That morning when woke up and heard the pounding of music filtering through from another dorm room, she decided it was time to hit the beach and find some tranquility. She couldn’t stay there, in the dark box room that she had called home for nearly a year, and concentrate. She needed a change of scenery, some fresh air and some inspiration. She pulled on a pair of denim shorts and a white t-shirt and grabbed her bag. She couldn’t wait to get out of there and breathe. She’d felt suffocated for the past week and even though she had been so busy cramming and barely had time to eat, she knew she couldn’t keep the pace up any longer.
She got to the beach just after noon and had spent nearly seven hours there. She stopped at least once every hour to look out at the surfers and past them to the horizon. The water was choppy and a deep blue, and she wished she could have stripped down to her underwear and run into it to cleanse herself from everything that was weighing her down. It had been a long time since she’d felt liberated, but she knew that day she was going to stay under her cloud. She had watched people come and go all day, every single of them relaxing and there she was, trying to work… None of it seemed right and as she lay down her copy of Ted Hughes’ Birthday Letters and picked up her purse, she finally decided that enough was enough.
The sky was tinged pink, and it cast its glow across the waves. The evening surfers were bobbing up and down, waiting for their moment. She held her hand up to her eyes and squinted into the distance, hoping to catch them one last time before she headed back to her car. They all began to paddle and their boards slowly lifted behind them. Lizzie smiled as she watched them get to their feet and ride before falling into the frothy white crash as the wave broke against the shoreline.
“Until next time,” she said to herself aloud, but the wind was so rough she barely even heard it herself. She turned and walked back to the boardwalk and made her way across to the parking lot in bare feet. When she got to her car, she opened the door and sat on the front seat, her legs dangling outside as she shook off the sand.
She had always loved the beach, and she was glad she had taken a day out to try and reconnect and clear her mind. Not that it had helped much. It wasn’t just finals and lack of a male interest that was getting to her. Recently she also had to experience her parents’ divorce, and the whole thing had left her emotionally scarred.
She looked out to the ocean again and tried not to remember how she had learned of her father’s infidelity. Of how she had to tell her mother everything and play mediator between them both as their lives all slowly fell apart. When the time came for her to leave for college, she couldn’t have been happier to get away. She desperately needed a fresh start. But so far all she seemed to have acquired was more stress.
She closed the driver’s side door and started the engine. A flock of seagulls swooped overhead and made their way out over the ocean. For the first time she felt the chill of the night air coming in.
Get yourself home, she thought. Time for bed and some more reading.
Realizing how pathetic that sounded, she rolled her eyes. God, did she need some excitement.
2.
As Lizzie walked up the stairs to her dorm, she could hear the familiar woops and cheers of her neighbors. It was Friday and that meant there would be parties raging in every corner of campus. She lowered her head and opened the front door to the building. Inside the corridors was thankfully quiet, but leaflets and posters exploded over everything, advertising the weekend fun. She went to her mail box and unlocked it. There was, as usual, nothing inside. She had stopped hoping from news from home. She no longer wanted to hear about how miserable her mother was, and she had absolutely no desire to know what her father was up to with his new woman. The whole thing had been enough to make her never want to trust a man again. As she began to drag herself up the stairs, she sighed with relief at knowing at least she didn’t have to worry that someone out there was cheating on her.
As she approached the door to her room, she heard the clicking of heels coming up behind her. She hurried to get her key in her lock before anyone tried to start a conversation with her, but she was too late. Hands slammed down over her eyes, and the girl giggled.
“Where the hell have you been all day?” she asked playfully, “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Rachel, Lizzie’s best friend, dropped her hands so Lizzie could turn to face her.
“I was studying,” she said defiantly. “If you hadn’t noticed, we’ve got finals coming up.”
“Yawn… Who cares?” Rachel said jokingly. “You look worn out.”
Lizzie managed to unlock her door and stepped inside, checking herself out in the mirror as she entered.
