“Justin and I laughed about it.” I shrug. “He’s nice and all, but neither of us are interested. He’s a player.” I shrug. “Our parents think it went well, so it got them to leave me alone.” I wasn't in the same grade as Justin in Bradford Prep, but I was friends with his stepsister. He's a few grades ahead of me, but going to the same school is about all we had in common.
“He didn’t want more?” Shy gives me a skeptical look. Has he taken over the questioning now or something? Justin was Mr. Popular in high school. I think he only remembered who I was because his sister and I had a few sleepovers as kids. I was never in the cool clique.
“No.” I snort a laugh. “He wanted his parents off his back.”
“What about you two?” Adams asks, his eyes bouncing between Shy and me. “Are you two dating?”
“Us? No!” I squeak. Why is my voice so high right now?
“Are you sure about that?” he asks again. What is with asking me the same crap over and over? I look at Shy and wait for him to tell the detective no.
“Not yet.” He folds his arms over his chest. The act makes him look even bigger than he already is, and I stare at Shy in shock. What does that mean? “I was in class. There are a hundred other people that will vouch for that.” He goes on directing his attention to Adams now.
“All right. I’ll be in touch.” Adams hands me his card. “If anything else comes to mind, let me know.”
Right then, my phone starts to go off, making my stomach drop. “Oh gosh. The calls and texts! I’m so stupid.”
How could I have forgotten that? Once the detective got here and started peppering me with questions about my past and enemies, I became overwhelmed. My mind was all over the place and it still is. It doesn't help that Shy is near me. I’m always a babbling dork when he’s around.
“Calls and texts?” both Shy and Adams ask at the same time as Shy goes for my phone in my bag. He pulls it out and answers it like it’s his phone. He quickly puts it on speaker and then holds it out in front of me.
“Hello?” I answer.
“You’ve learned to answer your phone when I call. Good girl,” a deep distorted voice responds through the phone, and I wrap my arms around myself.
“Who the fuck is this?” Shy booms, making me jump. The line goes quiet before the normal heavy breathing comes through. “Listen, you motherfucker—” Before Shy can finish ripping into the person the call ends.
“They’ve never spoken before.” I can’t keep the quiver out of my voice.
“Give me your code,” Shy demands as he comes around the coffee table and holds out my phone to me. I enter in the four-digit password and unlock it fully for him.
“When did these calls and texts start?” Adams asks. I give him a short rundown on how they began when classes started back, and how they have escalated.
“This has been going on for a few months and you’ve said nothing?” Shy asks, his voice low and rough. He’s beyond pissed.
I nod, suddenly feeling so stupid for not saying anything to anyone. I’m used to handling things myself for the most part. When I do reach out for help, it’s to my father’s assistant. She handles most things when it comes to me.
“I thought it would stop and that the person would get bored. You think it could be the same person who did this to my place?” Of course it is. Who else could it be? Shy’s body tenses next to mine when he sees the text. He hands my phone over to Detective Adams.
The next thing I know, he’s pulling me into his lap again, and I let out a calming breath.
“I’m sorry I shouted, baby,” he whispers into my ear. “I’m going to get this figured out.”
Baby?! What is happening here? The room grows quiet as Adams scrolls through my phone for a few minutes.
Settling against Shy, I feel his fingers slip under the bottom of my shirt as he absently slides them back and forth across my bare skin. How is it I’m getting turned on right now? This is so not the time.
“Is there anything else you’re forgetting?” Adams asks.
“No, I swear. That’s it.”
“All right then. You’ve got my card, and we’ll be in touch.”
“I’ll show you out,” Rory says as he comes out of the kitchen, reminding me of all the people in here.
I turn my head to see Celeste, Apollo, and Anna, Rory’s wife—who is also Celeste’s mom—looming around the kitchen. All of them are staring at Shy and me.
I try to wiggle out of his lap, but his arm tightens around me. He’s silently letting me know I’m not going anywhere.
In all honesty, I don’t want to be anywhere else.
Chapter Four
Shy
“It’s getting late,” Rory says after he stands from his chair and nods to everyone else. “Let’s let Carrie and Shy get some rest.”
“Carrie, you’re more than welcome to stay at our pla—”
“Celeste, let’s get home so we can watch that show you like,” Apollo interrupts his fiancée and then turns back to me and winks.
“What show?” she asks, but Apollo is already nudging her into the hallway.
“Good night,” I say to everyone before locking the door behind him.
Letting out a long sigh, I turn around and face the room. Carrie is still curled up on the couch, and she smiles softly at me as I walk over and take a seat next to her.
“Are you tired?” I pull her feet out from under her and onto my lap.
“Not really.” She lets out a little moan when I begin to massage her toes and then her arches.
“I’m sure the adrenaline crash hasn’t hit yet.”
“Maybe, but I’m not sure I could shut my brain down right now, even if I tried.” When my eyes meet hers, I nod in understanding.
“How about a distraction?” I offer, and her smile grows.
“That sounds like a great idea. Do you want to watch a movie or something?”
I shake my head as I stand up and hold out my hand for her. “A bath would work better.”
“Oh.” She makes a little squeak in her throat as she slowly reaches out and puts her hand in mine.
“I’ll get the water started.” When we go into my bedroom, I glance around and make sure it’s still like I left it this morning. Bed made, clothes put away, no lube on the nightstand, thank god. “Take a seat.” I nod toward my bed, and she looks at me shyly as she sits down on it.
Seeing her in here is almost too much, and I have to look away. Instead of thinking about crawling on top of her, I focus on the task at hand. Walking into the bathroom, I turn on the water in the antique claw foot tub. I haven’t used it much, maybe only a handful of times, but when I moved in, Anna gave me a basket with all kinds of soaps and oils for it. Looking through them, I choose the one that says it's for relaxation. When I pour in the lavender, immediately bubbles begin to form. Once I’ve placed towels on the small table next to the tub, I step out and nod to Carrie.
“I think it’s ready. You can change in there if you want, and I’ll find something for you to sleep in.”