Free Kissing Eden by T. A. Foster Page B

couldn’t escape. I looked around his sculpted arms, pretending to search for my imaginary friend.
    “I’d like to buy you a drink.”
    The guy was really pissing me off. “I already said no thank you.” I dropped my sweet girl act.
    This time I made no hesitation in my attempt to breakaway from him. I pressed my hand against his chest and shoved. It was like pushing against a rock.
    “Hey, bitch. Watch it.”
    He grabbed me by my wrist and twisted it. If he was trying to get me to cave to my knees, he knew what he was doing. I looked around to see if anyone noticed what was happening, but the energy was frenetic in the club and no one saw the goon who now had me in a mercy hold.
    “Man, let her go.” From out of nowhere, Grey appeared.
    He towered over the brawny guy. Before he had a chance to negotiate whatever peace treaty he was thinking, I raised my knee and brought it straight up with as much force as I could.
    “ Aww. Bitch!” My admirer let go of my wrist and crumpled to the floor.
    I rubbed my wrist and stood triumphantly over the guy who was clearly writhing in pain.
    “Wait, you didn’t even let me hit him.” Grey look astonished.
    I stood over my victim. “I didn’t need you to hit him. I took care of it.” I placed my hands on my hips.
    The guy rolled on his side into a fetal position.
    “But I was going to hit him.” Grey watched as the boy shifted to his knees and started to crawl away.
    “I had it under control.” I glanced at Grey.
    “I can see that.” He rubbed the side of his jaw and shook his head. I think he was actually laughing at me.
    I pursed my lips. “What are you doing here? I thought you said you hated this place.”
    “Come on.”
    Grey pressed his palm into the small of my back and ushered me away from the wall. We walked out on the sound terrace where the rapper’s music wasn’t so loud.
    “I got this feeling something like that might happen. I didn’t want you to get in trouble.”
    “You were worried about me?”
    “Something like that.” He avoided eye contact.
    “Do you usually check up on your guests?” I knew I was pushing him.
    “What do you think?”
    “Well, I can take care of myself. I’m not a damsel in distress type of girl.”
    Grey laughed. “I guess I should have thought of that. I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl who has gone on spring break alone and managed all that you have in three days.”
    “Thanks. I think.” We both stared at the sound and the lights that dotted the coastline of the mainland.
    “If you don’t mind me asking, why in the hell are you here alone?” Grey turned to me.
    It was the one question I really didn’t want to discuss with him or anyone. “The condensed version is that the person I planned the trip with had a last -minute change of plans. So I decided to do the whole spring break thing solo.”
    “Brave girl.” He whistled.
    I wondered what he would think if I told him the entire story. Why did it matter if Grey knew I had just been dumped? I didn’t lie , but I left out a few key points I didn’t want to think about, at least not when he was around.
    “I’m really ready to walk back to the room. I was trying to leave when that jerk grabbed me. Walk me back?” The rapper had left the stage and a new hip-hop group had taken over.
    “Sure. Yeah, of course, but I drove.” Grey turned toward the party that was raging in front of us. “I think we can leave through the side gate. No reason to go back in that mess.”
    I followed him around the side of Bongos and through the wooden gate that was marked as an emergency exit. I waited for a siren to go off as he pushed on the handle, but it was silent.
    “They just mark the gates like that so people don’t sneak their friends in. That’s how my buddies and I used to get in here.”
    I looked at him. “You used to sneak into Bongos? Tell me it ain’t so.”
    Grey laughed. “Yep. And I did a lot more than that.” He had a sexy smile that was making