Daring Dane (Intoxicating Passion #3) (4 page)

I made my way in to the apartment, flung my
bags in the corner and yelled for Leela. I hadn’t seen or talked to her in a
day or two and I missed her. I moved through the rooms, finally finding her
working out to a Zumba video in her bedroom.

How she did this workout was beyond me. I
tried it for a week…then stopped because I couldn’t move the next week. I felt
pain in muscles I didn’t know existed. I couldn’t get out of bed without
moaning and groaning like a thousand year old woman. It was pathetic, really,
but I refused to try it again.

“Lee?” I called from the door. I knew better
than to go in when she did this. She would run me over and not even realize I
had been in the way.

Panting, she paused it and turned. “Korah,”
she said breathlessly. “Almost…done.”

“Ok,” I nodded. Heading to the living room, I
flopped down in a chair, staying away from the couch whenever possible. Too
many memories of Dane resided there. I scrolled through my phone, checking my
Facebook and Twitter while I waited for Leela.

She staggered in the room, collapsing to the
ground out of breath. She moved her hands around in the air, which would look
crazy to anyone else, but I knew she wanted water. I jumped up, grabbing two
bottles from the refrigerator, and handing them over. “You gonna live?”

She nodded once, sitting enough to gulp down
the whole first bottle. Her breathing was still rapid, though not as intense.
She leaned on the coffee table, resting her head on her elbow, and said, “What’s
up?”

“Haven’t seen you in a day or two, I wanted
to say hi. I miss my bestie a little bit,” I grinned.

She returned the smile, before downing the
other bottle. She sat completely up, finally breathing a normal pace. Her
expression softened, then became unreadable. She fidgeted with the empty
bottle, not looking me directly in the eye.

“Leela?” I said softly.

“I saw Dane,” she blurted out, jumping to her
feet. She moved so quickly I had to jerk my neck to locate her across the room.

“What?” I was genuinely confused.

“I went out the other night and Dane was
sitting on the sidewalk outside the bar. He was so wasted, Korah…he just kept
talking about you.”

My chest constricted, I felt like a semi was
parked on it. “He what?” My statements were lame, my replies practically
useless.

I was floored. Dane talked about me? While
drunk to my best friend?

She nodded quickly, perching beside me on the
armrest. “Yeah, Korah, he was blabbering about you. I think he cares about you
and is pretty much terrified. He looked like a little lost puppy. It was
endearing, but at the same time I wanted to smack him upside the head.”

“What did he say exactly?”

“He said he’d screwed things up, he’s really
upset about this so called date you’ve got tonight. It was sad listening to
him…I got the feeling he thinks he’s too screwed up to be with anyone.”

“Cale is just a friend though,” I stressed.
“We’re going out just so we won’t be alone.”

“I know. I get it, but it’s making Dane
crazy. I think what I said will make him straighten up,” she admitted with a
large grin.

Rolling my eyes, I asked, “You gave him the
consume or conquer speech, didn’t you?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Of course, what
else would I have said to him? He needed it way more than you ever have.”

Shaking my head, I elbowed her in the side.
“You need a new speech.”

Her body bumped me back and she shook her
head. “No, you need to give me a reason to make a new speech. Listen to me,
though…Dane was sincere. You might wanna tell him this
date
is nothing.”

I contemplated confessing while aimlessly
twirling the end of my scarf around my finger. Leela must have noticed, because
she gently tugged until it came open. Her eyes scanned my neck, once again
filling with tears over seeing the fingerprints Christopher left behind.

“Have the police called?”

I shook my head.

“Do you have mace? You’re being careful,
right?” her lips quivered with each word.

“Yeah,” I whispered, my fingers trailing over
my bruises. Christopher was still out there. He would be back if the cops
didn’t find him.

Leela hopped up, pulling me with her. “We
aren’t letting that asshole bring us down. He won’t find you again. You’re
going to go out tonight and have fun. That’s what this whole thing is about,
right? Having fun? Well, we’ll make it happen!”

I smiled weakly, trying to muster my
enthusiasm to match hers, but it wasn’t happening. The sinking in my gut told
me Christopher would be back, soon or later, and I prayed I wasn’t alone when
it happened. I barely got away the last time, and a week and a half later still
had the bruises to remind me.

Being abused wasn’t something easy to deal
with. It ate at your soul, constantly nagging and making you feel worthless. I
knew it wasn’t my fault, but at the same time felt like it somehow was. My
self-esteem plummeted with each encounter, leaving me feeling weaker and more
vulnerable.

I hated the feeling.

Christopher was the true weak one, and I knew
it in the deepest parts of me, but I was still terrified of him. I wanted him
locked away with no chance of coming back to harm me. Would I ever feel safe
again?

“Earth to Korah, get your head back to the
present. You’re gonna look adorable tonight,” Lee squealed. She was like that,
able to go from serious to fun in an instant. I didn’t know if it was a coping
mechanism or if she really could switch gears that quickly, but it made me
slightly jealous.

Once again, I sat still while Leela worked
her magic on me. I fought with my mind, refusing to think back to Halloween
night, the last time she did this. She attempted to cover my bruises with
make-up, but I looked more like a clown that anything, so we found a red scarf
to match the black dress she loaned me.

Fitted clothing, waved hair with a red flower
tucked behind my ear, the red scarf, and pumps to match.

I kinda felt hot.

And my stomach fluttered as one thought
crossed my mind.
I wished Dane could see
me tonight
.

Leela always seemed to know what I was
thinking. She peered over my shoulder, looking at my reflection in the mirror.
“He would drop over from a heart attack if he saw you. You are smokin!”

Turning one edge of my mouth up, I gave a
half grin, and continued to inspect my neck. I didn’t want anyone to know. The
rumors could swirl and circulate all they wanted, but when it came down to it,
I didn’t want anyone to see me like this.

