Page 170 of Bonding with the Beta

“Yeah.”

“How are you getting home?”

“Probably walk.”

“Walk?” Kayden spits the word out like it’s venom. “No. You can’t walk home. It’s almost one in the morning.”

I glance up at the dark sky and scattered stars. “I’ll be okay. It’s only ten minutes away.”

“No,” he says, his voice determined and gravelly. “Don’t you dare. Call an Uber.”

“I’m not leaving yet.”

“Fine, then I’ll come pick you up.”

I blink rapidly at his statement. “That’s over an hour away.”

“You think an hour is long? Kayleigh, I’d walk barefoot across glass for weeks if that meant you got home safe.”

My pulse pounds in my throat. “That’s a little excessive,” I murmur.

“Not when it comes to you.”

I clutch the phone like my life depended on it.

“I’ll be here for a little while longer.”

“Then I’ll wait.”

“Fine.”

“Text me the address.”

“Okay.”

I don’t say anything else, but neither of us hangs up.

“I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah.”

When I brush myself off and go back into the party, I scout the room for Evie. I walk from the kitchen to the living room to the garden and find her sitting on Nathan’s lap on the outside furniture. I smile at the sight of them with his arm around her lower back and both of them laughing at something Evie said.

Good for her.

The next hour rolls by, and when Kayden tells me he’s outside, I tell Evie I’m leaving if she wants to come with me. “I’ll drive her home,” Nathan says to me. “I’ve not been drinking tonight.”

I hum. “Alright. Text me, please?”

“Of course.” She grins. “See you later.”

When I leave the party and head down the porch steps, I find Kayden leaning against the passenger door of his Jeep. My breathing hitches in my throat at the sight of him, and I sway as I walk.

Kayden meets me halfway, holding onto my hip for support.

“Hey,” he whispers.

“Hey,” I whisper back as I tilt my head to meet his height.

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