Begin Again (Again #1)(30)

“Want a drink?”

I looked at him. He had beautiful green eyes and sandy hair, just a tad too long. As if he could read my mind, he shook his bangs off his forehead.

I grinned. “Sure.” I said with a shrug, following him to a table crowded with bottles of beer and other mysterious liquors.

“What’s your name?” asked the guy, handing me a cup filled with red liquid. I sniffed it and wrinkled my nose. Actually, I didn’t like sweet mixed drinks. But I’d make an exception today.

“I’m Allie. And you?”

“Brix.” He knocked his cup against mine. “Cheers to being a freshman.”

We chatted a while, until he introduced me to a few more people. I laughed aloud at the jokes that Brix’s friends made, and I soon noticed that a pleasant warmth had spread through my body. No idea what was in this drink, but it seemed to have an effect. And as long as I could keep that emptiness at bay, it was okay with me.

Brix and I went off to dance. He moved his hands up and down my body. It wasn’t strange or frightening. It felt good to let go.

I didn’t know how we reached that point, but I started dancing on a table with another girl, one of Brix’s friends. She took my hand and we swayed together to the music.

From the corner of my eye I saw Dawn talking on her phone near the entrance. She didn’t notice me waving her over to us.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the music. This was exactly what I needed today. I needed to be here, not in my room, where my mother’s words still hung over me like a poisonous cloud.

When I reopened my eyes, I saw a familiar face below me in the crowd. With his set jaw and sparkling eyes, his tousled hair and three-day beard, he looked damn fine—but also incredibly dangerous.

“Roommate!” I squealed and leapt from the table, which was a pretty major feat in my high heels. I landed right in his arms.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

I chuckled. “Dancing.”

“Yeah, I saw that.” Kaden removed my arm from his neck. His tense expression brought me down from my high.

I heard a few people laugh. I turned to them and Brix was grinning broadly at me. I waved back.

“Didn’t know you had a boyfriend, Allie,” Brix said.

“What?” I almost laughed. “Kaden isn’t my boyfriend.” My tongue suddenly felt heavy, and I could barely stand. “He’s just my roommate. And he has rules. ‘Cause it’s the only way that living together can work.”

“Rules?” repeated Brix, amused, taking a sip from a beer bottle.

“Rule one: Don’t bother me with girly stuff,” I mimicked Kaden’s deep voice. The others laughed again. “Rule two—Hey!”

Kaden had grabbed my arm. “Cut the shit.”

“Cut your own shit.” In my drunken state I was no competition for Kaden.

“I’m sorry I called you,” I heard a small voice next to Kaden. “I was worried about her.”

“Don’t talk about me as if I weren’t here, Dawn,” I hissed and tore my arm away from Kaden. “You asked him to come?”

With a guilty look, Dawn bit her lower lip. Great.

“We should go home,” Kaden whispered. I could feel eyes on us from all around, but Kaden didn’t care. “You had a long day.”

I glared at him. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Dude, I think you should let her decide for herself,” Brix intervened. “If she wants to stay here, let her.”

“Keep out of it, buddy,” Kaden spoke firmly.

Brix raised his hands and took a step back. What a loser.

“You’re not going to push me around.” I turned my back to Kaden and headed for the bar. But before I could lift one of the bottles, I was grabbed by the hips and pulled back against a hard chest.

“You’re coming home with me. Now.” Kaden’s eyes were blazing in anger.

“Or else what?” I demanded. I raised my hands and put them on his chest. When I touched him, he exhaled. Then he grabbed me by the hands. His grip was gentle.

“Don’t do it,” he murmured.

“What shouldn’t I do?” I asked in all innocence.

“Allie.”

Chills ran down my spine. I loved it when he said my name. If his voice alone could trigger this response in me … what else could he do with me?

“I can’t go home, Kaden.”

“We don’t have to go home, if you don’t want to. But what I see going on here,” he gestured toward the table on which I’d just been dancing like a fool, “is not right.”

“How do you presume to know what’s right and wrong for me?” I demanded. By now my good mood had evaporated. Instead, a thick knot had grown in my stomach.

Kaden tipped his head and gave me a crooked smile. “Because I know you. I know how you really are, Bubbles. And the girl who just danced on the table? That’s not you.”

The knot moved up into my throat. “You don’t know me at all.” My voice broke. I sounded as weak as I felt.

“Unfortunately,” he retorted and rubbed his forehead in frustration. He took a deep breath and held out his arm to me. “Now I’d feel very connected with you if you’d cut the shit. Come with me now, or I will haul you out of here. Your choice.”