Coercion (18 page)

Why did she have to make it so easy to be cruel?

He slowly rose from his lawn chair. “Be back in a sec.”

“All right, whoever wants Mike’s seat has to fill this up.” Rooney raised the water pipe.

Michael wove through the horde until he stood behind Valerie. He stared at the back of her head for a moment, unsure of what he was doing or why he was doing it. Finally, he said, “I can’t believe you’re here.”

Valerie stopped midsentence and turned away from the girl she was talking to, whom Michael recognized from some of the photographs in Valerie’s room. “Hi.” She looked so shocked, and so innocent amid this crowd. Surprisingly, she clutched a can of Budweiser. She was so wholesome he figured the only thing she ever drank was milk. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

“Same.”

An awkward silence fell between them. She quickly cleared her throat and gestured to the girl with her. “This is my best friend, Shannon.”

“Hi.” Shannon’s jaw twitched, her expression unreadable.

“Hey.” He turned back to Valerie. “It’s weird seeing you.”

The blush on Valerie’s cheeks was visible even in the dim light. “Mary Anne Gordon invited us.”

Michael racked his brain, trying to recall a Mary Anne Gordon, and realized it was the girl whom Rooney had been fooling around with for the past few weeks. “Oh.”

“Does it bother you I’m here?” Her green eyes shone in the basement light.

“No. Like I said, it’s just weird.”

“I agree,” she said after a long pause, and he was sure she thought of the month of silence that had passed between them since he had given her the necklace for Valentine’s Day, which he noticed she still wore. The silver chain glinted at him, half hidden by her collared shirt, and reminded him of his guilt. It made him resent both her and himself.

“Here you are, ladies.” A vaguely familiar voice interrupted the stilted conversation as a tall guy bearing three unopened beer cans materialized between Valerie and her friend. “The finest this joint can offer.”

“Thanks.” Shannon accepted a can before her gaze darted back to Michael, as if gauging his reaction to the newcomer’s presence.

The boy glanced at Michael and he blinked, clearly taken aback. “Vartanian. How goes it?”

Michael narrowed his eyes as he recognized the guy as the one who’d been playing cards with Valerie at her house so many months ago, but he couldn’t remember his name. “Not bad.” He turned to Valerie again and jammed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Maybe I’ll see you around later.”

She nodded. “Maybe.”

“Great.” He turned, trying to ignore how crestfallen she looked, and disappeared quickly into the crowd.

* * * *

“What an asshole!” Shannon raged as soon as Michael departed. Her nails dug into Valerie’s forearm. “I can’t believe he just did that to you!”

“I know.” Valerie frowned as she finished the rest of her Budweiser and finally took the can of beer Daniel offered.

“What’d he do?” Daniel’s tone was light but concerned as his gaze bounced from Valerie to Shannon and back.

Shannon bristled at the sound of his voice. “Sorry, Daniel, we need a moment of girl talk. Be right back.” She dragged Valerie to a corner of the crowded basement before saying, “I cannot believe the stones on him. He gave you that necklace then doesn’t talk to you until now, and only to say it’s weird to see you? This isn’t even his party. How dare he give the slightest insinuation you shouldn’t be here.” She shook her head, her ponytail swishing around her shoulders. “I don’t care how gorgeous he is. He’s a dick, and I hate you let him be one.”

Valerie’s shoulders slumped. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Tell him off. Tell him you refuse to be treated this way.” Shannon’s grip tightened. “Thanks to Breeze’s announcements, I know for a fact he hasn’t been with her for about a month or so now, so he can’t use his whiny ‘But I have a girlfriend’ bullshit on you. That excuse was weak from the start.”

“Well, so am I.”

Shannon paused. “Maybe you two just aren’t meant to be.”

Valerie yanked her arm out of her friend’s grasp. “Then why does he keep approaching me?”

“Because, Val, he wants sex, and you give it to him.”

“He can get sex from anyone. Any girl would sleep with him.”

“Yeah, but probably not every girl would go to the lengths you do. I mean, you told me he got you off in front of your mom and dad. Who lets a guy get away with that? You let him do whatever he feels like doing to you. Or maybe he sees you as an innocent virgin, all ripe for corruption.” Shannon gave a halfhearted grin. “Well, you
used
to be an innocent virgin.”

