Kris

An ear-piercing scream ripped through the silence, and I backpedaled until I hit the metal shelf behind me.

As if locking me inside our dingy storeroom wasn't good enough for Dylan, he had to bring in the blond woman who I had collided with earlier?

And why the hell was she screaming her lungs out? Wasn't she in on this?

"Christ! Will you stop screaming?" I asked, clamping my hands on my ears.

To my surprise, the yelling stopped. My relief was short lived, as a moment later, a bright light was flashed in my face.

"What's going on? Why's the door not opening?" she asked, her voice rising an octave with every question. "What are you and your lunatic friends trying to do?"

The rapid-fire questions alongside the blinding light felt like an FBI interrogation.

"You tell me what's going on?" I shielded my eyes and squinted in her direction. "What did Dylan tell you to do? Whatever he said, don't. You cannot do anything I don't consent to. I'll... I'll press charges."

"Who the fuck is Dylan? What are you talking about?" she shrieked. "You will press charges against me? Hilarious! I'll be the one pressing charges against you. Your friends basically kidnapped me and locked me here with you."

"What?" I exclaimed, not believing my ears.

My stomach dropped. Clearly, she wasn't the stripper I'd heard Dylan and Holden talking about. Which meant they had shoved an oblivious woman into the dark storage room against her will.

Oh God, this was a disaster!

"Can you please turn the light away? It's hurting my eyes," I pleaded, hoping to somehow start a civil conversation and salvage the situation somehow.

"If you don't answer me this instant, your eyes won't be the only thing hurting," she threatened. "I'll... I can break your bones, so don't test me!"

The last thing I wanted was to escalate the situation. Especially not when we were stuck in a tiny, shoebox of a room filled with various objects that could be used as a weapon. I raised my hands in the gesture of surrender and stepped further back until the boxes on the shelf behind me dug into my spine.

"Look, I'm trying to wrap my head around this situation just like you. So, can we talk things out? Please?"

Whether she realized this was the best course of action or took pity on me, I wasn't sure, but she lowered her phone flashlight. I blinked and rubbed my eyes to adjust my vision.

The first thing I noticed was the angry expression on her face as she glared daggers at me. Then the big splotch on her outfit that I'd caused. Ah hell! I was so screwed.

She raised a brow at me while her lips were pressed in a thin line. I should have started making my case and clear the misunderstanding, but I kept getting distracted by the mole she had just above her upper lip on the right end of her mouth.

Her lips upturned into a scowl. "Stop staring at me and better start explaining yourself. This instant!"

Heat crept up my face and I looked away. "Sorry. I... uh..."

Here goes nothing.

"My teammates thought it'd be hilarious to get me drunk and then lock me up in our storeroom on my birthday. Which honestly, isn't all that—"

"It's your birthday today?" she asked, interrupting me. "Then this party..."

"They planned it for me. I should have known they'd do something like," I said, shaking my head at my stupidity.

Dylan and Holden's excitement was the first red flag I missed. Those two were never up to anything good. But when Ethan got involved, I let my guard down. It never even occurred to me that those two troublemakers had roped him in their scheme as well.

Her brows furrowed. "So all of this is a birthday prank? I don't understand. Why would they do that to you? What kind of friends are they?"

A part of me wanted to defend my friends. Whatever they did always had a reason behind it, no matter how stupid it was.

"They are not bad people. Just do stupid things sometimes," I said. "It's usually well-intentioned."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Wonder what 'well intentions' they had when locking us in here."

I pursed my lips, wondering if I should tell her the truth. Maybe if she knew why they'd done what they'd done, she'd understand the situation better. Maybe she'd even forgive us. It was worth a shot.

"Well, uh... They did it for me," I said.

"They locked you in here on your birthday because you asked them to?" she asked, incredulous.

"No," I shook my head. "It's just that they have been trying to set me up with someone for a long time now. And tonight, they went all out with it. They even made me wear a stupid crown so it'd be easy for their female friends to recognize me. It just went a little too far with you. I'm sure they didn't—"

"Wait, wait, wait!" she raised her hands, stopping me. "So if this is some kind of birthday prank, why am I here?"

Oh, God. We were done for, weren't we?

"Are you claustrophobic?" I asked, avoiding her question. "There's supposed to be a tiny window up here. It's probably jammed but I can try to open it. Or break it if needed. We'll just have to find something sturdy to stand on. I remember Atlas, my house-mate, telling me he had moved a footstool from his room here. We'll have to—"

A choked snort interrupted my word vomit. "You always talk nonstop like this?"

I shrugged. "Just when I panic."

"You're panicked huh? I wonder why."

Her teasing tone gave me the reassurance that we were past the rocky start of our acquaintance. "Getting locked in here with an unknown woman and having no idea what her intentions are can set anyone on edge."

This time I got a bubbly chuckle that made me smile as well. "I have no ill intentions so you are safe," she said.

I nodded. "Good to know."

"So why am I here?" she asked again, and my nerves returned.

"You're not going to like it," I said, wanting to avoid this conversation for as long as I could.

