Then Kiss Me (25 page)

And to say I was shocked would be an understatement.  I was freaked out.  It wasn’t Scott.

It was Jim standing in the doorway.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked, now growing scared.  I grabbed the towel I had laid out earlier and covered up the important stuff.  My hair was dripping, and I was chilled.  “Get the hell out of here!”

Instead, though, he took a step closer.  I couldn’t read him at all.  “Quite a show you put on.  No wonder Scott’s got such a hard on for you. 
Cute
titties
too.”

“You pig.  Get out of here. 
Now!”

But he grabbed my arms, his fingers digging into my flesh.  I still had the bruises on my arm from when he’d manhandled me earlier in the week.  It hurt.  “I don’t think so.”

I tried to resist but realized I didn’t have the strength. 
Being forceful was getting me nowhere.  I wasn’t strong enough.  So I said, “What about
Julie
?”

He sneered.  His eyes were dark, the pupils melded with his irises so that I could
n’t
tell where one ended and the other began.  “What about her? 
Julie
’s just glad
she
doesn’t have to sleep with me.”  What?  Then why the
fuck were
they married?  Before I could say anything, though, he said, “No…I figure, you’re hot; I’m ready; let’s go.  How can you say
no
to a guy like me?”  The look of disgust that had crossed his face when talking about his wife turned into a leer.  The smell of alcohol hung on his breath like the stench of a wet dog sitting in front of a fire.

I tried another tactic.  “I’ll tell Scott.”

“Scott.  Yeah, you
tell
Scott.  See what he says.”  He lowered his voice and brought his face closer to mine, so close that I could feel the heat of his breath on my cheek.  “Besides, I’m much better in bed than Scott.”  I screwed up my mouth and tried to knee him in the crotch, but I missed.  He blocked my attempt with his leg.  “Cute, you little tramp,” he said and then started kissing my neck.  My flesh crawled.  If it could have, it would have jumped off my bones in an attempt to avoid his lips.

He pulled the towel down off me, and I started pummeling him with my free fist, but to no avail.  It was like he didn’t even feel it.  Maybe he was so drunk, he really didn’t.  He threw me on the bathroom floor, and my back hit the side of the tub.  I yelled in pain.  “Get off me,” I growled, but it was weak, and I started to reconcile myself to the fact that I was about to be raped.  I tried to shut off my mind, but I couldn’t.  The tears started to fall against my will.

I squirmed but it made no difference.  He held both my arms above my head with one hand and started to unzip his pants with the other.  I knew this was going to hurt.  I squirmed and struggled, but it only increased the pain of his hand digging into my wrists.  I started yelling again for him to get off me.  Soon, though, the yells turned to sobs.  He didn’t care.  In fact, it seemed to make him more excited, the sick fuck.

Just as I had given up all hope, my hero showed up in the doorway.  “Help me,” I whimpered, although it was unnecessary.  It took Scott no time at all to pull Jim off.

Jim blurted out, “She wanted it, man.”  I cowered in the corner, my knees drawn to my chest, shivering.  Then I started crying in earnest.

Scott said, “What the hell’s the matter with you?”

“She wanted it.”

“Look at her—does she
look
like she wanted it?”

Jim turned back around, pleading with Scott.  “She
needs
it.  She’s obviously not getting enough from you.  You know it’s happened—”

Before Jim could finish his sentence, Scott grabbed the front of Jim’s shirt, punching him in the
face
.  His voice was low, guttural, when he said, “Get the fuck out of here before I kill you.”

Jim took the hint and made time running down the hall.  I buried my head in my arms.  Scott came over, squatting down beside me.  “You okay?”

“No,” I answered between sobs.

“Did he—”

“No. 
Almost.
  If you hadn’t gotten here when you had—
”  My
voice trai
led off.  He helped me stand up and led me to his room, letting me sit on the bed.  He handed me one of his clean t-shirts out of his dresser drawer and then sat next to me.  I pulled the shirt over my head as my sobs slowed.

He put his arm around me and pulled me to his chest.  “I went to the store to get some donuts.  I figured you made me breakfast the other day…it was the least I could do.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him I wished he wouldn’t touch me.  I knew it was stupid, but I felt violated.  I hadn’t been raped, hadn’t even been touched in a sexually violent way, but I felt emotionally fucked with.  I needed some time to sort through the emotions.  Still…Scott had saved me from that fate and I didn’t want to seem ungrateful and push him away. 
But
when he suggested coffee, I accepted.

We went to the kitchen but I didn’t eat any of the donuts.  I wasn’t hungry.  I also didn’t feel like talking.  I just sipped coffee and chain smoked.  Scott didn’t say anything either.  I finished my coffee and stood up.  Scott touched my hand and asked, “You sure he didn’t?”

Oh…he was so sweet.  The tender look on his face, his eyes full of worry told me what I needed to know.  But…I still had to process my emotions, and being with him right now didn’t allow me that.  “It’s hard to explain.  I just…need to go home for a while.  It’s not you.  I just need some time.”

He stood up, pulling me close.  “I’m sorry.”  He kissed me on the forehead but didn’t push me otherwise.  I felt relief.  I just needed some time to pull myself together.

I had to work
a short lunch shift
later that day and was relieved to see Jim wasn’t there.  I was debating about whether I should press charges and thought I might talk to Scott about that.  I wanted his opinion.

After engaging in real life again, I felt a little better.  I reminded myself that I hadn’t really been raped.  Things would have been quite different if Scott hadn’t shown up.  But he
had
.  I had to keep reminding myself of that.