“If Michael was only into devirginizing girls, he would just leave me alone at this point, right? Besides, I can’t believe he would use me like this just to ‘corrupt’ me. That’s sick.”

“Then tell him.” Shannon threw her hands up. “If you’re miserable, set the record straight, once and for all.” She turned Valerie around and gave her a shove in the direction Michael had headed. “I’ll occupy Daniel while you chat with Michael. Don’t come back until you get some answers.”

* * * *

Michael maneuvered his way through the throngs of people, his head swimming and his eyes burning from the smoke hanging thick in the air. His head throbbed in time to the Deep Purple song playing on the stereo in the corner. Rubbing his sore eyes, he bumped into a blonde. “Sorry.”

The girl whirled around and his heart plummeted as she smiled at him. “Hey, stranger.” Breeze flipped her golden hair over her shoulder. A cream-colored, cable-knit newsboy cap rested on her head, looking like a halo in the light.

He scowled. She’d no right to look so beautiful when he couldn’t have her. “Hey.”

“How’ve you been?”

“Never better.” He turned to leave, but Breeze linked her arm through his.

“Then tell me all about it,” she said, and for a moment Michael thought she actually seemed sincere. “I want to hear about some of your recent adventures.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. I want to know what I’m missing out on.”

Michael coughed out a bitter laugh. “Let’s save the catching up for some other time, okay?”

“But why?” She stepped closer to him. “I’m here, you’re here...”

“And you’re obviously drunk.” He took a feeble step backward, wishing he wasn’t enjoying her attempt to corner him.

“Of course.” She shrugged. “Beer is the conversational lube between exes.”

Her fingers were wrapped around a can of Miller High Life, and he couldn’t help but crave her fingers wrapped around him. He forced aside a groan and shook his head, willing himself to stay in control. “I thought you wanted me out of your life.”

She rolled her eyes. “You never listen to anything I say. Why is that?”

Baffled, Michael watched as Breeze excused herself from her friends and let her tug him into a dark, quiet alcove under the wooden steps. Clumsy footsteps thundering up and down the stairs overhead mimicked the throb of his heart as she turned to face him with a deep breath.

“Michael, I miss having you in my life.”

He swallowed hard at her words. “Now I know that’s the High Life talking.”

“It isn’t. I was just angry. You didn’t seem to care what would happen to us after graduation, so I tried to make you as mad as I was. Now everything’s a mess.” She stroked his cheek, her fingertips cold from holding the beer. “Do you miss me?”

“Yes.” He didn’t even have to think about it.

“Why can’t we just get along?” Her voice was soft. “Why is it so hard for us?”

“I don’t know.” All he could concentrate on was her touching him. He turned his head slightly, and his lips met her knuckles. Without thinking about it, he took the tip of her index finger in his mouth.

“Don’t do that.” Her words came out as a needy moan.

He practically whimpered, and suddenly wanted nothing more than to bury his face in her hair. “Breeze, do you have any idea how much you mean to me?”

“No.” She sighed and dropped her hand. “And that’s the problem.”

Apprehension clawed its way into his chest. “Just tell me what’s going on. Tell me what you want me to do.”

“I can’t tell you what to do. I have no idea.” She threw her hand in the air and looked at the ceiling, as if an eloquent answer could be found there. “I just wish you would think about us as much as I do.”

He didn’t bother to mention the countless nights he’d spent awake, unable to sleep due to his want for her. Instead, he grabbed her wrist, knocking the beer to the floor.

“Michael...” Her mouth opened in surprise, but the rest of her sentence died on her lips as he wrapped his fingers around her other wrist and tugged her arms so they draped around his neck. Her body pressed against his, and he couldn’t help the growl building in his throat.

“I miss you so much.” His lips brushed against hers as need clouded his head.

“I miss
you
,” she moaned against his mouth. She pulled away from the kiss, resting her forehead against his. “God, Michael. Being with you… It just feels so normal.”

“I know, I know.” He placed kisses on the corners of her mouth before taking a deep breath. “And I know I don’t have my life planned out, but I do know I want to be with you. Isn’t that enough?”

Before Breeze could respond, a tentative voice sliced through their union. “Michael?”

Michael and Breeze broke apart, and he turned to see Valerie, her eyebrows knitted with hurt and confusion. “Oh. Sorry,” she mumbled.