“I was up early. I’m getting stressed out from all this.”
“Well, then, that’s the perfect excuse,” Rachel smiled and raised her eyebrows as she sat down on Lizzie’s desk chair.
“Perfect excuse for what?” Lizzie bent over and turned on her lamp before flopping down on the bed and rubbing her eyes.
“Tonight,” Rachel said with excitement. “Fuck all these parties that are happening here… I’ve got us somewhere really awesome to go.”
“Huh?” Lizzie said leaning up on her elbows. “I hope it involves guaranteeing me an A on all of my assignments. Otherwise count me out.” She rolled back down and breathed out. She could see the stack of books in front of her and felt a chill prickle her skin. “Ugh, so much to do.” She picked up her pillow and covered her face before screaming into it and laughing.
“You’re so boring,” Rachel said as she pulled the pillow away. “You’ve spent most of your weekends here being little Miss Goody Two Shoes, studying every chance you get. Who cares if you don’t get perfect grades for once, just let your hair down and let’s go and have some fun.”
“I can’t…” Lizzie said. “You know what I’m like.”
“I do,” Rachel smiled. “And that’s exactly why I’m not taking no for an answer.” She got to her feet and bounced over to Lizzie’s closet. She flung open the doors and began to leaf through the hangers and outfits.
“No,” she moved along to the next dress. “No… no….”
Lizzie rolled her eyes and checked her cell phone. As usual, she didn’t have any messages or missed calls.
“Ugh, definitely not….” Rachel said as she lifted out a dress that Lizzie didn’t even know she still had. She had vague memories of her mother forcing her to wear it when she was younger, and it was still as hideous as she remembered.
“Hmm, this is okay…” Rachel stopped on a tight little black dress that had a plunging neck line. “In fact, this is perfect.” She pulled it from the closet, closed the doors and hung it on the front as she grinned from ear to ear.
“Okay Miss,” she said, “Get up off your butt and get showered, we have somewhere to be.”
Lizzie looked up at her friend and smiled. “Where are you forcing me to go?”
“I’m totally not telling you until we are on the way… I’m not having you bail on me.”
“Oh, great,” Lizzie said as she reluctantly got to her feet. “So you’re dragging me out of my room, making me fail the entire semester and for what? I don’t even get to know?”
“You will get to know… when we get there!” Rachel winked as she grabbed hold of Lizzie by the shoulders and pushed her towards the bathroom. “Now shower!”
Lizzie saluted her as if to say ‘yes ma’am’ and then closed the bathroom door just enough to have privacy but still shout through to Rachel. She turned on the shower and the room steamed up quickly. She stripped and looked at herself in the mirror. Her body had always been one of her biggest enemies, but lately she was finally starting to feel comfortable in her own skin. She had beautiful curves, and as she was maturing, she was realizing how much men loved them. Even though she did her best to stay away from them, especially after the betrayal she had seen from her dad and the bizarre experience with the German exchange student, she still loved to notice the
effect she had on men. And Rachel had been right… wherever they were going, the dress she had picked out was sure to turn some heads. She got into the shower and let the warm water wash away the last remaining bits of sand and sea air from her hair before she scrubbed and primped herself with various body gels and oils. Afterwards, she felt like she had spent a day at a spa. She felt relaxed and vibrant, and even the stress of her impending exams seemed to have evaporated.
“Thanks for talking me into this,” she said to Rachel as she walked back into her dorm room and dried her long blonde hair with a towel. “You’re right, I do need to get out more.”
“You need to get laid,” Rachel said without looking up from her magazine.
“Rachel!” Lizzie gasped. “That’s the last thing I’m thinking about.”
“Hmm,” Rachel peeked at her over the top of her magazine. “If you say so…”
Lizzie spritzed on some perfume, applied her mascara and ruby red lipstick and wriggled into the figure-hugging dress that showed off her perfect hourglass figure.
