“Has Annika—I mean—have they been alone together?” Kristy’s eyes were glued to the couple in question, her lips pursed over her straw.
“Not much, I don’t think. I’ll talk to her.” Would she hear this bit of gossip? More than once she’d gushed about how well he treated her. There was no proof that he’d ever do otherwise. One unsupported rumor.
“You ladies ready to go?” Sebastian entered the kitchen, an empty bottle in his hand. “You avoiding me, Nat?” He slipped past me and planted himself on my other side. Across my body, he thrust out his hand to Kristy. “I’m not sure we’ve met. I’m Sebastian.”
Kristy giggled and took his hand in a limp shake. I liked her, but sometimes she was so lame. He was just a boy. A good-looking one. By all accounts talented on the field. But just a guy.
“I’m Kristy,” she said. “I lived with Annika and Natalie last year.”
He grinned and placed his beer to his lips. “I can’t believe the college put all the hot girls on one floor.”
She giggled again. Ugh. Part of me wanted her to drift off somewhere else. Unkind? Sure. The giggle-flirt was my least favorite to watch. Annika, always with eyes in the back of her head, called to Kristy.
“Come meet Johnny.” Annika waved Kristy over.
As soon as she was gone, Sebastian bumped my shoulder and leaned in, so his breath stirred my hair. “So, are you avoiding me, Nattie?”
The scent of beer mixed with the faint whiff of his cologne. A combination I never realized I loved. I turned my head toward him, and our faces were inches apart. A slight shift on either of our parts would connect our lips. My breath hitched.
“Why would I avoid you?” My voice was barely more than a whisper.
“I saw you picking up Annika the other night. You didn’t even say hi.” His shifted closer to me.
“You looked busy.”
He grinned; the straight whiteness of his teeth surprising when it shouldn’t be. When I flicked my gaze to his, the deep hazel of his eyes and the thick lashes that framed them caught my attention. Pretty, almost. The man was built to seduce women.
“I’m never too busy for you.” He slid his hand along the counter behind my back and leaned closer.
“Yo, Seb!” Troy called.
After a beat, he tore his gaze from mine and jerked his chin in Troy’s direction. A silent answer.
“We’re heading out, bro. Are you and Nat staying here or coming with us?”
Sebastian turned to me with an amused expression and took a sip of his beer, leaving me to answer.
“We’re coming.” I laughed. “We’re definitely not staying here.”
With a chuckle, he looped his arm around my waist and leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Someday, you’ll be begging me to stay in with you instead of going out.” He didn’t wait for my response. Instead, he dragged his hand across my midriff, and he walked over to his friends.
I chugged the rest of my beer, grabbed my keys, and followed him. Resisting him was becoming more and more impossible.
Chapter Seven
The club was packed, and it didn’t take long for people to disperse. A few were at the bar, some were on the dance floor, and a group of us had to use the bathroom.
Standing in line for a stall, I half listened to the surrounding chatter until Sebastian’s name pierced my consciousness. “Sebastian Swan?” I asked, unable to help myself.
Julia, one of my least favorite people from our dorm, laughed. “Yeah. Have you hooked up with him too? By the time he hits senior year, he’ll only have freshmen left. He’s such a flirt, but when he follows through?” She fanned herself. “Amazing.”
My stomach clenched, and I fought to keep the smile on my face. Any questions I had about whether I could see myself with Sebastian were answered. There was no way—no way. If Julia was his type, I was not.
“No,” I said. “I have no intention of hooking up with him.”
“Well.” She fluffed her hair. “You’re missing out.”
Sebastian with Julia was enough to make my stomach curdle like sour milk. We’d known each other for a couple weeks. He flirted with me. I had no claim on him. In fact, I turned him down. Being upset about him having sex with Julia was the height of ridiculousness.
I glanced in the mirror across from us and hollow brown eyes stared back at me. I mentally shook myself. There were lots of guys at the college, and I didn’t even enjoy football. Much better if I didn’t want Sebastian either.