Breeze dropped her arms and moved toward Valerie. “What the hell is that?” She pointed at Valerie’s neck.

“It’s a necklace.” Valerie quickly wrapped a hand around her pendant, as if protecting it from Breeze’s glare.

“Yeah, I can see that. Where’d you get it?”

Valerie shot a perplexed, hesitant glance at Michael, and Breeze let out a snort in response.

“Are you serious?” the blonde snarled at Michael. “You are full of more shit than a septic tank.”

“What?” he asked defensively, heat creeping into his cheeks.

“We’ve been going together for more than three years. How could you do something like this?”

“You call this ‘going together’? We don’t fuck, we don’t even talk, we just mess with each other’s heads. Not to mention you’re off screwing Seegan, Marie Bacall’s dad, that asshole Tom Courpel and just about everyone else—”

“Will you excuse us?” Breeze gritted her teeth as she looked to Valerie, who took a few steps back then darted away like a terrified cat. Breeze shook her head. “Jesus, Michael. Someone should make a eunuch out of you.”

“You’re one to talk. Who are you, the Virgin Queen?”

“I told you, I did those things to show you how it felt to be treated like trash. I did them so you would take a stand and get serious about me. But I never deceived you, Michael. And I never gave a recycled, dumpster-find gift just to get a cheap fuck from some poor idiot who doesn’t know any better. It’s perfectly clear now you don’t care about our relationship or me.”

She turned to go, but he grabbed her arm. “You know I care about you.”

“You can’t care about me. You know nothing about me.”

“What are you talking about? I know everything about you.”

Breeze squeezed her eyes shut. “I bet you don’t even know what color my eyes are.”

“What?” He scrunched up his face. “What’s that supposed to prove?”

“What color are they?” Her eyes were still closed.

He heaved a sigh. “Blue.”

Murder blazed in her hazel eyes when they fluttered open, her nostrils flaring with her every angry breath. “Nice try.” She shook him off and pushed her way through the crowd.

Alone, Michael gulped for air, his head spinning. He couldn’t believe all that had transpired so quickly, and how much things could change yet stay the same.

Rooney emerged from the crowd with a plastic drink straw behind each ear and a girl’s multicolored scarf around his neck. He approached Michael and put a hand on his shoulder. “That didn’t look like a friendly conversation between you and the little lady.”

“And it was the last one.” Michael’s fingernails bit into the palms of his hands. “We’re just not meant to be together, and thank Christ. Her personality will only continue to disintegrate so better to get out now while I can.”

“Just find someone else. That’s my standpoint.”

“This from a guy who sprayed mace in his own eyes just to see what it would feel like.”

“First, it was Binaca in the eyes, not mace.” Rooney counted on his fingers. “Second, I sprayed the mace in the
sink
to see what it’d look like, and let me tell you, it straight up ruined my mom’s Tupperware party. One lady even threw up, the smell was so strong. And third, I’m your friend. I’m only trying to help you.”

Michael shook his head, walking away.

“Man, come on,” Rooney called. “Where’re you going?”

“To find someone else,” Michael shouted over his shoulder. “Thanks for the advice, friend.”

* * * *

Daniel glanced up from his conversation with Shannon on the musty sofa and nodded in Valerie’s direction as she returned to them. “There she is.”

“What happened?” Shannon straightened in her seat. “Tell me everything.”

“We didn’t talk. He was with Breeze.” Valerie leaned against the cool cement wall and looked out across the crowded room at nothing in particular. “They were about five minutes away from finding the nearest bedroom.”

Shannon hissed in a breath. “That’s not good.”

“No, it’s not.” Valerie fingered the necklace around her neck. Tears pricked her eyes as she thought of the nights she’d gone to bed after kissing the pendant—a gift she now strongly suspected had never been meant for her.

Daniel fixed his serious gaze on Valerie. “I don’t know what’s going on and I know it’s not my place, but I can see it’s not you who’s the problem here.” He touched her elbow, his palm warm. “You know that, don’t you?”

“No, it is my fault.” Valerie crossed her arms over her chest, hiding her trembling hands close to her body. “I should’ve seen him for who he was instead of what I wanted him to be.”

Daniel and Shannon didn’t respond, and Valerie took her friends’ silence for agreement. She pressed her lips together and took a few deep, calming breaths in through her nose, but her insides still felt like the aftermath of a train wreck.