Her Best Friend's Dad

Chris joins us, arms around Tasha, as the music becomes something a bit more intimate. The three of us dance, and they’re almost grinding. I back up a bit, feeling like a third wheel for the first time since arriving. Looking around for a dance partner or a way to escape, I catch the eye of the guy I met earlier at the gallery. He lifts his chin and winks, draining a beer in one chug before coming over.

“I’m Gary. You’re the art girl.” He slides around me, hips and shoulders swaying with the music. It’s a move meant more for a club than a house party, but I’m not looking for someone who can do more than entertain me while I’m here.

“Lia,” I half-yell into his ear so I can be heard.

We dance, and despite how the other couples on the floor are dancing, I try to keep a bit of distance between us. He grabs onto my hips a few times, and each time I spin away. I’m not interested in what he’s offering. I don’t want to be rude and make a scene, but I try to make my intentions clear. I move away again, bumping into the wall as he comes nearer.

“Come on, baby.” Gary reaches for the edge of my skirt and rubs the inside of my thigh. I panic, heart racing, as I try to find an escape. “We should celebrate you doing that art thing. There’s a free bedroom upstairs.” I don’t want to go anywhere with Gary, but he is drunk enough that he thinks I’m merely playing hard to get. “I can show you the kind of art I make, Lia. I bet I can do all sorts of things with my tongue you’ve never experienced.” He reeks of beer, and I freeze as his hand moves up higher.

“The lady has made it clear you aren’t wanted.” We both turn at the voice, and I see Beck’s fist come at Gary’s face before he does. It connects with a snap, making Gary collapse in a heap. I’m in too much shock to process what is happening, as I’m lead outside. It’s Beck, though, and I trust him to keep me safe.

Tasha follows us outside, upset at her father’s disruption of the party. “That guy was pawing at Lia even after she told him ‘no,’” he says. “If you’d kept your phone on as promised, Tasha Marie, I wouldn’t have had to track you down to find the two of you. Be home by one; I’ll get Lia home. We can talk then.” Beck is calm despite the rage in his eyes, and his hand is a vice around my wrist. “You might want to get that dipshit some ice.”

I scurry to keep up with Beck’s long stride, and he not only opens the truck door for me, he lifts me up into the truck and reaches in to buckle the seatbelt for me. “Did he hurt you?” Beck’s hands coast over my skin without really touching. It’s maddening.

Shaking my head, I tell him I’m okay. I am okay. I’m quivering, but it’s mostly from the adrenaline rush of watching Beck punch someone. He climbs in on his side and pulls away from the curb, barely looking at the road as he reassures himself that I’m fine.

My voice is soft, almost reverent, when I can speak. “You protected me.”

Beck’s hand is warm as he wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me a bit closer in the cab of his pickup. “I always will.” The promise in his words has me near tears.

“Lia, I haven’t stopped thinking about you, about us. Memories of our night on the roof drove me crazy the entire time I was away. Work called while I was at the gallery, and it had to be dealt with. I was on the phone in my car when you and Tasha left. I had to talk to you, and so I followed you to the party. I wasn’t going to interfere with you and that guy, not if it looked like you wanted him. When he started forcing you, however…” Beck trails off, hands tensing on the wheel. “I couldn’t stop myself, Lia.” His fingers move to the back of my neck, kneading while he drives. I don’t know how he can focus on doing both so well. “I promised to show you how much I missed you. That kiss on your cheek was nowhere near enough. And when I saw you with that boy… I wanted to show him that you’re mine.”

Stumbling over the words, I explain how I was only dancing. “And what if Tasha asks why you were there, why you hit that guy?” Will she know about us? Will there be repercussions at work? I like my job too much to cause trouble for him, for us, there. And there is my father to worry about… Beck lets me ramble for the entire drive, and he pulls off into the parking lot of the park I’d escaped to the day of our garage kiss.