Unforeseen Heartbeat

by Maureen Mayer

  We pulled up to the Delta Mu house, and people were already scattered across the lawn with red Solo cups in hand. The Jeep wasn’t even thrown into park before I grabbed Liberty’s hand and pulled her toward the front door, not bothering to wait for Shayne.

  “Let’s go mingle!” I shouted. Jason Derulo’s “The Other Side” was blasting through the speakers, and my hips swayed to the beat of the song as we made our way into the house.

  Before Liberty could respond, or argue rather, my hand was torn away from hers, and I was pulled into a brick wall of a man who smelled unmistakably familiar. He tightened his hold around me as I buried my face into his chest, soaking up his masculine scent.

  “Where have you been, baby? All the guys have been looking for you,” he said, not once removing his thirsty gaze from my cleavage.

  “I’ve been around. Mark, this is my friend, Liberty. She’ll be joining us at Savannah State this year.”

  “Well, hello there, gorgeous. Where has Maddie been hiding you?” He pulled Liberty’s hand up to his lips, completely ignoring the huge diamond that was in plain view.

  “You mind keeping your hands and mouth off of my fiancée?” Shayne walked up behind us, pulling Liberty flush against his side.

  “Shayne Fucking Thompson! I haven’t seen you in ages, man! How the hell are you?” He reached over, slapping Shayne on the back harder than necessary. “Let me get you a beer. Can I get you ladies anything?”

  “I’ll take a rum and coke with an extra shot of rum.” I wasn’t playing around. It was the first party of the school year, and I planned on making the most of. If I could just hunt down a guy to bring home, then my night would be complete.

  “Thanks, but I think I can handle getting our own drinks. Do you want your usual, babe?” Shayne looked down at Liberty adoringly, and she nodded back at him while biting her lip.

  “Seriously, can you guys tone down the gag-worthy gaga looks you keep shooting at each other? I’m about ready to vom, you guys are so ridiculously cute together.”

  “Jealous, are we?” Liberty cocked her eyebrow, shooting me a knowing look.

  “Of y’all? Ha! I think you already know the answer to that, Liberty.”

  “Just making an observation.”

  “Oh really? And what, pray tell, have you observed because seriously, I’m just dying to fucking know?” I stood there with my arms crossed over my chest.

  “Maddie, I can see you out of the corner of my eye every time Shayne and I show any inkling of affection toward one another. There’s a look of longing in your eyes, like you crave what we share. You don’t need to be shy about admitting it. You deserve to have your prince charming sweep you off your feet one day, too, and it’s coming soon. I know it.”

  Mark came back just in time for me to throw back the drink he’d just passed to me, swallowing it down in one long gulp. I couldn’t listen to Liberty babble on about her prince charming bullshit any longer. I wasn’t interested in fairytales and happy endings. I was a realist. And what I really wanted to do right now was let my hair down, loosen up, and dance.

  “Here you go, sweetheart.” Shayne reached his arm over Liberty’s shoulder and handed her a mixed drink that looked like cranberry juice and vodka. I guarantee if Shayne was the one who made it, there was barely even a shot in there.

  “Thanks, baby.” She leaned up to kiss the corner of his mouth.

  Gag.

  “Hey Shayne, I think I saw Jack heading out toward the porch. Didn’t you guys play baseball together in high school with my brother?” That seemed to grab his attention, and I was glad because I needed to get them away from me before I actually hurled.

  “Shit, I haven’t seen him in ages.” Shayne laced his fingers with Liberty’s and brought them up to his lips. “C’mon, sweetheart. I’ll introduce you.” I wiggled my fingers at them as he led her toward the door, and Liberty blew me a kiss.

