gasped, trying to pull away from his mouth. He rose over me, and I blinked, tingles clouding my bloodstream from the few drinks I’d had. Before I could talk, my panties were gone, and his fingers were between my legs.
For long moments, I became lost, a sheet of thawing ice as pleasure ignited. My eyes slammed closed, and my body turned to mush as he kissed and gently explored.
“God, you feel so good. Are you going to come?”
I could hardly swallow let alone answer as he tried to insert a finger and the pain, accompanied by the sound of his voice, sent me careening back into reality. His tongue plunged deep into my mouth as he removed his finger and rubbed me with it. “I can’t wait to be inside you.”
I thought I knew what feeling sick meant until that moment. Until I realized what was happening and what was going to happen.
I tried to tear my mouth from his. I tried to shut my legs and move my hand between us to pull his away. When that failed to get his attention, I sank my teeth into his lip, hard.
“Fuck,” Byron barked, and the coppery taste of blood filled my taste buds. I spat it out, narrowly avoiding his face.
He rolled off me to the floor. “Shit, Peggy. What the fuck?”
“Sorry, but I can’t,” I said, guilt stabbing at my eyes.
He hissed between clenched teeth, dabbing a finger at his lip. “You’re a savage.” I banged on the window, wanting out of the car. “You said you liked me.”
I laughed even as tears started falling down my cheeks. “I do, but I can’t do this right now. I’m too …” I sniffed, words evading me. “Confused.”
His eyes widened, and he scrambled over the floor to the seat. “Confused? Don’t just try to bail, talk to me.”
I sucked my lip, glancing down at his lap to where his pants were tented, but then forced my eyes away. “I don’t know how to explain it. Or if I should.” I tried to smile at him. “We’ve both been drinking, so maybe it should wait.”
“You were enjoying it, though,” he said, a tad too vehemently for my liking. “Where did I go wrong?”
Regret, I’d learned, was something that didn’t arrive slowly. It barreled in with the force of a thousand sharp knives to the gut and shredded everything inside.
Byron was my boyfriend, and I liked him. So why did I suddenly feel as though I could hurl at any moment? I didn’t know much when it came to being in a relationship, but I knew enough to know I shouldn’t feel like this. Like maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe I was in the wrong place with the wrong person.
Withholding a cringe, I shook my head and ignored the hand that tried to reach for me. “Just get the driver to pull over, please.”
Something banged on the windshield, and the limo came to a screeching stop. The door opened, and Willa gestured for me to climb out. Without looking at Byron, I hurried out to find Daphne putting her shoe back on.
“Did you throw that at my car?” I heard the driver ask.
I righted my dress, then tried to fix my hair as I wobbled a little on my feet. I wasn’t even wearing panties.
“You wouldn’t stop when I waved at you, so yeah, I did. And your fucking windshield wiper scratched it. They cost more than your weekly wage, asshole.”
The driver backed up, sensing from Daphne’s glare that she was going to play nasty if he tried to argue with her. He climbed back inside.
“Peggy, please. Just wait a damn minute,” Byron said, climbing out of the limo.
“What did he do?” Willa said, helping me stay steady as the blunt edge of the night’s events threatened to send me sitting on the hard ground.
“Nothing. I’m going to call a cab and head home.”
“Peggy!” Byron tossed his arms out, moving toward me when a group of guys started heading our way.
“Yo, Woods! Sweet ride.” I recognized one of them from math. “Think you can give us a lift? We’ve got some shit to pick up.”
Byron looked over at me, and I smiled, hoping it wasn’t a grimace, then turned my back to fish my phone from my bra.
“Your dress.” Willa gasped. “Did he try to …?”
“No. It’s fine. I just want to go home,” I said, giving in to temptation and slumping down onto the concrete as the limo pulled away.