"I'd still like to know," she insisted.

I briefly thought of lying, but quickly discarded the idea. It'd be better if she came to know the whole truth now instead of later. Maybe I could even try to salvage the situation. Besides, I wasn't a good liar.

I cleared my throat, shifting from one foot to another. "They called a stripper for a private show and locked me in here because I would never agree to it. But they must've made a mistake and shut you in here with me instead. I'm really sorry. I—"

"They thought I was a stripper?" she shrieked, making me wince. "That's what he meant when he said I was a pro then. And earlier when you...when you came close were you expecting..."

"No, no. God no!" I exclaimed, shaking my head even though she couldn't see me. "I would never do that! When the door opened suddenly, I thought it would be a chance to get out, but they shut it again and I bumped into you. Believe me, I never meant to make you uncomfortable."

She didn't respond and dread started coiling in my gut.

If she really decided to press charges, I could be hit with the brunt of it. I was the one locked in the enclosed space with her. One misunderstanding could destroy my career. The contract with the team in Boston that was almost in my grasp could vanish in a second.

I needed her to not misunderstand.

"I really didn't know you'd get pulled into this stupid scheme," I said, pleading. "I'm so sorry for the trouble it has caused you."

After a long pause, she heaved a disdainful sigh. "I should have guessed that it would be something as stupid as this. Boys really don't think past strippers, do they?"

I released a breath and my shoulders sagged from the tension leaving my body. "In any other case, I would argue that we are capable of other thoughts, but right now I don't have enough proof of that."

We both laughed at that, and I felt much lighter now. We still needed a way out of here, but at least it didn't feel like I had the cloud of doom over my head.

However, our cheery mood only lasted for about two minutes, because suddenly our only source of light went out, plunging us into darkness again.

"Shit! No, no, no!" I heard her lament. "Fuck, my phone's dead." She then presumably stomped her foot on the floor before groaning. "Dammit, I should have used it to call someone for help when I had the chance. I feel so stupid that I didn't think of it before."

"Well, at least you had your phone on you. I left mine in my room." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. I wasn't really the brightest crayon in the box tonight and I couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"So... What do we do now? Do we just wait here for someone to free us?" she asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," I said.

Maybe it was the alcohol numbing my senses, or the fact there was someone else here, I felt weirdly calm even in this situation.

"Ugh my feet are killing me," she groaned. "I'm going to sit down and wait."

Her declaration followed by the sound of her boot sweeping against the floor. I assumed she was trying to scope for anything on the floor before sitting down.

"I'm sitting with my back to the door. Are you still standing?" she asked.

"Yep. Don't worry I won't be moving until the door is opened. You can relax," I assured her.

"It's not that... I trust you," she said, taking me by surprise. "As weird as it sounds in this situation, I know you won't harm me. So you can relax too. It's not like we are getting out of here any sooner."

I bit my lip, thinking it over. It was heartwarming that she trusted me so much but that didn't ease my anxiety. Until we were out of here, I wouldn't be able to truly relax. Still, I decided to sit down as well to not make things awkward.

Silence enveloped us, heightening every other sound. Like the weird buzzing of the bulb overhead that refused to turn on. The only indication that other people were still around was the occasional cheer that would float in from the backyard. To think everyone was celebrating my birthday out there while I was locked in here made the situation more annoying.

Oh, I was going to whop Dylan's ass.

"I'm Ashley, by the way. Figured since we both are going to be stuck in here for God knows how long, we should at least know each other's names," the woman—Ashley—said when the silence verged on becoming uncomfortable.

"Kris. I wish we met under different circumstances than these," I replied.

Ashley chuckled lightly. "Me too. But it is what it is, right?

"Your friends..." I started, wanting to make small talk to ease some of the awkwardness. "Won't they be worried for you?"

She scoffed. "Not unless they sobered up. Both of my roommates are hammered. I was supposed to bring them back to the dorms, actually."

"I'm sorry," I said, fiddling with my fingers.

"Stop apologizing. It's not like you dragged me in here. It was a mistake. A misunderstanding," she said and I felt relief like no other wash over me.

Anyone in her situation would have lashed out, so the fact that she was seeing this as a genuine mistake was relieving.

"Tell me, are you disappointed that you didn't get your stripper?" she asked, her tone teasing again. "I mean, you even got locked away from your own party for it and then this happened."

I reeled back so fast that my head thumped against the box on the shelf behind me. "God no! If anything, I'm relieved the plan failed. I'd told them to stop all this."

As if trying to set me up with women wasn't enough, now they had to go hire strippers? I'd told Dylan and the rest so many times that I was okay. That I wasn't depressed over Bethany and had moved on.

And yet, they wouldn't let me be.

"You didn't want the strip show? Then why would your friends do this?" she asked.

"Because they are a bunch of idiots," I groaned, my voice echoing in the small room.

"It's just that..." I huffed out a breath. "They think I'm depressed over my ex but I'm not. I've moved on just not with someone else. I want to stay single. I guess when I refused all the setups, they thought of bringing in a stripper as if that's going to magically change my mind. It's ridiculous, really. It doesn't help that my ex is actively trying to get back with me when she cheated on me in the first place."