  As soon as they were out of sight, I swiveled on my heel and headed toward the commotion that was coming from the living room where a group of guys crowded around a table. I squeezed through their massive bodies and found blonde girl #1 lying on the table, her shirt lifted high enough so that her breasts were just about to pop out. She had a lime placed between her lips and was waiting for scantily clad, blonde girl #2 to take a body shot. Blonde girl #2 climbed up on the table between her legs and lapped up the tequila that had been poured in her navel. Her tongue slowly trailed up the length of her body, brushing the underside of blonde girl #1’s breasts and finally landing on her lips where she sucked the lime out of her mouth. The blonde duo then proceeded to make-out, gaining some appreciative cat-calls and cheers from the douche bags surrounding them. Typical.

  I shook my head and walked away from the girl-on-girl show only to find someone I wasn’t expecting to see tonight. Tucker. Fuck, I hadn’t hooked up with him since spring break, and seeing him now brought back the memory of that night we had camped out on the beach under the stars. It was the first and only time we had sex, but remembering the way our bodies melted into one another in a sweaty tangle of limbs, moving together to the rhythm of the waves…

  Yeah, I could definitely go for round two.

  His hair was shorter than it was the last time I had seen him, but his body still looked just as divine. His broad shoulders were practically tugging at the seams of his plaid button down shirt, and his toned, tan legs peaked out beneath his shorts. As I approached, I noticed the addition of a lip ring to his already handsome mug. God, what I wouldn’t give to trace my tongue over those lickable lips.

  “Maddie Harrington. Psych 101.”

  “Is that how you remember all of your girls?” I sneered. “By what class you shared with them?”

  “Only my favorite ones.” He gave me a cocky, alcohol-induced grin.

  “Well then, I guess I’ll count myself lucky. Are you here with anyone?” I licked my lips, unable to remove my gaze from the shiny new hardware reflecting back at me. I imagined myself playfully tugging it between my teeth before capturing his mouth in a searing kiss. What was it about piercings that made guys appear so damn sexy?

  “Nah, you know I like to play things by ear. How about you? Anyone sweep you off your feet since the last time I saw you?”

  “Nope,” I said, popping the “p” for emphasis. “I just came here with my friend, Liberty. It’s her first year here, so I was trying to get her to break out of her shell and meet some new people.” I moved in closer, grazing my chest against his. “As for sweeping me off my feet, I was hoping maybe you could do the honors tonight.” I looked up at him through hooded lashes and knew he was catching my drift.

  “Oh, I can definitely handle that, sweet cheeks.” Tucker firmly grabbed my ass, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around so that I was seated on the table behind him. He pushed my legs apart and moved between them while running his hands up the length of my bare legs. I was wearing a coral halter dress that was practically painted onto my body with a pair of nude, stiletto heels, but Tucker was having no problem teasing the hem of my dress higher up my thighs.

  “Do you want a drink?” I wasn’t nearly buzzed enough to get this party started so I accepted the drink he handed me graciously. It burned like hell going down, but soon had my whole body feeling warm and relaxed.

  Tucker continued to knead my thighs with his strong hands and trailed his lips along my neck and collarbone. I leaned my head back, giving him better access, and he took that as an invitation to move further down along the curve of my breasts and between my cleavage. I closed my eyes, soaking up his warm, wet kisses and felt myself spinning further into his sensual exploration. When I opened my eyes, my vision had become noticeably blurry. It couldn’t have been the alcohol, though, because I had only downed two drinks since we arrived.

  “Hey, do you… do you mind… fresh air? I think I need some… air.”

  “Sure thing, baby.” I could just make out the devious grin on his face as I slid myself off of the table.


  Whoa. My legs seemed to be moving independently of my body, and I had to lean against Tucker’s steady frame for support.

  “I got ya, babe.” He bent down and scooped me up beneath my legs, carrying me bridal style.

  Where… where was he taking me? I could barely register what was going on before I heard his shoes hitting the steps leading upstairs. Why were we going upstairs? I thought I said I wanted some fresh air. Didn’t I? I couldn’t recall what I had said merely thirty seconds ago. What the hell was wrong with me? I tried to ask him where were going, but all I could manage to get out were a few unintelligible moans. My head lolled to the side as we ascended the stairs, and the next thing I knew, my back was hitting a springy mattress. A shirtless body was pressed up against me, pinning me to the bed, and that was the last image to flood through my mind before my eyes fluttered closed and everything succumbed to darkness.

