Trust in Me

I didn’t trust myself to speak at first and when I did, my fingers curled around the strands of her hair. “Jesus Christ, why haven’t you answered your damn phone?”


She didn’t lift her head as she spoke. “I left my phone in the car, I think.”

“Shit, Avery.” I pulled back, cupping her cheeks. “I’ve been blowing up your phone—so have Jacob and Brittany.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

“You’ve been crying.” Anger rose again. “You’ve been fucking crying.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Have you looked in the mirror?” When she shook her head, I closed the door behind me and then took her small hand. “Come on.”

She swallowed hard, but let me tug her along. I took her into the bathroom and flipped on the light. She sucked in a sharp breath as she caught sight of her reflection. “Oh God . . .” Our gazes met in the mirror, and then she dropped her head into her hands. “Perfect—just perfect.”

“It’s not that bad, sweetheart.” The knot in my chest ached as I gently pulled her hands away. “Sit down.”

Avery sat on the closed toilet seat and stared down at her fingers. “What are you doing here?”

Grabbing a washcloth, I ran it under the tap and then knelt in front of her. Disbelief kept me from speaking at first. “What am I doing here? Is that a serious question?”

“Guess not.” She hadn’t lifted her gaze.

“Look at me. Dammit, Avery, look at me.”

Her chin jerked up, eyes narrowed until only thin strips of dark brown showed. “Happy?”

My molars cracked as I grinded my jaw. “Why would I come here? You left a party without saying a word to anyone.”

“I told—”

“You told Brittany you were getting some fresh air. That was three hours ago, Avery. They thought you were with me, but when they saw me later they knew you weren’t. After what happened with that asshole, you scared them.”

Her face fell. “I didn’t mean to. I just left my phone in the car.”

Silent, I swiped the washcloth under her cheeks, erasing the streaky makeup. “You didn’t need to leave.”

“I overreacted. The guy . . . he really hadn’t done anything wrong. He just surprised me and I overreacted. I ruined the party.”

“You didn’t ruin the party. And that son of a bitch shouldn’t have been grabbing you. Fuck. I heard you say ‘let me go’ and I know damn well he did, too. Maybe I shouldn’t have reacted as . . . strongly as I did, but fuck it. He was grabbing you and I didn’t like it.”

Her shoulders slumped forward. “You didn’t need to come here. You should be at the party having fun.”

I honestly couldn’t believe that she thought I should be at the party while she was here crying. She watched me, her features pinched with confusion. “We’re friends, right?”

“Yes.”

“This is what friends do. They check on each other. Brittany and Jacob would’ve been here, but I made them stay there.”

“I need to get my phone and call—”

“I’ll text Brittany. I got her number.” I sat back, watching her. “The fact that you wouldn’t expect anyone to check up on you is . . . I don’t even know what it is.”

Her mouth opened, then she shook her head and started to look away. I palmed her cheek, stopping her. Using my thumb, I chased away the last of the tears that had been there. Her damp lashes lifted, and I would give anything to take back every one of her tears that fell.

“Why were you crying?” I asked. “Wait. Did that fucker hurt you, because I will—”

“No! Not at all.”

“Then why?” I held my breath as she turned her cheek into my palm. “Talk to me?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was just being a girl.”

My brows shot up “You sure that’s all?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

There was more, there had to be, but how did one ask a question like that? I didn’t know. “You okay?”

Shortcake nodded.

I moved my hand down, brushing my thumb over her lip by accident, but when I did, she inhaled softly. Our eyes locked. The same feeling I had while we were at the party hit me in the chest. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to make her forget Tony and the party and all those tears. But the first time I kissed her I didn’t want her to taste her own tears.

Closing the space between us, I pressed my forehead to hers and let out a tired breath. “You drive me fucking insane sometimes.”

“Sorry.”

I pulled back, searching her face. “Don’t run off like that again, okay? I was worried shitless when I couldn’t find you and no one knew where you were.”

Shortcake stared at me and then she scooted forward, pressing a kiss to my cheek, surprising the ever-loving shit out of me. My eyes widened as I leaned back, unable to look away from her. I started to say screw the not kissing part right now, but I stopped myself. “Avery?”

“Cam?”

With all seriousness, I held her gaze. “Go out on a date with me.”

There was a tiny second of hesitation where her lips parted and two tiny pink spots bloomed on her cheeks, but then she spoke and at first I didn’t think I heard her right, but I did.

“Yes,” she said.