Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  Something about that family was different. Skylar could feel it to her core, but she didn’t understand why. What made her most uncomfortable was their brother, Remus. Sometimes she could sense him glaring at her, and as if his stare could burn her, her muscles would tense up, making her unpleasantly hot. He definitely gave her the creeps. Trying to focus her attention elsewhere, she glued herself to the cash register. Distracted by customers paying, she was glad for the chance to stay busy.

  Skylar loved to watch Kayla serving. She could hold four plates at once, as she was doing now, balancing them perfectly. Skylar wondered if she could do the same, or if she would accidentally drop one. Perhaps she should try. Laughing to herself, she was soon distracted by another customer who brought her their bill.

  “Here you go.” Kayla brought the guys their lunches, setting the plates down one by one.

  Curious to see what they’d ordered, Skylar placed herself on the other side of the counter. After getting a peek at their sandwiches and French fries, she went back to the register. The brothers held a conversation with Kayla as they ate. Kayla was at ease, speaking her mind, laughing, and looking like she was having the time of her life. How Skylar wished she could feel at ease too, not so much with Remus, though. Maybe she could one day. She just had to be bolder.

  After an hour had gone by, the brothers flipped a coin and Mason stood up. Skylar guessed he lost the bet and had to pay the bill. As if she was spellbound by him, her eyes held Mason’s, unable to look away even as he came toward her, looking dreamy. Every nerve in her body tingled, awakened by him. She couldn’t deny the magnetic pull, and she was unable to explain the hold he had on her.

  “Here,” he said, placing the bill on the counter.

  “I guess you lost the bet, huh?”

  “I never lose.”

  So you wanted to pay the bill and come see me? Skylar flushed brightly. “Oh.”

  “So are you’re going to the club Friday night? It’s more of a restaurant actually.”

  “I think so. I mean … my cousin really wants me to go, but—”

  “But not your crowd?”

  “No, not really. I’ve never been.”

  “How do you know you won’t like it if you’ve never been?”

  “That’s true. I guess I’ll know Friday. Will you be there?” She couldn’t believe she’d asked. Be bolder.

  “Yes. See you then.”

  Was that a direct invitation from him? She didn’t know, but he’d said, “see you then.” Must mean something, right? Just from a perceived invitation, she felt like her whole essence levitated to the ceiling and her eyes followed his stride back to his brothers. Then, the brothers stood up at once. On their way out the door, Mason gave a sideways quick smile. Nick waved, looking directly at her. Remus raked his eyes over her, and Everett didn’t even bother to look her way. Strange, but good-looking family.

  Skylar jerked. She was startled by her phone vibrating. Ahhh! She hated when that happened. If people saw her, she probably looked like a girl startled by someone smacking her in the rear.

  It was a text from Kayla.

  Did he ask you out?

  I don’t know.

  What do you mean?

  Kayla raised her brows in confusion. She could have just walked over, but they were getting busy, and she didn’t want Mona reprimanding her again.

  Like I said, I don’t know.

  What did he say?

  He asked me if I was going Friday & then said see you then.

  Ahhh! That’s a date!

  Don’t be silly. Gotta go. I’m working you know.

  EIGHT

  “You’re not seriously going to wear that, are you?” Skylar asked, stunned to see her cousin dressed in a skintight black, short dress. It had a cowl loop in front and showed major cleavage. She did look sexy and alluring, but it was not the type of dress Skylar would wear.

  “Why not? All the girls will be dressed like this. I want him to see only me. Here.” She pulled a similar dress out of her closet and handed it to Skylar.

  Skylar gasped, shaking her head. “I don’t think so. I won’t be able to breathe.”

  “Just try it on. It’s not as low or as short as mine, I promise.”

  After Skylar slipped it on, she stood in front of the mirror. It didn’t look as bad as she thought it would. She felt older, more attractive.

  “See? It looks great on you.” Kayla tugged Skylar to the bathroom and fussed with her hair and face.

  “Natural … I like it natural. Light on the makeup. Don’t make me look like a clown.”

