Gold Hair and Lightning

It was clear on Tessa's face how she felt about being at Club Envy. Everywhere she looked, there was a horny man taking advantage of a drunk woman. She rolled her eyes as she saw her best friend Emily talking to group of men. Emily always dragged her to these disgusting places, only to leave her at the end of the night for a mediocre lay. Tessa didn't mind too much, though. As long as Emily was safe and happy, then Tessa was happy too.

"Sexy lady, hey."

Tessa sighed and turned to the man beside her. He was obviously staggering drunk and she wanted nothing to do with it. "I'm not interested. Sorry."

"Bitch, I was just saying-"

The man placed his hand on her thigh and she slapped it away. "Bitch, don't touch me," she hissed, hoping the venom in her voice would frighten him off. She had had enough of men harassing her in her twenty-three years, and she was no longer going to stand for it.

"Saucy." The man smiled and leaned closer to her, making her want to gag from the smell of beer. "I like that in a lady."

Tessa groaned and stood up, making her way to the exit. She would send Emily a text once she was in the clear of dirtbags.

"I don't know why you're being such a cunt." The man followed her, grabbing her by the waist and slamming her against the wall. She hit her head, damning the man for giving her a bruise. "I'm just trying to be nice."

She slapped him in the face, making sure her nails grazed against his skin. "Leave me alone!" She was starting to feel fear, but she was hoping it wasn't showing.

The man looked back at her, an angry look of hatred that she knew all too well. He closed his fist and his arm raised up. She did what she knew best and closed her eyes, waiting for the impact of the punch, but it never came.

"She told you to leave her alone, asshole!"

Tessa opened her eyes and saw a handsome man standing in front of her. Her eyes followed his to the man on the ground, knocked out cold from the combination of alcohol and the strong hit. "Whoa," she breathed out. She looked back to the nice stranger. "I could've taken care of him."

The stranger shrugged and gave her a smile. She felt a spark go off in her tummy but she did her best to keep a stern look on her face. "I just thought you could use some help."

"Well, thanks." She smoothed out her black dress, suddenly very self-conscious.

"Do you want to get out of here?" The stranger gestured to the security coming their way. "I have a feeling we're about to have a problem."

Tessa nodded. "I don't feel like dealing with this."

The stranger grabbed Tessa's hand. He had a firm grip and his skin was hot. He began to run and she kept up with him, laughing as the security chased them. They got three blocks down when he pulled her into an alley. "I think we've lost them," he stated, panting through his words.

Tessa looked around the corner. No one in sight but drunk people walking home from bars. She looked back at him and smiled. "I'm Tessa."

"Jack." He held out his hand and she shook it. "Jack Wilson."

"Pleasure." She liked his hands. She hoped he didn't notice how her fingers lingered against his.

"The pleasure is all mine." He took a step back and put his hands in his pockets. "Do you wanna go back to my place? It's about five blocks from here."

"Are we just going to have sex?" Tessa wasn't the kind of person to have a one night stand, even if it was with a gorgeous stranger whose skin she wanted to explore.

"We could do that." She frowned. "But I was actually going to put on a Disney movie and make corndogs."

"Are you real?" she asked, touching the side of his face with her palm. "You feel real, but I don't know."

"Last time I checked." He laughed as he placed his own palm on her cheek. "Are you real?"

"No," she replied with a giggle. "You'll have to figure out what I am."