Ethan back to our booth. George, my other classmate and friend, chuckles as he shakes his head.
“You gotta give it to us pre-med nerds. Yeah, we study a lot, but when it’s time to let loose, we go hard,” he says.
I chuckle. “Some of us certainly do.”
“Hey, what do you guys think of Colin, Professor Sullivan’s new TA?” Ethan asks.
I tense up just at the mention of his name. He’s covered one lab of ours so far. I was nervous when I saw him that day, but he didn’t even look at me. The entire lab, he avoided me.
I was relieved. I was dreading having to be around him after the way he cornered me, but I guess getting roughed up by Travis has convinced him to leave me alone.
I feel myself soften thinking about the way Travis defended me. The way he protected me.
But then I think about the mixed signals he was giving me earlier this evening, and I push him out of my head completely. I don’t want to think about him right now.
“He’s cool, I guess,” George says. “Not as strict as Professor Sullivan when it comes to grading or lab reports, so that’s nice.”
I ask Alexis about where she got her outfit just to avoid talking about Colin. No one other than Poppy knows that I messed around with him. I don’t want my pre-med classmates thinking badly about me if they found out I was with him.
Two of our friends stand up from the booth and say they’re headed back to the hotel.
“We’re gonna go too,” Alexis says, struggling to hold Ethan upright. He can barely keep his eyes open. “Ethan has hit the sleepy part of his drunkenness. I need to get him to bed.”
“Here, I’ll help you,” George says, looping Ethan’s arm over his shoulder.
We all slide out of the booth and head out of the bar.
“Where are you guys staying?” I ask.
“Vdara,” George says. “You?”
“An Airbnb off the strip with Poppy.”
George requests a rideshare for him, Alexis, and Ethan, while I get a rideshare for myself.
When we make it out the front entrance of Caesar’s Palace, their car is already there.
“You want us to wait with you?” Alexis says.
I wave them off. “No, I’m good. My ride’s less than a mile away.”
We wave bye at each other. They get into their car and drive off right as my car shows up.
I step over and lean down, looking through the rolled-down front passenger window at the driver.
“Hi, what’s your name?” I ask, like I always do when I take a rideshare alone.
The thirty-something blond guy smiles. “Ben.”
I double-check the driver’s name on my screen and the license plate on the car to make sure they match.
I open the door to the backseat and hop in.
“Sorry, I know that’s kind of awkward,” I say with a chuckle.
“I get it. You’re a young woman alone. You need to be smart.”
I nod at him in the rearview mirror, glad that he understands.
He slowly drives out of the crowded pick-up and drop-off area of the casino, then pulls onto the strip.
“So. How’s your night going?” Ben asks.
“Pretty good, but I’m ready to head to bed.”
He chuckles. “Oh, I hear that. This is way past my bedtime. Can’t pass up the money though.”
“I bet you make a lot doing this.”
“Yeah, sometimes. So what do you do?”
“I’m a student at Hollis University in Denver.”
“Oh, nice. Your hockey team won the semi-finals tonight, right?”
“Yeah, my twin brother plays for them.”
“Must be pretty exciting having a hockey star brother.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, sometimes, I guess…” I trail off when I notice that we’re not on the strip anymore.
I frown at the poorly lit streets in an unfamiliar neighborhood. I glance down at my phone. Whenever I take a rideshare, I always pay attention to the route, but I was too busy talking to the driver this time.
I noticed that he’s veered off the recommended directions.
The tiniest flicker of concern sets off inside of me. “Where are we?” I ask.
“Oh, this is a different route that I take sometimes. It’s faster, especially on a busy night like this with all the traffic on the strip.”
“Okay…” It sounds like a reasonable explanation. He’s a local after all. I’m sure he knows all the shortcuts to take.
But something about this feels off. He could have told me he was going a different route so I wouldn’t be caught off guard.
He eases to a stop at a traffic light, and I look up the directions on my phone to the Airbnb from this intersection. When I see that it’s adding fifteen minutes to the drive, a sinking feeling lands in my gut.
“Hey, can you head back to the strip?” I ask. “It’s fine if it’s busy. I’m good with waiting in traffic.”
“Your brother must have had a hard time with you,” Ben says, ignoring what I’ve said.
I look up. “What?”
“Because you’re so pretty.”
I freeze as he twists around and runs his gaze along the length of my body, stopping at my boobs. “None of my friends had sisters that looked like you. What a shame.”
He turns back to the road and pulls forward when the light turns green.
All the muscles in my body tense. This guy is a creep…who is taking the long way to my Airbnb.
Or maybe he’s not planning to take me there at all.
My heart slams in my chest as my breathing kicks up.
My hands shake as I think of how to get out of this. I could jump out at the next light…but I have no idea where I am. And this neighborhood doesn’t look safe.
I dial Poppy, but she doesn’t pick up.
“Damn it,” I whisper, hoping the driver doesn’t hear me. I don’t want to set this creep off and make him angry. I need to act unbothered so he doesn’t suspect that I’m freaking out.
I try Nick’s phone three times, but it just keeps ringing.
That panicked feeling amps up inside of me. I’m shaking harder now.
Just then, I get a text. When I see it’s Travis, I’m confused. But then I read his message.
Travis: Hey. I saw that you called Nick a bunch of times. He’s passed out drunk. Everything okay?
I type as quickly as I can.
Me: No. I’m in a rideshare, and my driver is being a creep. He keeps driving the wrong way on purpose. And he made a gross comment about my body.
Travis replies instantly.
Travis: Where are you?
I share my location with him.
Me: I think we’re headed west.
Travis: I’m on my way to you right now. I’m gonna call you. When you answer, put me on speaker. And go along with what I say.
Me: Okay. Thank you.
Travis: Text me the car he’s driving. The color too. And the license plate.
I send another text with all the information he asked for. Five seconds later, my phone rings. Just like he said to, I answer it and put him on speaker.
“Hey, sweet thing,” Travis’s rumbly voice echoes in the car. “What’s taking you so long?”
I don’t miss the way Ben’s posture straightens. He looks at me in the rearview mirror.
I hold his gaze as I answer Travis. “My rideshare driver is lost, I think.”
From the front seat, I hear Ben clear his throat.
“Well, he’d better get un-lost real soon. I miss you, baby.”
My tummy dips. Oh. Travis is pretending to be my boyfriend to get this guy to back off.
“I miss you too,” I say.
“If you’re not here in five minutes, I’m gonna come get you myself,” Travis says. “You hear that, driver? If you don’t deliver my girlfriend to me in five minutes, I’m coming after you.”
“Uh, not sure if I can make that happen, dude,” Ben says, his voice pitchier than before.
“I don’t care what you can or can’t do,” Travis says, his tone hard and biting. “You had one job: To get my girl home safely and quickly, and you’re fucking it up.”
Ben lets out a nervous laugh. “Look, dude. I’m trying my best.”
I notice that he’s headed back in the right direction. I can see the strip in the distance. I let out a quiet breath.
“I really don’t think you are,” Travis says.
We pull up another red light. Ben exhales sharply. “Your boyfriend’s a little possessive,” he mutters under his breath.
“Protective. Not possessive,” Travis booms. Ben’s shoulders jump.
A warm feeling swoops through me at just how much he’s playing this up to help me. To keep me safe.
Just then, a car pulls up next to us at the traffic light.
“Look to your left, sweet thing.”
I glance over, and my jaw unhinges at the sight of Travis driving the car next to us.