“Yeah, I see that.”
“But lately, and I don’t know if it’s because I’m home and she’s in my face, but it’s been stronger than usual.”
“Sure, that makes sense.”
I look over at him. “It does?”
“Yeah,” he says with a shrug. “When you’re around someone you’ve always been attracted to, it’s hard to ignore. I see the way y’all are together, and I know you’ve been fighting it, for obvious reasons. You guys are great friends. But what if you can be more than friends, and your relationship be even greater?”
I slowly nod. “I know her, and I don’t think she feels the same.”
He exhales. “Okay, that could pose a problem.”
“So, I should just keep it moving, right? Like, no sense in messing up a good friendship?”
He doesn’t answer me right away. “I think you need to decide if your friendship with her is enough, or could the possibility that your forever has been right beside you all these years urge you to see what happens.” I swallow hard. “Either way, you can’t go wrong. Take a risk or stay complacent.”
“What would you do?” I find myself asking, and he grins.
“I’m marrying the girl who has loved me her whole life. I wasn’t with her on that because she was always Shea and Elli’s little girl to me. But then she made it really hard to resist her. And when I fell, I fell hard. I risked my career and relationships with our extended family because I realized she was right and she was the one for me. But the thing is, Ash, we’re two different dudes. I love the thrill of fighting for what I want. You like everything planned out for you and easy, which is why you ignored for so long that your fiancée was a lesbian.”
“I didn’t know,” I try, but he shakes his head.
“You knew, but she was low drama. And with Ally, she’s that constant comfortable person. No matter what, she has your back. And why would you risk that for a relationship that could end?” I meet his gaze, and he gives me a knowing look. “The thing is, I know you. You’ll wait to see if she makes a move, and if she doesn’t, you’ll continue wondering if she could possibly be the one.”
His words scare the shit out of me because they’re so true. As I pull onto campus, I don’t answer him. I need to analyze this a bit before I am able to put into words what I am feeling, how his words affect me, and what the hell I want to do.
When we get to Ally’s dorm building, I’m glad to see her car parked in her spot. But what I don’t expect to see is Ally screaming at Taco, her own face clearly red even in the dark and her eyes wild.
“Holy hell, is that the NachoFuck guy?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Ally is about to kick his ass.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I say as I pull to the curb, not even worried about parking in a space.
I throw my door open just as Taco yells, “Get the fuck out of my face! You ain’t shit.”
“Who the hell is he talking to?” Aiden asks, getting out before me. “I know he isn’t talking to Ally like that.”
Heat burns my skin as I get out of the car. I know what Ally is about to do before she does it. Her palms come up, slamming into his chest, and he falls to the ground. I would cheer her on, but this can’t be good. Not with the way he is looking at her. He gets up quickly since a crowd has gathered. I push through them, Aiden behind me, just in time to see that motherfucking asshole grab Ally by the neck.
My whole body goes taut, I am stunned to silence, and I don’t even hear Aiden yell. I know what is happening. I see it. I see everyone around me, but something isn’t clicking. Did this dude just grab Ally by the neck? It’s like I have tunnel vision, and Taco is at the end of it. If I were Darth Vader, I would choke this bitch-ass dick with the Force. Unfortunately, I’m not, so I do the next best thing.
I slam my fist into his jaw.
I’ve never been in a fight. I’ve only ever wrestled with Aiden, but I know if I were to look at him, Aiden would be proud to see Taco lying on the ground. To my surprise, though, Taco bounces up like one of those inflatable boxing toys and squares up. He wipes his mouth, a few drops of blood dripping down his jaw as his eyes narrow to slits. “Oh, I’ve been waiting for a while to kick your ass.”
“Same here, you bitch.”
He scoffs and lunges at me, catching my chin. I hear my name, but I’m in the zone. I refuse to allow this dude to think he can lay hands on Ally. I throw a punch that he dodges, but I still hit the side of his neck. I throw my left first and get him square in the middle of his throat. He gasps for breath and backs off a bit. His eyes are on fire, but I know mine match. He flings his body at me fully and knocks me back into the grass, landing on top of me. It knocks the air out of me, and then he punches me in the eye.
And fuck, it hurts. Lights go off, and I swear, it feels like he poked my damn eye out with a stick. That doesn’t stop me, though, I somehow swing and get in another blow to his jaw, causing him to fall off me. I go to jump on him, but Aiden is there, pulling me up to my feet, his arms across my chest.
“Whoa there, buddy. Calm down. The campus police are here. Relax.”
Everything from that moment on is a blur. My adrenaline is flowing like crazy, I can’t see out of my left eye, and I can hardly breathe. I gasp for breath, and soon I’m being questioned by a police officer as I hold my eye. “He said you threw the first punch.”
I nod. “I did.”
“Yes, he did. But he assaulted me and sexually assaulted my cousin,” Ally says, and my good eye widens.
Together, Aiden and I both say, “What?”
Aiden whips his head to where the cops are with Taco, and now, I’m holding him back. Which is very hard with one hand since I’m still trying to make sure my left eye stays in my head. “You motherfucker, your ass is mine!”
Taco laughs, flipping him the bird. “Yeah, I bet it is. You love ass just like your faggot brother, you bitch!”
The cops try to settle everything down, but emotions are high. Our cop, his name is Murphy, sets me with a look. “Do you need medical attention?”
I nod, feeling sorry for myself. “If I say yes, does that mean I lost the fight?”
Murphy looks bored while Aiden scoffs. “Dude, you didn’t lose. It was a tie…that I’ll break!” he says, yelling the last part.
Murphy now sets Aiden with a look. “Do you want to go to jail?”
Aiden backs down as Murphy looks to me. “Go to the ambulance. And you, what’s your name?”
Ally pats her chest as she wraps her arm around Angie. “I’m Allison Titov, and this is Angela Paxton. We want to press charges against him.”
Angie looks terrified, but then Aiden is there, hugging her close to his body as another cop guides me to the ambulance. I don’t hear anything else as I’m being taken care of. I worry for Ally and Angie. I’m also livid about what happened to Angie, but it makes sense. She really had been acting as if something happened that night, and if I had known it was Taco, I would have kicked his ass earlier. I can’t even fathom how he could have hurt Angie—or even more, grabbed Ally by the neck. It doesn’t seem to register. Sure, he’s a fucker, but I never saw him as a threat to two women I care about very much. Soon, though, I can’t think of any of that because the verdict is in, and I need to go to the hospital.