  Kayla giggled. “A clown? Are you serious? Please, don’t insult my expertise or I will make you look like one. Now turn around, Miss America.”

  “Miss America? Yeah, right.” Skylar turned to see herself. “Wow. I like it. I look … different.”

  “I told ya so, beautiful clown. He better ask you on a real date, or else he is either blind or gay.”

  Skylar laughed aloud. “Thanks.”

  After slipping on black high heels, they both grabbed their purses, got into Kayla’s car, and drove away.

  The live music blasted as they entered. Skylar felt overwhelmed by the ambiance, but Kayla radiated with excitement. It was dark, but the lights above the bar and the candles in the middle of the tables gave off enough light. Being tugged to the other side of the club, Skylar knew Kayla had spotted Nick.

  Zipping along, Skylar observed the bar. All the stools were taken except for one. As they zigzagged through booths and tables, she saw the empty dance floor. Standing tall towards the back, waving, was Nick. With a hug, he gave each of the girls a kiss on their cheeks. Disappointingly, he was the only one at the table.

  As the girls scooted into the booth, Skylar saw Nick was dressed in black slacks and a lavender dress shirt. Not only did he smell nice, he looked quite dashing, and part of her felt guilty for thinking he looked hot. Sitting there, she wondered if Mason was around, but she didn’t want to ask Nick. Her question was answered when she saw Mason across the dance floor looking straight at her, but he was with a girl.

  Skylar’s heart sank, and her face stung as if she had been slapped. She tried to justify his actions. He didn’t ask her out directly. It was her fault for not thinking straight, her fault for jumping to the conclusion that he had asked her out—sort of.

  Kayla followed Skylar’s gaze. “Oh no he didn’t,” she mouthed, turning to get her cousin’s attention. “Hey, Skylar. Want a drink?”

  “What?” Skylar’s eyes were already on the bar, trying desperately not to look toward Mason and his date. It was difficult when they were right across from her. And it was totally not fair that he looked so debonair with dark slacks and a gray dress shirt.

  “Nick will get us drinks,” Kayla suggested, looking at Nick.

  “No.” Skylar snapped, taking her anger out on her cousin. She didn’t mean to. Upset with herself for allowing Mason to crawl under her skin the way he had, she was determined to prove to herself that she was strong. “I mean, I’ll get them.” Her tone was softer. “What can I get for the both of you?” She smiled. She wasn’t going to let him get the best of her. Jerk. He wasn’t worth her time. She was here to have fun with her cousin, and fun she would have, even if it meant faking it.

  “Get me any beer. I drink all kinds,” Nick said.

  “Get me the same.” Kayla looked at Skylar with concern.

  Skylar ignored Kayla and grabbed her purse, walked over to the bar, and sat at the open seat. “I’ll take two beers. No, make that three,” she said to the bartender, who acknowledged her with a nod and a smile.

  “What kind?” he asked. He was tall, slim, and attractive. He needed a shave, though.

  “The best you have.”

  “I’ll need to see your ID, miss.”

  Shoot! She forgot she couldn’t buy beer because she’d never bought one before. Skylar looked over her shoulder to get her cousin’s attention, but froze when a body brushed against her
s. Then she heard his voice—the voice that called to her, the voice that made her go all crazy inside, the voice that could probably make her do just about anything if he asked nicely.

  “It’s okay. She’s with me.”

  The bartender nodded and walked away.

  Skylar’s breath got caught in her throat and she couldn’t move. She didn’t know what to do. On the one hand, she was furious with him, but on the other hand, she didn’t have the right to feel this way. He didn’t ask her out. She kept repeating those thoughts to make herself feel better. With no other option, she had to be polite.

  “Thanks.” She didn’t look at him. Looking at him would be dangerous. In fact, she kept her eyes rooted on the bartender, but she could smell his musky scent, and wanted to get lost in his eyes.

  “You know you can’t buy beer. You’re only eighteen,” he scolded lightly.

