She didn’t respond.
Instead, she turned and left me standing in the middle of the room with a bloody nose, a hard-on, and one hell of a challenge.
THREE
SHANNON
AS SOON AS I COULD, I hustled to the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. With my back pressed against the cool wood, I sucked in the air of the room, filling my lungs until they burned.
The chattering of the rich bitches at the party could be heard through the door like little chirping biddies. Talk of lowly boys from the country and brawling reached my ears. They were chittering about Devin and Matthew fighting, and I didn’t want to hear any of it. Turning the water on, I drowned out their voices.
Confusion swept through me. I was clueless to what had happened, but I knew my body was on fire, and I was trembling uncontrollably. Checking the water to make sure it was cold, I snatched the decorative hand towel from its rack, soaked it, and then wrung it out. The plush cotton felt like icy heaven against my skin, and I sighed in relief as I pressed the frigid towel to my flushed cheeks.
I was ablaze. My entire body sizzling and aching while my heart felt as though it was going to burst from my chest. It took a lot to admit it to myself, but I was aroused.
When Matthew fell between my legs, his muscled back pressed against my center. Every time he moved, he brushed against the tiny bundle of nerves I hadn’t given enough attention to lately. But the strangest part was, I was also in the midst of a massive panic attack.
Panic and arousal had no business in the same body at the same time. The gripping fear of death was squeezing me, my body tense and shivering, as all the things that could go wrong flew through my demented thoughts. I gripped the marble countertop to keep myself upright while the room around me spun and shifted beneath my heels.
If I had known touching him would cause me that kind of hysteria, I would have never offered to help him up. I didn’t want to touch him. Just the thought of his coppery skin against my fingertips made me uneasy, but getting him out of the house before Devin ripped him apart was crucial.
It was my fault he was there in the first place, and I was prepared to drag him out the front door if it meant calming Lilly down on what was supposed to be her special night. What I hadn’t expected was for him to fall back against me and take me down with him.
Staring in the mirror above the sink, I looked flushed as if I had just finished a workout, my red cheeks glowing under the overhead lighting.
I set the wet towel down on the counter and smoothed the hair away from my face. A few deep breaths and I was feeling much better. I gave myself two more minutes before I opened the bathroom door and joined the party once again.
The mood was tense, but Matthew was gone, and for that, I was extremely thankful. I never wanted to see him again, and after what happened between him and Devin, I didn’t think I needed to worry about that.
I joined my group of friends in the corner and took the offered slice of birthday cake.
“Poor Lilly. Her mom’s going to flip her shit when everyone leaves,” Anna said as she cut into her slice of cake. “You know how she hates when people cause a scene in front of her rich friends.”
I did know.
And I agreed … poor Lilly.
But I couldn’t think about that. Not when my anxiety had reached epic proportions. I hadn’t been touched by a man since my dreaded prom night. I’d spent the past three years of my life avoiding all physical contact with the opposite sex.
My body was wracked with pain and anguish. Not only did I land on the marble floor when Matthew fell back on me, which I knew would leave a nice bruise on my fair skin, but I also had to endure the one thing I promised I’d never endure again.
The touch of a man.
It repulsed me, but at the same time, I yearned for more.
It was twisted—sickening—demented.
“Earth to Shannon.” Anna snapped her fingers in front of my face, making me jump.
I shook my head and chuckled. “Sorry. I’m exhausted and out of it.”
I’d known Anna for a couple of years, having met her through Lilly. She was the sweetheart of our group; her shoulder-length dark hair was curled into an adorable set of beach waves that framed her beautiful face, but it was her emerald cat eyes that stole the show.
She was going to school to be a veterinarian, but we all worried she would be taken out by a large dog since most of them towered over her when they stood on their hind legs. Her laughter was infectious, and she jiggled a bit when she giggled. Simply stated, I adored Anna-banana.
Things were different from when I was younger, and I actually had a group of friends now, thanks to Lilly. I never had many friends growing up. Life got better with age, but no matter how great things seemed, the past always followed you everywhere like a piece of damp toilet paper stuck to the bottom of your shoe.
“Do you guys think Lilly’s okay?” Erin asked.
Erin was our number four. She was tall and bronze with long black hair. We called her our beautiful Indian friend, but she was made to be a plus-size model.
There were six of us altogether. Lilly and me, of course. Anna and Erin, as well. But there was also Meg, who was the tall, statuesque blond in the group. She wasn’t your average golden vixen, though. She was different. We liked to call Meg “a fat girl stuck in a skinny girl’s body.” She might look like the cheerleader you’d love to hate, but she had the personality of the sweet, round band geek.
Last, but never least, was Randy. He was the girlie one in the group, and the only one who was getting any action. Occasionally, he would bring around a new boy toy, but most of the time, he kept his love life at the gay club down the street from Franklin’s Jewelry store, which was the best place to have a good time in Charleston.
We were close, but like most adults, we had jobs. Yet that didn’t keep us from getting together most Wednesday nights to have a few drinks and play board games.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Randy stated, sipping from his champagne glass like he was used to living the high life.
He wasn’t.
None of us were, with the exception of Lilly. Her family was loaded, yet she lived the life of someone who had been raised like the rest of us. I adored that about her. She moved away from her parents and their money and was living in our tiny apartment while driving an old Honda.