The dance club is fun, although I do little dancing. Not that I don't like to dance, but the place is so packed it is difficult to get space out on the floor. I spend most of my time sitting at the bar, drinking a caffeine-free soda.

"Designated driver?" I hear someone ask.

I look up and see some guy smiling down at me. He looks to be around my age, with nice brown eyes and dark hair. I raise my eyebrows. "Birthday girl, actually. I just don't drink."

"Do you dance?" he asks.

"Sometimes," I say, but I have no desire to dance with him. It's not that he isn't good looking, but I love Alex. I'm a one-man woman. What am I doing here, again?

"Any possibility of now being one of those times?" he inquires.

"Not really," I say, honestly.

"Why is that, Cat? You're not with Liam anymore."

I frown. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you. I've seen you at every game. Liam never deserved someone as devoted as you were to him."

"You know you're coming off stalkerish, right?" I ask, keeping an eye on the girls from my group, but not feeling too scared as the bar is crowded and the bartender is always walking back and forth, checking on people.

He laughs. "Doug Walters. I'm a teammate of Liam's. I've known you for four years now, Cat. Liam talked about you incessantly and, of course, you came to every game, rally, and fundraiser. I'd have to be blind not to see how devoted you were to him. That's why I never introduced myself, but it drove me a little nuts seeing him at the frat parties..."

I hold up my hand to stop him from talking. "Spare me the deets okay, Dougie. It is my birthday after all."

He laughs again. "I'm just saying it gave me hope that perhaps one day you'd be free, and I'd get a chance to say, 'Wanna dance?'"

He holds out a hand to me. Although his offer is rather sweet, I still shake my head no.

Doug gives me a rather disappointed look, asking, "Liam? Or did I wait too long and someone else has stolen your heart?"

"Not Liam, and the other part is for only me to know."

"You're tough, Cat Fischer, but I like tough."

"Is that so? Then have I got the girl for you, but I seriously doubt you'll be able to keep up with her." I look over and wave to catch Olivia's eye.

She comes over immediately, inquiring, "Who's this?"

"Just someone who wants to dance with the sexiest woman in the club."

"Is that so?" Olivia asks. "She turned you down flat, didn't she?" Olivia asks Doug.

"Who said she was talking about herself?" Doug answers.

"Oh, you're smooth." Olivia laughs.

"Smooth enough to get a dance?" I encourage, winking at Doug.

Olivia gets close to my ear so he can't hear her next words. "I thought I was supposed to be YOUR wing woman?"

I giggle. "You're welcome," I tell her, and Olivia takes Doug by the hand and leads him out to the dance floor. I enjoy watching them dance, glad to see they are obviously enjoying one another by the smiles and laughs they exchange, but it makes me miss Alex all the more.

I so don't belong here.

Clubs, dances, Ladies Nites, I've outgrown it all in these last few months. I just want to take care of my baby and Alex. I don't know what the future holds, but I hope more and more that Alex will be a part of it.

I know that's a tall order. He'd have to take on my child and me. I know he loves me, but I just think that's a lot to ask of someone. But even if I just get this short time with him, I'll be happy. Better to have loved and lost and all that...

The night keeps moving on. Olivia gathers the rest of the girls and we move on to the Ladies' Club. Olivia is chatting with me about Doug. Turns out they have a lot in common. She seems genuinely interested, which is a big deal for Olivia, as she tends to just be a love 'em and leave 'em like William. They exchanged numbers, so I guess it's a case of wait and see.

We get to the club but before we go inside. Olivia hands out the masks. It's a tradition. No Chi Omega girl should be caught hanging out in a male strip club, so we hide our identities and never reveal ourselves. They all have pink sequins except mine, which is black.

I slip it on and step inside. We get a good table. I'm no prude, but I've never really felt comfortable with these events. I never could quite understand the concept of stripping for money. But here we are, 8 girls around a table supposedly getting ready to see some hot men dance.

A few of the male dancers aren't half bad, but I can honestly say I am not enjoying myself and long to go home. Then a dancer comes out onto the stage, who captures my undivided attention.

He is a pole dancer. He has athletic skills that can rival an Olympian as he spins around the 12-foot pole, slowly unfolding his body a few feet from the ceiling. His form is perfect. He is shirtless, and only wearing a pair of denim cut-off shorts. Watching him dance is like watching a ballet, a modern dance, and the gymnastic arts of the circus, all rolled into one.

Olivia leans into me. She whispers, "Cat? Isn't that Alex?"

I slowly nod my head. Since my brain is on overload, my ability to speak seems to no longer function. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Jenny looking at me. So now I know why she wanted me to come here. She knows about Alex and still wants payback for the whole fundraiser thing. God only knows what Liam has told her about Alex and me.