  I knew I was awake, but my eyelids felt heavy, and fighting to open them proved to be a wasted effort. I kept hearing people shouting in the background and what sounded like hard blows of flesh hitting flesh, but I couldn’t make anything out; the words were all swirling together. It took me a moment to recognize a familiar smell encompassing me, and I leaned in closer, soaking it in. It was a sharp, sweet, woodsy scent much like that of cedar. My mother had a hope chest made of cedar that had once belonged to my grandmother, and I used to love going through the contents with her while breathing in the soothing aroma.

  “Are you okay? Can you tell me if it hurts anywhere?”

  His voice sounded like heaven, but my body still refused to cooperate and answer him. Why was he asking if I was hurt? I felt fine, other than the fact that I seemed to have lost all motor function and the ability to speak.

  I started to get some feeling back in my arms and legs, and I felt my body cradled against another that was almost twice my size.

  “Did he… did he touch you anywhere?”

  Touch me? Who…? Oh he must have meant Tucker. What ever happened to Tucker? He was carrying me up the stairs, but I couldn’t remember much after that. Asshole must have left me up here alone.

  “Please, Maddie, I need you to focus if you can. This is important. I need you to tell me if he touched you anywhere… inappropriately.” I could hear the concern painfully dripping from his voice, and to be honest, it was starting to scare me.

  As the numbness subsided, and I regained more feeling throughout my body, I noticed a sharp pain shooting up my wrists as though they had been sprained. Jesus, what the hell happened to me?

  My heart was beating rapidly, and I could feel myself beginning to hyperventilate, but then I felt lips, his lips, pressed against my throat, just over my racing pulse. His warm breath cascaded over my throat, causing my heart to race even faster, but soon my breathing matched his and I was able to calm myself.

  “Better?” he asked softly.

  “Yeah.” I finally peeled my eyes open to find a symbol that I had only ever seen in doctors’ offices tattooed on his forearm. It looked like a staff with wings, entwined by two snakes. Such an odd looking thing, and yet, I felt better knowing that the one whose arms I was currently wrapped up in bore that symbol… like he was my savior. My protector.

  “Do you think you’re okay to stand?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to ignore the pain in my wrists as I nodded my head. He gently tucked his arm beneath mine and wrapped it across my back, allowing me to place all of my weight on him. My body still swayed unsteadily, and seeing this stranger towering above me brought back the image of Tucker’s body hovering over me while he painfully pressed my wrists into the mattress. Oh fuck, what did he do to me?

  My heart rate picked up again, and he cupped my face, focusing my attention on his stormy gray eyes and forcing away the fuzzy images that had yet to make any sense.

  “Shhh, you’re okay. He can’t hurt you. You’re safe now.”

  You’re safe now. Safe. I repeated those words over and over in my mind, and when they had finally sunk in, I opened my eyes one last time to look at him smiling down at me. His lips looked so soft, and I reached up to trace my finger along his bottom lip, but my hand never made it there before I slipped back into the darkness.

  Oh. My. God. Talk about a hangover from hell! I could honestly say that all other hangovers paled in comparison to how I felt, the worst of which resulted from finishing off a liter of bourbon with my brother when I was just shy of turning fifteen. That was also my first time getting shit-faced drunk, and I promised myself I would never let myself get that wasted again; although I had to admit, I’ve come pretty close. Looked like I outdid myself last night.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, curling up in the fetal position, and pulled the comforter back over my head, blocking out the rest of the world… at least for a little while longer.

  It was only a matter of seconds before it hit me that something was seriously wrong, and I immediately threw my guard up. One: I wasn’t in my bed. Based on the sound of waves crashing nearby and the salty bite in the air, I deduced that I must’ve been at Shayne and Liberty’s house. Instantly, red flags went up because, let’s face it… I would never willingly step foot in that son of a bitch’s house. Two: the smell of cedar assaulted my senses and brought me back to the events that took place the night before, most of which I have no memory of. Now why couldn’t I remember anything?

