by Rebel Hart
Swallowing disappointed growls with every inch they covered.
“Yeah. I promise, I’m coming. All right? Yes. And you can stop yelling. It’s not going to get anything productive done. Now, stop blowing up my phone. I’m on my way.”
My eyebrows rose. “Trouble in paradise?”
She slipped her phone into her pocket. “I’m sorry, Max. But I have to go.”
I nodded. “It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not all right. I wanted--”
I quirked an eyebrow as Dani let out a heavy sigh.
“Come on. I’ll get you home and settled.”
“I can catch a cab or something.”
She eyed me hotly. “Get in the damn car. I’m taking you home.”
I grinned. “If you insist. Though I’m tempted to say ‘no’ just to rile you up.”
“And why’s that?”
I wrapped my arm around her. “Because you have no idea how sexy you get when you’re fed up. It’s a nice change of pace.”
She blushed. “You’re insane, you know that?”
“Maybe you make me that way. Ever thought of that?”
She paused. “This is probably very true. But you know you like it.”
I kissed her forehead. “With all I have, gorgeous.”
The drive home was excruciating. My cock practically screamed at me to pull the damn thing over. It needed release. And so did I. With her. With this college girl who fit in so weirdly effortlessly with the rest of the guys. This college girl who didn’t even come up to the middle of my chest. This college girl with words of fire that only came out when stoked to her boiling point.
This college girl that had completely captured my attention.
I didn’t want her to leave for the night.
“All right, Max. We’re here. Let me help you inside.”
I unbuckled myself. “I’ve got it. John’s here, too. So I’m not alone.”
“I’m coming in to help you.”
“No, you aren’t.”
Her eyes whipped to mine. “I want to see you inside. Please.”
“And you need to get back to campus.”
“Hannah can wait a few more minutes.”
“But I can’t.”
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
I growled softly. “If you come inside with me, you aren’t leaving. Not of your own accord. Not until I release you. Which won’t be until well in the morning tomorrow. So if you want to make it back to campus tonight for your roommate, you better not come inside.”
She swallowed hard. “Promise?”
I sighed as I turned to her. I reached out and gripped her chin, making sure she was paying attention. I saw those stars in her eyes. Girls that rode with me got them all the time. They thought being with me came with power and glamour and money and freedom. When really, the only thing that came with me was death, destruction, and darkness.
“You have to go back to campus. Okay?”
She nodded softly. “Okay.”
“You have classes. You have grades. You have a life.”
“You’re part of my life now, though.”
“A small part of it.”
“That’s growing into a much bigger part.”
I shook my head. “Go back to campus, Dani.”
“And what if I don’t want to?”
How my heart sang with those words. “Don’t make me get angry at you, Bambi. Don’t do that.”
“What does that nickname actually mean?”
“What?”
“Bambi. That nickname. Benji started it, and I know it’s a bad thing when he says it. Does it not mean the same thing when you say it?”
My eyes danced between hers. “No. It doesn’t mean the same thing.”
“Then what does it mean when you say it?”
I cupped her cheek. “If you tell anyone I’ve seen this movie, you’re in big trouble. Got it?”
She snickered. “Yeah. I got it.”
“Promise to go back to campus if I tell you?”
She sighed. “Yeah. Okay. I promise.”
“In the movie, you know, Bambi, that little deer, isn’t really weak.”
“No?”
I shook my head. “No. In the movie, Bambi goes through a lot of loss. The loss of his mother. The loss of his forest. The loss of some of his friends. But eventually, Bambi finds love. Bambi finds a relationship with his father. Bambi has a family. Becomes the head of the forest to protect those he loves.”
She grinned. “Maybe you're more like Bambi than I am.”
I chuckled. “And maybe you’re strong, like Bambi. Stronger than you think.”
“You think I’m strong? That’s why you call me that?”
“I think you’re stronger than even you realize. So, yes. That’s what I mean by Bambi.”
She smiled. “I like that.”
I kissed the tip of her nose. “Good. Now. Let me know when you get back to campus. Okay?”
I slipped quickly out of her car before she could protest any longer. I closed the car door and turned around, watching as Dani sat there. Making her decision. Trying to figure out what her next move was.
Just keep your promise. Be good for me, Bambi.
Then I saw her car backing out of the parking lot.
“There we go,” I murmured.
I stood there, watching her until she drove off into the night, the sound of the car quickly dying in the distance. I sighed as I turned around, ready to hobble my beaten ass up the front porch steps. My raging hard-on kept jamming against the zipper of my jeans. It was well past time for another round of pain medication. And as I opened the screen door, the front door was ripped open.
Revealing my brother holding two white pills and a glass of water.
“I thought you’d never get your ass inside.”
I chuckled. “Me neither, to be honest.”
Then I took the pills and chugged the water, trying to wash my lust for Dani away.
“Come on. I got lemonade and food for you, Max. You can fill me in on what happened at the meeting.”