“Stunning,” Rachel said as she applied her own blush, “You are a vision.”
“I feel good in this dress,” Lizzie agreed, “So this party better be worth it.”
“Oh, it’s not a party,” Rachel said casually, “It’s an initiation.”
“What?”
Rachel smirked and blotted her lips. “You’ll see….”
3.
Rachel had booked them a cab so they stood on the outskirts of their campus waiting in the dark. Rachel lit a cigarette and offered it to Lizzie, but she politely declined. Even though it wasn’t cold, she was so nervous her arms were bumpy and she shivered.
“You’ve got me now, so tell me where we’re going. Come on.” Lizzie said before swigging vodka from Rachel’s hipflask.
“Okay,” Rachel exhaled, “But promise me you won’t freak out.”
“I’m not promising anything.”
Rachel rolled her eyes and pouted at her.
“Okay, I promise,” Lizzie said, even though she had her fingers crossed behind her back.
“I met this guy a couple of weeks ago,” Rachel began, “And I didn’t tell you about him because I didn’t want you to lecture me and try to put me off.”
“Well, he already sounds awesome,” Lizzie said sarcastically. She took another swig; she was clearly going to need it. She hadn’t drunk for months and she had never been much of a fan of it, anyway. The vodka made her wince, and she had to swallow it so quickly it wasn’t enjoyable in the slightest.
“Well, we’re going to his clubhouse,” Rachel said, almost under her breath.
“His what?” Lizzie squeaked.
“Clubhouse… he’s in a bike club,” Rachel sucked on the cigarette and smiled. “And tonight they’ve initiated a few new members and they have this sort of party afterwards… I got an invite because of him and I said I’d bring a friend.”
“A bike club? What I think you mean is a gang!” Lizzie said in disbelief. If she had been nervous before this information, she was now on the verge of passing out.
“You make it sound so sinister,” Rachel brushed it off.
“It is!” Lizzie stamped her foot, “I can’t believe you’re taking me somewhere like that where there will be illegal things going on!”
“Shh,” Rachel hissed as she looked around behind them, “Stop being so precious, it’s nothing like that. This guy is really great… I like him… A lot.”
Lizzie looked at her friend, and although she wanted to smack her in the face to knock some sense into her, she could also tell she was being genuine.
“Just please come with me, and let me see him… if there’s anything weird going on, we can leave, I promise,” Rachel pleaded.
Lizzie looked up the road and saw the shine of car lights approaching. She turned back to Rachel and guilt hit her as soon as she saw how miserable she looked.
“Okay,” she said reluctantly, “I’ll come with you… But don’t leave me alone and don’t let any of them talk to me… And I want to leave after an hour, okay?”
“Yes!” Rachel did a little air jump and kissed Lizzie on the cheek, “Yes, of course, anything you want.”
She was beaming, and as the cab slowed to a halt in front of them, Rachel threw open the door and gestured for Lizzie to climb in.
As she closed the door behind them and the car started on down the road, Rachel turned to her and hugged her.
“We’re going to have so much fun,” she smiled through the dark, “I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
Lizzie smiled back and exhaled. The vodka was going to have to start working and fast… Her heart began to pound in her chest. She had never been this nervous before.
It’s just a party, she told herself, forget all about what Rachel said about it being an initiation… It’s just a party with some new people. Relax.
***
As the cab pulled up outside the bar, Rachel clapped her hands together and popped a mint in her mouth.
“How did you meet this guy?” Lizzie said as she looked up at the wooden exterior and the neon sign above the door. There were rows and rows of Harleys out front and some men sat on them smoking, while others were parked up and without a rider.
“I came looking,” Rachel wiggled her eyebrows and opened the door.
Rachel had always been a little on the wild side, but even this surprised Lizzie. It must have been a phase. She had probably been watching a show that portrayed bikers as sexy and rugged and got all swept up in the moment. Lizzie reminded herself to just keep some perspective and not to worry too much about what they were about to step into.
