Hunting Human - Amanda E. Alvarez [2]
Disgusted, Liz straightened, angling her body to cut off his view of her best friend. His attention snapped back to her. Liz spread her legs, lifted her chin and met his gaze head-on, refusing to cower under his height or his scrutiny. Surprise flashed across his face, as though he’d expected her to wilt.
Asshole. I’m not that easy to intimidate.
Whatever. She’d just grab Rachel and go. Before she could put her plan into action, the bartender plopped a tepid pint in front of him, the head of the beer sloshing over onto the bar. He reached for his beer, his cold eyes never leaving her. When she didn’t move or otherwise react, his mouth twisted into a feral grin, his teeth flashing under the dancing strobe lights.
Liz took a step to the side, sick of the encounter, but he matched her movements. She couldn’t continue forward and the bar pressing into her back cut off any retreat. Cornering her, he pressed forward, invading her personal space as completely as possible without actually touching her. He hovered above her and then bent his head and drew in a deep breath, inhaling as though he could taste her through the air.
Liz’s patience snapped. She drove her shoulder into his body and muscled her way past him. “Excuse me,” she snarled.
He didn’t move, but allowed her to pass, forcing her to brush up against him. He took a long drink of his beer, eyes piercing her over the rim of his pint, before he turned and sauntered back through the mass of people and smoke.
Liz took a moment to steady her nerves and wipe her damp palms against her jeans before turning to Rachel.
“You ready?” She shouted over the music and conversation. Her tone or expression must have carried her irritation because Rachel paused and then snapped her mouth closed around her standard pleas for more time.
Rachel glanced at the guy she’d been chatting up most of the evening and found him swaying drunkenly into one of his friends and slurring his words. She caved. “Um, yeah. It’s probably getting pretty late anyway.”
She glanced at her watch and her head popped up. “Whoa, did we lose track of time or what? Guess we really should get going, huh?”
Liz reached out and steadied Rachel’s elbow as she wobbled off the barstool. Rachel grinned, turning back to her bar buddy.
“Hey, Luke, we’re heading back. You coming?”
Luke checked the time and grimaced. “Yeah, yeah!” He glanced around wildly and laughed. “You guys go ahead. I’ll round up everyone else and catch up.”
Liz kept her hand on Rachel, pulling her through the thinning crowd; it must be getting close to last call. They climbed their way up the steep set of stairs leading out of the basement, Bon Jovi wailing in the background. The crisp air hit them like a wall as they emerged onto the street. God, the morning was going to suck. Judging by the way Rachel had her head between her knees, hers was going to really suck.
“Alright, champ. Let’s get out of the doorway.”
They waited almost fifteen minutes, Liz bouncing her foot impatiently and Rachel leaning heavily against her shoulder. By the time the third group of drunken partiers emerged, Liz figured Luke and his pals had either decided to stay longer or had somehow slipped past them. Whatever. She was done waiting. A half dozen teenagers were drunkenly weaving their way in the direction of the hostel. Good enough. Liz grabbed Rachel under her elbow and propelled her up the street.
Two slow blocks later, Rachel was benefiting from the fresh air and beginning to move on her own. The group of kids they were walking with made a sudden right, heading up a narrow side street and disappearing into the lobby of a small hotel. The door swung shut behind the last pair, sealing their drunken noise away, plunging the rest of the street into silence.