Page 40 of Dared

I helped him upright, and he eased the bag of frozen peas out from under his hoodie, placing them on the coffee table.

“How are your ribs?”

“They’re okay. I’ll be fine tomorrow. It wasn’t a hard jab. I think they just caught me at a bad angle.”

My jaw clenched at the way he tried to brush off the fact that someone had purposely hurt him. And the bastard who had pushed him…if I ever found out who it was, he’d have not only me but the entire football team to deal with, not to mention JJ and Niccolò.

“Leo.”

“Don’t. Please.”

“It’s okay.” I kissed his temple. “We don’t have to talk about it anymore if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t want to. I just want to go home with you.”

How could I ever refuse him anything when he gave me that imploring look? There was one thing I needed to do first, though. Unzipping the hoodie and easing it off his shoulders, I then removed my own hoodie. I carefully helped him into it, reluctantly smiling when he stared at me, his brows rising in an unspoken question.

A question I didn’t really have the answer to. “It makes sense for you to wear my hoodie, otherwise you’ll have to remember to give this one back to…”

“JJ,” he finished.

“Right. JJ. Now you can wear mine, and we can take yours home to wash.”

He smiled then, a proper, genuine smile, and my breath caught in my throat. Fucking hell.

“Okay. Let’s get home,” I said hoarsely, pulling him upright. As we left the lounge, Leo’s hand clasped securely in mine, we ran into JJ.

“Nice hoodie,” he murmured, amused, his gaze flicking between us. Leaning into me, he lowered his voice. “Remember what I said earlier.”

I glared at him, and he smirked, but his expression became serious as he turned to Leo.

“If you need anything, just text me, okay? Anything at all.”

“Same goes for me,” Niccolò called from the kitchen, where he’d obviously been eavesdropping.

“Thank you,” Leo whispered.

“Anytime.” JJ pulled him into a one-armed hug, giving the side of his head a quick kiss, amusement dancing in his eyes when he noticed the way I was staring at him. Not that I was looking at him in a certain kind of way. I just had a bit of tension in my jaw, that was all.

I forced myself to concentrate on the fact that JJ and Niccolò had been really good friends to Leo tonight. They’d both done everything they could to make sure he was okay, and I was seriously grateful to them both. JJ didn’t have to text me, either, but he had, and I needed to thank him.

“Thanks for texting me,” I said quietly, meeting JJ’s gaze. “It means a lot.”

He nodded to acknowledge me, giving me a brief but genuine smile. “Look after him, okay?”

“I will.” It was a promise I’d do everything I could to keep.

Back at my house, I sorted Leo out with some soft, loose joggers and a faded T-shirt to wear to bed. I left him to get ready, heading for the kitchen to fill a glass with water from the fridge while I waited to get into the bathroom to dig out the paracetamol, lip balm, and my mum’s eye cream. I knew she wouldn’t mind me using it for a good cause.

When I returned from the bathroom, Leo was in my bed, propped up by one of my pillows.

I placed the water on my bedside table and handed him the paracetamol. “Take two of these. I’m just gonna get changed, then I’ll be back.”

He nodded to acknowledge me, and I quickly ducked into the bathroom to get ready for bed. As soon as I was done, I got Leo to close his eyes while I carefully applied the cream, followed by a generous coating of lip balm, which I hoped would make his lips less sore. When I was done, I turned off the lights, leaving my curtains open a sliver, as usual, in case he needed to get up in the night.

“Thanks, Finn. I-I’m sorry?—”

Climbing into bed next to him and sliding under the covers, I shook my head. “I don’t want to hear you apologising to me again unless it’s something you actually need to apologise for, which I doubt will ever happen.”

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