I refuse to give Jenny the satisfaction of my reaction. Alex draws my eyes back to the stage. He is magnificent. I feel foolish that in these last two months it never crossed my mind to ask what he did for a living. I had always just assumed it was an all-night convenience store or some sort of shift work. Of course, we all know the adage of what they say about people who assume.

As I watch him dance, I find it both erotic and voyeuristic. He seems lost in the music. The pole is his partner, and he is expertly maneuvering his body around it. My mind is literally at war, trying to interpret what my eyes are seeing.

The other women in this place, however, are losing their minds. They are eagerly throwing money up onto the stage, trying to reach out to touch him, but he stays just out of their reach.

That's little comfort, however, as I know how these things work. There's dancing on stage and then the dancers come out offering "private dances" to the women in the club. It's something I certainly have never taken part in, but the thought is sobering.

Every night Alex is here dancing, "private" or not, for any women at the club that night, and when he comes home to me, he climbs into the bed we share and he'll kiss me.

My stomach turns as my emotions shift into full-on anger. Am I just the fool everyone thinks they can play? Poor naïve little Cat, she's oblivious half the time, so it doesn't matter what I do. I can make out with girls at frat parties or have random women shove dollar bills down my pants, she'll never know. And even if she did, she'd still love me.

I grip the necklace around my neck and stand up. It's the wrong move as it catches Alex's attention. His eyes meet mine, recognition dawning on his face. How can he not recognize me in this dress? I whip off the mask and toss it on the table. What happens next, I neither know nor do I care. I pick up my belongings, walk out of the club, and don't look back.

It's late, so of course, nothing is open. I'm wandering in the dark with no proper direction because I'm not familiar with this area of town at all. Okay, maybe storming out wasn't my best plan.

Once I cross the street, I look up where I am on my phone's GPS. I'm a good 30 minutes from home, but I don't want to go back to the club or to my apartment. I try calling William but realize quickly this is his night to host the drama club, so of course, my message goes straight to voicemail.

I sigh. "Looks like you're on your own, Cat." I call and arrange for a cab to pick me up at the mall, which I see on my phone's map is only a few blocks from where I am currently. I give them my credit card and they agree to meet me there.

One problem solved.

I walk down the street, but it's not long before I see two men walking up ahead of me. They are talking rather loudly, their slurred speech an obvious giveaway that they are seriously drunk.

Great!

I make a move to cross the street, but not before I see one nudge the other and fear grips my heart. I pick up my pace, but they change direction and follow me.

Shit!

I look around the deserted streets in a panic. Outside of the street lamps, there are no lights on in any of the windows. No one will hear if I scream for help.

"Hey there, pretty lady. Wait up! We'd like to talk to you!"

No way in hell that's going to happen.

I break into a sprint as I hear their footsteps picking up speed behind me. Refusing to look back, I just keep running, until my damn heel gets caught in a crack in the cement and I go sailing across the pavement.

I skin my hands and the side of my face. I hit my head, which leaves me slightly disoriented, but not so much that I don't hear the warning bells going off in my mind, telling me to get up and keep running.

As I scramble to my feet, I see they are nearly on top of me now. My one heel broke, so I snap it off and keep moving. Although I'm like an injured animal now, my progress severely slowed.

"No need to keep running, sweetheart," one man yells.

"Yeah, it's not like you have anywhere to go," says the other chuckles ominously and they are right. I don't have anywhere to go. In fact, I'm actually lost.

I pull out my phone and call 911. The dispatcher picks up. "I'm being chased," I cry "by two men, Caucasian, possibly in their thirties. Please? I need help!"

"Where are you?"

"I ....I don't know..." I'm panicking, but then I remember the street signs I looked up on my GPS. I put the call on speaker and pull up the app. It tells me where I am. "I just passed Princeton and Howell streets," I tell her.

"Stay on the line with me, okay?"

"Okay," I say.

"I'm dispatching someone right now. Stay with me and if you see any other street signs, call them out, so I know where to direct them."

"Walker," I say, looking up.

"Who you talking to?" the men yell at me. They sound much closer than before, but I refuse to look back. I pick up my pace and keep moving.

There's a call trying to come through on the other line. It's Alex, but I'm too afraid to hang up on the dispatcher to answer it. So it goes to voicemail.

"She's headed northeast on Princeton Ave, just past Walker Street." I hear the dispatcher say.

Who she's talking to?

"You still with me?" she asks.

"Yes, but they are catching up. I don't know how long I can..."

The phone gets pulled out my hand, and I get spun around. "Gotcha!" They hang up on the dispatcher.

"I called the police. Someone is already on their way," I inform them, hoping to scare them off.

"Too bad they won't find you, at least not until we have a little fun," says the guy who has a hold of me. He tries to drag me off the street.

