“This is stuck down good,” I shouted out.
Leo reappeared, water splashed all over his face and body. “We need a knife.”
I tried to laugh. “Naked and knifeless.”
We set to work on the duct tape, my nails breaking in the process. Finally, a corner came off, then more, until we managed to peel away the black paper. The window was triple-glazed. “Fuck,” said Leo. And then he screamed in anger, “It’s fucking un openable !”
We looked at each other and then the view below. We were high up, alright. Probably the thirtieth floor. The only skyscrapers in LA were Downtown. And because of earthquakes, they were scarce. I recognized some of the buildings below. “Well, at least we know where we are,” I said.
“Fat lot of good, though. We have no way of telling anyone. At least we can turn off that fluorescent light. I still feel like shit. Can’t think straight. What now?” He looked up at the ceiling. “You think we can smash through and find air-con ducts—some way to get fuck out of here?”
“We need a ladder. Maybe you’re strong enough to smash through. Me? I can hardly stand.”
“We can try later. I feel like all my energy has been sucked out,” Leo said. “We need to rest up. Get strong again.”
I shrugged. “Nothing to eat. No TV. No books. No way of communicating to anyone, unless we scream till we’re blue in the face, but it looks like this room is very well soundproofed. We can take a shower, sleep, and tell each other stories, and hope that my brother appears, so I can find out what the fuck he wants from me and put an end to this.”
“Meanwhile we can—” Leo’s look was lascivious, his eyes half-mast. Sex. That’s what Leo encapsulated: sex. He was no-holds-barred Sex on legs. Even in this sorry state.
“Nice try, Leo.”
“You’re beautiful, Star. You’re naked, except for those skimpy little black panties, stockings, and bra. You think I haven’t noticed your delicious body in that sexy getup?”
My lips tilted into a wonky half-smile.
“You’re beautiful, Star,” he said again. His gaze was intense. I’d say he was undressing me with his eyes but as I was already practically undressed . . .
I thought of Jake, How he’d told me he loved me then swallowed back his words. My eyes flicked down to Leo’s chiseled abs and defined chest. He was beautiful too. A raw, dirty beauty—the kind you wouldn’t bring home to mother but you fantasized about late at night. The kind you’d secretly like to have ravage every single inch of your body. But not me. I was looking for a real relationship. The fairy tale. And until that came along, I wouldn’t be giving myself to anybody, least of all a rugged, tattoo-clad Russian, who habitually fucked a whole lot of women, drank copious amounts of vodka, probably gambled, and probably got into fights. Russian/Ukrainian, whatever he was.
“I’d really like to make love to you, Star. Fuck you, too. But make love to you—savor your body, taste you, make you come hundred different ways.” He cupped his groin—he was hard. Typical. There he was, wiped out by the drug, yet he could still get an erection.
His brashness made me want to laugh but the situation we were in was no laughing matter. “Not now, Leo. Please. We need to figure a way out of here.”
“If we’re going to die, or get chopped up or whatever, least we can do is go out with passion in veins.”
He certainly had a way with words and I couldn’t help smiling. “Wish we had something to eat,” I said, changing the subject.
“I can eat your pussy. We can both offer each other plenty nourishment.”
I smirked and pushed at his rock-hard chest. “No, Leo.”
“Just taste, I’m hungry too.”
Boy, was he persistent. I made my way to the door and banged my fists on it with all my might, yelling as loudly as my lungs would muster: “Help! Somebody help us!” But my sounds were muffled—the room swallowing my screams. It seemed