When I exited the bathroom, Johnny had Annika pressed against one of the walls, kissing her neck and speaking against her ear. I hovered for a minute, indecisive. Kristy said he had a temper. Was it true? Annika seemed happy.
“Annika, I’m going to the bar. Do you want a drink?”
Johnny raised his head out of her neck and glanced at me moodily before whispering in Annika’s ear. She stared at him for a beat, and then shifted toward me. A lamp of happiness lived in her, and he’d turned the setting to full blast. She glowed. “I have a drink.” She lifted her far hand that I couldn’t see around Johnny’s back. A plastic cup dangled from her fingers.
“You’re okay?” Something about his dismissive attitude made me hesitate. Would it kill him to acknowledge I exist?
Annika grinned and moved so his head came out of her neck. He stared at her as if he could consume her and another frisson of uncertainty sparked in me. Was it normal for a guy to look at a girl like that?
“I’m good,” Annika said.
“Just good?” Johnny murmured.
“Excellent, then.” Annika’s carefree laugh floated in the air, circling them.
“I’ll be back,” I said.
“No rush.” Johnny tore his gaze from Annika to pierce me with his intensity.
Annika hit him in the chest playfully. “Be nice. She’s one of my best friends.” She turned to me. “He’s teasing.” Rising, she kissed him on the cheek.
I smiled, but it was tight on my face. “I’ll see you in a little while.” I headed for the bar.
The club was a huge warehouse that probably seemed less impressive in the daytime. With the flashing lights, dim lighting, and high ceilings, the place was a whole mood.
At the sweeping bar on the far side of the building, I sidled up to Troy. I leaned on the smooth surface, holding out my money, and tried to catch any bartender’s attention.
A hand brushed against my ass, and I swiveled to pinpoint the culprit. “Did you grab my ass?” I asked Troy. My instincts about him had been right.
He held up both hands. “Nope. Not me. I’m a looker. I also know better after the attitude you gave me the other night.”
I glanced in the other direction and was met with another football player I vaguely recognized. “So, you’re the one who grabbed my ass?”
He grinned, expecting me to go along with it. “I needed to see if your ass was fresh enough for me.”
I rolled my eyes. “If my ass was fresh enough? You know what—” Anger spiked in me, but I was thrown off my rant when a hand appeared on my elbow.
“Nattie, I’ve been looking all over for you.” Sebastian led me away from the bar and from his teammate. “Jeff—hands off—all right?” Sebastian called over his shoulder.
Over my shoulder, Jeff presented his raised palms. “I didn’t realize she was yours, man.”
Literal smoke had to be pouring out of my ears. “Yours? I’m some kind of plaything? Please. I’m not anyone’s possession, and I certainly don’t need you standing up for me.” I yanked my elbow away from him. The thumping music gave me a good excuse to yell. “I could have handled him.”
Sebastian stood in the middle of the bar area and tipped his beer to his lips. People were milling around us, but he said nothing.
“You’re just going to stand there, drinking your beer and watching me?”
Amusement poured out of him, and he half smiled against his bottle as he took another drink. “I’m going to wait this out.”
I
huffed. “That’s insulting, you understand that, right?”
He shrugged but remained silent. I tried to step around him, but he stepped with me.
I threw up my hands. “I need a drink.”
He passed me his beer, and I chugged the rest of it.
“Will you stay here, and I’ll get us more?” He eyed me.
“I’m not going over to ream Jeff out if that’s what you’re asking. He’s not worth my time.” I searched the crowd for Annika. “Have you seen Annika?”
“Annika and Johnny are glued together. I’m sure she’s fine.” He stepped toward the bar. “Wait here.”
He was back quicker than I expected and handed me a drink.
“Thanks.” I accepted the beer.
“Jeff bought them as an apology for groping my girl.” When I turned to give him another earful, he laughed.
“You’re trying to wind me up.” I sighed.
“Why does it bother you so much?”
“Which part?” Whenever I let myself focus on him, my heart rate jumped into overdrive. Men like him shouldn’t be allowed to exist. They were a danger to a woman’s sanity.