I scream. I holler. I fight with all I have left in me, but it isn't much use as it's two against one. They drag me off the main street towards an alley. I get one good swift kick with my heeled foot so that the second man swears and lets me go. The momentum of me kicking him causes the first man to stumble backward and loosen his grip.

I wrench my arm free. I try to take off running again, but it doesn't take long before they have me and now they're furious.

The taller man pushes me up against the wall and has me trapped. He pins my arms and then the rest of me with the weight of his body. I'd knee him, but his position doesn't allow me the opportunity. His lips come crashing down on mine and he assaults me with his mouth.

My stomach lurches. He's been drinking beer. I throw up abruptly and violently all over him.

He must have known a second or two ahead of time what was about to happen. Because he jumps back saying, "What the..." and lets me go, but there is no escape from the spray.

He's completely covered down the front of him with my vomit. The moment he lets go, my strength leaves me and I slide down the wall to the ground. I see his friend look over at him, and upon seeing him covered in puke, he vomits, too.

"Bitch ain't worth it," the man who assaulted me swears, smashing my phone against the ground. He then comes back over to me and pulls my necklace off my neck. "I'm takin' this to pay for my clothes."

Headlights shine down the alley, and he hits his friend in the arm. "It's the cops!" and they go running off in the other direction.

"Help!" I yell, but it doesn't have much strength to it.

"CAT! CAT! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Alex? It's Alex!

"ALEX!?"

"CAT?!"

Alex comes running toward the direction of my voice. He sees the men running off and comes to a sliding halt beside me. Suddenly, he's on his knees next to me.

"I found her," he says to whoever is on the other end of the phone. "We need to get her to the hospital." He hangs up the phone and places it in his pocket. He sees my smashed phone and picks that up, too.

Alex takes off my messed up coat and removes his own, draping it ever so softly around me. Folding up mine, he places it in his backpack, along with my damaged phone.

"I want to go home," I plead. He gathers me up to him, but not before examining me from head to toe.

"God, look at you Cat!" Alex's eyes fill up with tears as he turns my face, taking in my banged-up head and scratched cheek. He pulls me closer to him. "This is all my fault. Did they...?"

"No," I say. "Please? Please, can I go home?"

Alex picks me up in his arms and carries me down the block to what I now recognize as Olivia's car. She has pulled up and swings the back door open. She's alone.

Alex slides me carefully into the back seat and then joins me.

"Oh My God, Cat. What happened to you?"

Alex answers for me, "Two men attacked her in that alley." 

Alex and Olivia swap phones, and he then makes a call.

"I found a woman attacked in an alley. Her attackers have run off toward Howell and Robbins' streets, heading south. No, an ambulance is unnecessary. She is requesting that we bring her home. She's really shaken up, but if she wishes to make a statement, I will let her know to call you. Yes. My name is Alex Bragin. Thank you!"

"What's this nonsense about you wanting to go home? We're taking you to the hospital!" Olivia says adamantly.

"Olivia, believe me, I understand how you feel, but Cat has asked to go home," Alex replies and gives Olivia his address.

She drives us home but makes it clear, "I don't think it's a good idea. She should go to the hospital."

"I agree with you, and once I get her home and cleaned up, should she need to go, I promise you I will make sure she gets there," Alex reassures her.

He's not taking me to the hospital. I lean against him and close my eyes for what seems like only a minute or two, but when I open them again, Alex is carrying me into the apartment.

"Can you stand?" he asks when I look up at him.

I nod yes. So he slowly puts me down. My legs are like Jell-O, but I manage. I go to take a step, forgetting the heel on my shoe broke and almost fall but Alex catches me. "I have you," he whispers, steading me.

He helps me into the bedroom. I sit on the bed and Alex immediately bends down to remove my shoes. He throws them aside.

"Can you undress on your own?" he asks, and I nod I can. He moves to the bathroom and I hear him turning on the water for the shower. I guess so I can get cleaned up.

Alex rejoins me. I can't get to the zipper on my dress. Alex turns me around slowly and gently slides the zipper down. "Should you need me, I'll be right here," he promises me, sitting on the bed.

Nodding again, I walk into the bathroom. I pull the dress off, shoving it in the trash with a reminder to myself to burn it as soon as I get the chance. I take off the rest of my clothes and climb into the shower.

As the water cascades over me, I feel the sting on my face and hands from my scratches and the events of what just happened. Thinking of what almost took place overwhelms me. I slide down the tiled wall, sobbing.

I hear the bathroom door open and I look up from the corner where I sit, huddled with my arms around my knees, to find Alex staring down at me as he opens the shower door. His face so full of concern, but he doesn't say a word. Fully clothed, he simply gets into the shower, sits next to me and just holds me while I cry.