Taken

Chapter One

So, of course, I teased her about it constantly. That was the way things were between me and Sarah. And, really, I wasn't kidding about David. Yeah, he was older, practically old, but he was hot. If Sarah dated him, I cajoled, I could at least live vicariously. She tolerated my teasing, rebuffed me with sarcasm. That was Sarah.

She sat in silence for a moment, glancing at me and seeing the light in my eyes. "Actually, Lizzie and I are having a girls' night."

"That so?" David looked over at me. I neither confirmed nor denied—I just smiled and looked away. "Well, sounds like fun. See you two later." He went out of the office to get his jacket.

"He's not a bad guy." I shut the door and lowered my voice. "Besides...have you seen his basket?"

"His what?" She wrinkled her nose.

"His basket. His... you know..." I cupped the crotch of my jeans as if there were a bulge there.

"Oh Jesus, Lizzie, is that all you think about?" Sarah laughed. "There's more to life than sex. He's a thirty-five-year-old telemarketer, sweetie..."

I raised my eyebrows. "So are you."

"I'm a telemarketing supervisor." She fished her purse out from under the desk and slipped her shoes on. "Besides, he's not my type."

"You keep saying that." I rolled my eyes. "Methinks the lady doth protest a lot."

"Too much." Sarah smirked. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

"Exactly."

"Hey." She stood, slinging her purse over her shoulder and looking at me, considering. "How would you like to actually do a girls' night? I can cook. We can rent a chick flick. You can borrow that nail polish. What do you say?"

I hesitated and then shrugged. "Why not? I don't have anything else to do."

"Gee, I'm glad I'm a last resort."

We both grinned.

It was pouring outside, and by the time we'd rented Unfaithful, it had developed into a full-fledged summer storm. We were both shivering and wet, and Sarah turned on the heater in her car. I pressed my hands against the vents in an attempt to warm them.

"Feels like summer is officially over." Sarah's teeth chattered as she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex.

"Sarah, your lips are blue."

"Yours are purple." Her eyes lingered on my mouth for a moment and then she met my eyes and smiled. "Ready to run for it?" It was raining so hard the windshield was a waterfall.

"On three."

We counted together, opening the doors and running toward her apartment. Sarah stopped to slip off her heels, hopping as she did it, and that put her ahead of me. She beat me to the door and we both stood there shivering as she fumbled with her keys. The warmth of the apartment felt good, and I set the movie on the table near the door.

"Come on." Sarah unbuttoned her wet blouse, heading toward bathroom. "Let's get out of these and put them in the dryer." I followed, hesitating only a moment before pulling off my wet Coldplay t-shirt. She threw her blouse in the dryer, turning to grab my shirt.

"Jeans too." She turned her back to me. "Will you unzip me?" I unzipped her skirt and she slid it off and threw it in. I unbuttoned my jeans, rocking them down my hips. They were wet and came off hard. I toed off my shoes and threw my socks and jeans in with the rest of the clothes. She turned it on and smiled brightly at me. There were curly, wet strands of blonde hair stuck to her cheeks. "They'll be toasty warm by the time we're done with dinner. How's pasta sound?"