Twisted

by N. L. Greene

  I took a big gulp of my own beer. The cool liquid met my lips and then rushed over my tongue before I fully tasted it. But as soon as I did, I had to swallow quickly to keep from spitting it right back out. It tasted awful! I took a sniff of the cup and scrunched up my nose. “This tastes like shit!” I blamed Mel and Ash immediately. Why would anyone want to drink this crap?

  “Stop acting like a big baby and take another sip! By the third or fourth sip it’ll start to grow on you and you’ll like it,” Mel told me snidely.

  I looked over at her doubtfully. There was no way this would ever start to taste better. “Why do you even torture yourself?” I asked, but I followed her advice and took another sip. Surprisingly, she was right; that one hadn’t been nearly as vomit-inducing as the first.

  “Well?” she asked with a triumphant smile on her face; purposefully not answering my question.

  “Much better.” I took another big gulp. It was actually starting to taste good, and my mood was improving with each drink I took. I guessed that in itself was definitely worth the sacrifice in taste.

  Ash placed her hand on my arm when I began to lift my cup again. “Slow your roll there, chicky!” She laughed while moving my cup from my lips. “You’re going to be drunk after your first beer if you drink it too fast.”

  I shrugged and smiled wickedly at her. “They’re free, right?”

  She nodded and then tilted her head inquisitively toward me. Her eyes were narrowed in suspicion, but she waited for me to elaborate. She knew me well enough to know there was a reason behind my seemingly random question.

  “Well the more I drink, the more I get to see Miguel, right?” Point made, I saluted her with my beer before taking another drink.

  Ash started laughing. “You really are a slut, but good thinking,” she said, and then took a big gulp of her own beer. “I’ll let you go get my cup filled for me too.” She winked and we both burst into a giggling fit. Mel walked closer, glaring at both of us, but I could see the smile tugging at the edge of her lips. She hadn’t heard what we were saying, but it seemed that she wasn’t mad anymore and wanted in on the joke. “What are you two bitches up to?”

  “Nat has a fool proof strategy for getting closer to Miguel,” Ash announced.

  “And that would be?” Mel asked, eyeing both of us.

  “Getting drunk!” we both shouted while giggling.

  “Well that’ll probably do it!” Mel laughed. “Told you that you were a whore,” she accused with a grin.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and stuck out my bottom lip in a mock pout. “Am not!”

  Mel laughed, taking another sip of her own beer. “Whatever, just be careful with him okay?”

  Although she was smiling, I could see a hint of seriousness in her eyes. I dropped my arms and straightened up. “What do you mean? Why do I need to be careful?” I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to hear what she had to say, but I knew it would bother me if I didn’t ask. Mel seemed to always have some sort of bad news about every guy I liked. And she hadn’t been wrong yet.

  “I’m not sure if it’s true, but I’ve heard he’s pretty much like every other guy, just looking for a good lay and nothing more.” She said this like I should’ve already known it, and I guess I should have. I mean, both of the boyfriends I’d had, had pretty much already proven the rule by cheating on me. And all the guys I’d seen at the party so far had been pretty obvious about what they wanted by the lascivious looks on their faces. Not to mention the fact that I’d just met Miguel and had already kissed him like that. I couldn’t imagine what he must have thought of me, or of what else he thought I would easily do. My shoulders slumped in defeat again.

  “Oh, come on Mel! Just because most guys are like that doesn’t mean Miguel is! I’ve known him for a while now, and he’s a genuinely nice guy.” Ash turned to face me and said, “Besides, I saw the way he looked at you and kissed you, and I think he really likes you. You should at least give him a shot. Don’t listen to her.” Ash shot Mel a glare and then turned her megawatt smile back on me. “Now go get another beer and talk to your man!” she exclaimed with a soft shove of my shoulders as she pushed me in Miguel’s direction.