“Well, come on,” Rachel said, “Let’s go.”
She took hold of Lizzie’s hand as they walked towards the front door. She could hear the blare of heavy rock music and the cheering of men. It was packed inside and there was a haze of mist on the windows, condensation from all the sweat and breath in there. Lizzie looked back over her shoulder as the cab pulled away. She was stuck now. There was no hailing another one as the clubhouse was in the middle of nowhere. Some of the bikers smiled at them and cat-called as they opened the front door and went inside.
“Oh, god,” Lizzie whispered to Rachel.
“It’s fine,” Rachel replied, “Just relax!”
She led her through the crowd of men in leather and women in barely anything and jumped up onto a stool. She pulled one along for Lizzie to sit on and she slowly and clumsily climbed onto it. She pulled at the hem of her dress to try and make it longer and instantly regretted wearing it. Even though she looked amazing, the wandering eyes of all of the men were making her feel self-conscious.
“What can I get you?” the barman called over to them.
Rachel ordered them two beers and lit herself another cigarette. The air was heavy with smoke and the strong scent of ripe sweat and alcohol.
“A lot of these men look older,” Lizzie whispered to Rachel.
“Yeah, well, some of these men probablt started this gang,” Rachel raised her eyebrows, “My guy is twenty-eight and drop-dead gorgeous. Just wait until you see him.”
“How long has he been a member?” Lizzie asked.
“I don’t know,” Rachel admitted. “I think maybe he got his patch tonight...”
“So he’s a newbie,” Lizzie teased. Even though she knew nothing about gangs… or bikes… she knew that being the new addition wasn’t exactly something to brag about.
“Shut up,” Rachel pouted as she collected the beers from the barman and slid one down the countertop to Lizzie.
“Well, I can’t wait to meet him, anyway,” she said as she looked around. It was basically what she had expected, but not as frightening. And she was pleasantly surprised that Rachel was right about the men. The ones that were young enough to be of interest certainly had something raw and sexy about them.
Her eyes wandered around the room and almost instantly she found herself looking up at a guy across the bar
. He was tan, had shaggy blonde hair and was clad in a heavy leather jacket which was open and bared the top of his rock-solid chest. He looked up and his eyes met hers. Lizzie felt her heart jump in shock as he locked her gaze. There was something about his eyes and the way they were drawing her in. They were a deep hazel and completely consuming. She almost forgot to breathe.
“Are you okay?” Rachel asked.
Lizzie jumped again and looked at Rachel. “Yes,” she panted, “I’m fine.”
She quickly looked back up, but he was gone. She looked behind her and tried to crane her neck to the other side of the bar, but he was nowhere in sight.
Her heart sank.
She swigged her beer. Maybe it wasn’t going to be such a bad night after all.
4.
“Here he is,” Rachel whispered to her excitedly as another hot guy walked slowly over to them.
He wasn’t as sexy as the one that Lizzie had seen across the bar, but he was certainly Rachel’s type. He had long dark hair and a goatee to match. He had big skull rings on his fingers and he gripped the neck of his beer bottle with big hands.
“Lizzie,” Rachel said proudly, “This is Blaze.”
Lizzie looked up at him and held out her hand, unsure of what to say. What she really wanted to ask was whether it was his real name… but knew Rachel would kick her under the bar.
“Hi,” she managed finally, “Nice to meet you.”
Blaze gave her a short smile and wrapped his arm around Rachel’s neck, then he whispered in her ear and began to kiss down her throat. Lizzie looked away uncomfortably and sipped her drink. She suddenly wanted to get the hell out of there.
“Umm,” Rachel said as she got to her feet, “We’re just going to dance, I’ll be right back.” Blaze hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her into the crowd before turning and heading towards a door at the back of the bar.
[Runes of Argyl 01.0] The Runes of Argyl Trilogy Page 95
