Making a motion across my chest, I told her, “Your secret is safe with me. Did either of you print the study guide for the exam?”
Keeley nodded and handed out three copies and we spent the next two hours reviewing the material until our eyes crossed.
Darkness had fallen over the campus, and though shadows were looming around the lamplights that lined the walkways, I found it quite beautiful. I hadn’t ventured onto campus at night, spending those late hours volunteering my time, but as I stepped down from the library stairs, I told myself that I should try to stroll around campus more often.
I waved at the campus officer that walked passed me and he nodded. Other than him, there wasn’t anyone milling about that I could see. I started reciting the anagram that Keeley and I came up with to remember some of the points from the study guide. That was why I didn’t hear the group of boys sneaking up behind me.
A clammy hand covered my mouth before I could scream or shout just as another hand gripped my arm and tugged me backward into the shadows of a looming building. I reached out for the blue emergency alarm across the pathway, but they were too strong. A boy stood in front of me and reached for my bags, but because they were across my body, he only gathered a chunk of my shirt.
Only a few seconds had passed before I bit down on the hand covering my mouth. The boy cursed loudly against my ear. I swung my arms and kicked my legs wildly to keep them from reaching for me again, but lost my balance and fell to the ground. My backside ached at the fall on the cold, rough ground and I found myself fighting against the blackness, remembering how I had felt this before.
One of the men tried again to reach for my bags while the man with the clammy hands yanked at my arm and kicked my stomach. I didn’t have time to react after my fall and they were counting on my lack of fight to steal my belongings. I started screaming for help, but no one seemed to come to my rescue.
Another shadow figure closed in and hovered over the man grabbing for my purse in the darkness. With a quick punch, the smaller figure fell away. I watched in awe as the larger man did the same to the other two men and they quickly joined their friend in a heap on the ground. Collectively they scurried backward like crabs until they could regain their balance and run off down the deserted pathway. I squinted my eyes as they passed by a lamppost, but I couldn’t make them out.
“Are you okay?” the deep voice asked and I jolted in response.
It was the man from the stairwell, the one with his hair tied back. I remembered Willow saying his name was Link.
He didn’t wait for my response. Instead, he squatted in front of me and leaned in close. “You’re in shock,” he whispered. “Did they hurt you?”
“No, I. . .I don’t think so.”
Even in the dimness, I could see the relief wash over his face at my response. Link stood again and reached a hand out to help me up. I was grateful for the assistance because I could barely collect enough energy to stand.
He reached down to the ground and gathered my school bag, which contained my laptop and notes. I prayed that I would be able to salvage both. My cloth purse, on the other hand, was ripped in two, the contents spilled on the ground. Link did his best to collect what he could see and shoved the items into my school bag.
“Thank you,” I murmured, hating how afraid I felt and sounded. He walked over to the emergency call button and spoke with the operator. Soon the officer that had passed me earlier joined us. He was disappointed that I couldn’t give him a description of my assailants, but he took down my information, promising to get back with me if he had any leads. He suspected that they weren’t students while I was grateful that nothing worse had happened.
I know that after what had just happened, I should be fearful of standing alone with Link on a dark pathway, but something told me that he wouldn’t hurt me.
“Let me walk you home. I was heading back to the apartment myself.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” I tried to smile, but it didn’t feel right against my skin. That’s when I noticed I was bleeding — the metallic taste lingered on my tongue.
In my alarm, I reached up to my face, touching it gently as I searched for the cut.
“You have a cut on your lip and cheek. They’re small, though.”
“Oh.”
We both stepped away from the building and onto the pathway that would take us back to the apartment building. When we crossed one of the glows from the lamp, I looked up at Link and was surprised that he didn’t seem fazed at all from the altercation. Even though his hands still fisted tightly, his clothes didn’t have a single wrinkle, and his hair was neatly styled back in its leather tie.
“Were you coming from the library?” he asked as we left campus and began the stroll down dark side toward the apartment.