  I slowly peeled back the blanket and peeked over at the opposite side of the bed where a very attractive, fully clothed guy was sleeping soundly with his arm stretched over his eyes and snoring softly. I looked down and found I was still clothed as well. Huh… well that was a first. Normally I wouldn’t have bothered getting dressed right after having sex, and more often than not slept in the nude, so that nixed the idea that we had been together. However, I wasn’t wearing the dress I had gone out in last night, but rather a pair of boxer shorts and an oversized t-shirt. I cringed knowing that I must’ve been wearing Shayne’s clothes.

  I had no recollection of who this guy was, but I wasn’t about to let him continue his peaceful slumber until I got to the bottom of it. I reached over and gently poked his side, getting no response whatsoever out of him. I leaned in further, forcefully jabbing my finger in between his ribs, and he bolted upright, looking just as confused and out of place as I was.

  “Oh shit, I must have fallen asleep.” He rubbed his hand over his face, his body noticeably relaxing like it was completely normal for him to wake up in bed next to me.

  I threw the blanket back and jumped out of bed, putting as much distance between us as possible in that tiny room. “Who the fuck are you?!”

  He ran his fingers through his chestnut brown hair, and the expression on his face was ridden with guilt. “Yeah, I didn’t really get a chance to explain that before you passed out on me last night. I’m Hunter.”

  I stared blankly at him.

  “I know that doesn’t really clear anything up for you, does it?”

  “Not even a little bit.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Now why the fuck were we in bed together, because clearly neither of us got any last night?”

  He shook his head, and I noticed a slight twinge in his jaw. “Look, something happened last night…” he trailed off, leaving his mouth gaping wide while he struggled to produce any words.

  “Yeah, I figured that much. It’s the details I’m having trouble piecing together. Do I even know you? Because I’m pretty sure I would recognize a face like yours.” I snapped my mouth shut, realizing I had let my attraction to him get the best of me. Fuck, I probably shouldn’t have said that, but he seemed somewhat pleased with my response.

  He smiled, but there was sadness encompassing his stormy gaze.

  “No, we don’t know each other. My cousin invited me to the party last night, but I was only there for about five minutes before all hell broke loose.” He looked back up at me, trying to gauge whether any of this was ringing a bell. Yeah. There definitely weren’t any bells ringing… whic
h only caused me to get more annoyed the longer I stood there. “Look, maybe I should just check you over before I go. From what I can see, you’re doing a lot better, and the fact that you have no memory of last night doesn’t surprise me. You should probably still get checked out at a hospital, especially if you want to press charges against that piece of shit.”

  He stood, reaching out for my hand, but I yanked it out of his reach. I didn’t know who this guy thought he was or why the fuck he thought he had the right to come anywhere near me, let alone “check me over”. What the hell did that even mean? Was that some kind of code for getting in my pants? You know what? Fuck this. I’d had about enough of his games.

  “Like hell! Keep your fucking hands to yourself, or so help me God, I will super glue them to your dick so you can never touch me again.”

  “Oookay, fair enough. Will you at least let me take you to a hospital? They’ll need a urine test to see if the drugs are still in your system, if… when you plan on pressing charges. And trust me, you will be pressing charges.” His jaw was clenched tight, and I could tell he meant business.

  “Look, I don’t know what’s going on. I have a raging headache, I’m starving, and I just want to curl up in my own bed without the risk of waking up with some strange guy next to me. If you really want to help me out, you can give me a ride home, but other than that, you can fuck off.”

  He stood there with his hands resting on his hips, completely dumbfounded. “Well, that has to be the most interesting thank you I’ve ever received. I spent the whole damn night with you, making sure you didn’t die on me, and all I get in return is a ‘fuck off’?” His voice rose as he threw his hands up, clearly frustrated with me. I seem to have that effect on guys that I haven’t slept with.

  “I’m out of here. Thanks for… Well, I don’t really know what I’m thanking you for, so thanks for nothing.”