“Stop,” he said, shaking his head. “I still care what people think, okay? I’m just selective about who I give that right to. Only important people, like you, get my hoots. Got it?”
“But how do I keep from caring about the rest of them?” I asked, more tears flooding my eyes. Leaning forward, I pressed my forehead to his.
Luke released a breath as he pressed back “Well, for starters,” he said, finally pulling away to straighten the hair around my face with his fingers. “We gotta teach you not to form crushes on dipshits like Caine Spinnaker.” Sniffing bitterly, he shook his head as if he still needed a moment to adjust to that one. “I mean, Caine Spinnaker…”
The way he so ridiculously lifted his voice and stressed the Ns made me giggle.
“Don’t say it like that,” I ordered. “You make it sound stupid.”
“He is stupid,” Luke countered.
I laughed again, only to end it with a sob. Luke wiped more tears off my cheeks. I squeezed my eyes shut. “I feel stupid.”
“No,” he assured as he tugged me against him to enfold me in a hug. As we sat there and swayed slowly back and forth on the bench in the bathroom, he added, “You’re not stupid. Not at all. We all mess up every once in a while and give more importance to some people than we should. Hell, look at me. I thought Malia would make a good date for this damn dance. Now, I still have to take her home tonight. I’m going to have to air my car out for a fucking week after this. But mistake learned, right?”
I laughed and shook my head, only to scold, “That’s mean. What if she can’t help how she smells?”
“Like what?” He sent me a questioning glance. “She doesn’t own a shower?”
I shrugged. “Like, I don’t know…maybe she has some medical problem that produces excessive body odor.”
He sighed sadly. “Then I’m a dork and a jerk.”
I nodded. Only to look up at him. “I don’t think any of the others know yet,” I said, for some reason, hoping to cheer him up. “That you’re a dork, I mean. Beau, Gracen, Bentley, and Bella. They all still think you’re too cool to hang out with us.”
“Seriously?” Luke threw his head back and laughed. Then he swayed us hard in one direction, saying, “Don’t worry. They’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“Or they won’t,” I said since he didn’t seem dorky to me at all. He was kind of dreamy, actually.
Relaxing my body against his, I couldn’t help but concentrate on how utterly nice he felt. We fit together just right, and he didn’t seem to mind my pudgy parts at all.
“Oh, they will,” he assured, brushing some of my hair out of my face again with his fingers and tucking it behind my ear. “For instance, I’m a mama’s boy. Like a huge, raging mother lover. I can’t get a paper cut without telling my mom about it. She’s my everything.” With a shrug, he sighed. “A guy just can’t keep that hidden for long, you know.”
I smiled, thinking that was a sweet quality, not a dorky one. “I like your mom,” I said.
“Right? She’s the best,” he agreed with a wistful note in his voice. “Which is why I should probably do her proud right about now, huh?”
As he let go of me to push to his feet, I straightened and blinked at him. “Wha…?”
“Chloe Ryan,” he said, holding a hand down to me. “Will you do me the honor of giving me this dance?”
I sank back toward the wall, instantly wary. “Oh…no,” I assured him, waving my hands insistently. “Trust me, I don’t want to dance anymore. I’m not going back into that gymnasium ever again.”
“Yes, the fuck you are,” he argued sternly. “You came here, wanting to dance tonight, remember?”
“Yeah, but—”
“No buts,” he insisted, refusing to let me deny him. His eyebrows lifted severely as he pointed at me. “If you came here, wanting to dance, you’re going to dance. You’re my people, and over my dorky dead body am I letting a dipshit like Spinnaker or his asshat friends take your dream away from you. You got that?”
My chin trembled. “Seriously, Luke. I don’t know if I can go back in there.”
“Well, you are,” he assured me steadily, refusing to drop the hand he continued to hold out to me. “Because I’m going to be with you the entire time, and I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. Trust me. Okay?”
I hesitated, wanting to believe him. “You swear you won’t leave me?”
“Consider me glue,” he promised.
When he looked at me with that serious glint in his blue, blue eyes, I did trust him.
And before I knew quite what I was doing, I lifted my hand and clasped his fingers as I heaved out a deep breath. “Alright.”
Here went nothing.
His chest swelled and shoulders rose with pride as he smiled and tightened his grip, then hauled me upright, off the bench, and onto my feet. “That’s my girl,” he encouraged before murmuring, “I got you. You’re going to be just fine.”
I nodded and glanced warily toward the bathroom exit. But Luke was true to his word. He kept hold of my hand the entire way to the gym and talked to me the whole time, being more attentive to me than anyone I’d ever talked to before. And when he smiled at me, I think he branded a piece of my heart with his name on it.
My fingers tightened around his when we stepped into the loud, booming room where everyone else was gathered. I swear, half the crowd turned to gape at us, no doubt having seen the fight and heard all the gossip by now.
Panicking, I jarred to a halt, ready to retreat, but Luke glanced at me, shaking his head. “We can do this. Just follow me.”
I looked up into his eyes, exhaled a harsh breath, and then nodded.
He nodded too, giving me that proud smile again.
When we turned toward the dance floor, the people parted naturally to let us through. We’d almost reached our destination when Malia popped in front of us, blocking our path.
I yelped out my surprise, and Luke pulled up short, hissing a curse under his breath as he blinked at her.
“There you are,” she said, stepping close enough to bring a whiff of her rankness with her. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Dear Lord, she really did need to invest in some strong deodorant.
Luke pulled himself up straighter, and I could tell he was holding his breath as he offered her a stiff smile. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I had a…a thing. But I’ll get back to you in a minute, okay? I just have to dance with my girl here for this song…” He motioned to me by lifting the hands we were still holding. “And then I’ll get back to you. Alright?”
“Uh…” Malia wrinkled her nose and looked me up and down. “Okay,” she finally said slowly. “I guess.”
Luke grinned. “Thanks.” He patted her arm companionably and then stepped around her, drawing me along with him.
And finally, we’d made it to the dance floor.
It was a fast song, but that didn’t seem to matter to Luke.
“Let’s show these people just how much we don’t care what they think of us,” he shouted into my ear.