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breath. Choosing my words carefully, I had to think fast. This was an opportunity for me to get away.
    “ Who was with you the night of my birthday party?”
    Someone far better than you, I wanted to say, but didn’t, afraid what he may do. “A friend.”
    “ A friend? You could have fooled me.”
    “ How would you know? You were…drunk,” I said hesitantly, afraid to upset him.
    “ I remember…some.”
    “ You remember nothing. You made a fool out of yourself. How did you get alcohol?” I asked.
    “ I have my ways; money talks. Don’t change the subject. Who is he?” he demanded.
    “ A friend. I wanted to get you jealous. Obviously, it worked. But you were too drunk to even notice. He went home early. I stayed because of you. It’s too bad you don’t remember ‘cause I gave you a birthday kiss you would never forget,” I lied, hoping I sounded convincing.
    “ You did?” First, he looked doubtful, then confused and finally relaxed. He took the bait. “I knew you would come around.” He sounded convinced.
    He slowly let go of my arms, and rested his hands on my shoulders. He leaned closer for a kiss. “Why don’t you show it to me again?”
    I played his game, led him on and welcomed his kiss. Anxiety coursed through me as I prepared myself for my escape. After a few seconds, I bit down hard on his lips and kneed him where I knew it would hurt the most. It felt great to get him back.
    “ Ahhh…” he tried to scream. The rest of his cry was inaudible. He was in too much pain and I saw him drop to the ground, curled up into a ball.
    “ Sorry,” I squealed, knowing the kind of pain I’d inflicted on him, but what was I sorry for? He attacked me first. Without thinking, I bolted out of the storage room. As I looked back to see Ryan still on the ground, moaning, I ran into something or someone.
    “ Ahhh!” I screamed frantically, as my heart raced even more. He wrapped his muscular arms around me. I smiled, thinking it was Michael. “It’s okay. It’s me,” he said quickly. I looked up, but it wasn’t Michael, it was Austin. I hated to admit it, but he looked really good. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt, and his hair looked slightly longer than last time I’d seen him; plus, he smelled refreshing, like the ocean breeze.
    “ Austin,” I whispered, disappointed because it wasn’t Michael, but relieved to see him. Given the dilemma I was in, I was terrified to be alone with Ryan. Having Austin here gave me a sense of security. “What are you doing here?” I asked as he released his hold, and my heart beat became steady again.
    “ I was in the neighborhood. I stopped by to see you and Patty.”
    “ Patty took the day off.”
    “ It looks like you have a friend. He seems to be in a lot of pain. Are you okay, Claudia? What’s going on?”
    “ He tried to…” I stopped. Ryan was wrong to do what he did, but I knew him. I had never seen that side of him. Whatever the reason, I knew he would be sorry when he came to his senses, so I decided not to tell Austin. But looking at the scenario, I knew Austin would get the picture.
    “ You should be careful of who you hang out with,” Austin scolded, cocking his brow.
    “ Excuse me!” I huffed. He had no right to say that to me. Come to think of it, didn’t I lock the front door? How did he come in? Hmmm…maybe I thought I did and didn’t. “I can take care of myself, thank you.”
    “ Looks like you can, right where it hurts the most. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes right now.”
    I needed to find a way to get Ryan out of here. “Were you planning on going somewhere?” After all, it was Saturday night.
    “ No, I don’t have any plans. Like I said, I just stopped by.”
    “ Can you do something for me, please?” I pleaded. “I’ll owe you one.”
    “ Or two,” he said smiling. “I’ll take him home.”
    He knew what I wanted. “Thank you so much. He can’t stay here and I wouldn’t want him to drive in his