The pity I received after the first time was
more than I could handle. It was summer break when it happened, and all my
friends back home knew about it. Each time I saw someone, stared into their
sympathy filled eyes as they looked me over like I was some small, homeless
child that had nothing, I wanted to puke. I didn’t want their pity.

I didn’t need their pity.

I refused to feel worthless again, to have
the need to defend myself to people I didn’t know because they somehow thought
I needed their advice, assistance, or worse.

“You ok?” Leela asked. She sat on her bed
now, watching me intently.

I nodded. “Making sure my neck isn’t visible.
I don’t want anyone’s pity.”

“I know. And most of them mean well, Korah…”

“I don’t care. It’s too much. I can’t deal
with it.”

“Ok.”

A knock sounded from the front room, pulling
us both to the door. Every time someone came by, I shook all over, my heart
beat sped up to unbelievable speeds.

I hated living in fear.

I peered out the peep hole just enough to see
Cale on the other side. He was a good friend at this point. We’d had several
classes together in the past and always seemed to end up in the same groups.
We’d never hung out outside of class, though, so I hoped this didn’t mean more
than I’d taken it for.

Opening the door, I smiled and guided him in.
“Hey, Cale. This is my roommate Leela.”

They stared at each other for a long time,
neither greeting, neither moving. Finally, he extended a hand and shook hers
slowly. Suddenly, I felt like a third wheel. Uncomfortable didn’t even begin to
describe it. I think things would have been less awkward if I’d walked in on
them having sex.

I cleared my throat, smiling to them both.
“Do you two know each other?”

Leela jerked her hand back, giving me a wild
look. “No.”

Cale shook his head. He seemed to have lost
his voice.

“Well….” I started, realizing they obviously
weren’t going to make any moves without me. “Why don’t you go get dressed and
we’ll all go out, Leela. Is that ok with you, Cale?”

He nodded, barely moving his head enough for
me to see.

If I couldn’t be with the person I thought I
wanted to be with on the holiday, the least I could do is set my friend up.

        
Sobering
up had been nothing short of the most painful experience of my life. Was I
hungover? Nope. The moment I realized what all I’d admitted to Korah’s best
friend, my world spun out of control. Korah had to know how I felt by now.
Chicks talked about all kinds of shit, especially guys. I didn’t know what to
do or how to handle it. I did the first thing that popped into my dumb head.

I asked a girl out on a date.

A real date. On Valentine’s Day.

She was from our sister sorority, nice to
look at, interesting enough I thought I could handle an hour or two of my time
with her. I knew nothing about dating, so I anticipated a disaster on my hands.
Luckily, Shawn was a friend. She wouldn’t expect me to woo her, just as I
didn’t expect to get laid. It was a nice, comfortable unsaid understanding.

Damn Korah and the things she did to me.

I picked Shawn up and headed straight to the
restaurant. It was packed with people, most of them hanging all over each other
or staring lovingly into each other’s eyes. We hadn’t been seated for five
minutes when I spotted her. It was like my body knew when she was in the
vicinity and reacted accordingly. I sweated, my heart raced, I felt nervous. My
palms actually got damp.

The sight I laid my eyes on was unexpected.
My blood boiled and my chest felt heavy. Korah, looking as gorgeous as ever,
was sitting in front of Cale. My best friend Cale.

He didn’t know I had some sort of feelings
for the girl, so I really couldn’t be mad. And in all honesty, he was a much
better match. Cale was a good guy. He didn’t view women and relationships the
same way I did.

Did that mean I wanted him kissing her?
Touching her? Loving her? No.

“Dane?” Shawn’s voice clouded my thoughts,
pulling me back to the present.

“Yes?” I asked. She caught me staring,
ignoring her. I was a real douchebag sometimes.

“Do you know that girl?” she questioned. Her
eyes were soft, understanding, and her smile friendly.

“Kinda.”

“Listen, I know you didn’t ask me out because
you like me. You’re Dane Davidson. I know your rep. So why don’t you tell me
what’s really going on and I’ll see if I can help in some way.”

“It’s nothing,” I lied, picking up the menu
to glare at.

“Dane,” she said, pulling it from my hands.
“You seem a little helpless at this whole feelings thing. Let me help you.”

Sighing, I signaled the waiter to bring us
drinks and an appetizer. This was probably going to be a long night. “Shawn,
thank you. I don’t know. It’s weird. I care about her. I never care about
women. I don’t allow myself to do that.”

“I know. And there has to be some underlying
reason for that, but continue about the brunette over there.”

“Korah, her name is Korah,” I said wistfully,
glancing over to see her friend had joined the table. The same one I bared my
soul to the night before.

Things kept getting better.

“I met her and she made an impression. Then I
did what I always do and ran for the hills. She had some problems with her ex-boyfriend
and it made me realize she’s different,” I admitted. Saying the words was
terrifying, yet freeing. I continued. “I tried to tell her, but I failed and
she has a date. She deserves better than me.”

She snuck a look at the table, then gave me a
curious smile. “That doesn’t look like a date. Are you sure she wasn’t trying
to make you jealous?”

I moved my mouth to speak, but nothing came
out. I looked again, seeing Leela and Cale talking intently while Korah sipped
her water. I finally found my words. “That little vixen. It worked, too.”

Shawn laughed loudly. “Yeah, it did. Maybe
you should go talk to her.”

“Shawn, I asked you out. The least I could do
is eat with you.”

“I’ll take it to go. You can get me a cab and
we’re good. I’m glad I could help. Dane, I can see you truly are a good guy
deep down. You only need to find a way to let him take over and stop the
playboy ways. I have faith in you. I always have, even though you’ve slept with
way too many of my sisters.”