Page 11 of Nowhere to Run

When I caught you watching me.

You liked what you saw, didn’t you?

So do I.

Very, very much. I like the way your hair falls in your face, how you wipe it away quickly. The way you apply your lip balm at your locker when you think no one is looking.

Those lips would look so beautiful wrapped around me.

I’m always there, always watching you.

My eyes widened, shock locking me in place. The things he said—so explicit, so vulgar. I barely had time to process it before ahand slipped over my shoulder. I stiffened.

Adrian.

But no. It was Preston.

Another senior on the football team.

“What you looking at, Scarlett?” He leaned in, his prying eyes falling to the note in my hands.

I crumpled it instantly, fingers tightening around the paper, my face burning.

“Nothing,” I murmured, eyes dropping to my feet, willing him to go away.

He’d never spoken to me before, but now he was dangling his arm over me like we were old friends, his body pressing in way too close. How did he even know my name?

“You got a boyfriend?” he drawled, eyeing me up and down, slow and hungry.

I swallowed hard. He was too close. Too overwhelming.

“No,” I whispered. “I don’t want one,” I added, quieter.

Preston rolled his eyes. “That’s just ’cause you haven’t gotten to know me yet.”

His hand slid down my back, fingers brushing the bare skin where my jeans dipped low.

I flinched, shifting away—but his grip held firm.

“Relax,” he hissed, voice low and edged with irritation. “What are you so uptight about?”

And then—a force I couldn’t see slammed him into the lockers.

The sound cracked like gunshot, metal rattling under the sudden violence.

A black leather-clad arm pinned him in place.

“Leave her the fuck alone.”

The voice was a low, dangerous rumble.

A full head taller than me. Adrian.

His steely eyes burned, brows furrowed, teeth clenched.

Preston’s bravado faltered. His eyes darted around, clearly embarrassed as a small crowd started to gather.

“What the fuck, man?” he spat. “Do you know how fast I could get you kicked off the football team?”

---