“The ass grab.”
“One of your signature moves?” I examined his dark hands as though they might be coated with the asses they’d touched.
He laughed. “Nope, not my thing.”
I contemplated how much I wanted to tell him. “My dad’s a cop. He worked in sex crimes for a while. I heard a lot growing up, and he spent time talking to me and my friends about consent. For me, the ass grab is an indication of a person’s character. If a guy in a bar thinks it’s okay to grab my ass, what else will he think it’s okay to do without my consent?”
He studied me, and there wasn’t a trace of his usual amusement. It was the first time I was sure he was seeing me. “I never thought about it like that.”
I shrugged. “Why would you? You’re a guy. You probably don’t have random girls grabbing your ass.”
He laughed. The humor had returned. “Oh, you might be surprised about that.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really? There are a lot of girls that randomly grab your ass?”
“It’s not usually my ass they reach for.” He chuckled. Then he took another drink of his beer before continuing, “You have a point, though. Weird to admit this, but if I don’t know the girl, it does feel…invasive? Presumptuous? I don’t know. Definitely not one hundred percent comfortable.”
“But you still go home with them, don’t you?” I gave him a wry smile and tried not to show my disappointment.
He suppressed a grin. “I need another drink.” He held up his empty bottle. “You?”
I nodded, and he disappeared again for a fraction of a second.
“How do you get them so fast?” My solo trip to the bar hadn’t produced even one drink.
“Troy’s girlfriend is bartending. She’s very attentive.”
We drank in silence for a minute before I leaned toward him and said, “What’s your major, anyway? I don’t think we’ve had a single normal conversation.”
We were close together now, and when he turned to look at me, I could smell his cologne again. Bad idea, Natalie, bad idea.
“Do you want the pick-up line or the truth?” The cocky half grin I was beginning to enjoy a little too much bloomed on his face.
“Pick-up line, followed by the truth.”
“I’m studying to be a gynecologist. Want me to take a look?” He waggled his eyebrows.
My answering laugh burst out. “Oh, my God. Does that actually work?” I was glad I hadn’t taken a drink before he dropped that one in my lap or I’d have spewed beer everywhere.
“More often than you’d think.”
“Truth?”
“Business degree. Not nearly as exciting.” He tilted his beer at me. “You?”
“Political science with a minor in business. Then, law school.”
“Following in Daddy’s lawman footsteps?” He leaned closer when he spoke, so he didn’t have to yell.
“He’s an influence on me for sure.” Sebastian’s allure was sucking me in again. “Righting the world’s wrongs.” I smiled at him. His tall, bulky stature made me feel smaller than normal and protected. The thought annoyed me. I was neither tiny, nor did I need protection.
“Do you want to get out of here?” He held his empty bottle in his fist.
I didn’t answer right away, nursing my beer. Did I? Yes. Leaving with him would make me about a thousand things I didn’t want to be. “Where did you want to go?” Curiosity got the best of me.
“Anywhere—as long as I don’t have to keep shouting at you or hunching my back to talk in your ear.” He took my empty beer bottle to the bar before returning. “Yes?”
“I have to check in with Annika first. Roommate rules.” There was also the niggling doubt Kristy had planted. Was Johnny a danger to Annika?
He held out his hand and left it midair for me to grasp. I scanned his face, my heart beating a heavy staccato. With a small nod, I took it and followed behind him through the crowd as we searched for Annika and Johnny.
When we got to the dance floor, shouting could be heard over the loud music. I dragged Sebastian toward the commotion as people started to back up, forming a circle. There, in the middle, was Johnny, red with rage. Annika was behind him, her worried eyes visible at his shoulder, while he spewed a torrent of verbal attacks on a guy and his friends. The guy’s hands were held up, a bewildered expression on his face. The other football players circled Johnny in solidarity. Sebastian tensed beside me, but made no motion to dive in.
“Johnny won’t fight,” he muttered close to my ear.