  How did he know my age? Then she recalled Kayla telling Nick they were eighteen. Either that, or he really was the cop he denied being, and had seen her driver’s license. “I’m almost nineteen. I don’t even drink beer. I was getting it for your brother. It’s my first time buying it, and I forgot I couldn’t.”

  “Well, that explains it.”

  Frowning at his remark, she kept her vision straight ahead.

  “But you bought three?”

  She paused, trying to think of something clever to say, but failed. “I thought I would try it tonight.”

  “So no fake ID?”

  “What? No. I’m not that kind of girl” She scoffed. From the corner of her eye, she could see Mason wearing an amused smile. Then she swiftly shifted her eyes to his left, thinking she saw the same dirty blond haired guy she’d seen at the mall. After doing a double take and catching no sign of him, she gazed to Mason’s strong ripped chest, unwilling to look him in the eye. Though he had a shirt on, she could clearly see the firmness of his muscles, making her blush.

  “Looking for someone?”

  “No. I thought I saw … .” She paused, looking dismayed. “Never mind.”

  “Do you have a habit of conversing with shirts?”

  “What?” She knew why he made that comment. She hadn’t looked him in the eye once since the conversation started, and now she was staring at his chest. For goodness sake, she didn’t mean to make it obvious.

  “If you prefer, I can take off my shirt and give it to you, since you seem to like it so much.”

  That wouldn’t be such a bad idea. No! What was she thinking? “I don’t think so.”

  Thankfully, the bartender came back at that moment with the beers, breaking their conversation. “That will be eighteen.”

  Eighteen bucks for three beers? What do they put in it, gold? Skylar reached into her purse to get her wallet out, but when she reached to give the bartender a twenty, her hand collided with Mason’s. Clearly, he was trying to pay. Once again, some kind of exhilaration sparked down her spine.

  “Ouch. You shocked me again. What are you, like the static king?” Her hand jolted back to her side with the bill.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled, cursing under his breath.

  “That’s okay,” she replied without making eye contact. Then she turned her attention to the bartender before he could walk away with Mason’s twenty and placed her bill in front of him. “Wait. I can pay for it. I’m treating them.”

  Mason’s hand was slightly on top of hers as he carefully pulled it back. Even though his touch was gentle and light with hardly any pressure, her hand followed obediently. “You can pay for it, but you need to be twenty one. Are you?” His tone demanded attention.

  He was right. Submissively, peering up to answer his question—which was a big mistake—she saw his supple, kissable lips. They spread across, giving her a smile she could die for. With her eyes fixated on his, she pulled her hand away slowly. At that moment, every sound, every movement seemed to blur around her. Swallowed up by Mason’s world, she was breathless. His powerful body just inches away from hers, caused a longing feeling to surge that she could not control. She hated how he could make her feel weak all over. “Thanks. I’ll let them know you bought it.”

  “There’s no need for that. Do you need help carrying them over?”

  “Nope,” she snapped, and then twisted her neck to where his date was sitting. With a compact mirror in front of her, she was checking herself out. The woman reached into her purse, pulled out her lip-gloss, and glided it across her lips. Her beautiful blonde hair cascaded down, blocking one side of her face. “Shouldn’t you go back and entertain your date?”

  “My date? You think I should?” He chuckled.

  What kind of answer was that? She suddenly felt bad for his date. “You should do whatever you want.” She grabbed the bottles of beer and walked away as if she didn’t care, never looking back.

  “I was beginning to worry,” Kayla whispered. “What was going on over there?”

  “I’ll tell you later, but now we need to toast.” Skylar clinked Kayla and Nick’s bottles. “To you, and you, and me.” Then she took a sip and almost threw up. Squirting some out of her mouth, she quickly apologized and wiped her chin with a napkin. She didn’t know why people liked to drink something she imagined pee would taste like.

  Nick laughed. “You’ll get used to the taste really fast.”

