Co-Ed(30)

“Hey!” I yelled.

She didn’t look up.

I tapped her on the shoulder.

Her pupils were pinpoints.

My body felt weak.

Too similar.

Damn Slater for putting it in my head, for feeding my paranoia in such a horrible way.

Pain sliced through my chest as I gently grabbed her arm and pulled her into the protection of my body, yelling in her ear, “We should get you home.”

She nodded, her breath coming out slow as she slurred, “I don’t know what happened. I had two drinks, just two…” She was heavy against me.

“You sure?” I heaved her into my arms and walked her to the outskirts of the dance floor. “Did anyone give you a drink?”

She giggled a bit. “Well, yeah, but that’s the point… I had a hard day, you know? Because of the texts…”

“Texts?” I repeated. “What texts?”

“About you… and me…”

I smirked. “You and me? What about us?”

“And Leo and Finn.” She yawned and patted my chest. “They said I was the new slutty transfer, and there was a picture of us kissing at the frat party then somehow, one of me in Leo’s car and—”

Rage filled me, hot and quick. I’d always wondered when it would happen, when someone would get so resentful of us befriending another girl that they’d start shit again.

It’s why we kept our SHIT off campus.

Hell.

This was all Leo’s and Finn’s fault.

And mine.

We’d been so starved for something… anything… maybe even redemption… that we’d taken one look at the challenge in front of us and accepted, without even realizing how hard it would be for her.

“Let’s get you in bed first.” I carried her to my car amidst her giggles of being taken to bed then being tickled. By the time we were back on campus, she was crying and telling me a story about her favorite cartoon characters.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

“It’s why I like cheese pizza.” She yawned when we got back to the room.

Leo and Finn were already in bed, the lights down low. With a grunt, I picked her up over my shoulder and knocked on her door.

The door jerked open.

Slater took one look at her and cursed. “Really? What part of ‘stay away’ don’t you understand?”

“She was alone at a club with God-knows-who, and I think she was roofied. Want to keep yelling at me or help?”

Slater’s face paled. He stumbled backward, the memory obviously too much.

I knew that feeling. I was currently battling it like a fucking demon in my own chest.

“I’ve got this,” I said in a low voice. “Go take my bed. I’ll stay up if she needs anything.”

“That’s not your job.” He crossed his arms.

“It isn’t yours either,” I fired back.

We stared each other down for a few more seconds then he was grabbing that damn unicorn, which I still refused to touch, and stomping across the room. He didn’t even knock, just opened up my door while Finn and Leo started cussing for being woken up.

He yelled right back.

They yelled at him some more.

So much yelling.

Then… silence.

I kicked the door shut behind me just as Shawn opened her eyes wide and stumbled to the trash can, puking every part of her insides into the outside.

“What happened?” she asked between heaving. “Two drinks, just two.”

“Drugs,” I guessed. “Who were you with?”

“A friend—” She heaved again. “Can we talk later when I’m not halfway in the trash can with my ass showing?”

Naturally, I looked right at her ass and had to smile at the fact that she wasn’t hysterical, which was what I would have expected, what I was prepared for.

“Yeah, let me grab you some Ibuprofen and Gatorade. You’ll need it. Roofies make you feel like you’ve been run over by a truck.”

She groaned louder.

And for some reason, I liked it.

I hated that she was suffering.

But this feeling? The one where I finally got to play hero instead of villain?

Yeah, a starved man could get used to that sort of feasting.





Chapter Twenty-One


Shawn

I’d been dreaming I was being chased by Slater’s stupid unicorn. At one point, it had caught me and tried to bite down on my ankle, only to stop when I told it I had Skittles.

My heart pounded as I jolted awake.

A heavy arm was draped over me.

I knew that arm.

I traced my fingers down the firm muscle toward the massive shoulder it belonged to then ran my hand through dirty blond hair. It should be a crime to have tresses like that and have a penis. His hair was silky and smooth while still being thick.

I stopped moving my hand, but he grabbed it again and placed it against his head as if he wanted more.

“Please…” he murmured.

I sighed and scratched his head then ran my fingers down his neck. His lips parted. I touched them too, because I was curious, because when his eyes were closed, I could almost believe that he didn’t realize I was touching every inch of his body out of curiosity, but also out of disbelief. This guy here was too much of all the right things to be real.