“We hired you to keep other people out, not tell us we’re having too much fun.” A female voice, but not Ali.
I turn the corner and see two young people being blocked from re-entering the open space beyond by a large black man who looks like he’s not going to be swayed. Poor guy.
I give him an easy smile, security-guy-to-security-guy. “Hey, man. I’m here to pick someone up. Alison Reid.”
He consults his clipboard and nods. “She’s here.”
“Can I…?” I point past him.
He shakes his head. “Private party.”
I pull out my wallet and hand over a card. He takes one look at The Horus Group logo and waves me past.
I wait until the drunk kids can’t see my face to snicker at their protests fading behind me. But my gloating doesn’t last long, because on the far side of the lounge, on a couch facing away from the entrance, Ali’s wrapped up in the arms of a kid. A guy, she’d say, but I just see a hundred and thirty pounds of privilege and a drooling dick. He’s trying to kiss her and she’s pushing against his chest, laughing uneasily.
I see it all through a red haze.
“What the f*ck
?” I bark out, reaching over the couch and shoving the kid to the floor. Ali scrambles to her feet, clearly pissed.
“Scott!”
“Behind me, Ali.”
“Stop it, he’s drunk. It’s fine.”
I move around the furniture, getting between them. I shoot her a quick glance over my shoulder. “Did you want him to touch you?”
“No, but—”
I pick the loser up off the floor like he’s made of paper and shove him, hard, against the wall. His head snaps back and thunks against the brick. That’s gonna hurt tomorrow.
So will the Hulk-fist-sized bruise I’m about to give him on his cheek. I pull my arm back and Ali latches on to it. “Stop!” She twists so she’s between us. “Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
“I guaran-f*ck
ing-tee you I won’t regret smashing this ass*ole
’s face in.”
“I was handling it.”
“I was waiting downstairs for a half hour. How long has he been crawling on you?”
She winces. “Sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. Out of my way.”
Behind her, the kid groans and crumbles to the ground. I roll my eyes, and Ali presses her hands against my chest. “Let’s go. I’m fine.”
I shrug her off and crouch down, fisting the front of his shirt hard enough he whimpers. He’s an emo little shit, nothing but skin and bones, and he’s f*ck
ing petrified. Good. “Leave her alone. She’s not interested in your tiny little dick, or your pathetic feelings, or anything else, got it?”
His eyes go wide and start to fill with tears. Jesus.
I sneer and drop him back to the floor.
Ali sighs, the sound magnified in the sudden silence. The entire party has stopped and is watching us. I stand up, and stare down at him for a beat before I turn to look at her.
She’s pissed at me. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is small, her lips pressed tight together. Without a word, she yanks her backpack off the ground, spins around and heads for the exit. She doesn’t wait for the elevator, taking the stairs instead, and she flies down each flight. I’m right behind her, but I don’t catch up to her until we’re on the ground floor.
“Wait. Alison! Wait!” I hook my fingers around her upper arm and spin her around.
She shoves me hard in the chest, but I don’t move. I let go of her, though. I’m not an idiot. She paces backward, shaking her head at me. “What the hell was that?”
She bumps back against the door and shoves it open, and we spill out into the night. It’s cold enough that she pulls up short and rummages in her bag, pulling out a jacket. Her movements are short and jerky as she shoves her arms into the sleeves and yanks it tight around her body.
“That was…” I exhale roughly. “That was me reacting to a guy mauling you.”
“There’s protecting me and then there’s using me as an excuse to flood the room with testosterone. That was way over the line.”
“I didn’t even hit him. Anything less would have been unacceptable.” It grates on me that she doesn’t see herself as precious enough to be worth such protection.
“He’s my friend! And he’s drunk. Now you’ve terrified him.”
“He was all over you!”
“I was fine!”
“No you weren’t!”
She opens her mouth, then snaps it shut into a tight, unyielding line. I don’t know if she finally sees it the way I do or if she just doesn’t want to keep yelling at each other in the middle of campus. I sigh and point in the direction of my SUV. “Let me take you home.”
She nods, but it’s tight, and she’s not quite looking at me.
Shit.
The ride is short and silent. When I pull up in front of her place, she doesn’t get out right away. She exhales slowly, then looks down at her hands. “Thank you, I guess.”