I didn't mean to spill my problems to her like this. She was a stranger after all. Whether it was the alcohol or the understanding vibe she exuded, I wasn't sure. But it made me want to tell her everything.

"Yikes! Ex troubles huh? Can relate," she mumbled, her voice a little louder than a whisper.

"I take it you have your fair share of ex troubles?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest, my back pressed against the boxes.

"Something like that," she said. "I saw him here actually. With my ex-best friend. They seemed to be...more than friends."

I sucked in breath through my teeth. "Damn! That's brutal."

Ashley chuckled in a self-deprecating way. "It wasn't like I was absolutely clueless about it. I'd heard rumors but seeing them like that upfront and close..." she paused, exhaling defeatedly. "Let's just say I wasn't prepared for that as I had expected."

"That's understandable. It'd be hard for anyone," I said, hoping to provide some comfort. "My ex tried to hit on my friend too after she cheated on me with someone else."

"Now that is truly brutal!" she exclaimed. "The nerve of her wanting to reconnect after pulling a stunt like that. You can't see me but I'm shaking my head."

I couldn't help but laugh, and she followed suit, laughing along with me. For the first time in months, it felt like I could openly talk to someone without being judged. Every time Bethany's topic came up, all my friends looked at me with pity and concern. No one outwardly said it but I knew they worried that I'd take her back again. As if I hadn't learned my lesson the hard way before that I'd be idiotic to repeat the same mistakes.

Talking with Ashely gave me this weird sense of camaraderie. Like even though this was our first meeting, she knew exactly what I was talking about. I could somehow relate to her more than I could relate to my friends.

"Kris?" Ashley asked suddenly. "Did you...did you move from your spot?"

My brows furrowed at her question. "No. I said I wouldn't. I'm still sitting by the shelf."

"I-I felt something brush against my hand. Tell me you don't have rodents in here," she said.

I clamped my mouth shut because I couldn't really say that we didn't.

"Kris?" Ashley pleaded.

"Well, about that..."

I didn't get to finish my sentence as Ashley shrieked. The next thing I knew, I had her weight on top of me. Her fingers dug into my shoulders while she hid her face in my neck.

"There's... there's something here! Something touched my hand again," she whispered, her voice trembling.

On instinct, I wrapped my arms around her to steady her. "Okay, okay calm down. I'll look for it."

Before I could do anything, the door flung open and the light from the hallway spilled inside. The sudden brightness blinded me momentarily and I scrunched my eyes shut. It wasn't until I heard a familiar whistle that I opened my eyes to see three figures standing in the doorway.

"Did my plan work regardless, then?" Dylan asked, smirking unabashedly.

Fucking hell!

Seeing my three friends in the doorway after being locked inside a dark room for over two hours should have been relieving. But the moment I saw Dylan, Holden, and Atlas, all I felt was annoyance. Not only had they created a big mess, but they had to come to my rescue at the most inopportune moment.

I wouldn't be hearing the end of this for a long, long time.

"Look what we have here," Dylan commented, an annoyingly satisfied smirk on his face. He nudged Atlas, who was standing beside him with an equally amused expression on his face. "See? I told you we won't have a problem."

Atlas rubbed a hand over his jaw, averting his gaze and taking a step back. "Yeah... I guess."

Holden too looked away, coughing. "I feel like we are intruding here. Maybe we should leave."

A tug on the front of my t-shirt drew my attention to Ashley. Ashley who was still sitting on top of me.

I was expecting her to be livid. To jump to her feet and immediately start telling off my friends how stupid they were. I was kind of looking forward to it.

So when I saw her blue eyes twinkling with mischief and a smirk on her face, I was shocked.

Even more when shifted forward and leaned down to whisper in my ear. Dylan stared, surely cooking up a salacious tale in his head.

"I got a brilliant idea that could get your friends off your back. Just play along, okay?" Ashley whispered.

I didn't get to respond because the next thing I knew, Ashley turned to look at my friends over her shoulder, her golden hair hitting my face.

"Oh, looks like our seven minutes in heaven are over," she said in the flirtiest tone I'd ever heard. Turning back to me, she got close to my face, stopping merely inches away from my cheek, and made a loud kissing noise. "Enjoy your party, birthday boy. And maybe call me sometime."

When she pulled back, her lips were pursed to stifle her laughter. I would have laughed too if I wasn't stunned into silence.

Plastering a sultry grin on her face, she dismounted me and faced my friends.

I scrambled to my feet as well, clearing my throat as I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment.

The guys' reactions were priceless. Atlas had his poker face on, but I could see the slight twitch of his lips. Dylan's face was bursting with joy, while Holden was staring wide eyed and mouth agape.

Ignoring them, Ashley extended her hand in my direction, winking. "Won't you walk me out?"

"Of course. Let's go," I said, playing up a smirk and weaving our fingers together as we brushed past the guys and out of the room.

If she was putting up this fake act, I might as well commit to it.