Page 4 of Sweet Punk
He picks up his hoodie between two fingers. “I guess this goes straight to the washing machine.”
“Yeah. You don’t want to get that stuff all over everything. It transfers too easily.” I wince. “I’m sorry. For all this. Do you want me to wash it for you?”
He gives a brief shake of his head before his gaze dips from my eyes to my lips and then down to my breasts. My nipples immediately peak. This is so, so not how I expected this to go.
I follow him to the door, which he unlocks and pulls open, letting me exit first.
“Whoa. Couldn’t make it up to your room, huh?” This comes from some random dude sitting on the couch in the communal area in the foyer.
The other two guys sitting with him snicker, and one mumbles loud enough for us to hear, “Looks like she took him for a ride.”
The third guy eyes me. “I don’t blame him. I’d let her, too. Nice top, honey.”
My cheeks flame red. I glance up to check Kellan’s reaction, and to my surprise, his face is also flushed. Only… maybe that’s from the pepper spray.
“Shut the fuck up and mind your own business. Before I take care of it for you.”
My brows raise.Whoa. Angry Kellan.
The first guy laughs. “I think that’s the only time I’ve ever heard you speak, man.”
“It’ll be the last if you don’t cut the shit,” Kellan growls and throws his arm around my shoulders and walks up the stairs with me. Just like that. His bare skin against mine. It’s making my stomach feel like it’s full of hummingbirds or something.
At the landing, he pulls away. “Sorry. Those guys are dicks. They’re in my fucking speech class. I kinda hate ’em.”
* * *
I tryto shake myself free from the memory of that day, but it’s so difficult. It’s one of the more exciting, normal things that’s happened to me in a long time. I’ve been secretly reliving it over and over for the last week—well, the better parts of it, anyway. Though, it’s hard to forget what an idiot I’d been and how he’d been in pain. Pain that I’d caused.
Taking a deeper swallow of my coffee now that it’s cooled, I allow myself to remember how Kellan had waited until I’d unlocked the door to my suite before he did the same and entered his. I stood there for several minutes with my back to the door trying not to melt into a puddle on the floor. And ever since that day, I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but it’s felt like we’re staying out of each other’s way. Like neither of us is willing to admit the odd sense of intimacy that had developed between us in that little bathroom on the first floor of our dorm.
I have certainly spoken to no one about it. Haven’t even hinted that anything happened. I wonder if Kellan relayed the entire story to Hawk and Maddox about what an idiot I was. But he’s made zero mention of it within my earshot. Nor has anyone else asked me about it. I’d totally understand if he mentioned the pepper spraying. But dammit, no one has said a peep about it.
Is it too much to hope that at the very least he’d kept those odd stolen moments between us? I don’t know what it meant, if anything. Propping my chin on my hand, I let myself daydream a little more.
Embarrassingly enough, I sit there for well over forty-five minutes, letting everything that happened replay in my head. Finally, I give myself a good shake. My coffee is long gone, and the girls are going to wonder where the hell I am. I tap out a quick message to our group chat.
Me:I’m on my way.
Raven:Oh, good. I was starting to worry.
Lux:And I was about to come after you.
Me:I’m fine. I’ll explain in person.
But I won’t. Not really. What am I supposed to say?
I still don’t know the answer to that question by the time I let myself into the suite to find Lux and Raven waiting for me. They’re sitting at the kitchen table with Oreos and milk.
“Hey,” I offer, unsure where to take the conversation from here.
Raven smiles brightly. “Hey, yourself. Have you been at the coffee shop all this time?”
I nod. “Yeah, mostly.”
“I’m going to jump right to it. What the hell?” Lux stops, her brows drawing together as her eyes drift over me.
Sighing, I pull out a chair and plop down into it, folding my arms across my chest. “Um. I should have mentioned this before, I guess. One of my biggest fears is fire. And not just any fire. Like the bonfire at Royal Revelry was cool. Controlled. Sort of.” My eyes flick to theirs, first Lux, then Raven. I shrug. “It’s more a fear of being trapped in a fire or something like that.” Good enough. At least I’m not lying to them. But shit, I didn't say anything about fear of fires to Kellan at all. He’d caught me off guard. I should have just told him that instead of acting all weird. But the thing is, heknowsthere’s more to it than that. Because he’s the only one who knows how fucking terrified I am that someone would follow me.Shit.
