I froze mid–step with one foot literally hanging a
few inches above the ground. A huge hand covered my mouth.
I was yanked back and up, thowmp, against a man's chest,
solid and hot.
He jostled me, grabbed me harder, knocking down almost
all of the books I was carrying and pressing the last two
into me, squashing my breasts and lifting me clear off the
ground.
A primal defense kicked in. Adrenaline surged and I
fought down panic.
"Whoa, easy." His voice was gravelly. He smelled like
cut grass and sawdust. "What have you got? Some super radar
in the back of your head? You sensed me. I thought for
sure I'd sneak up on you and you'd never even know. Dang."
He very slowly bent down so my feet were touching the floor
again. "Got a little carried away there. You surprised me."
I surprised you? I thought.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said.
Strangely enough, I believed him. Despite what just
happened, he felt wonderful, friendly even.
"If you won't scream I'll take my hand off your mouth.
Promise?"
I nodded. Then I tried to snatch a glimpse of him.
"Uh–uh–unh, no peeking," he said. He kept
one hand on my chin and it prevented me from looking around.
"Sorry I startled you," he said.
I rammed my elbow back, slamming it hard into his ribs. I
heard a crack.
"Ugh, that wasn't necessary. I said I'm not going to
hurt you."
"You said that," I mumbled to myself.
I hugged around myself and grabbed both his arms. I
folded down hard. I used momentum, putting my whole body
into it. I whipped him over my shoulder, fast. He slammed
into the cement. Unfortunately, he didn't let go of me. I
had to roll with him. I ended up lying on top of him.
"Oomph," he said.
"Argh," I said.
The loud thowmp of his body hitting the pavement was
soooo satisfying. Over 200 pounds smacked flat on the
sidewalk; now that's gotta hurt.
We were stunned – him from the impact, me that the
move actually worked.
I recovered first. I rolled over and sat on his stomach,
straddling him. The neck ruffles on my favorite white
cotton shirt were smashed. My navy ankle–length skirt
rode halfway up my thighs. Not exactly intimidating.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm. Not. Going. To. Hurt. You."
He smiled – it wasn't pretty. His six teeth were a
matching yellow to his six strands of hair. His nose was
beautifully straight.
My mind was racing. Coming up blank. This guy was
putting out some kind of pheromone – the kind that
made me stupid.
"This is not my day," I said. Of course my damn cell
phone battery was dead. Shit. I couldn't sit on him
forever.
He grinned, showing a delightful array of gum gaps and
one shiny silver–looking amalgam filling. I was not
amused.
"I'm Billy Joe," he said. "Everyone calls me B.J."
I should run now while I have the chance. I slammed my
butt into his stomach. It didn't do anything except make me
feel better.
I considered punching him. I'd never straight out
punched someone. I gave him a sheepish, disarming smile.
Then I bashed my head into his nose.
I mean, it had been too perfect, right? It made a
horrible shattering noise. His nose started gushing blood.
Did it break? I bet it broke. Oh, dang.
"Gugh. What did you do that for? I'm bleeding, aren't
I? I am. I'm bleeding. You've ruined my T–shirt. I
worked hard to get this shirt. It's ruined. You ruined
it."
The next thing I knew he pinned me under him and had a
cloth over my mouth and nose before I even saw him move.
SHIT! Where the hell did that come from? Damn. Damn.
Damn. Damn.
I kneed him, trying for his balls. He didn't even
flinch.
How can anyone be so heavy? I lost strength fast. I
struggled. Hard. The world went brown. The library
building seemed miles away.
Then I blacked out.