I sighed. “And after that, a long-ass nap.”
My brother laughed. “Yes, yes. A long-ass, drug-induced nap.”
5
Dani
I white-knuckled the steering wheel as I headed back to campus. I was irritated. Frustrated. And pissed off at that phone call from Hannah. I wanted to stay with Max. I wanted to make sure he’d be all right. I wanted to get one more night under his belt with someone watching over him before I made my way back for classes tomorrow. Especially since I only had afternoon classes.
But no. My roommate had to call and practically ram her emotions down my throat.
“Fucking Hannah,” I murmured.
I mean, who the hell was she, anyway? She was my roommate that wanted to get me laid. That’s who she was. So I’d gotten laid. By a great guy. Who actually liked me.
She doesn’t know any of that, though.
Yeah, and she won’t if she keeps ruining stuff like this.
“Ugh,” I groaned.
I pulled into campus and snagged a parking spot not too far away from the dorm building. At least I wasn’t hiking across campus this time around. I dreaded going into that building. I dreaded riding the elevator. I could practically hear Hannah seething at the end of the hallway. I heard her pacing, her little heels clicking at an insane speed.
And when I rounded the corner to stand in the doorway, she whipped around.
“What the actual hell, Dani?”
I thumbed over my shoulder. “You know I can walk right back out.”
“Oh, no you don’t.”
“Hey!”
She grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to my bed. She whipped me around, cornering me in my own damn room like a rabid dog. I felt my face fall and my back stiffen. I stared at her as she closed--and locked--our dorm door. I felt like I was at home again, like she had become my parent. Locking me away from the world bec
ause she thought she knew what was best for me.
She had another think coming.
“What the hell are you doing, scaring me like that?” she asked.
“Last I checked, you weren’t my mother,” I said.
She snickered. “Drop the tough girl act. It doesn’t suit you.”
“Then stop interrogating me like a parent. You call me up and chew me out over something that isn’t your business--”
“Making sure my roommate and my friend is okay is my business, Dani. You had me worried sick!”
I held my arms out. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“You skipped classes.”
“I’m two weeks ahead in my work.”
“You never skip classes.”
I sighed. “Can we get to the point?”
She took a step toward me. “Fine. We can. You aren’t acting like yourself, Dani. Do you know how uncharacteristic it is of you to spend a night out?”
“No. Why don’t you inform me?”
She snickered. “Like very uncharacteristic.”
I nodded. “Very.”
“Yeah.”
“Got it.”
“You sure? Because you never do shit like this. I thought something terrible had happened to you!”
I sighed. As I leaned against my bed, I couldn't deny the sincerity in Hannah’s eyes. The fear. The relief that I really was all right. She wasn’t trying to control me. She was just scared. Worried for my safety. That was what friends did with one another. And I, for one, would’ve been the same way had the tables been turned.
So I swallowed my frustration.
“Look, I’m sorry, Hannah. Really I am. I never meant to worry you or anything. I was just having some fun because I knew I could spare the time to have it. I never get to do things like this. Ever. And I wanted to experience it for once. That’s all.”
Hannah sighed. “Well, don’t do something like that again. Tell me when you're not coming back for the night. I barely slept. I couldn’t eat. I mean, what you do with your grades is your business. I don’t care about that. But I care about you. And whether or not you’re alive.”
“The next time it happens, I’ll let you know. I promise.”
She nodded. “Great. Thank you. Now, where were you, anyway?”
I thought about lying. I didn’t feel like I could tell Hannah any of this without her chewing me out. Or getting upset. Or berating me for some reason. What I was doing wasn’t wrong. Max wasn’t a bad guy.
At least, I don’t think he is.
“Dani.”
I blinked. “Hannah.”
“Where were you last night? What were you doing?”
Don’t lie to your best friend. “I was with Max.”
She furrowed her brow. “Who’s that?”
I pointed to my leather jacket. “Max. Leather jacket man. The guy with the bike?”
Her face fell. “What?”
“Yeah. I was out with him last night.”
“And you stayed out with him?”
The shrill tone of her voice made me wince. “Yes. I did.”
“What the fuck were you two doing? Where the hell did you sleep?”
I swallowed hard as she took another step closer to me
“You didn’t,” she said.
I shrugged. “You’ll have to be more specific than that.”
She grabbed my arm. “Did you sleep with him?”
“You mean, did I occupy the same bed as him last night? No. I didn't.”
“Don’t you use semantics with me. Are you sleeping with him, Dani?”
“Ouch. You’re hurting me.”
Hannah dropped her hand. “Sorry.”
I rubbed my arm. “And anyway, wasn’t the whole point of this year to get me to give up my virginity anyway?”
She gasped. “You slept with that man?”
“Hannah, would you just listen to yourself? I didn’t sleep with him last night. Max was hurt in a fight last night. And I just couldn’t leave him there. He was hurt!”
“What kind of fight? Where?”
