Page 74 of Clean Point

‘He was what? Rude? That’s all,’ I hissed. Around me, I could feel eyes directed my way, people murmuring and trying to figure out what’s happened. His gaze found mine, the intensity in the storm of grey almost too much.

‘No, he was being a sexist asshole. How can you be so calm?’ His question left me dumbstruck, a slice of the anger I still had bubbling away under my skin very much redirected at him. I swallowed it down, washing it away with the rest of the champagne left in the flute. So much for savouring it.

I tilted my head in the opposite direction of the bar. ‘Come with me.’

I eased away slightly, but he didn’t move an inch, instead he frowned. ‘Where?’

I sighed, discarding my empty flute onto a passing waiter’s tray. I let my hand slip into his, squeezing once with persistence. ‘Just come with me.’

He turned again, watching Jon and Alister heading in the other direction toward the bar. I could sense his urge to follow, to really let that rage out of his system, but when I squeezed his hand again, his attention returned. I led us on, cutting through the busy crowd. I forced smile after smile as we passed some friendly faces, people calling our name for attention. We both made more than a few false promises to return, catch up or get a drink, and by the time we reached the edge of the crowd, my cheeks hurt from forcing a grin.

I kept walking, pulling him down a corridor, and when I thought we were far enough for the distance to be deemed safe from the crowd and any prying eyes, I opened the very first door I came across, pushed Nico inside, and closed the door behind us. Darkness and the strong stench of bleach surrounded us until I found the light switch.

Nico’s eyes searched around the dark small room, scanning shelves of cleaning products, brooms and mops propped up against the walls. ‘Why are we here?’

‘You needed a moment to calm down.’

‘I don’t get it.’ He let out a huff of air as he shook his head, the space between his eyebrows crinkling with frustration. ‘Aren’t you mad?’

‘I’m furious. But maybe you’re taking up all the oxygen, there’s none left for me.’

His eyes scanned my face, the anger in his features soothing as his frustration relented. ‘I’m sorry, Scottie, the way he spoke to you like you were …’

‘A piece of meat?’ I snipped at Nico, a little harder than I’d meant to. ‘I’m aware.’

His voice lowered, his own fury finally making way for mine, understanding what I needed. ‘Then, he touched you and I just … I lost it.’

I crossed my arms, suffocating down another bite of frustration. I didn’t want to be squabbling in a cupboard over an asshole comment that, honestly, I had practise in handling. ‘So?’

‘I didn’t like him. Really didn’t like how he spoke to you. Hated it when he thought he could touch you.’ His eyes didn’t leave mine, burning with intensity.

‘I wasn’t the biggest fan of it either. But I can handle these things myself,’ I said. I had to admit, it was nice for somebody to have my back for once, to see how easily one person could make another feel like dirt and actually step in and call them out on it. My anger smoothed out at his protectiveness, the comfort of it invaluable, but not when it put everything at risk. Nico nodded in the dim light, the ancient lightbulb above us dimming.

‘And what he was saying about Europe …’ he trailed off, the firm line of his jaw becoming more pronounced as he tried to bite down that frustration. At least he was trying.

‘He was teasing.’ I knew I was downplaying it for him, but if we got into a serious topic of all the sleazy things men had said to me since I’d grown boobs, we’d be in the cupboard all night.

‘You know what he was implying.’ For a moment, I hated the way he looked at me, his eyes soft, lips crooked in a sad smile. It was pity. Pity I didn’t want or need for a second. Something snapped, fuelled by that asshole grabbing me, by the thought that anyone thought I owed them anything because of my past.

‘That I fucked my way around Europe? The tabloids get a lot wrong, Nico, but not that. I was doing whatever and whoever I wanted. He brought it up to sleaze, which is gross, but I won’t be made to feel ashamed.’

‘You shouldn’t be. I didn’t mean it like that.’ He raised his hands, fingers spread out wide as he tried to calm the situation. ‘I’m sorry.’ I scanned his face, waiting for the judgement, the look of disgust at my admission, but it didn’t appear. Instead, there was clear regret and confusion as he carefully attempted to navigate his way through this conversation. ‘I was just …’

I raised an eyebrow, a smirk hanging on my lips as I finished his thought for him. ‘Jealous.’

‘No.’ His answer was immediate, his brows pushed together in denial. I could see it then, the realisation that I was right, the strong line of his jaw setting.

‘Liar.’ My challenge hung in the air, the line of my smile growing as the fact cemented itself as truth. I couldn’t take my eyes from his, waiting for that delicious moment where he’d finally relent. Whether it had been entirely jealousy fuelled, I couldn’t say. That man had been acting like an ass, and quite frankly, he deserved worse than being shouted at by Nico. But after the hotel room and the car, and everything else that clearly lay between us, I knew there was more to his actions than just protectiveness. I knew he wanted me. And God, did I want him, too.

His voice was a low murmur. ‘You don’t deserve to be treated like that, Scottie.’

‘I know.’

He lifted his arm, his hand hovering over the pale skin of my bicep, waving like he wanted to touch me, wanting that connection, but couldn’t quite bring himself to it. ‘You deserve better.’

‘I know that, too.’

‘I want to treat you better.’

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