“Yeah, I had an economics study group.”
He answered with a grunt and remained silent the rest of the stroll. Even as we made our way up the stairwell Link stayed quiet, but lingered close to my side.
I expected him to continue toward his apartment when we reached the third floor, but he resumed the journey up the next flight with me.
“You don’t have to walk me. I’ll be okay,” I insisted as we turned onto the landing.
“I want to make sure you’re safe inside your apartment.”
With a chuckle, I told him, “Maybe you could give Ford some pointers on how to be a gentleman.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
We approached my apartment door and I dug through my school bag in search of my keys only to come up empty-handed.
No. No. No.
Hastily I dumped the contents of the bag on the ground only to groan when the jingle of keys was nowhere to be heard.
Tears blossomed along my bottoms lids as I looked up at Link.
“Are either of your roommates home?” he asked gently, most likely trying to keep me from having a breakdown. No one wanted to witness that.
“No, they went skiing for fall break, and to make matters worse, my phone was dead when I left, so it’s in my room.” My heart started pounding in my chest and I knew that I was on the verge of a freakout. I felt helpless and defeated.
Chaotically I started throwing the items strewn on the dingy floor into my bag only to have Link place a hand over mine. He was wordlessly asking me to calm down. I took a deep breath and slowly put the rest of the items back into my bag and stood.
“Come with me. You can stay at our place for the night and I’ll call the leasing agency to get a new lock installed for you tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I spoke softly, gripping the strap of my bag as it rested against my chest.
“That’s what friends do. Come on, it’s almost dinnertime.”
Following him down the steps, I inquired, “Dinner? It’s almost 10 p.m.”
“We like to eat dinner together and they were waiting for me.”
Stopping at the small landing between the flight of stairs where the direction shifted, he held out his hand to me. “I’m Link, by the way. I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced.”
It was strange to meet someone that you knew more about simply based on their reputation. Shifting my hand into his, I replied, “Jolee. And, thank you, for today.”
Warmth radiated from his growing smile, a deep contrast against the harsh lines of his brows. Though Link had an air of anger and fury surrounding him, he left me feeling nothing but kindness. As if that was his defense mechanism to keep people at arm's length.
Finally, we arrived at the door to his apartment – 306.
“Hey, guys,” he called out as he opened the door, waving his hand to beckon me inside. “Stay here,” he murmured. “I want to make sure that, well, that they aren’t being shitheads.” I didn’t know what he meant since I had never been into a boy’s apartment before, but I could only imagine it could mean certain states of nakedness and women. My uncertainty about the situation continued to grow as I was left waiting. But I ha
d nowhere else to go. No friends to call on except for a few people that I worked with, but that would require my phone since there was zero chance I could remember their phone numbers.
Link reappeared seconds later and my nerves were shot. I was about to be thrust into the den of hungry lions without a way to protect myself. Somehow I always found myself in these types of situations. My teeth were digging into my lip as he stepped forward, the newly acquired cut aching, but I couldn’t stop.
“Hey, it’s okay. I told them that I had a friend that needed a place to crash for the night.”
He gently placed a hand on the middle of my back, guiding me farther into the apartment.
“Did you tell them who I was?” I said through a tight whisper. I had the urge to dig my heels into the floor and halt my descent into hell.
“No, I didn’t think. . .” Link began until a roar from the kitchen pulled his attention.
“What the fuck is she doing here?”
Chapter Six – Ford
Tonight was my night for dinner, and since it was Friday, I opted for pizza – the homemade kind. I had just pulled the third pizza out of the oven when Link walked into the kitchen. At first glance, nothing about him seemed more harried than usual, but his eyes filled with worry and concern.
Shit, did he find out about Brent and my father?
I could only imagine the kind of talking to Link would give me over that – the kind of talking where his fist communicated with my face. I could hold my own in a fight, spending most of my free time at the gym down the street, but Link was a prized fighter. I didn’t want to be around when he lost it.