  I couldn’t contain my giggles as I made my way back toward the kitchen. I was definitely already feeling the effects of drinking that beer so fast, but the buzz was also giving me the confidence and bravado I needed to approach Miguel again. Passionately kissing a random stranger the way I had was so out of character for me, that normally I would be running the other way; hiding and embarrassed. I was in no way an expert on guys (obviously - by the past experiences I’d had with my two whole boyfriends), but there was definitely a feeling there when Miguel kissed me that I had never felt before. The way his lips made me forget everything else around me, and the way my body seemed to crave being as close to him as I could was something I’d never felt before. The thought of feeling that again with him was making me reckless and braver than I’d ever felt before.

  I wove and wound my way through the hordes of people; bumping into some of them, fending off some of the others’ grabby hands. But I didn’t care and I wasn’t discouraged, because thoughts of Miguel kissing me again like he did before danced through my head as I made my way through the mass of bodies. I was so focused on keeping my feet under me and stray hands off of me, that I didn’t realize I was in the kitchen until I bumped into someone.

  “Oops, sorry.” I giggled at the cute guy now standing in front of me, who was looking down at me with a bemused smile.

  “No problem. You can bump into me anytime,” he said with an overly exaggerated wink. I giggled again as I brushed past him, only to come to a complete stop again. My breath whooshed out of my lungs and my heart plummeted to the floor as I felt the smile slip from my face. Miguel was standing there with a gorgeous smile on his face and his arm around an equally gorgeous blonde girl. She had her hand on his chest and was leaning her body into his just like I had, and was smiling up at him with an invitation that even my naïve mind couldn’t mistake. Damn it! Why did Mel always have to be right? I was so sick of liking a guy only to find out he was a complete asshole! I spun around just as Miguel lifted his face and his dark eyes met mine. I saw his smile falter and his eyes show concern, but I’d seen that act enough times before. Next would be the heartfelt apology, and I really didn’t have time for that bullshit again. Fuck him and every other guy in here.

  Now deep down I knew that I’d just met Miguel, and that I couldn’t honestly expect anything from him. It wasn’t even fair of me to ask that of him. He didn’t know me either! But I’d just hoped that for once someone liked me. I was so sick of feeling insecure and inadequate. It was depressing, and besides that, it really sucked.

  I turned quickly away from the sympathy or regret that I didn’t want to see in his eyes and lifted my cup to my lips, only to curse again. I had drunk all of my beer just so I would have an excuse to see Miguel again. I still needed a beer, now more than ever. I stalked over toward a guy standing in the corner by himself. He was cute, in a nerdy sort of way.

  “Hey, can I trade you?” I asked with a coy smile on my face and a bit of sultriness in my voice, as I motioned to his full cup. I still felt like shit, but if there was one thing I’d learned from Mel, it was how to get what I wanted from a boy.

  He glanced down at his beer and then back at me; his eyes taking a quick scan down my body before meeting my eyes again. Ugh! Just because I knew what to do didn’t mean I liked it. “Umm, yeah,” he muttered, as he took my empty cup and handed me his full one. His eyes had taken on a dreamy look and as much as I hated to admit it, it made me feel kinda good. Pathetic!

  I saluted him like I did Ash earlier. “Happy fucking birthday to me,” I mumbled before tilting my head back and chugging the entire beer.

  “Whoa! Impressive,” the guy said with a dopey smile on his face.

  “Thanks.” I smiled at him and handed him the now empty cup before turning to find my friends. I stumble
d over my own feet and felt myself getting dizzy. Reaching up to hold the side of my head for a second, hoping the added support would make the room stay still, I glanced around for Mel and Ash. The room was still swimming just a bit but then I smiled, realizing I was well on my way to being drunk for the first time in my life. My smile grew when I realized that I liked the feeling.

  This was a much better feeling than the ones I had been experiencing lately. All the sad and angry feelings of being made a fool of, yet again, were gone. My depression over not being pretty enough or skinny enough faded, and my anger at Mel for being a lousy friend when I needed her most evaporated. Feeling lighter and happier than I had in a while, I lowered my hand and attempted to walk. I was determined to enjoy this feeling to the utmost. I took a few steps, but immediately stumbled again. This time I would have fallen had I not grabbed onto the closest thing to me, a strong arm. The guy that the arm was attached to glanced around with a grimace on his face, but it quickly changed when he saw who was holding onto him. I had too much of a buzz to notice the look of appreciation and lust that took over his eyes as he turned fully to me and looked me up and down. He reached his free arm out and wrapped it around my waist, effectively pinning me to his side.

