Crossing the Line

“We couldn’t stop staring,” he breathed seductively into my ear.

I felt nauseous! I wanted to push him far away from me, but I couldn’t. This was the reason I was here in the first place.

I was desperate.

I was about to do the unthinkable for my grandma. She was all that I had, and she was going to die if I didn’t do this.

“Uh-huh,” I whispered back in the most sensual voice I could muster, despite the revolting feeling deep in my tummy. “I bet you weren’t just staring. You’ve had wild thoughts with me in it.”

Yuck!

The bald, middle-aged man with a protruding belly smiled at me, exposing brown teeth with patches of tar. The taller man wasn’t any better. He wore a white shirt with dark patches under both armpits. The zipper of his trousers was down. Honestly, I didn’t even know why. He reeked of dirty sweat. If not for the dimly lit room, he would have seen the disgust on my face.

They had their suit jackets hanging on the long couch in the VIP section, where they’d been staring at me from.

Jessica didn’t tell me it would be this terrible. She was the one who suggested the idea when I came to her. She’d told me that they were regulars and she believed one of them had won the lottery, so they’d been spending loads of money on the ladies they met here at the bar. The dancers and strippers were all talking about them.

I downed another shot of vodka, squeezing my face as the liquid burned my throat. This was my fifth shot, and I wasn’t stopping until I stopped feeling disgusted with what I was about to do.

“Easy there, baby, it burns,” the taller man said, taking a strand of my hair and twirling it around his fingers.

I visibly gagged, covering my mouth immediately to stop myself from spewing on these men.

“See, I told you to take it easy,” the tall man said in a seductively soft voice, before bringing his hand down to my back and beginning to gently rub circles.

Worse! Worse!

That’s it. I couldn’t do it. With the way I was feeling, I could probably die before daybreak.

“Remember Grandma,” my stupid brain whispered. “She’s all you have.”

I shut my eyes tightly and inhaled several breaths before turning to both men and giving them the brightest smile my darkest existence could release. They both smiled back, nodding their heads approvingly.

“Well, why don’t we finish this beautiful meeting in our hotel room? We have more ladies coming in, so we’d have a mini, wild party,” the potbellied man said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

I nodded my head vigorously. It was more about trying to expel the dread crawling up within me than agreeing to what he was saying.

“I think you should know this too. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met in my life. That is why I will specially care for you. I will shower you with all the love and gifts I own,” the tall one said, moving uncomfortably closer to me.

I nodded vigorously again for the same reason as before. This was what I wanted. They would give it to me tonight, then I could pay for Grandma’s surgery.

Then what?

I don’t know…live with it?!

I stiffened when the tall man took me by the arm, gently pulling me off the chair. It was then the world around me started spinning.

I was drunk.

I involuntarily fell against the man’s chest to stop myself from toppling over. The stench of his breath and skin forcefully infiltrated my nostrils, making me gag.

They didn’t care. They probably thought it was the drink.

This was it. I was going in. In all my nineteen years of existence, I’d held on to my virginity, waiting to do it with the right person and at the right time. But I guess life had other plans for me.

The tall man, who had somewhat fully taken over from the other man, placed his hand at the small of my back, slowly sliding it down. I held my breath and the vomit threatening to spew as he slid his hand lower towards my tailbone. I felt his middle finger at the entrance of my butt crack when suddenly his hand disappeared, along with his body, the stench, and everything.

The force with which this happened destabilized my wobbly feet, making me stagger backward into a rigid chest.

His arms were outstretched as if waiting to receive me. Although I had no idea what was happening, I latched onto his toned arm for dear life.

Was the world coming to an end?

Everything and everywhere was loud and blurry, making it hard to make out what was happening.

“Are you okay?” came the deepest yet most soothing voice I’d ever heard. For a moment, I allowed the relief this new presence gave me, the freshness of his cologne, and the calming effect of his voice to wash over my troubled heart.

I took deep breaths, steadying myself as if the world had paused for me.

“Are you okay?” came the voice again, louder this time.

“Uh… yeah. I’m ready! We can go ahead now,” I said, looking up with squinted eyes to see the face of whoever had that beautiful voice.

My breath hitched as the most mesmerizing hazel eyes stared back at me. I gulped once, widening my eyes to take in his full features, but the drink in my system wouldn’t let me. Everywhere was blurry as hell.

“Boss, we’ve sent them off,” came a hoarse voice that must have belonged to a bulky person.

At this point, though inebriated, I could make out what was happening. This sweet-smelling man and his men probably thought I was in danger and came to my rescue, thereby dashing my last chance at saving my grandma right out the window.

“No!” I yelled, pulling away from him, although my body screamed at me to return to the warmth and security his body offered.

“Ma’am?” came the bulky guy, but I cut him off.

“No!” I repeated. “I didn’t ask for your help. I was fine on my own!” I yelled at whoever they were, turned on my wobbly feet, and staggered toward the door in search of the revolting men who were going to give me money.