Page 20 of Fight For Her
Everyone chanted his name. “Coby! Coby! Coby…”
What the hell?
I wanted to get up there and steal the limelight back, but I knew when to admit defeat. The tequila had betrayed me, and the thought of walking back on stage again brought bile to the back of my throat. Had I eaten much of my dinner? I couldn’t remember anymore. A basket of pretzels sat behind me on the table, and I reached for it, not caring how many germy hands had plundered it all evening.
Shawn caught me reaching and grabbed a handful, placing them on a plate in front in front of me. I was so lucky to have these two to take care of me even if I was still pissed at them for keeping the big, hunky elephant in the room from me.
Coby walked off to the side to say something to Quake, and as he took his place back at the center of the stage, the room fell silent. That muscle in his jaw ticked, and his hand went through his hair again and again causing it to stand up in parts, adorably, of course. Those smoky eyes locked onto mine and all the humor had gone from them. I was almost seeing double at that point, but I couldn’t look away.A weight settled into my gut, and I knew he was about to sing something that would break me.
Hauntingly, he sang Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”, and the entire time, he never looked away from me.
As the last line spilled from his lips, I rubbed at the wetness on my cheeks, knowing I was making myself look like a raccoon as my black mascara smudged. But I couldn’t help it. This man had captivated the entire room.Too many conflicting emotions were churning around my head and my gut.
Before I could stop myself, it happened in slow motion. It was more than emotions churning. Vomit, and not a small amount, came spewing out of my mouth, landing across my chest and my plate of pretzels. The foul odor hit me square in the face, and I retched again. How did alcohol still smell that strong on its way back up?
“Oh God—“ The contents of my stomach came up again, and I put my hands out as if they could stop it from coming.
From the depths of hell, where I was residing, I heard Mia’s voice like a slow-motion sports announcer. “Ohhh shittt!”
A towel appeared out of thin air and covered me as someone led me toward the exit.“M’okay. I think maybe it was something I ate.”
The outside world spun as the wind whipped my hair into my vomit covered face. Wet and shivering, it took every ounce of dignity I had not to burst out crying. I looked up to thank whoever was graciously ignoring my smell to see the underside of Coby’s bearded jaw.
Well, fuck.
Chapter 9
Coby
Wealmostmadeitback to the inn before Kendahl realized who was escorting her. Damn, how much had she drank? I’d seen her drunk before, but never wasted like she was tonight.
“No, nosurrr,” she said, slurring her words. “Don’t need help.”
God damn, she knew how to push my buttons. She tried to pull away from me, but I adjusted my hold from her shoulders to her waist.
“Don’t make me sling you over my shoulder. I said I’d do it earlier, and I meant it.”
Kendahl stopped in her tracks, which made me stumble a bit. Her lip wobbled, and she took a deep sigh. Oh no.
“Look at me. Why would ya wanna touch me. M’disgush-ting.” Her final words ended in a sob. God dammit. I didn’t really want to be covered in vomit, but this situation needed remedying immediately.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. Instead, before she could fight me, I scooped her up in my arms and cradled her against my chest. The stench hit my nostrils, and I tried not to gag.
“What the—” she slurred.
“Shh, I got you. You’re not disgusting. You never could be.” Hoisting her up further, I registered that my hand cradled her ass cheek perfectly. I bounded down the path toward the inn. We needed to get out of this insane wind and get cleaned up.
I almost brought her to my room but thought better of it. Everything she’d need would be in her room after all. There was one major problem with the situation. Kendahl was nearly passed out against my chest, and I had no idea which room was hers. I couldn’t think straight while I had her ass in my hand.
Only one light flickered in the deserted lobby. The space was eerily quiet save for the ancient outdoor shutters clacking against the walls. Visions ofThe Shiningran through my mind. I could imagine creepy twins appearing out of thin air, pointing their menacing fingers at me. Shuddering, I quickened my pace toward the stairs. I only stopped to glance at a sign propped against the desk where they’d scrawled a phone number.
“Hey, I need to put you down for a second, okay?” I rubbed Kendahl’s back and gingerly placed her on one of the steps, silently praying she didn’t get sick again or leave remnants of her puke on the carpet.
She mumbled a response, words that resembled a mix between okay and good. Shaking my head at her stubbornness, I opened her small purse and felt around for her room key. I found it at the very bottom of her bag and laughed when I saw the hand-painted urchin adorned on it.
“Urchin room, huh? I was lucky then. I got the coral room.” I hoisted her back into my arms with her key dangling between my fingers and continued. “They really took the whole theme seriously. I mean I knew coral was a color, I guess, but I never knew how hideous an entire room of coral would be.”
I took the stairs, grateful that I trained like an animal to stay fit while I carried her bridal style. Hopefully my random conversation would keep her alert enough for me to get her cleaned up without feeling like a total creep with a lifeless woman. Luckily, she giggled a bit though the sound was muffled by my chest.
