Free Perfect Lie by Teresa Mummert Page B

yell as Abel stepped on the gas and we flew down the highway.

Chapter Six
    Party Hard
    Domino was packed, and the strobe lights made the room feel as if it were tilted to the side. I giggled as I tried to navigate through the crowd on the dance floor. We barely could fit through the endless sea of bodies to get inside, but I didn’t care. I felt weightless, free from the memories that plagued me. The lights flickered in a thousand different colors, and it was like slipping inside a rainbow.
    Abel gripped my elbow uncomfortably as he helped guide me through the mass of people. Trish had her arms wrapped around his waist behind me, and I was desperate to disappear from them.
    “I need to dance,” Trish said from behind me, and I felt Abel’s fingers release from my skin. I kept moving through the crowd, needing to blend in, like I’d done so many times before.
    I had no idea what I’d taken, but it was making me feel like I was on a cloud. I wasn’t a druggy, but in this world you have to be willing to adapt and overcome. I was adapting. For a moment I’d thought I’d seen something I could relate to in this stranger. Just as quickly it was all ripped away, and I knew he was no different from Trish, no different from the bullies who had spent years tormenting me.
    I could be that way too; I could not care about anyone. So I set out on my mission to be one of the crowd. My skin tingled and ached as people rubbed against me as they danced. Soon I began to move with the steady, thumping pulse of the music, and my heartbeat took on the rhythm of the song. My body became languid, and I swayed slowly as the earth shifted with me under my feet.
    Hands gripped my hips, ran over my arms, and trailed down my thighs, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. The affection I had craved was amplified in a tiny pill that made me feel like I was finally living, not just surviving. The fabric of my dress slid against my skin, and goose bumps followed. Hot breath tickled my neck, and beads of sweat were like tiny tongues flickering over my body. Time passed by on a plane of its own.
    Seconds.
    Minutes.
    Hours.
    Tick.
    Tick.
    Tick.
    My skin grew hot under every fingertip, leaving trails of tingles and burns in their wake. I closed my eyes and moved with the flow of the body that was pressed against my back. I hadn’t felt so much love pulsing through my veins since I’d been with Brock. Who knew love could be manufactured and bought and paid for?
    The heat increased until I felt my strength slowly dissipate, and I was limp in my dance partner’s arms, a puppet to his movements.
    “You done?” a voice called sharply in my ear, and I glanced up to see Abel, anger in his eyes.
    “Just getting started.”
    “I think it’s time to go.”
    “Why? You got some more drugs to sell?”
    He pulled me out of the stranger’s arms. I stumble‐stepped toward him, and my hands fell against his hard chest. My fingers slid over his button‐down shirt, loving the feel of the silky fabric.
    “Keep your voice down!” His tone was angry, and it made me pull back, but my balance was unsteady. Fortunately he kept his firm grip on my arm so I wouldn’t fall over.
    “Look who the liar is now,” I teased with a half grin. I hated people like him, people like Trish, people like those in high school.
    “I didn’t lie.” His cheek was against mine, and his breath blew over my ear. I closed my eyes, loving the silky softness of his flesh; the deep, soothing tone of his voice. “I thought you weren’t like her.”
    My eyes snapped open at the anger in his tone, and I pulled back to look at him. “Like what? One of your customers? One of your friends? The liar is a hypocrite now.”
    “I’m taking you home.”
    I pulled back from him, but he refused to let go. “I don’t want to leave, and I can’t just leave Trish here. Some of us care about our friends.”
    “She isn’t your friend,” Abel said, and I fought the urge to cry because I knew