I called Scott’s phone around nine o’clock and just got his voicemail.  I didn’t feel like leaving a message, so I called David’s phone.  I asked him if Scott was home, but he said Scott was working and should be home sometime after ten.  “Why don’t you come over?”

I liked that idea, so I put on a jacket and drove over.  When I got there, David played gracious host, asking if I wanted a drink.  I told him I just wanted a glass of water.  We sat at the kitchen table talking for a while about nothing in particular—work, celebrity gossip (one of David’s favorite topics), and his escalating relationship with Gerald.  He didn’t say anything about the morning’s events, but I could tell he knew.  He was being a little too gentle with me, tiptoeing around the obvious a little too much.
  I appreciated it, though, because I wasn’t ready to talk to him about it.  I might not ever be ready to talk to him about it.

After a while, I heard the front door open.  I looked down at myself.  I knew I was quite a sight.  I wouldn’t be any vision of beauty to the man I cared about.  I was wearing an oversized
long-sleeved
white t-shirt so long the
sleeves
covered my hands to the knuckles and gray
sweatpants that had old paint on them.  My hair was pulled back in a ponytail beneath a black baseball cap.

Scott came in the kitchen.  “Casey…I
thought
that was your car out front.”  He sat down next to me.  “You
doin
’ okay?”  I nodded.  He moved his chair close to mine and hugged me.  “What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to talk.  Is that all right?”

“Yeah, of course.
  I’m
gonna
go shower and change clothes, though.”

David asked if I wanted something else to drink while Scott ran up the stairs.  “No, I’m okay.  Thanks.”

He sat back down.  We were silent for a few moments until he
said, “Scott told me what happened.”

I looked down at the table.  “Yeah, I figured.”

“Don’t be mad at him, Case.  I asked.  He came in to work, and I asked him what was going on.  Jim had been in earlier with a swollen black eye, and he said Scott had done it.  I didn’t believe him, so I asked Scott.”

I giggled for the first time that day.  “Yeah, he decked him pretty good.”

David laughed. 
“Serves him right.
  I think Scott should punch him once a day just for being an asshole.”

We started laughing so hard I cried.  It was quite a release—exactly what I needed.

I could hear the water running upstairs and thought maybe I could get away with asking a few questions…questions I wasn’t necessarily comfortable asking Scott.  “David, you’re my friend, right?”

He knitted his eyebrows.  “Yeah…”

“I just wanted to ask you about Wendy.”

Now his brows furrowed completely.  “What about her?”

I looked down at my fingers peeking out from the sleeves.  “Did she and Scott ever…you know…hook up?”

He laughed, releasing the tension I’d caused just by asking the question in the first place.  “You mean…did they sleep together?”  I nodded.  “No…I’m pretty sure they didn’t.  She’s a
skank
.  He
did
take her out a couple of times, about a month before you started working at Bob’s.”  He lowered his voice and leaned over the table.  “Don’t tell Scott I told you this, but she slept with Jim.  Scott dumped her when he found out.”

I whispered, even though I could still hear the water running upstairs.  “How did he find out?”

“Shit…they were screwing in Scott’s bed.”

“What?”

“It was before we moved here.  Scott was renting a room at Jim’s place.  That’s part of the reason why he and I got a place together—no chance I’d be screwing any of his love interests.”  I
smiled and a sheepish look paint
ed his face.  “That and
I
was
tired of living at home with my parents, even if they
did
want my help around the house and told me I could live with them forever.”  He took a sip of his drink.  “But…Jim would have told him anyway.”

I heard the water upstairs shut off.  “Thanks for telling me.  I…uh…didn’t want to ask Scott.”

“That’s okay.  Just don’t tell him I told you.  He likes to keep his secrets to himself.”  He got up and started filling up his glass with more ice and then grabbed a big bottle of amber liquor, but I couldn’t tell what it was.  He said, “Actually, you’re the—
”  He
paused, hesitating as he
heard the stairs creaking.  He lowered his voice. 
“Never mind.”
  I nodded and took another long drink off my glass of water.

Scott walked in, looking…yummy.  I didn’t know that I was ready again for his touch, but my eyes appreciated the way he looked.  “I heard you t
wo laughing.  What was so funny?
”

“Jim…David told me he had quite a shiner.”

Scott smiled.  “Too bad I didn’t get to see it.”

David said, “I’m
gonna
hit the hay.  I open tomorrow.”

We both told him good night,
and he gave me a brotherly hug before he left the room.  Scott sat down next to me.  “So…what’s on your mind?”

I took a deep breath.  “Do you think I should file a police report?  You know…file charges against Jim?”

He considered my words before
he
said, “I don’t know, Casey.  That’s up to you.  If you’re asking if I’d have a problem with it, I wouldn’t.  You need to do what will make you feel better.”

“Well, for
Julie
’s sake, I
don’t
want to.  But I’m afraid he might do it again.”

Scott shook his head.  “I don’t think he will.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Honestly?  ‘
Cause
you’re the first woman to say no to him.”

I sought answers in his eyes but I couldn’t read him.  “How do you know that?”

“Trust me; I know.”  He paused.  “Anything else I can tell you to help you make your decision?”

“No.  Thanks for your help.”  I exhaled. 
“
I don’t think I’ll do it.”

He took my hand in his.  “Do you want to stay here tonight, or do you need me to take you home?”

“I’d like to stay…if you don’t mind.”

He stood and took my hand, shutting off the lights and locking the front door on his way through the house.  We sat on the couch in the living room.  He held me close, and we didn’t talk for a long time.  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I think so.”