Page 75 of College Hockey Bully

Scarlett pulls back and wipes her face. “What are you doing here?”

Her suspicious expression puzzles me. “I was looking all over for you,” I reply. “When I saw that biker—”

“Why?”

Again, I frown, one that deepens when she steps back from me. “You had a day from hell, Scarlett, I wanted to be there for you.”

She scoffs. “Is that it, or did you come to gloat?”

“What?”

“Was this your endgame, Aiden? Not only to get me out of there, but to ruin my life. Payback for messing with yours—”

“Stop,” I mumble, closing the gap between us. “I’m not going to let you do this. Not to you or me. Not to us.”

“There is no us, Aiden—”

She gasps as I clasp her cheeks. “You’re scared, I get it, but I’m not the enemy, Scarlett. I care about you. I would never hurt you like that.”

My pleading eyes lock with hers. I hope like hell that she believes me, because the more time passes, the more convinced I am that someone’s not trying to sabotageher.

They’re trying to fuck with me.

For every shitty thing that’s happened, there’s only one common denominator.

Me.

“Believe me, please.”

Still silent, her gaze roams my face.

“Let me prove you mean too much for me to mess things up.”

Finally she nods. “Okay.”

Still, she doesn’t let me take her hand as I grab her bike, then lead the way to my car. She sits curled up in the passenger seat, so withdrawn she doesn’t even ask where I’m taking her. As we turn up the road into my neighborhood, she throws a look at me but still says nothing. She hesitates a bit when I reach for her hand after parking in the garage.

“Trust me,” I whisper.

She sighs deeply, then slips her hand in mine. With a firm resolve, I guide her through the side door. As expected, I find my mother curled up on the sectional, skipping through the pages of a fashion magazine. She glances up, startling when she sees me. Her shock fades into fury as her gaze lands on Scarlett.

“What the hell is she doing in my house, Aiden?” she exclaims, getting up. The magazine falls to the couch as she storms toward us. “Get her out of here!”

Scarlett stiffens beside me. I throw my arm protectively around her. “We’re not going anywhere until I make something clear.”

“I said, get that tramp out of my house—”

“Marianne, that’s wildly disrespectful of you,” my father’s voice comes from my right. My head turns as he closes the garage door behind him. “That’s no way to treat our son’s guest, is it?”

“She’s not a guest.” Mom whirls on him. “For your information, I caught them in the pool house the other day. Naked,” she emphasizes.

“I’m not a teenager, Mom. You didn’t ‘catch’ me doing anything. Scarlett and I are two consenting adults,” I reply firmly.

Mom snorts angrily.

“Your girlfriend, I presume,” Dad says softly, giving Scarlett a once-over. I nod, my arm tightening around her as he offers his hand. “I’m Adrian Hunter. It’s quite unfortunate that we meet under these emotional circumstances, but it’s still lovely to make your acquaintance.”

Scarlett smiles tentatively. “Hi.”

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