“Thanks for the dance, sweetheart. I’d love to do it again. Can I buy you a drink?” he asked in what she assumed was his most seductive voice. It did nothing for her.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m here with my friends. Have a great night,” she told him and turned away, acting as if he didn’t exist. He must have left because a minute later Tracy looked at her like she was insane.
“Oh my gosh, Jennifer, he was completely hot and you totally blew him off,” she said, almost accusingly.
“I’m not interested in men like that, besides I didn’t come out tonight looking for a guy, I just want to relax and have some fun,” she told her friend with her best smile. She was trying to act as if she didn’t care.
“You’re crazy, but okay,” Tracy said and then thankfully the conversation changed to other topics and the time started passing quickly. She danced a few more times with other men, who all made it perfectly clear they were looking to go home with someone, and they didn’t care who it was. She was regretting her choice of clothing.
It was getting late and she’d drank a few too many margarita’s, as her latest dance partner swung her around the floor, she felt dizzy, and was having a harder time staving off his advances.
“I need to sit down,” she tried to tell him.
“You’re fine,” he said and pulled her tightly against him. There was a wall of people around her and she couldn’t untangle herself from his arms. She was starting to get a bit freaked out and was no longer pretending to be having a good time.
“You need to release me, now - I want to go back to my table,” she told him in as firm a voice as she could manage. He ignored her, and his hands started exploring her body. She was close to tears, as she realized how women could be so easily violated out in the open. No one was paying the least bit of attention to her, or the situation she was in.
She kept pushing him away, but it was to no affect. He was gripping her backside, and pulling her into his body. She felt dirty and violated and wanted to leave the club right away. Suddenly, the man let her go and flew backward with a shocked expression on his face. She looked up into the angry face of Trenton, shocked to see him there. She didn’t know what to say.
“The lady said she wanted you to let her go, I suggest you leave, now,” Trenton said and the power in his voice must have scared the man because he left quickly, without another look back. She was so thankful for his interference she didn’t even question what he was doing there, or his high handed methods.
“Thank you, Mr. Anderson. He wasn’t hearing the word no,” she said and turned to head back to her table. She wanted to leave and her friends seemed to be having a great time, so it looked like she was going to grab a cab. She didn’t know where Trenton had gone but that didn’t matter.
The group told her to stay, but she explained she’d gotten a headache and needed to leave. Tracy offered to leave with her, but she was having a great time and there was no need for that. Jennifer told her no and made her way to the front of the club.
She stepped out onto the sidewalk, and was surprised by the empty street. There were a few cars here and there and several people milling around but she couldn’t see a cab anywhere. She turned and decided to walk for a while, hopefully clearing her head.
“Hey lady, are you looking for a date?” some creepy guy asked, sending chills down her spine. How stupid of her to walk the Seattle downtown area in the middle of the night. She blamed her stupidity on one too many margaritas. She shook her head and walked a bit faster.
The guy started trailing her, making crude suggestions, really starting to scare her. She looked around for somewhere safe to go, thinking it may be wiser to turn around and try and make it back to the club. She could go inside and ask them to call her a cab.
Suddenly, her arm was grabbed and she was about to scream, when she turned and saw Trenton. She’d never been so happy to see the man.
“What the hell are you doing out here, wandering the streets?” he demanded. “I turn around for one minute and you’re gone. Don’t you know what could happen to you out here at this time of night?”
His tone of voice instantly put her on edge. She wasn’t some adolescent child who needed scolding. Sure, she’d made a stupid choice, but she was an adult and if she wanted to make stupid decisions on her own time, it was none of his business.
“I’m looking for a cab, not that it’s any of your business,” she slurred at him, surprised by her own voice.
“You’re going to give me a heart attack. I don’t know why I’m bothering to worry about you,” he seethed and took her arm, leading her in the opposite direction. She tried to yank her arm free but he had a firm grip.
“I can walk on my own,” she snarled. He looked at her as if she was indeed not capable of doing anything on her own and he continued to walk, dragging her along, beside him.
He stopped and clicked a button and then she was being tossed inside his car again. She was so stunned by his behavior that she sat motionless, giving him time to reach the driver’s door. When he started the car and pulled onto the street she came out of her shock.
“You arrogant jerk, I didn’t ask you for a ride, nor did I ask for your help. You can let me out of this car and I’ll call a cab,” she yelled, glaring at the side of his head.
“You may not have asked for my help, but you obviously need it. You can’t handle liquor worth a damn, and are a prime candidate for tomorrow’s news if I don’t get you home safe. I can’t imagine how you managed to stay alive this long,” he answered in an eerily calm voice. She was more irritated by his tone of voice than anything else. He was talking to her like she was a child and she didn’t appreciate it.
“What are you doing down here, anyway?” she demanded, giving up on the idea of him letting her out of the vehicle.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m human, and do like to go out once in a while,” he said in the same tone.
“I didn’t think you knew how to take off your suit and mingle with the commoners,” she said, knowing how immature she sounded, and not caring. She knew she let her tongue run rampant when she drank.
“I know exactly what to do when I take off my suit,” he said and the look in his eye let her know his exact meaning. She decided to keep her mouth shut for the remainder of the ride. She suddenly found they’d pulled up to her apartment and so she worked on getting her seat belt undone so she could get away from him before she said or did anything else.