  “Hey baby, what’s your name?” he asked with a calculating grin and a quick once-over.

  “Nat. What’s yours?” I asked with a giggle. I couldn’t seem to stop doing that. I noticed right away that he was cute, not as cute as Miguel, but still pretty high up on the charts. He was a few inches taller than I was, with blonde hair, green eyes (I think) and was built like a football player. Normally I would have been intimidated by a guy like him, but he’d asked me my name and had kept me from falling on my ass, so he must be a nice guy. Right?

  “It’s Ryan. You here with anyone?” He glanced up and looked around as if he was looking for my ‘keeper’. This irritated me for some reason.

  “No, Ryan,” I said as steadily as I could. “I’m a big girl. I don’t need anyone with me.” I narrowed my eyes at him to further emphasize my point.

  He chuckled and pulled me closer to his side. “Alright babe, just making sure I wasn’t going to have to fight someone for you later.”

  “Whatever.” I huffed and then looked at my empty hand for my cup. Where had my beer gone? “Hey Ryan, can you get me another beer?”

  “Sure thing, let’s go.” But before I could tell him that I didn’t want to go, that it was why I asked him to do it in the first place, he’d dropped his arm from around my waist and had my free hand firmly in his. He tugged me gently but purposely back toward the keg and Miguel.

  I was too unsteady to pull away and it was too loud for him to hear my protest so I didn’t bother. I also didn’t bother to look up when we reached the keg, but I could definitely feel Miguel’s eyes boring into me. He and Ryan exchanged a few words as Miguel filled up the cups, but I didn’t hear them. I just kept my gaze locked on the floor so Miguel wouldn’t see how much he’d hurt me, and how pathetic I was for letting him.

  Ryan turned toward me and handed me my beer. “Here you go, babe.” I took the beer and chugged it like I had the last one. We hadn’t even walked away from the keg yet, but I felt like getting trashed so why waste time? Now I could get another one without having to see Miguel again. I thrust the empty cup back into Ryan’s hand; silently demanding another.

  Ryan laughed. “Damn girl!” Turning toward Miguel, he asked, “How about getting my girl another?”

  “I think Nat might have had enough.” Miguel emphasized my name for some reason and sounded angry, but he was also telling me what to do and I knew I didn’t like that. I looked up at him finally and I couldn’t help the caustic tone of my voice when I told him, “I think I know when I’ve had enough, thank you very much!”

  Miguel stared at me for a minute. “Where are your girls?” he asked with what sounded like concern, but I couldn’t tell through the beer-flavored fog in my brain. I was pretty well on my way to being trashed right then, so all I cared about was the beer that he still hadn’t poured for me.

  “They’re around.” I gestured behind me with a fluttering hand and then looked pointedly at the red cup in his hand. “My beer?”

  He shook his head in disapproval; however he poured the beer anyway. He handed it to me but didn’t let go when I reached for it. I was distracted momentarily when our fingers touched, but then jerked back to attention when he said, “Maybe you should go find them, Nat.”

  “Whatever. Let’s go Ryan,” I said to my new best friend, and then tugged him behind me toward the dance floor. I took another few sips of my beer on the way, and then set it down on a table just before turning back to Ryan. “Let’s dance!” I exclaimed loudly; throwing my hands enthusiastically in the air, which made Ryan laugh.

  “Whatever you want, babe.” he said with a wicked smile as he pulled me close; making our bodies completely flush with each other before wrapping his hands tightly around my waist. I moved my arms up and around his neck, not out of a need for romance, but more for achieving balance than anything else. The room was spinning, the music was thumping BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, my ears were ringing and my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. I couldn’t think clearly, but the good thing was, I also couldn’t feel. I’d just met Miguel, and rationally I knew that I had no right to be mad at him. He didn’t owe me anything, but I couldn’t stand the fact that he’d turned out to be the kind of guy who would play me like that. That he was the kind of guy to think he could just go around kissing girls whenever and playing with their emotions the way he had. What were we to guys like him anyway? Dolls they could just play with and then throw out when they were done?

