AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Have we met before?” I asked him.
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I would remember a beautiful woman like you.”
My cheeks heated a little with the compliment. Having fair skin was a curse for things like that.
“You live in Cali, Amber?”
“Thinking about it.”
“For a guy that would leave you alone at a party like this?”
I stared out over the ocean and let the crashing of the waves fill in the blanks while I thought. Noah wasn’t a bad guy. This party notwithstanding, he often considered my preferences. He did things for me many wouldn’t, and all he asked for tonight was that I was here and that I let him do what he needed.
“What makes you think he left me alone?”
“You’re here with me.”
“True, but I was the one who told him to go do his thing. I could have been with him, but….” I trailed off.
“You didn’t want to go back into that house.”
I nodded my agreement.
“Worked out for me.”
I huffed out a laugh. “How’d you figure that?”
“I get to sit and talk to a pretty lady.”
“You’re charming.”
“I’d say I try, but I’m Latino. It comes naturally.”
“It’s that sexy accent you have going on.”
“This one?” he asked, pointing to his mouth, a handsome smile spreading over his features. “You just made my night.”
I smiled and rested my chin on my knees as I turned my eyes back to the Pacific and drank in the crashing of the waves. Frankie wasn’t the company I’d wanted tonight, but it was companionable. I probably should have asked him more questions and learned more about him, but I was glad for the quiet company and the easy conversation.
As we sat there together, the music from above grew louder and louder. As did the attendees’ voices as the alcohol and drugs flowed. I didn’t know what I was going to find when I ventured back up there, but for a little while, I was able to enjoy the peace on that beach.
ChapterThirteen
Saturday, April 9, 2016
11pm - 12am
Ididn’t stay on the beach with Frankie for long. When I was ready, I made my way back up those uneven steps and slipped the towering shoes on moments before I stepped back into the eyes of the guests milling around up there. Frankie had chosen to stay on the beach until his boss called him. I couldn’t blame him for that. I was still debating whether or not to call Kenzie and ask her to pick me up.
Every moment I stayed went against the basic instinct that told me to run as far and fast as possible. It was only Noah that kept me from leaving. He’d never asked me for much because anything Noah wanted, he made happen for himself. All I was required to do was come here to be by his side while he did what he needed to ensure his film got the best of everything.
I didn’t go through the basement floors to enter the house again. I wasn’t sure I could stomach seeing those people bound up and subjected to the lack of fundamental human rights. I made my way to the upper level of the balcony and entered the house that way instead.
The situation wasn’t much better as the dealings spilled from other house floors to the main one. The woman dangling in the cage of the foyer was spinning in her hoop, her flowing skirt making a kaleidoscope of color. She’d turned on some tiny LED lights woven into her tulle tail. I stood watching her for a while, grinning as she dropped and then caught herself with another spin.
Vape smoke and the smell of hydro filled the red room as I made my way inside, the haze creating a monster movie effect as it thickened. The stalactite lighting ran strobes, like blood flowing to the end of a needlepoint before disappearing and starting again. It lay heavy in the smoky atmosphere, creating an effect over the writhing bodies of the dancers. I forced myself to move deeper inside, searching every dark corner for my date.
I couldn’t see Noah anywhere, and I was actively looking. Only, the farther I walked into the red room, the more I could have sworn I was getting a contact high.
