Page 27 of (Un)Expected

“Seriously, Mitch,” the redhead next to her snorted. “When are you gonna learn that it’s never gonna happen?”

The asshole didn’t even flinch. Instead, he took Alex’s hand, pressing his lips to her knuckles. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

My fist tightened at the sight. Who the fuck was this guy, and why did he think it was okay to touch her like that? If she was into it, I’d keep my fucking distance, but I knew that look on her face, having been on the receiving end more than once.

The guy was half a second from becoming a eunuch.

Ignoring my brain’s warning, I stepped into the parking lot, beelining for Alex’s side. Her friend stared at me as if trying to figure out if I was another threat. I wasn’t, at least not to her or Alex, but if these assholes didn’t get the hint, that would be another story.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I said, stepping to Alex’s side. My arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her closer to my side. At the contact, her blue eyes widened with shock. Not even half a second later, they narrowed, and her lips thinned.Fuck.Maybe I was the one facing castration tonight. But when I winked at her, some of her irritation faded, finally figuring out what I was doing. She even started to relax into my touch.

“Hey babe,” Alex said, snuggling into my side as her hands slid around my chest. “I missed you.”

“Not as much as I missed you,” I answered, tucking her even closer to me. Damn, she fit so perfectly against me. I could smell her shampoo, floral and warm scents filling the small space between us. I shook off the thought, directing my attention back to the guy gaping across from us. “Who are your friends?”

“This is Mitch and his buddy Pete. We were reminding them of the importance of consent.” Alex smirked back at them. “We good, guys?”

They both nodded, muttering under their breath as they walked back through the bar’s front doors.

As soon as they were gone, her friend doubled over, holding her stomach while loudly laughing. “Oh my God, I wish I had my phone out for that! Mitch’s jaw hit the floor when you came over.”

“Don’t tell him that, Calla,” Alex groaned, shoving me away from her. She even wiped her hands on her jeans, as if touching me repulsed her. “You’ll only make his ego bigger.”

I smirked down at her. “That’s a strange way to thank me.”

“For what?” She rolled her eyes. “I had that covered.”

“I could tell,” I said. “But you seemed about five secondsaway from committing murder, so I thought I’d step in and save you some jail time.”

“Our hero.” Calla placed her hand on her heart, pretending to swoon, while Alex just continued to scowl at me.

“Then consider your job done,” Alex said with a flick of her wrist. “We were about to walk home, so you’re good to go.”

I glanced around, not liking the idea of two girls walking through the darkness. There were too many things that could go wrong in the night. Alex had car keys clenched in her hands. “Why aren’t you driving?”

“This one,” Alex pointed over her shoulder to Calla, who was watching our exchange intently, “made me do shots.”

“We were celebrating,” Calla added quickly, earning another glare from Alex.

Alex pressed her fingers to her forehead. “It’s fine. Aaron would rather me leave my car here than risk driving. I’ll come grab it in the morning.”

“The fuck you will,” I said, reaching my hand out. “Look, I’ll drive you two home and then hitch a ride back to the hotel.”

Calla jumped up, wrapping a hug around my neck. “That would be the best! These shoes are cute, but they suck for walking.”

I pat her back, lowering her to the ground, but I didn’t miss the way Alex’s eyes tracked all my movements, her lips forming a cute scowl. Alex snapped the keys back when Calla tried to grab them.

“This isn’t some excuse to get us alone to murder us, right?”

“Alex!”

“What?” she snarled, turning back to her friend. “You don’t know this guy. He can’t stand me. Who knows if this is some elaborate trap?”

I reached over, snatching the keys from her hands. “First of all, if I was going to murder you, announcing myself as your boyfriend would probably be a stupid idea. And second, I never said I didn’t like you.”

“Then why do you give me so much shit?”

I clicked the unlock button, smiling when an older model Jeep Wrangler’s lights blinked on. This was going to be fun. As I walked past Alex to get to the driver’s side, I lowered myself down to her ear, speaking low enough so only she could hear.

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