Page 38 of Drifting

“I understand. I don’t know everything that happened to you—we just touched the tip of it—but you met my friends last night, I don’t fit in with them. They’re jocks, and I’m a nerd. I’d rather be doing homework than going to parties every Friday night.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Plus, I’m not as good looking as the guys or as smooth as them. I’m awkward with girls. Over time, I learned the guys didn’t care about me not attending all the parties or about having girls hanging all over me. It’s about having people at your side who will be there when things go to shit.”

“Two things.” I hold up a finger. “First, you might be a nerd, but you’re also a jock. You play football, and you have muscles.” I poke up another finger. “Second, who says you’re not as good looking as them? I want to meet this person and hand them some damn glasses. Take it from a girl, you’re hot.” I drop my hand to the table. “As for having people… I’ve always had problems with trust. I can count on one hand how many people I know I can rely on. They’d do anything for me, and I’d do anything for them.” I glance down. “I miss them. I can’t get a hold of Cin, and I’m worried about her.”

He pushes the bag across the table. “This might help.”

I turn the bag over, and a brand-new Knight Technology phone plops onto the table. With wide eyes and a cocked eyebrow, I glance at Nick. Did he buy me a phone? I remember him telling me last night that he needed to fix me not having one.

“It’s from Dom. He told me to make sure to add all of our phone numbers.” He holds his hand up and shrugs.

My brows pinch together. “I know you told me their last name, but I forget. What’s Dom’s and Mav’s last name again? Dom seemed to think I was playing some kind of game, or I was hired to be his perfect girl. All because I didn’t know who he was. Should I know who he is?”

“Most people around here know who he is.” He smirks. “They’re last name is Knight.”

Staring down at the phone, my eyes scan the word Knight Technology before I look back up at Nick, who slowly nods.

I scrub my face. How the hell did I miss that?

Shit, now what do I do? This goes against my strict policy of not taking anything from anyone, whether they can afford it or not.

Nick glances over my body. “Did you put sunscreen on?”

“The best I could. I felt myself getting burned, which is why I moved over here.” I glance at my shoulder and legs. Damn, I really got red.

“I’ll get you some aloe to put on the sunburn, but you should wear a shirt if you’re planning to hit the pool after I tell you what I found out.” A smile tugs at Nick’s lips.

Wait, did he say something about going into the pool?

I can’t imagine what he has to tell me. “What did you find out?”

“Well, as you know, your arm cast is waterproof. I mean, you can’t soak it for hours, but it can get wet, so there’s no need to worry about that. For your leg, you can take the boot off and get in the water. It won’t hurt it. Water’s a great way to build your leg strength back up. Just don’t overdo it. If you’re just floating around, you should be fine.”

“Really?” I demand.

He nods.

I jump up and hug him. “I can go in the pool. When you go in to get the aloe, can you get me a shirt?”

“Sure, I’ll be right back.”

I can’t believe he took the time to research that information for me. I take my splint off and set it beside the table. I can’t take my eyes off that water.

Nick comes back with a shirt and a bottle of aloe.

“Is this shirt, all right? I didn’t know which one I should choose,” he says as he sits down beside me.

“No, that’s fine. They’re all old, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Turn sideways in your chair so I can get your shoulders and back.”

When I turn as he instructed, he rubs the cool cream onto my shoulders.

It’s weird that, when he touches me, I don’t get the tingles I did when Cam touched me the other day. As I said before, Nick’s good looking, but I’m not surprised I don’t feel anything romantic toward him. The second I met Nick, I knew we’d be good friends. Cin always told me my intuition is insanely correct and I should always follow what I feel.

“This should help with the sunburn.” He’s halfway down my back when his phone rings. “Shelby, can you answer that for me? It’s Luke, so it might be important.”

I’ve never answered someone’s phone for them before. Unsure what to say, I answer it. “Hi, ummmm… Nick’s phone.”

I roll my eyes; I sound like a dork.

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