Emotionally Scarred by Selina Fenech Page B

change my bra. I also had other preparing to do, and the sweater
fit my plans.
    I squeezed through the hole in the chain link fence and when
my top snagged on one of the cut wires I had a mini panic attack while getting
my outfit in order again.
    Twilight lit the fake pirate town, turning grayed wood and
dusty weeds varying shades of lilac. I couldn’t lose the shakes that had been
with me since my conversation with Rafael. They only grew as I made my way to
the half-built pirate ship, propped up on blocks down the path. A rainbow of spray-can
lids littered the road and I kicked them along to try and distract my nerves.
    Siren’s Haven had been abandoned two years ago when issues
with actor contracts tanked production. They closed up shop and left it all
standing while they tried to get back on track, but in the meantime it had
become a playground. I climbed up the weathered wooden ladder onto the ship’s
deck. Empty beer cans lay scattered about the remains of fires. A couple of old
lounges had been dragged in. A regular party destination for parties I never
got invited to.
    Rafael waited for me, reclining on top of a cluster of
barrels like a real swashbuckler.
    “Hey, sweet cheeks.” He rolled onto his side, shifted over,
and patted the spot next to him.
    “Hey.” I strolled across the deck and paused at the barrels.
A foam mattress had been thrown on top of them. It made squishy noises when he
moved. Ew.
    “Come on, don’t be shy.” Raf patted the mattress again and its
moldering stench reached me. “No pressure, I’m not going to try anything. I’m a
gentleman.”
    “Can I admit something?” My voice quavered, but that was ok,
I was aiming for cute and vulnerable. But really I was super nervous about what
was going to happen. “I haven’t been here before. I want to have a look around.
Can you show me?”
    “A tour? Sure, doll, sure.” He hopped down onto the deck
with a smooth jump.
    The wood squeaked in warning under us, fragile and not meant
to have lasted this long. Rafael put an arm around my shoulder and led me to
the prow. I hadn’t expected him to touch me. My heart thudded. If he had put his
arm around my waist the game would have been over.
    From the prow of the ship you could see the whole film set.
There were mermaids carved into the front wall of the pirate bar (which, like
most of the buildings, only had a front wall). Tall grass sprouted everywhere,
even from the façades themselves. There was a fake rock pool to our left, and
the place might have been pretty if it weren’t crumbling and trashed.
    “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Raf breathed heavily into my ear.
“But not as beautiful as you.”
    Where did this guy get his lines? I hated that they still made
my heart race, even though I had no reason to believe him. Before I could
mutter the obvious denial, he kissed me.
    It was a small kiss on my temple, soft and a little cheeky.
I lost my breath.
    “Hey,” he said, and turned me toward him. I let him move me
as he wished. He smiled down at me and it was a beautiful smile. His emotions
told me how excited he was. Excited, and smug.
    He whispered in my ear. “Take your top off for me.”
    The last fine cobweb of hope I’d clung to snapped. I knew this
was coming, but I clung anyway, and now I felt myself fall. I could stop this
and leave now, or I could follow through with the plan I had stupidly dreamed
that I wouldn’t have to use. Rafael saw my pause and misread my internal
conflict.
    “It’s OK, you’re beautiful. I just want to see you.”
    I nodded slowly and grabbed the bottom hem of my sweater,
lifting it up over my head.
    I heard the cla-click sound effect of his camera app as I
dropped my sweater to the ground.
    Hidden camera revealed.
    He held up his phone, admiring the photo he had taken. “Grade-school
underwear, much?”
    I had changed out my nice bra that afternoon for a plain black
sports tank.
    I reached around to the back waistband of my shorts while he
examined