Page 7 of Throwing Shade
I paused outside the bar to text Judith and tell her not to bother coming. Glaze away without guilt. I’m leaving. xo
The bar noise had fallen away to a dull murmur, leaving me alone under a streetlight with the water and the dark press of trees in the distance at Stanley Park for company.
I headed away from the Convention Center, a stunning sustainable building with a living roof composed of local plants. Our office tower was only a couple blocks away, so I cut across Terence Poole Plaza toward the fountain containing the Olympic Cauldron, a five-piece glass and steel structure resting in a shallow pool.
When Vancouver had hosted the games, the flames on top were lit with the Olympic torch by hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. Nowadays the Cauldron boasted fire only on special occasions. Usually, like tonight, the steel beams glowed a deep blue.
I stuffed my cardigan in my leather bag, enjoying walking in the fresh air on this warm June night and dreaming of slipping off my heels after a long day.
The occasional tail light streamed past up ahead on West Hastings Street, the rose gold glass tower where the firm was located, a mere block and a half away.
Footsteps behind me cut through the silence.
I sped up, rummaging through my purse for my keys to lace through my knuckles. This was a good part of town. Mostly. But it was well past dark and there was no one else around. My shoulders tensed as my follower sped up and my other hand went for my phone.
“Miriam, wait,” Alex called, twenty feet away.
I turned, pausing. He’d seemed nice. Surely he wouldn’t—?
He held up my silk scarf. “You left this at the bar.”
I relaxed. Not all men were dickheads. We knew mutual people in our industry and besides, serial killers would think twice about wearing that tie. I walked over and retrieved the scarf, tying it around my purse strap. “Thanks.”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “How about you let me buy you dinner in thanks for my gallantry?”
“I think I’d get the better end of the deal there.”
“Doubt it. You’re the first woman I’ve really connected with since my divorce. I’d like to see where this could lead.” His voice lowered when he said that. He didn’t make my pulse race, but it was nice having someone attracted to me who didn’t qualify for the senior’s special at Denny’s.
I bit my lip, rolling on to the outside of one heel. Eating warmed up leftovers at home wasn’t an exciting prospect and while things wouldn’t go past dinner tonight, maybe this was the start of my new game plan? He had made me laugh, which was a plus.
A trio of young women passed us, arms linked. The one in the middle animatedly recounted a story, her friends helpless with laughter, and all three radiating easy, inescapable joy.
Alex blatantly checked them out, a smile playing at the edges of his lips.
I. Was. Standing. Right. Here. So much for this guy. “Am I the low-hanging fruit of getting laid?”
Alex blinked and opened his mouth like he was going to protest, but with a shrug, his entire demeanor changed. “Aren’t you? A middle-aged woman drinking alone on a Friday night and happy for attention?”
I rubbed the heel of my palm against the sting in my chest. “Not happy any longer. You can leave now.”
He grabbed my arm. “I don’t think so.”
I froze, every self-defense move deleting itself from my brain.
Alex twisted my arm up behind my body, the violence of the action knocking the air from my lungs. Fear sliced through me like a knife, shackling me in place, and my assailant tightened his grip on me, escape impossible.
I screamed, but my throat had closed up and I only managed a strangled eep.
The world froze for an instant and the image of a closed door manifested in my mind. No. I panicked, scrambling at the ground. I couldn’t go there. I’d sworn I wouldn’t.
Alex dragged me into the alley at the end of the block. I tried to fight back and escape, but I felt disassociated from my body, watching myself be helplessly carried off as if by the tide.
I kicked him in the shin, but he barely flinched.
The knob on that door in my mind glowed, tempting me with promises of safety which I did my best to ignore. Siren calls always sounded beautiful before they crashed you against the rocks.
“I thought we’d have time for some fun first,” he said, “but I’m bored of this game.”
