I hid my surprise well at his blasé tone
“I’m sure you are aware of the legal boundaries being crossed here. I’m being held against my will and want to go.” Immediately, I added, guessing he needed the extra kick toward common sense.
“Please, lady. I’m just doing my job.”
“And I’ll forget that fact when I go to the police if you let me go now.”
“Sorry. No can do. Go on inside now and I won’t tell.” He actually had the nerve to wink and look self-assured as if he were doing me a favor.
Fucker.
Frustration led me to slam the door shut as hard as my strength would allow, and when it wasn’t enough, I kicked it until my foot became sore.
What am I going to do now?
*
SUMMER BEFORE SENIOR YEAR
“Ok.” I attempted to control my breathing to no avail. “What just happened? Get it together, Willow. That did not just happen.” I turned back praying he wasn’t still there while at the same time hoping to catch another glimpse of him.
He was there all right. Only his head was bent, and what I could see of his facial expression looked ready to strangle the phone.
“Hey, wait up!”
A severely muscled guy in a letterman jacket that matched the school’s colors and destroyed jeans jogged up with a cocky smile as if he already had me in the bag.
“I’m not interested.” I was sick of cocky men for one day.
“You can’t turn me down until you at least ask my name.”
“Fine,” I huffed. “What’s your name?”
“Shane,” he offered simply as his smile grew. I could tell he expected his name to spark a reaction, and when it failed, his charming smile fell.
“Well, Shane, I’m not interested.” I moved around his hulking body, but his hand on my arm kept me from getting far. I tugged to no avail. “Let me go.”
“You’re obviously new here, so I’ll let your rudeness pass, but let me explain something to you—”
Before he could finish, a threatening hand clamped around his thick neck, circling it in its entirety. “No. Let me explain.” I blinked in surprise at the angry vision of Dash. I didn’t know what surprised me more. Dash coming to my rescue or him choking someone twice his size. “You’re going to take those stubby little fingers off her, or I’ll crush your windpipe.”
Whoa. Scary much?
Instead of being afraid, the guy laughed and snapped his fingers. Just like that, we were surrounded by other jocks dressed in letterman jackets. There were two, and both just as hulking as Shane.
Dash wasn’t lacking in the muscle department, but he was much leaner and outnumbered. “I think you better run along, pretty boy.”
He was right. Dash was extremely pretty, and yet the way he handled the guy was completely natural. Nevertheless, it was five against one, and since male ego wouldn’t allow him to back down, it was up to me. After all, it would be a crime against nature to see that pretty face bashed in.
Shane’s distraction caused his grip to loosen allowing me to pull my arm from his grasp. Dash seemed to notice because a second later, his hand took hold of the same spot that was still warm from Shane’s grip, all without taking his eyes off Shane—or removing his hand from Shane’s neck.
“I think you can let him go now,” I prompted when a moment passed and he had made no move to let him go.
“You should listen to your girlfriend.”
“She’s not mine,” he said, sounding suspiciously defensive. I narrowed my eyes at him, taking the insult to heart. Why wouldn’t I? No one would want to be rejected by someone as finely made as Dash Chambers… especially, in front of company of any kind.
Shane’s snort was mocking and eventually, grew into laughter. “All this for a girl who isn’t even yours? She’s just a piece of ass, man.”
Great. I attracted an even bigger ass. This one just happened to be more of a douche than arrogant. It seemed that the arrogant ass shared my feelings when his fist curled and slammed into the douche’s nuts.