“Are you sure?” I called over the increasing noise. “He looks angry.”
“None of us on the starting line can risk an injury. His hands are money. Coach would literally kill us.”
“You understand what literally means, right?”
Sebastian looked grim. “Oh, I know. He’d rather see one of us dead than lose a game.”
I frowned, but then he drew me closer to where the other football players were standing, and he released me to wade into the fray. Sebastian’s voice boomed out Johnny’s name, and he did what no teammate had done. He approached Johnny and gripped his shoulder. At first, Johnny shrugged him off and glared at him. Then, Sebastian leaned in and spoke in Johnny’s ear, and while the tension didn’t leave him, whatever was said seemed to calm him.
Was he reminding him about the coach? They exchanged a few terse words before Johnny snaked out a hand and grasped Annika’s wrist, tugging her through the crowd to the door. It didn’t take long for me to lose sight of them.
Weaving around the spectators, Sebastian found me. “I don’t understand that whole possessive, jealous thing. It’s not my bag.”
“That’s what it was about?”
“Apparently. Guy was hitting on Annika. They’re going to your house to watch football. Annika’s suggestion. Calm Johnny the hell down.”
“Should we go too?” I tucked my hair behind my ears, wishing I could gather it into a ponytail.
He raised his eyebrows and frowned. “You want to go back to your house and talk about football?” He placed the back of his hand on my forehead. “Doesn’t feel like a fever…”
I swatted him away and laughed. “No, that—seemed intense, didn’t it?”
He searched my face. “We can go there if you want. I just want to get to know you.”
“I hear you enjoy getting acquainted with lots of girls.”
He chuckled. “I’m the new guy. I gotta make friends. Are you throwing shade at me for associating with my fellow college students?”
“Associating? You mean in the carnal sense? You’ve been all over campus making yourself welcome.”
He grinned, but this time it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “I have standards.”
“Must be low if you slept with Julia.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could consider how they’d sou
nd. Jealous. I sounded jealous. God, I was such an idiot.
His gaze zeroed in on me. “You been asking around about me?”
I shook my head and avoided eye contact. “No. Bathroom gossip. Girls were in there talking about you.”
He held out his hand toward me. “Let’s go talk football.” He waited for me to meet him halfway.
“Anything is better than this conversation?” I teased.
His customary half grin appeared and he gave me a side-eye. “Pretty much.” With our linked hands, he gathered me to his side.
Chapter Eight
We walked in silence back to my house. What was he thinking about? I couldn’t stop wondering whether encouraging the curiosity we seemed to have about each other was a good idea. He didn’t once let go of my hand on the walk and every once in a while, when I looked over at him, he was looking at me, too.
At my townhouse, Sebastian knocked before we unlocked it. “Just in case.”
Smart. I probably would have burst in and ended up yelling, “My eyes” as they tried to cover up.
When we opened the door and stepped into the open living room, Johnny and Annika were sitting on the couch, watching one of the football games Annika had on the DVR from that week. I stood there stunned by the scene. Them actually watching football hadn’t occurred to me. I expected them to be arguing or making out. Could the intensity I saw on the dance floor be lessened by taped games?
“Seb.” Johnny glanced over the back of the couch. The change in him was incredible—so calm and collected now.
“You’re re-watching the Bucs game?” Excitement tinged Sebastian’s voice.
“Yeah, man. It was a good game. Tom Brady is a god.” Johnny raised his beer in a toast.
“You want a beer?” Sebastian headed to the kitchen.
“Sure.” I hovered behind the sectional couch before sitting down as far away from Annika and Johnny as I could get. There was still something about what happened at the bar eating at my gut. He’d been so full of rage over such a small thing.
When Sebastian came back, he passed me the beer and then sat so close to me our thighs brushed. When I cocked an eyebrow at him, he grinned. If I shifted away, I’d fall off the couch. I shoved him a little with my shoulder, and when I looked up, Annika was examining us with a smile on her face.
Saving Us: A novel of love and friendship (Northern University Book 1) Page 4