“Hey,” he spoke in a low voice. “I have a friend with me that needs a place for the night.”
I eyed him skeptically. Leave it to Link and his hero complex to help someone in need.
“They’re not going to rob the place, are they?”
Link smiled and I began to worry about who he actually brought home. We’d never seen him bring back a woman, opting to go to her place instead. But there was a first for everything.
“No, I think we’re safe.”
Turning my back to him, I moved toward the fridge to grab us all a drink. A bottle of water for Link, Chance, and Rylan. A beer for Archer and me. As I finished popping the cap off of my bottle of Bud Light, Link strolled into the living room with a woman. And not just any woman. It was my nemesis - Jolee.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” I shouted as the bottle began to slip from my hands. Quickly I placed it on the counter and stomped toward them.
Her hair was draped over her face, the long blonde waves mocked me as they skimmed her breasts covered by the gray T-shirt.
“Link? What the fuck, man?” My voice howled in the room and Jolee flinched with every word.
“She’s locked out of her apartment.”
“And she has roommates,” I retorted, pretending as hard as I could that Jolee wasn’t standing within arm’s reach.
“Everyone’s left for break, man.”
Unleashing a fountain of fury, Jolee turned her face toward me, her long hair smacking my arm in the process. A hint of black smudges lined the skin beneath her lower lashes, but I couldn’t pull my gaze away from the ferocity in her eyes directed toward me.
“I’m standing right here, you know. Why don’t you just ask me what I’m doing in your apartment?”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. Jolee had appeared so weak and fragile when she had arrived, and here she was, a ticking time bomb ready to explode. Her body grew even more rigid at my grin and I was very tempted to see if I could get her control to snap.
That was when I noticed the blood on her lip. It looked to be from a recent cut and some scratches along her face. One of the scratches was deep enough that it would need the liquid stitches Link kept in the first aid kit. On impulse, I reached out and cupped her jaw in my palm, twisting her head side to side taking in her injuries. I dragged my eyes up and down her body, noting the small tears in her shirt and dirt smattered along her jeans.
Our eyes locked, hers filled with rage and mine filled with confusion, and a beat of silence passed between us. My hand fell from her face as she jerked her head to the side, breaking our connection, and I let that rejection fuel my anger at her being our problem now.
“What happened?”
Narrowing her eyes in my direction, Jolee’s grip around the strap across her chest tightened. “I was assaulted leaving the library. They either ran off with my keys or they’re lying in the bushes. I don’t have my phone because it was dead and I left it in my apartment. Everyone I know on campus has gone home and I have nowhere else to go.” Her voice grew louder with every word until she was shouting and I was mesmerized by the small flare of her nostrils. She was beautiful to begin with, but when she was angry, man, she was fucking gorgeous.
“Pizza! Yes!” Archer exclaimed as he walked out of his bedroom into the kitchen, breaking the tension in the room.
Link, Jolee, and I stood in the living space with our stares locked on each other. Mine on Jolee’s, which she vehemently returned, and Link’s on me, probably trying to figure out what I had against his female guest.
“She’s staying, Ford,” Link stated, not leaving any room for argument, just as Archer noticed our new arrival.
“Well,” Archer said, prolonging each consonant. “I’m guessing by the way that Ford has turned an interesting shade of red, that you must be the woman that pissed him off on the first day of school.”
Jolee’s shoulders deflated as if she expected Archer to throw her out simply because she had been cast on the wrong side by his brother, but I knew what he was up to. “Probably,” she replied.
“Oh man, this is great. Tell me all about how you made an enemy of our dear brooding brother. Come sit beside me.” Archer gestured to the chair that I usually sat in, which was beside his.
Great. Just fucking great. She was going to stay and there wasn’t shit I could do about it. No one could turn down the Archer charm.
