“I guess someone forgot to give me the update, Kyle. Last I heard you date a man a few times and got to know him. Then you decide if you want to have sex or not.” She kept her tone reasonable, even though she felt angry and she would have liked to yell the words at him. “So I guess I will decide right now. I have no interest in sleeping with a conceited asshole like you.”
Kyle stepped on the brakes so hard that the car’s tires made a loud screeching noise and she automatically put her hand out toward the dashboard to hold herself up. Luckily she had her seat belt on or her face would have hit the dashboard. Then she would have done more than yell angry words at him. She would have punched him in that perfectly straight nose of his. Her first instinct was to look behind them to see if other cars were heading toward them. She let out a deep breath of relief when she saw nothing but empty darkness behind them. He pulled over to the curb and turned the car off.
“Are you crazy, Kyle?” Was this the same nice delivery guy that showed up at her dad’s gym once a week and seemed like such a gentleman?
“I can do whatever I want, Jessy. I planned this date, spent good money, and now you’re ruining my night.” He sounded like a whiny, spoiled little boy. He had turned in his seat so he was facing her.
Jessy wondered for the tenth time tonight what had possessed her to say yes when Kyle had asked her out. Had she been so desperate to prove that she was over Royce? Yes, she told herself. She had been that desperate to forget the anger and the humiliation of her failed flirtation with Royce “King” Sanders. She couldn’t even call it a relationship, a one-night stand maybe, but not a relationship.
Kyle turned in his seat to look at her. Suddenly he didn’t look so nice. His smile had an evil tone now. He put one hand on each of her shoulders. She could feel his tight grip through the thin material of her dress. “I always get what I want, Jessy, and I want you right now. I have been anxious to get between your legs for a long time now. I bet you get plenty of action hanging around that gym with all those guys, so quit acting like an outraged virgin.”
“You don’t know anything about me, Kyle.” This date was a disaster and she vowed to never date again. Dating sucked and she was fine with staying single, she assured herself.
“I tried to be nice. I was going to take you to my place so we could be comfortable but you want it the hard way. That’s fine with me. It sounds a little more challenging,” he informed her.
“I said no, Kyle. Don’t you know what that word means?” She tried to reason with him one last time before she had to break that perfect nose of his. She was not going to let him rape her in some rundown neighborhood in his fancy car.
He laughed and leaned in close to her face. “Some chicks like to play hard to get, but I always make sure they have a good time in the end.”
His lips landed on hers but she kept her mouth closed. She felt his hand move down and roughly squeeze her breast. She pushed him away using all her strength and he looked angry. He opened his mouth to say something but she closed her hand in a fist and aimed for his nose. She heard a bone crunch when she made connection.
Kyle let her go and grabbed his nose. Blood was dripping on his clean white shirt. “You bitch. You broke my nose.”
Jessy almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He deserved it. How many girls had he
done this too? Girls too weak or scared to fight back?
What a conceited bastard. “You deserve it, Kyle. I said no, let this be a lesson to you, when a girl says no she means no.”
“Get out of my car now. You will be hearing from my lawyers.” His voice was muffled because he was unsuccessfully trying to prevent the blood from staining his seats.
Jessy gave him a scathing look and got out. She had her cell phone with her at least. She slammed his door harder than she had to, knowing it would piss him off. All he talked about throughout the evening was his stupid car. She wished she had a dozen eggs to throw at his precious sports car. She watched the red taillights until they faded out of view. Terrific, Jessy, now what?
She looked down at her short black dress and heels. Hopefully she would blend in with the darkness. Her long hair was a dark brown and would help her to not stand out in the darkness.
She started walking toward the glow of the traffic light she could see up ahead. Intersections usually had stores that stayed opened late or gas stations. At least it was warm in Los Angeles, so she wasn’t freezing her butt off. She had to keep reciting positive thoughts or she would just break down and cry. One thing she did not want to do was break down and cry. She had done enough of that already. Tonight’s date was supposed to mark a new beginning, a fresh start. So much for that idea.
As she walked down the empty sidewalk, she cursed men in general. It was better to focus on her anger rather than on her despair. She made sure to stay alert and keep an eye on her surroundings. Her dad had always lectured her on safety. He was an ex-boxing champion before running a training facility for MMA fighters. Raising a daughter by himself hadn’t been easy. At least he had taught her basic self-defense moves and how not to panic.
Putting off the inevitable wasn’t going to get her out of this dangerous situation. She took out her cell phone and dialed the one man she could still count on.
“Dad.” She couldn’t prevent the sound of relief when she said his name out loud as soon as he answered. Her dad would come for her, of that she had no doubt. “I’m in a spot of trouble, but don’t worry, I’m not hurt.”
For now, she added silently.
“What’s going on? Thought you had a date with that weasel,” his gruff voice came over the line. She could hear noise in the background and knew he must still be at the gym. Thank God. The gym wasn’t far from here, maybe a mile or two. She had just reached the intersection with the traffic lights. It was empty but that was probably a good thing in a neighborhood like this. Crime was an everyday occurrence and these streets were filled with gangs and drug dealers. She had no desire to run into either one.
“We had a disagreement and now I am stuck out here. I’m not far from the gym,” she explained, and automatically moved the phone a few inches from her ear.
“You mean to tell me that son of a bitch left you out there? I will beat him to a pulp,” her dad yelled loudly, and despite his brusque tone she knew he was worried. She had no plan to tell him what Kyle wanted to do because then he would kill Kyle for sure. She didn’t want her dad to get in trouble. Hopefully his bloody nose stained his perfectly white seats.
“Where exactly are you?” he asked once his tirade was over.
Jessy looked around and saw a small party store with flashing neon lights in the large window advertising all kinds of alcohol. The open sign was still flashing with bright lights and her shoulders sagged with relief.
“Sixth Street Party Store on the corner of Sixth and Highland,” she answered quickly, crossing the street and heading toward the store and hopefully safety. “I’ll be outside waiting. And thanks, Dad.”
“Be right there,” her father assured her, and she felt better. She huddled against the wall, hidden in the darkness and not under the light. She didn’t want to be noticed. A car pulled in and parked with rap music playing loud. She could see two young men getting out and talking with each other. She hoped she wouldn’t be spotted. She could defend herself if she had too but she really didn’t want to. Her fist was already sore.