“You mean Amanda? Some ruler she has, all that money, that big house of hers. Just that dress she has on is enough to make a woman forget any problems she ever thought she had.”
“Yeah? You like that dress? Amanda thought it looked like something a saloon girl might wear.”
“She was lying. Believe me, she was lying.” This remark seemed to please Hank, and Reva smiled when he moved a little closer to her. He was an excellent dancer, and she loved the feel of all those muscles under her hands and those legs of his touching hers. If Amanda was going to get this man she was going to have to fight for him.
Amanda started on her fourth glass of champagne before the tension left her body. Or maybe tension wasn’t the word for it. Maybe stark terror was what she was feeling. Dr. Montgomery had threatened to tell Taylor everything that had gone on between them since the professor’s arrival if Amanda didn’t go to the dance with him. Amanda was faced with definitely losing Taylor if Dr. Montgomery told or just the possibility of losing him if someone checked her room and found she was gone. She didn’t even want to think about what her grade would be on tomorrow’s test.
She took another swallow of the wine and began to look about the room. It wasn’t as garish as she’d first thought and the music was much nicer than it had sounded at first.
“Amanda?”
She looked up to see a divinely handsome man leaning over her. Not as good-looking as Taylor, of course, or even Dr. Montgomery for that matter, but very pleasant, with dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and a nicely full lower lip under a fat mustache. She kept looking at that lower lip as he sat down beside her.
“It is you, Amanda. I haven’t seen you in years. Remember me? Sam Ryan.”
She looked back at his eyes. “Sam Ryan, the love of the whole elementary school. I remember we girls used to take turns swooning when you came by.” Amanda was shocked that she’d said such a thing but she felt so relaxed that it didn’t really matter.
Sam ducked his head in embarrassment. “I don’t know about any of that, but you look great. I like that dress.”
“Do you? I’ve had it for ages.” It seemed that he was better-looking with every sip of the magic drink.
“Would you like to dance?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know how.”
“Oh.” He smiled at her and leaned forward. “Are you here alone? I mean, is that guy you came with your date or Reva’s?”
“Reva’s!” she practically yelled. “He’s nothing to do with me. He just drove the car. He’s Reva’s and no one else’s. At least not mine. I hardly know him. I don’t want to know him.” She shut up.
Sam looked at her for a while. She had grown into a beautiful woman, with her hair soft around her face, her beautiful white shoulders exposed under the transparent sleeves of her dress. “It’s awfully noisy in here, don’t you think? Why don’t we go somewhere and get somethin’ to eat and talk about old times?”
“Food would be lovely,” she said, thinking that she hadn’t eaten since that disastrous picnic with that odious man. When Amanda started to stand up, she nearly fell, but Sam’s strong arm caught her and she smiled at him as if he’d just saved her life. She was very happy to see a look in his eyes that she’d seen several times in Dr. Montgomery’s. She didn’t want to think about the way Taylor looked at her. His rejection of her today had hurt more than she wanted to admit.
“Thank you,” she murmured, holding on to him, and the warmth in his eyes increased. He was making her feel very good. She clung to his arm as if
she were an invalid as he led her toward the doors.
The tango ended and Hank turned toward where he’d left Amanda. The table was empty except for an empty champagne bottle and three glasses. Frantically, he looked about the room only to see Amanda clutching the arm of some big athletic-looking guy and gazing up at him with a simper and fluttering eyelashes. It took a moment before Hank could react, then he walked off and left Reva standing alone. Amanda and her overgrown boyfriend were already on the steps outside.
“Just where the hell do you think you’re going?” Hank demanded, clamping his hand down on Amanda’s arm.
“Wait just a minute, mister,” Sam said, pulling Amanda toward him.
“You always did love to fight, didn’t you, Amanda?” Reva said from the top of the stairs.
Amanda smiled at all of them and decided she was going to drink champagne every day for the rest of her life.
Hank looked into Sam’s eyes. They were the same height, but Sam was heavier and his face didn’t have the intelligence in it that Hank’s did. “This woman is under my protection,” Hank said, as if he were talking to one of his stupider students. “I cannot allow her to run off with some—”
“Just one minute!” Sam said. “I’ve known Amanda all her life and I thought Reva was your date.”
“So did I,” Reva said.
“She is,” Amanda said, smiling.
“You’re drunk,” Hank said with disgust and pulled Amanda toward him. “I’m taking you home.”
She jerked away from him. “I want to get drunk. I want to run away with Sam. Isn’t that the objective, Dr. Montgomery? To make me do what I want to?”