  My head started to pound because I was thinking too hard, so I rested it on Ryan’s chest and I closed my eyes to keep the spinning room at bay. It didn’t seem to help though, and it only seemed to make me dizzier. So I opened them again and tried to focus. I was concentrating so hard on trying to stop the room from spinning like crazy, that at first I didn’t notice Ryan’s hands. They weren’t around my waist anymore, but in the back pockets of my shorts. His fingers were slightly flexed, grabbing my ass and pulling me closer to his pelvis as he ground his hips into mine to the beat of the music. I finally started to register what was happening when one of his hands moved from my ass and slipped under the short hem of my shirt, then moved up my side. He leaned his head down and started nuzzling my neck; moving my hair off my shoulder with his nose and chin. I knew what he was doing, but for some reason I couldn’t find the strength to stop him.

  I let out a small whimper of protest when his hand reached my bra and his thumb glided over my nipple at the same time that his tongue flicked out over my neck and jaw. He took the whimper as a good sign and groaned into my neck; grinding his hips harder into mine. I could feel the hardness of his erection and frankly, it scared me. I knew I wasn’t ready for something like that, but I couldn’t even move my hands from around his neck, much less forcibly push him away. When I tried to, the room spun out of control and I almost fell. Ryan pulled me back to him and whispered in my ear. “Where you going, baby? Things are just starting to get good.” Then he proceeded to run his tongue along the column of my neck.

  “I…I…wasss…slooking…I mean…I…shust…” I could hear my own words in my head and knew that they were jumbled and slurred, but I couldn’t seem to get them to come out right. I knew what I wanted to say. I needed to tell him that I didn’t want him kissing me and that I needed to look for Ash and Mel so they could take care of me. I was officially drunk and not in a good situation, quickly realizing that Ryan was not taking care of me at all. I thought he was nice and my friend, but I could see now that if I didn’t get away from him, I was very much going to regret this in the morning. I already was.

  I struggled to open my eyes and managed to pull my face away from Ryan’s chest. His lips were still trailing along my neck up toward my jaw, and then they moved to my lips. His lips touched mine and his tongue was i
mmediately thrusting into my mouth. It wasn’t harsh, but it was definitely not sweet and patient like Miguel’s kiss had been. No - this one was demanding and sexual, further confirming Ryan’s intentions. My eyes stayed open as he assaulted my mouth, totally ignoring the fact that I was not returning his kiss what-so-ever. My eyes tried to scan the room but I couldn’t make anything out. I could have sworn that I saw Mel standing across the room watching me, but that couldn’t be right. I tried to squint, hoping to clear my vision, but it only made things worse. I saw a big form step into my view, blocking everything else from sight, but before I could move my gaze up to see who it was, the room began to spin faster and faster and I felt my eyes roll into the back of my head. Then blackness took over and I passed out.

  Chapter 12

  I wasn’t sure how long I was out for, but I started to come to when I was jostled around by whoever was carrying me. I still couldn’t open my eyes, and the sounds I was hearing were muffled by the cotton that seemed to have taken over my brain. I strained to hear what was being said, hoping to figure out who had me in their arms, yet all the while praying that it wasn’t Ryan taking me off to some private room or leaving with me all together.

  I thought I could hear Mel’s voice and let out a relieved breath. If Mel was near me, than I at least knew I was safe from Ryan taking me away for any nefarious activities. I strained my ears and tried to focus on her voice; hoping to make out what she was saying.

  “She looked like she was having fun to me!” Mel laughed but it didn’t sound very much like a nice laugh, it sounded more defensive than happy. At least that’s what I thought.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? What kind of friend are you? She could have been raped!” a harsh male voice bellowed at her. There was no mistaking what was being said this time, but the voice was so loud and angry that I couldn’t even tell who it belonged to.