FALLEN: A New Adult Romance (First of the FALLEN Trilogy)

Wrong Choices, Bad Company

"That was freaky." I can barely hear her say over the loud music beating a steady rhythm of a popular electric tune I had heard before on the radio.

"What was?" I frown at her as the rhythm takes over my knees, and I weirdly bounce in front of her.

"Those old men." She looks back, even though she practically made us run from them.

"I thought it was a lovely acquaintance. They looked nice." I tell her honestly.

"They looked like pervs. That's what you mean." She leans to my ear so she doesn't have to shout back at me.

"No, not at all."

"Please, Grace, they were looking like the kind of men with Daddy/Little Girl fetishes. You are so cute and naive. They would actually take a bite of you." She laughs at my blindness to all of that and quite precisely at me.

"Oh, I wouldn't like that." I let out and mirror her move, letting the alcohol move my body like the flow of waves on the shore.

I stop myself thinking I would only like Marcel to take a bite from me... because I know just how good it feels. Alright, I am thinking about him.

Fucking liar! I feel utterly disappointed... But now is not the time to think about him. There will be lots of other times where he'll make his way back into my mind, and I won't be able to brush him off as easily as I can now.

I free my mind, let my body loose and follow the rhythm. The music overtakes all my senses. Hours feel like minutes and minutes feel like seconds. I get all hot and sweaty, but I'm having so much fun. I even let a man dance next to me. I move my hips to the beat and feel a body behind me. I don't mind it at all and close my eyes to ravish the moment. It feels great. It's exciting. I understand why Sophie loves this lifestyle so much. The attention is excellent, outstanding even. I have never been flirted with like that in my life. I love that thrill, that confidence and that invulnerability. It feels fantastic until I feel something else on me.

Hands.

They are running on my waist as the man stands behind me and pulls me to him. A little flirtiness was OK, it was good, but I don't feel at ease with that. I pull my little purse to me to make sure he isn't stealing me. He isn't.

Instead, I start panicking inside me, looking for Sophie to take me out of this situation. She is not close to me anymore. I need to do something and quickly. I'm not having fun anymore. I want to leave.

The man pulls me to him, pressing my back to his chest, my bum to his legs as I feel him move against me. I really start to panic the second I feel his nose in my hair, his face trying to hide against my neck. I feel trapped and so tiny, entirely dominated by a man I don't know. I see the blond man from earlier dancing my way to push me deeper against his friend behind me. They grind themselves on me with no shame. I don't know what to do. I panic harder inside. I get scared and think about Steeve bringing his friends home and how I will never let myself be intimidated like that again. I push the memory away like I have always denied it before.

In a rush of adrenaline, I push their hands off me and get a step away. I have a second to look for Sophie again, but he takes me by the wrist to pull me to dance closer to him again, this time, face to face. I recognise the tall, dark-haired stranger from earlier. Everything Sophie had told me runs into my mind, scaring me to be touched or even just in the presence of these men. It isn't exciting anymore. I am genuinely zoning out of my drunken state to be freaked out by the reality of this situation.

Why are they touching me? Have I given them the right to!?

I break away again, more violently to make clear to leave me alone and, fortunately, see Sophie, two persons away, dancing with her friends. I walk to her and pull her away from the crowd.