When I reached the bedroom door, I leaned forward and rested my head against it. Closing the door had been like sealing Drew off—separating him from me figuratively as well as physically. Opening it felt…overwhelming.
This was ridiculous. I’d go out there, use the bathroom, and then go right to bed. I’d wake up tomorrow ready to move forward and forget all about tonight. My hand gripped the doorknob and turned.
As soon as I was out in the hall, my chest grew heavy, as if I were harboring thousands of butterflies in there. It was then that I wondered how I was supposed to move forward when every fiber of my being wanted to rewind to an hour ago when I’d been in Drew’s arms.
D R E W
When Sophia had gone into the bedroom, I’d plopped down on the couch with my head in my hands. The night had been draining, but it had somehow been energizing too. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to sleep for days or scale a building. It probably didn’t help that my body was used to being up late on Saturdays because of work.
I told myself to get up and get ready for bed, but I still hadn’t moved when I heard the bedroom door creak open and another one close. Sophia was probably using the bathroom. I promised myself I’d get my ass in there as soon as she was done. But then I heard feet padding softly down the hall, which caused me to look up.
She was standing just inside the room in a black tank top and white-and-black striped sleep shorts. Sophia all dolled up to go out was a sight, but there was something infinitely more appealing about her when she was comfortable and unguarded like this.
Sometimes I felt like she used her clothes and makeup and countless products as a kind of shield that accompanied the persona she projected to people on campus. But like this, she was sweet, a little shy, and absolutely breathtaking.
“You okay?” I asked, my voice a little hoarse from talking over the music all night.
“Yeah.” She looked down as her fingers nervously danced together. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just….” She let her gaze flit up to me as she motioned over her shoulder. “Thank you. For helping me take care of Taylor.”
“Sure. No worries.”
She looked like she was gearing up for something, and I felt my eyes narrow as I tried to figure out what was wrong and how I could help her. Was she still worried about the guy in the bar? I’d kill that fucker if he ever came near her again. I was just about to say something to that effect, when she looked up from her hands and locked eyes with me.
“Thank you for taking care of me too.”
The words were soft, but I heard the way her voice wobbled on the last word.
I was on my feet before the first tear fell, darting over to her so I could sweep her up into my arms. “You don’t ever have to thank me for that.” I rested my cheek on top of her head.
“I do,” she said after sniffling. “I should honestly say it every hour on the hour.”
“Promises, promises,” I mumbled, causing her to giggle, though it sounded wet.
She clung to me for another few seconds before drawing back and wiping her hand over her face. “God, crying all over you is not the way I wanted to show my gratitude.”
“It’s fine. I needed a shower anyway.”
She laughed again as she playfully smacked me in the chest. “You’re gross.”
I smiled down at her as I tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. But as our eyes stayed locked on one another’s, the smiles slid off our faces.
“That guy tonight…” I trailed off because I wasn’t sure how to say what I wanted to without scaring her. My attitude toward that asshole wasn’t exactly conciliatory.
“TJ,” she supplied, maybe thinking I was searching for an identifier. Dickhead was a good enough one for me.
“TJ?” I asked, my voice relaying my disgust. “What the hell kind of name is that for a grown man?”
She looked confused by what I’d said but also amused. “A normal one?”
“No way. I’ve never met an adult TJ.”
She shrugged. “I’d never met an adult Drew, but…” She gestured to me instead of finishing her sentence.
“Drew is a very mature and manly name.” My face was serious, but inside I was lighting up. I loved bantering with her like this, and I liked it even more that we could get back to this place after the crazy evening.
“Totally. Like Nancy Drew. Very manly.”
“You did not just say that.”
“If the teen mystery fits.”
I looked at her quizzically. “I’m not sure what that means.”
She shrugged. “Me neither. It’s all that popped into my mind, so I went with it.”
We laughed again, and it was looser than it was before—more genuine, like the more we did it, the more we meant it.
I didn’t want to lose the lightness we’d managed to uncover, but I also wanted to get back to the point I’d been trying to make.
“That guy—TJ.” I said his name like he was a pretentious toddler. “I wanted to plant my fist in his mouth.” That maybe hadn’t come out as tactfully as I’d intended, but it was the truth.
Her face softened as if I’d just complimented her skin-care regimen. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
“I’m…less glad. But I’m telling you this because… Jesus, this is hard to say the right way. I didn’t only want to hit him when he wouldn’t let you go.”
“You didn’t?” She looked thoroughly confused, and I inwardly cursed myself for not being better with words.
“No. I wanted to hit him from the beginning.”
“The beginning of the night? You saw him earlier?”
I shook my head, getting frustrated with myself and a little with her. Why couldn’t she be a mind reader so I didn’t have to verbalize all of this?
“I wanted to hit him as soon as he approached you. As soon as he bought you the drink and started flirting with you. And definitely when he started dancing with you. And then I felt like shit, because there I was, wishing the guy would give me a reason to get between the two of you, and then he did. I’m so sorry. Having someone hurt you…I’d never want that. But at the same time, I feel like I almost willed it to happen.”
“So you, what…think you can control situations with your mind now?” Her lips twitched like she was fighting a smile, and my entire body sighed in relief that she didn’t hate me. “And people call Aamee a narcissist.”
I straightened in mock outrage. “Hey now. No need to be hurtful. I said I was sorry.”
She smiled then and took a step closer to me. “You were watching me? The whole time?”
“That’s what you want to focus on?” The timbre of my voice dropped at her proximity.
She nodded as her hand came up to lightly trace the buttons on my shirt.
I watched her hand slide down my shirt for a second before I put my fingers around hers, stilling her descent. Then I looked up so I could see her gorgeous face.
“It probably makes me sound like a creeper, but it’s hard for me to look away from you. Whenever you’re in the room, my eyes are drawn to you. Even when you’re dancing with assholes, I can’t seem to look away.”