Page 61 of Bae

Security came rushing forward, trying to get through the press crowding me from every angle.

The noise from the crowd suddenly burst into my wild mood, and I realized what the hell I was doing.

Stooping to their level.

And I wasn’t doing a very good job. I was getting pushed around by Barbies.

This was going to be in every magazine for a month at least.

I stood and moved along the row, back out into the stairwell.

“Security!” the men in uniform yelled as they pushed closer to us.

“Ow!” one of the hos pouted. “That was assault!”

I rolled my eyes. Beneath my resolute exterior, the anger and upset I felt drained away. It circled around my feet before running off and leaving me there alone and shaken. My knees were trembling; my fingers ached. Everything inside my brain became foggy, and an overwhelming sense of panic stole over me.

What have I done?

Security was going to reach me any second. All these girls were going to blame me, and they wouldn’t exactly be wrong.

Romeo was going to have to bail me out of jail.

He was going to be so mad.

Good thing Tony was in town. I was probably going to need a lawyer.

Around me, people started yelling and gasping. It took a minute for it to penetrate my own internal dialogue.

I blinked and followed where everyone was pointing. A giant uniform-clad football player was jogging this way. In one running leap, he jumped up on the wall and straddled the rail.

I stared as the larger-than-life athlete reached up and yanked the helmet off his head. Blond, messy hair flopped over his forehead, and impossibly blue eyes locked on mine.

My lungs remembered how to breathe. I sucked in air, not even realizing how badly my body needed it.

“Romeo!” people yelled and surged forward.

“Excuse me,” he said, and the crowd literally parted.

The girl beside me made a sound, then elbowed me. “Bye, Felicia.”

That wasn’t my name… Who in the world was Felicia?

“What the hell is going on here?” Romeo asked as he jogged the short way up the stairs.

“Romeo, I—” I balked. I had no idea what to say.

The blonde on the end actually stepped in front of me and offered her hand to him. “I’m—”

He held up a hand. “I don’t care.”

Without touching her, he reached around and held out his hand.

“C’mon, Smalls. This is no place for my girl.”

My hand slid into his. He felt like a furnace. My fingers curled in close to his palm.

I stepped around Bright Lite Barbie (‘cause you know, her hair practically glowed) and gave him a sheepish smile.

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