“Right outside the dorm, Hannah. He was jumped. He wasn’t conscious. I wasn’t going to just leave him there.”
“Did you call the cops? Get him in an ambulance? You still would’ve been home had you done that.”
I shook my head. “He didn’t want cops or an ambulance. I drove him back to his place in my car.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “You what!? He’s a criminal, Dani. Only men who have records or a chance at arrest don’t go to hospitals after they’re jumped. Don’t you know any of this?”
I raised my head high. “He was hurt. I wanted to spend the night to make sure he was okay. That’s what I did. If you don’t like it, that sounds like a personal problem.”
Hannah put her hands on her hips. “You want to know what I think?”
“I already know what you think. You‘ve had no issues shoving it down my throat since I got back.”
“Dani, I don’t know what the hell’s gotten into you--”
“Control of my life. That’s what’s gotten into me.”
She sighed. “Dani. This guy? He’s trouble. I know that just from looking at him. You need to walk away now, while you still can.”
“See? That’s the issue with people. Always judging others on the outside. Max is always judged, and so was I. But he didn’t judge me. And I didn’t judge him. That’s why it’s nice to be around him. Maybe you should take a page out of his book.”
“What? Pissing people off so I can get jumped and not go to the hospital?”
I pointed at her. “You take that back.”
She smacked my hand away from her face. “Never.”
I felt my nostrils flaring with anger. “I’m not walking away.”
“You have to.”
“No.”
“Dani, just listen to me.”
“I am listening, Hannah!”
My voice rose so high that it echoed off the corners of our room, causing Hannah to wince.
“You’re just like my mother. I do hear you. Everyone can hear you. The only thing is that I’m not listening. Why? Because I don’t want to. I hear you. I get it. But I’m not taking your advice. And that’s what’s pissing you off.”
She snickered. “And why won’t you listen? Why won’t you just trust me on this?”
I shrugged. “Because I don’t want to.”
She nodded. “Well, great. Wonderful. That’s just dandy.”
“You don’t have to like it.”
“Of course I don’t like it, Dani. I want my best friend back.”
“What? The one that wore the baggy clothes you always picked on her about? The girl who was always a pushover who you tried to get out to bars and clubs until two in the morning? The girl you forced into heels because ‘that’s what girls do’? Huh? The girl you dragged to parties that made her uncomfortable? You want that girl back?”
“Dani, that’s not what I--”
“You know what’s amazing about this scenario?”
“Dani, just take a deep breath. Please?”
I snickered. “What’s amazing is that, if I were doing any of this with you, you’d be just fine. In fact, you’d be delighted. But it’s with Max. And you don’t like that.”
“Because he’s dangerous, Dani.”
“No, because it isn’t you. Because since the first time I met you, you’re no longer the driving force in my life.”
“What?”
I nodded. “Yeah. And it makes you fume. You’re no longer the one telling me how to better myself and ‘find myself’ and ‘experience college for all it has to offer.’ And because it’s not you--but Max--that makes you upset.”
“Are you even listening to yourself?”
“I am. For once in my life, I am. And if you don’t like the decisions I’m making with it because I’m following the beat of my own drum now, then you can butt out.”
She gasped. “You don’t mean
that.”
I stormed past Hannah and wrenched out of her grip. I scooped up my purse and rushed out the door, sprinting for the stairwell. I jammed myself into the door as Hannah called out after me, trying to get me to stop and talk to her. Trying to get me to come back.
I wouldn't go back, though.
Not after something like that.
My entire body trembled. It felt like fire had consumed me and turned me into a shivering pile of ash. Where in the world did all of that come from? That anger. Those words. It almost didn’t feel like me saying any of it.
But, damn, did it feel good to say.
I burst through the doors and poured out onto the sidewalk. I gazed up the facade of the building, spotting my dorm room. I slipped my purse over my shoulder and started walking. I didn’t know where in the world I was going, but I didn’t want to go back up there. While part of me wanted to tell Hannah everything, I wouldn’t. Because right now, it would only get me yelled at.
I don’t like this at all.
“Dani!”
Hannah’s voice behind me caused me to start sprinting again. I booked it for my car, pulling my keys out of my pocket. I just needed to get away from her. Away from campus. Away from all the expectations and all of the things people wanted me to do just to seem normal to them.
“Dani! Wait up! Please!”
I fumbled with my keys as I approached my car. I pressed the unlock button and tossed my purse inside. I heard Hannah’s heels clicking, gaining on me. And as I slid into the driver’s seat, I locked my car.
Just before Hannah started tugging on the other door.
“Open this damn thing now!”
She slammed her fist against the glass as I cranked the engine up.
“Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare leave again. Dani!”
I sped out of the parking space and got myself turned around.
“Dani, just stop, okay? I’m sorry!”
They were always sorry. After the fact. People were always sorry once tensions died down. But I knew the apologies never meant anything. Not really. Because the moment I stepped out of bounds again, they’d yell at me again for it. Like a petulant child.
