Yasmin inhales softly, her lips forming a perfect O. I want to lean down and wipe that stupefied look off her face with my mouth. Just a few inches separate us. It would be so easy. So freaking easy to close the distance and claim that stubborn mouth of hers.
I swallow, fighting the need to do it.
A movement over her shoulder catches my attention. The guy she’s been with is coming straight at us. I give him my most menacing glare so he knows to fuck off. He takes two more steps before changing his direction.
Stupid fucker.
Yasmin stabs her finger in my chest, drawing my attention back to her. “Yeah, right. He just didn’t want others to play with his toy. I know how you guys work.” She squirms at me. “Still doesn’t explain what you are doing here?”
“I’m moral support.”
“I don’t think I believe you.” She moves back a little to be able to glare at me.
“This face?” I give her my most innocent smile. “You don’t believe it?”
“Not. One. Bit,” she says slowly and sways on her feet. I pull her closer once again, steadying her.
“Are you okay? How much did you have to drink?”
“Not nearly enough.”
I shake my head at her. “You’re something else.”
She tips her head back. “Why does that sound like a bad thing?”
I open my mouth to reply, but we’re interrupted.
“You guys ready to go?” Hayden asks, his hand draped over Callie’s shoulder. She’s already half asleep, or maybe she’s just drunk, her whole body tucked into Hayden’s side.
“You going?” I ask Yasmin.
She presses her lips in a tight line, and I’m sure she’ll give us an earful. “What about Chloe?”
“She’s with Alyssa and her friends. Said she’ll stay a little while longer.”
Yasmin thinks about it and then finally nods. “Okay, let’s go.”
Hayden pulls Callie toward the exit, and we follow behind. Out in the hallway the girls stop to pick up their coats in the coat check. Zane magically appears when we’re almost at the door, and together we go out into the cool night.
A few Ubers are parked on the curb in front of the club, waiting for folks to be ready to go home. We stop in front of a Honda, but there is no way we’ll all fit inside.
Callie murmurs something that has Hayden turning around. His eyes land on Yasmin for a bit, before they meet mine. “You’ve got her?”
“I’ve got her.” I nod.
Waving them off, I pull Yasmin closer. She’s the perfect height for me, her body fitting just right under my arm.
I lead her to a car parked a few yards away. I nod to the guy as I help Yasmin slide inside so she doesn’t slam her head against the door jamb before getting inside after her.
“C’mon, let’s get you home.”
Giving Yasmin’s address to the driver, I lean against the seat. She’s already snoozing by the time we pull away. Her body molds into my side, her head leaning against my shoulder.
The drive back to campus is quiet. I look down to watch Yasmin’s sleeping face. The lines of her face are soft, her expression innocent.
Unable to resist it, I graze my fingertips over her cheek. She murmurs something softly, nuzzling into my touch. The pressure in my chest rises, a vice grip tightening over my heart.
“We’re here,” the driver says, interrupting the quiet. He eyes Yasmin’s sleeping form and then me. I open the door before shaking Yasmin’s shoulder. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”
Yasmin murmurs something incoherently, making me chuckle.
“You’ve got to help me here, beautiful.”
“Don’t wanna,” she protests, burrowing her head into the crook of my neck more firmly.
“I think I heard that one before. C’mon, let’s get you to bed.”
Finally she blinks her eyes open. They’re so dark they appear almost black. Like two bottomless pools ready to swallow me whole.
Yasmin reaches forward, her fingers brushing against stubble and cupping my face. “Are you coming with me?”
I swallow hard, unsure of what to say. Unsure of what she’s asking of me.
It’s been a long night and she’s been drinking. Get a grip. Put her to bed and get the fuck out of there.
“C’mon, let’s go.”
Sliding out of the car, I walk around to her side to help her out. She’s a little unsteady on her feet, so I wrap my arm around her to firmly hold her.
Thanking our driver one last time, I shut the door and steer Yasmin toward the dorm.
“Where’s your key?”
She lifts her little bag that’s hanging off her shoulder. I grab it and peek inside, but almost instantly something falls out.
Shit. How many things can one put in such a small bag?
A fucking lot.
Cursing quietly, I squat down, pick up a tube that fell, and shove it back in the bag. Stopping in my tracks so I don’t lose anything else on the way, I go through the contents of the bag until I finally find the key, which of course was at the bottom of the damn thing. Only once the bag is closed do we resume walking.
The hallways are quiet when we get inside. There is nobody sitting at the front desk, which doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.
“Third floor, right?”
Yasmin nods sleepily.
Slowly we make our way up. Once we’re on her floor, I let her lead me all the way down the hallway until we reach her room.
I wait, watching her put the key in. She turns the key, a faint click echoing in the empty hallway.
You got her home, now get the hell out.
My hands clench by my sides, but my feet don’t move.
“Nixon?” she asks, still facing the door, but doesn’t make the move to push it open.
“Yeah?” I croak, my voice coming out rougher than intended.
“Why did you come tonight?”
“I already told you. Hayden…”
She turns around to face me. “That’s bullshit, and we both know it.”
There isn’t a trace of the sleepy girl from the cab, now she’s wide awake and waiting for answers. Answers I can’t give her.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
She stares at me, not saying a word. Her face is hard, unreadable, and I wish I knew her better so I’d know what’s going through her mind. But Yasmin Hernandez has been a mystery since the moment I met her. An enigma I wanted to figure out, but could never quite do it.
Finally she takes a step toward me, and then another, until we’re toe to toe.
“Did you have fun scaring Lucas away?”
“A lousy name for a lousy dude,” I mutter, not even pretending not to know who she’s talking about.
She just lifts her brows. “Like Nixon’s better?”
“Hell yeah.” My finger slides under her chin, tipping it upward as I slide my thumb just under her lips. They part slightly as her breath hitches. “At least when I kiss a girl, she looks like it.”
“Maybe because he didn’t kiss me.”
I narrow my eyes, unsure if I believe her. “He was going to.”
I know he was going to, unless he chickened out at the very last moment. Then he’s even dumber than I originally thought.