As you read this, my puppies and I will be making our way from our little corner of Hell's Seventh Circle up to the Old Folks' home (aka the parental units' house). Yay for Christmas vaction! So, enjoy this snip, all my lovelies, and I will see you on the flip side :)
The house was teeming with people, the air thick with the thumping bass, sweat-slicked skin of too many bodies all packed into one place, and the expectation of good times. This was how all of Mr. H’s parties went down. A bunch of band geeks all letting loose. There were really only two notable differences this year: Mrs. Haas was MIA as the teacher and his wife had just wrapped up a particularly messy divorce, and Owen was standing across the room, openly staring at Harper.
Tonight was the night. After more than a month in which the two of them had hung out in the music room, jamming together and generally flirting but never doing anything more than that, Harper was going to make her move. Who said that the guy had to be the one to do the asking? Right? After all, she knew she liked him, and she was pretty sure he returned those feelings. So, what could it hurt to get things rolling herself? Grace would have a cow if she knew what Harper was planning. Her friend was completely old-school when it came to guys, especially after what happened with Truman over the summer, but Harper didn’t care about what anyone else thought. Well, except for Owen. She definitely cared what he thought of her. Probably a little too much.
She set down her Coke and took a step toward him when Ben Mickelson caught Owen’s attention. He turned to Ben with a polite smile and Harper froze. Deciding to take those few minutes that the boys chatted to make sure she looked decent, Harper turned at headed toward the bathroom.
And, bumped into Mr. Haas.
“Whoa, sorry, Harper,” he smiled winningly at her. “Didn’t see you there. Where’s the fire? You sure are in a hurry to get somewhere.”
“No, no. It was my fault, Mr. H. Wasn’t paying attention.” She laughed softly and shrugged. “Just, you know, headed to the bathroom.”
He swiveled around, took in the three-mile-long line, and whistled under his breath. “You’ll wait forever. Tell you what—“ he leaned in close, hot breath fanning over her face, sending a weird little shiver racing through her. “—if you promise not to tell anyone, you can use the master bath. No line there.”
“Oh no, that’s okay. I can wait—“
“No problem.” He waved a dismissive hand through the air. “The bedroom’s at the end of the hall. Closed door. Can’t miss it. I’d show you, but I’ve got to keep an eye on those boys over there. Mike looks like he’s about to put his foot through my coffee table.”
Harper glanced over her shoulder to see Mike Andretti jumping up and down and shouting at Luke Garner who had just beaten him at some car chase video game.
“Just close the door behind you so others don’t get the idea that they can go wandering around.” He patted her shoulder and then walked off toward the two boys.
Harper glanced toward the line at the main bathroom and then over to Owen. He looked pretty well done with Ben, and that made up her mind. Better to take the quickest route to her goal tonight. So, she ducked out of the main room and scurried down the hall.
Good thing she decided to make a pit stop at the bathroom, because her hair was a mess and the little bit of makeup that she had slathered on before leaving her house was in serious need of help. Ten minutes later, she stepped out of the master bathroom with thoughts of Owen blinding her to everything else.
“I was beginning to wonder if you had fallen in.”
She froze at the silky voice that cut through the air, through a bedroom that was supposed to be empty. “Oh, hey Mr. H. I was just leaving. Thanks for letting me use your bathroom.” Alarm bells clanged in her ears, and she edged toward the door. Mr. Haas was great and all for a teacher, but this—being in a dark room alone with him—just felt weird.
“What’s the rush, Harp?” In a flash, he was right there in front of her, his hands dropping to her shoulders and squeezing gently.
“Uh…” she shrugged out of his grasp, or at least, tried to. “I should get going. Owen’s waiting for—“
“Harper, I know,” he murmured, his hands tightening on her as he dragged her up against him. “You don’t have to hide it any longer. I feel the same way.”
“What—“ But her words were cut off as his mouth crashed into hers, his arms banding around her body, trapping her in place. For all of a moment, she just stood there, frozen with shock and more than a little fear. What was she going to do? Pushing against him yielded her nothing except for his grip growing stronger and a him emitting a sound that was half-moan, half-grunt, like her struggles just turned him on even more.
“Ah, Harpy,” he breathed against her lips as his hips ground into hers. “You don’t know how long I’ve dreamed of this. I’m so glad we could finally be together.”
“But—“ Again, his mouth slanted over hers, but she was no longer a statue. Flattening her palms against his chest, she pushed with all her might. When that didn’t budge him, she drew back her foot—sending up a silent thanks that she’d borrowed Grace’s new boots—and kicked his shin.
A yelp popped out of him and his hands fell away from her, but Harper didn’t run. No, now, she was mad.
Stomping her foot down on top of his, the spiky stiletto embedded itself into his shoe and broke off. Grace would kill her when she found out, but Harper couldn’t be bothered with that right then. Howling in agony, Mr. Haas started to back away from her, but she followed. A flat palm shooting out and upward connected solidly with the teacher’s nose with a sickening crack. And then, for good measure, she slammed her knee up, unerringly finding its intended target.
Another loud groan floated out of him before he crumbled to the floor.
Not wanting to be there for even another moment, Harper whirled around and ran for the door, slamming it behind her with enough force to rattle the hinges. She took a second to lean against it, pulling in a ragged breath, and then looked up.
And found herself back in the master bathroom with the monster on the other side of the door.
“Then what happened?” Grace asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Somewhere along the way, she’d curled herself around Harper, holding the other girl in a death-grip. Now, she laid her head on Harper’s shoulder.
“N-Nothing,” she shrugged, the movement tossing Grace’s head upright. “I waited like ten minutes, and when I left the bathroom, he was gone.”
Wrong. Grace distinctly remembered Owen admitting that he’d seen Haas following Harper out of the bedroom, but she didn’t push her friend any further. The tears staining Harper’s face, the cracked, raspy voice that didn’t belong to her all testified to the fact that her friend had said all she could without breaking. Still, there was one thing she had, no needed, to know. “So, he didn’t…I mean, you’re still…?”
Sniffling, Harper shook her head. “I wasn’t lying when I told you nothing happened, Grace. I promise you. Nothing happened. It just…well, it scared me is all.”
Wrong again. The teacher may not have physically raped her friend, but Grace would have to be blind to the emotional torture the man had put Harper through. Yeah, he was definitely going to pay for what he’d done if Grace had anything to say about that.
“Okay, then,” she finally said. “We won’t talk about it again, Harp. I promise. But, just one thing, though.”
Harper’s head snapped up, and she turned terrified eyes on Grace. “What one thing?”
“Well…seems to me that you now have no reason to argue with me about watching RomComs. Especially ones with Sandra Bullock in them.”
“Huh?” Confused, Harper relaxed a little bit, which was Grace’s intention to begin with.
“You remembered SING. You know, from Miss Congeniality? Solar-plexus, Instep, Nose, Groin.” Grinning, she hugged Harper to her. “I told you those movies were educational.”
Harper barked out a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Grace. Now, are we going to get out of here so you can go pretty yourself up for Tru, or did you want to sit in this parking lot for the rest of the day?”
So, friends, are you happy now that you finally know (a little bit) what happened at the party? I thought so! :) Stay tuned for Kelly's next snip.
Oooh, good peek at the party, but I'm sure we don't know the whole story yet!
ReplyDeleteKeep it up, you guys. :)
Thankfully I know exactly what happens next.
ReplyDeleteOh wow this is fantastic. Really put me in the scene. I hope the guy gets what's coming to him!
ReplyDelete*growls* I would like very much to castrate Mr. Haas. Can you arrange that please?
ReplyDelete