Page 81 of Surrender
“I’m fine giving up this dance if you want it, Max,” Dallis stated. He in no way meant it, but he figured if he at least acted as he did, he could gauge whether this situation was happening because of suspicion or something else.
When Dallis felt Colbie tense at his words, he got his answer. If this were suspicion, then she wouldn’t have reacted that way. So, something else happened. Something that made her uncomfortable with Max.
“No, that’s alright, Banks. Maybe later,” Max stated before walking off.
“What happened?” Dallis questioned when Max was out of earshot.
“We don’t need to talk about that now.”
“So, something did happen. When?”
“I want you to enjoy tonight. We can-”
“When?” Dallis asked, cutting her off. “Does he know about us? Did he threaten you?” He knew the first part was unlikely, but Max could have threatened her regarding his grades.
“No, I don’t think he knows, but we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Dallis noticed she didn’t answer his second question. “Did he threaten you?”
Colbie shook her head. “No.”
Dallis furrowed his brow momentarily. “Tell me what happened then.”
“I promise we can talk about it tomorrow. I want you to enjoy tonight.”
That was the second time she’d told him that. Which meant that whatever happened would piss him off, and Colbie didn’t want that happening. Naturally, Dallis’ mind immediately went to the thing that would infuriate him the most.
“Did he come on to you? Did he touch you?” The questions were asked between gritted teeth, and when Colbie didn’t answer him, Dallis was ready to put Max’s head through a wall.
“Please calm down,” Colbie requested.
“Tell me what happened,” he demanded.
“Dallis-”
“You’re either going to tell me what happened, or I’ll beat it out of Max. Right here.”
Dallis would still make good on that promise even after she told him. He just wouldn’t do it then. Dallis would make his patience hold out long enough to wait until after graduation. They wouldn’t be able to take his diploma from him, and Colbie’s job wouldn’t be in jeopardy.
He listened to Colbie relay yesterday’s events, and Dallis felt his blood boil. Max had some fucking nerve. Though Dallis couldn’t talk, he’d come on strong when he first started pursuing Colbie. However, Max had put his fucking hands on his woman, and Dallis was seething. He hadn’t realized his grip on Colbie’s waist had tightened until he heard her intake a sharp breath.
“Baby, please calm down. That hurts,” she stated quietly.
“Fuck,” Dallis cursed, loosening his hold. “I’m sorry, gorgeous. I didn’t mean to.”
“I know,” Colbie responded, dropping her arms from his neck, and he noticed the song they were dancing to had ended. He released her waist even though he didn’t want to. All Dallis wanted to do was lean down and capture her lips with his.
His eyes shifted from her to Max in the corner, who was talking to some of his teammates. He couldn’t wait until graduation to get his hands on him. But first, Dallis needed to spend the night inside of his girlfriend. Removing any touch from her that wasn’t his.
26
Colbie stepped through her front door a little after eleven forty-five. She’d stopped off at two gas stations on her way home to get a pint of Cookie’s N Cream ice cream, and neither of them had it. So, she’d given up and decided to go to the grocery store tomorrow to pick some up.
She set her keys on the table by the door along with her purse, and her attention was pulled to the hallway. String lights were lining the bottom of the hall wall with a trail of rose petals on the floor. She followed the rose petals to her bedroom and slowly took in the scene in front of her. Candles littered her dressers and nightstands, illuminating the room. There were rose petals scattered across them, along with the floor and bed, and soft music was playing throughout the room.
Dallis stood in the middle of it all, a single red rose held in his hand, and Colbie couldn’t contain the slow smile that spread across her face if she wanted to. He held the rose out to her, and she made her way to the middle of the room, taking it from him.
“Thank you,” she stated, kissing him softly. “I figured you’d be at some after-party, and your car wasn’t outside.”