  After several sips, Kayla wanted to dance. With Kayla’s persuading and tugging their hands, Skylar and Nick were pulled onto the dance floor. They were the first to break the ice, and more people joined in. Skylar was enjoying herself, but in a way, it was forced. She wanted to prove to Mason, and herself, that he didn’t affect her at all.

  Soon, after a few more sips of beer, she found herself dancing alongside Kayla with a complete stranger. Once in a while, she would steal glances at Mason. Though he never fully looked at her, she could tell he was watching, and that made her happy, like she’d won a contest or something.

  As the music continued to blast, the crowd got bigger, surrounding them, and she lost sight of Mason. Not just him, she lost sight of Kayla, too. Thoroughly enjoying dancing, the not so bad looking guy she was dancing with was all smiles. By now, thoughts of Mason vanished, and she disappeared into the crowd as she danced like she’d never danced before. The vibration from the bass pumped through her body, enticing and fueling her with energy that was buried within her. With both of her hands up in the air, she moved in ways she’d never dared to do—seductively. Certainly, she was having the time of her life.

  Skylar felt carefree, and at the same time, she felt light headed from the alcohol. Now she knew what feeling buzzed felt like. Though she didn’t know if she liked the feeling, she knew it made her feel braver, more daring, like the way she was dancing with a total stranger. As they continued to sway to the beat, sweat trickled down her forehead. Blood rushed to her face, making her feel hot from all the movement.

  Unexpectedly, her dance partner placed his hands around her hips and pulled her in. Not only did he reek of alcohol, he was sweating so much he looked like he had just gotten out of the shower. His hands were all over her, uncomfortably. Wanting him off her, she pushed him, but he didn’t budge and continued to hold onto her. Then he pulled her arms behind her back to lock them in place. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to react.

  “Stop!” she yelled. The people around her were so hypnotized by the sound of the music. They were unable to hear her cry for help. Skylar desperately tried to push him off, but with all her pushing and yanking, and him moving to her sway, it looked like they were just dancing together.

  “Get off me!” she yelled again. Thank goodness, her mom had made her take a self-defense class. Think. Think. Think. Recalling the demonstration she’d observed and practiced during a class session, she thought to try it. With the only part of her body that was free, she jabbed her heel on top of his shoe as hard as she could, and kicked him on his shin to push him away.

  Stumbling several steps backward, and looking like he was in great pain, he moaned l
oudly. With piercing eyes that held a look of rage, he pulled his hand back to swing at her. Just before contact, he was thrown across the floor, knocking people down who happened to be in his path.

  “She said no!” Mason looked at Skylar. “You okay?”

  Feeling humiliated and stunned, tears streamed down her cheeks. Unintentionally, she darted to Mason and threw her arms around him. She couldn’t help herself. She didn’t plan to do it—it just happened. Skylar only did it for one reason—to thank him.

  NINE

  “Skylar? Skylar!” Kayla shouted, sounding concerned.

  Hearing her cousin’s voice, she pulled herself from Mason. “Sorry,” she whimpered, looking up at him as she wiped her tears away. His eyes gazed into hers with a look of concern, or was it a look of annoyance because she’d hugged him? She didn’t know. Whatever the reason, his hands were straight down and his muscles were tense, so she was all too glad to have Kayla come to her rescue.

  “Are you okay?” Kayla asked, pulling Skylar away from the dance floor and toward the exit.

  Looking over her shoulder, Skylar had a clear view of Mason still standing there stiff as a board. Her body continued to tremble as tears dampened her cheeks again.

  Kayla pushed the door open and led them half way down the block. “What happened?”

  After Skylar explained, Kayla thought it was best to go home. Not wanting to ruin Kayla’s night, Skylar convinced her to stay. She told her to ask Nick to drive her home, and she would take Kayla’s car.

  “Are you sure?” Kayla asked, letting out a conflicting heavy sigh.

  “Yes. I’m a big girl. Please go back and have fun. I don’t want Nick waiting for you too long, and I don’t want to be the cause of you going home early and ruining the night for both of you.”

  “Wait. This is like your first beer. Are you feeling buzzed?”