naked from the waist down, and in the moonlight, I
could see he had put on his protection. I was so
stunned that I couldn't move. He reached in and pulled
me out. I screamed, but he opened the rear door and
forced me back into the car, lying over me quickly
and forcing me back against the seat. There was no
room to maneuver.
"Let's get those red panties off once and for
all," he muttered.
I pushed at his shoulders, but his body was too
heavy. His hands were on my thighs, tugging at my
waist until he had the panties down below my knees. "Stop!" I screamed. "Please don't do this, Dana.
Please," I begged.
He grunted with the effort to have his way.
What once had the potential to be romantic and
beautiful had turned into something bestial and ugly.
This wasn't going to be a memory to call up in our old
age, as Karen had promised. It was going to be a
memory to bury and struggle forever to forget. How
could I stop it?
I don't know where the words came from, but I
dipped deeply into some treasured place and drew
them up. I spoke calmly, so calmly I even surprised
myself, because the calmness gave what I said more
authority and strength.
"You don't want to do this. You don't want to
be this kind of person, Dana. It will haunt you the rest
of your life. You won't be proud of yourself. You'll
hate yourself, and you'll think of it every time you're
with another girl, even the girl you eventually love