I watched as Jolee slipped an invisible mask over her emotions; that anger she so easily spewed in my direction now locked tight away. She smiled at Archer and turned to do the same to Link before knocking against me with her shoulder as she walked toward the table.
“Come sit down. It’s just for a night.” Link patted my shoulder as he walked into the kitchen to grab his water and plated two slices of pizza for himself.
Archer and Link were digging into their food, and because I was a fucking saint, I plated two slices of pizza for Jolee, two for myself, and balanced them and the two beers in my hands as I carried them to the table.
I smirked triumphantly when Jolee looked across the table at me in surprise. “Did you poison it?”
“Not this time. Just eat,” I growled before sitting and taking an extra-large bite of the doughy goodness.
From behind my lashes, I watched her lift the slice hesitantly and bring it to her mouth. I was surprised when she took a regular-sized bite expecting her to take the tiniest if only to check that I indeed wasn’t trying to kill her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked down at the masterpiece I created.
“Oh my goodness, this is amazing,” she exclaimed before taking another bite. With her hand covering her mouth, she asked, “What brand is it?”
Both Link and Archer chuckled at her question before taking another bite of their dinner.
“I made it from scratch, princess.”
In amazement, Jolee looked back and forth between me and the slice in her hand, the soft skin between her brows crinkling. I wanted to reach out and smooth the wrinkles.
“It’s fantastic. How is that even possible?”
“I’m more than just a pretty face,” I told her sarcastically, loving how her cheeks reddened.
From beside her, Archer knocked her arm with his elbow to get her attention.
“So, tell me what it was like to flip off Ford O’Brien and live to tell the tale?”
My t
riumph was short-lived as Chance and Rylan chose that moment to join us and our new companion went on to tell my brothers about all the instances she got the upper hand on me. I should have been embarrassed, but I couldn’t peel my eyes away from her animated storytelling. She had us all fascinated.
The phone stuffed in my pants pocket began vibrating against my leg and I immediately left the table without a word. Brent was calling to go over some of the newest information he had emailed over. More letters and documentation of his affairs, but nothing concrete regarding my mother or my cousin’s parents.
Ending the phone call, I held my head in my hands, my elbows rested on the rough wooden surface of my desk. The call had me questioning my path, if it was going to get me the revenge I so needed. Wiping my hands against my face, I felt defeated at the prospect of failing. Noting the time, I slammed the laptop closed and made my way out into the living room.
While I had locked myself away in my bedroom for two hours, my brothers had done the same. Jolee was sitting on the couch, her knees against her chest as she stared at the television. When she noticed that I had walked into the room, she immediately diverted her eyes. She looked about as uncomfortable as I felt with the situation.
“Need a blanket or pillow?” I asked as I flicked off the light in the kitchen.
“No, I’m fine. I’ll probably stay up anyway.”
She couldn’t see me roll my eyes at her defiance. My brothers thought I was stubborn, but I had met my match with this girl.
“Okay, suit yourself.”
Casually I strolled to the bathroom, glancing over my shoulder before I closed the door to steal another glimpse of the blue and white light illuminating Jolee’s face. I hated how attractive I found her. It messed with my head and I didn’t need the distraction.
I brushed my teeth and washed my face to get ready for bed then made my way back to my bedroom, forcing myself not to glance back into the living room.
I chucked off my pants and shirt, leaving myself clad in black boxer briefs before slipping between the navy colored cotton sheets of my bed. My mind wouldn’t slow down and kept sifting through the new information about my sperm donor. I tossed and turned until finally lying on my back, staring up at the ceiling. Then an image of Jolee flickered in my mind. Her cut lip, her scratched face, the bruises that were forming against her cheek, the torn clothes. What had she been through? My body launched from the bed. I was angry. Angry that something had happened to her. Angry that she was here invading my space and I didn’t get a say. Angry that I cared.
Of Boys And Men: An Enemies to Lovers, New Adult College Romance (Ridge Rogues Book 1) Page 6
