Chapter 6 #2
I knew at that point that this wasn’t going to get any better—and I couldn’t be subtle with this guy. Something I’d learned in the short few months of my adult life was that some men were clueless—and Wes was definitely one of them. “Not with you,” I said, this time trying to shove my way past him.
But he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me close before pushing my back against the wall—and even though we didn’t have more than thirty people in our apartment, there was no way anyone could have heard me if I yelled, partially thanks to the loud music…
and I wasn’t about to wait for a knight in shining armor to come save me.
I already knew there was no one here who would do that. I’d have to do it myself.
“C’mon, Dani. You don’t want to be with these kids. You need to be with a real man—”
As he brought his lips near my neck, I wriggled enough that I was able to force my knee up—and, even though I didn’t have the satisfaction of hitting his balls with everything I had, I was able to connect enough that he let go.
But not before slapping me hard across my cheek.
“Fuck you, asshole!” I spat, rushing past him before he had a chance to grab me again.
Even then, I felt his hand brush over the back of my shirt.
For a moment, I considered going into my bedroom, but if he were able to overpower me, he could potentially rape me in my bed without a second chance or anyone even knowing.
There was safety in numbers and I marched straight to the kitchen.
But should I tell someone?
I was surprised to find Zack in the kitchen with a few other people, Ms. Boobs nowhere near him. He was holding a couple of beer bottles, getting ready to move back to the living room, but he made eye contact with me.
And I must have looked like a frightened animal.
“Are you okay?”
I didn’t think. I just spoke, shaking my head. “No.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Wes—” What exactly should I say? And what if I’d misconstrued everything?
And then, of course, was the reality that, if we wanted to party like this, he was our liquor supplier and, after everything Zack had done for the band, I didn’t want to ruin anything for him.
But before I could figure out exactly what I wanted to divulge, Zack said, “Motherfucker.” Setting the bottles on the counter, he flew to the hallway.
I was still a bit shaken so I stood there, unable to move.
It wasn’t until Zack was literally pulling Wes out of the hallway, his pants partially down, that I felt Braden’s hand on my shoulder.
Zack was shouting, but the crowd drowned him out. When he tossed Wes out the door, though, we couldn’t miss Zack’s words. “I don’t give a shit. You’re not welcome here.”
Before the door slammed on his face, he said, “Dani deserves a man like me.”
It took me a bit to realize what I’d just seen. Wes must have either been taking a leak or jacking off when Zack yanked him out of the hall or bathroom. But Zack had instantly become my hero—and someone I needed to interrogate. Why the hell did Wes think I wanted someone like him?
The crowd died down for a bit but, by the time Zack was approaching Braden and me, they were talking again like nothing had happened. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
“No. He was being a little too forward. Maybe he had too much to drink. But I kicked him in the balls and came out here.”
Chuckling, Braden squeezed my shoulder.
“You sure you’re okay?” Zack asked, leaving me to wonder why he didn’t care about me like this all the time.
“I’m fine. Maybe you were a little hard on him.”
Zack shook his head. “Nope. He had his chance.”
Finally, Braden dropped his hand from my shoulder. It had been sweet but a bit much, so I was glad. “What the hell was he saying?”
“Nothing.”
“No, he was,” I insisted. “He said something about me deserving to know something.”
“He’s drunk, Dani. He’d say anything hoping I’d change my mind.” Zack turned, telling me without any words that the conversation was over. Then he raised his voice to be heard over the crowd. When they didn’t register his voice, he whistled loudly.
That would go over well with the neighbors.
Finally, the people in our apartment turned to see what the commotion was all about.
Zack said, “Guys, I hate to cut the party short, but we’ve had an incident.
” There were gasps and questions, but Zack wasn’t having any of it.
It was when I saw him take control over a crowd like this that I knew he was a born leader—not just of our band.
Ms. Boobs asked, “What happened?”
“Nothing you need to worry about it—but I need you guys to move the party elsewhere. Seriously. Take all the booze with you, and if you brought any party favors, take those too.”
I hadn’t seen anyone doing any drugs, but I hadn’t exactly been rubbing elbows with everyone. There was some murmuring as they all shuffled out, but being given the option to take all the liquor with them had eased the blow.
Grabbing the bag of trash, Zack followed them all out. Before the door even shut, Cy yelled, “What the fuck, man?”
Braden said, “You didn’t expect him to let Dani get sexually assaulted, did you?”
“No, I get that—but that wasn’t a reason to shut the whole goddamned party down.”
Although I didn’t disagree, I wasn’t sad that they were gone. I’d been wondering how Zack planned to get the noise level down before we pissed off the neighbors anyway.
“Well, if he’s going to party with them, I am too.” Cy darted out the door without another word.
Braden said, “We could maybe still play poker, you and me.”
I looked around the two small rooms that constituted the majority of our apartment.
There were a couple of beer cans on the TV tray that substituted as an end table, several glasses—some still containing a little liquor—and some miscellaneous trash on the floor.
“Thanks, Bray—but I think I’m gonna clean up a bit and then go to bed.
” Although I didn’t work until around ten the next morning, I was feeling tired and still shaken up.
“I’ll help you.”
We’d just picked up the living room and were filling up the sink with soapy water when both Cy and Zack re-entered the apartment. I wanted to ask if they’d been kicked out of the new party but kept the biting remark to myself. After all, Zack had defended me. I could play nice.
Braden asked, “What’s going on?”
Zack said, “I wouldn’t put it past Wes to call the cops on us.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. He’s an asshole when he wants to be.”
I ran the dishcloth around the rim of a glass stained with burgundy lipstick. “But you’re not gonna go party somewhere else?”
Zack all but rolled his eyes. “No. The last thing we need is to go to jail. It might be great for our reputation but we need to stay focused. That’s why I had them take the booze and I took out the trash to get rid of the evidence.
” Except for the trash I’d just picked up, but I wasn’t going to mention it.
“And you guys are finishing the job. Does it smell like alcohol in here?”
Cy scowled. “Probably. But we’re too fucking soused to know. And how are we gonna explain that to the cops, Zack?”
“Can they arrest you if you smell like alcohol but they didn’t catch you drinking?”
“I don’t know—but I do know they can have you take a breathalyzer.”
“I’m not driving.” Zack sighed. “This sounds stupid, but I say we finish cleaning up then lights out. We can have the lights on in our bedrooms, but if cops come to our door and don’t hear or see anything, what are they gonna do?”
Cy’s face was still turned down in a frown, but he pitched in as well—and soon the apartment was the cleanest it had been since we’d moved in. And off we went to bed.
As I lay there struggling to fall asleep, my mind kept replaying the evening’s events.
Wes had gotten overly friendly with me, despite the fact that I hadn’t ever flirted with him, hadn’t been wearing anything provocative or baring an excessive amount of skin.
It made me angry—not just at Wes but at the fact that I was weak compared to a man, and Wes had taken advantage of it.
I knew my arms were in good shape thanks to drumming, but if a man chose to overpower me, I’d have a hard time defending myself.
But having male roommates and bandmates made me a little less apprehensive, and my thoughts softened as they turned to Zack. He’d ended this celebration for me. For me. He’d spent money on it, had been laying the groundwork to get laid, had been eager to have some fun…and he’d ended it for me.
Maybe there was a part of him that did care about me.