This is the first time I go out in months, and this happens.
A burning sensation forms at the backs of my eyes at tonight’s turn of events. I close them tightly, not wanting to cry like a pathetic girl. Easing my grip on Nathan, I lean away. “I’ll ju-”
I’m airborne before I can finish my sentence.
When Nathan’s cologne engulfs me, it hits me that I’m in his arms.
One arm underneath my ass and the other around my back, he holds me up like I weigh nothing. His face dips toward mine, noticing the shimmer in my eyes. I dare not blink, afraid one tear will slip out.
It escapes anyway.
A softness cracks through his cold façade, revealing an empathetic soul lies within. Why is he trying to hide it?
“You’re going to be fine,” he consoles. “Shit happens.”
Tightening his hold, he descends the stairs. I loop my arms around his neck, my body jostling a little. My fingers touch his bare skin over the collar of his shirt. I can’t resist caressing it with my thumb.
He tenses, as though he’s as acutely aware of where we’re touching as me.
I instantly stop.
My eyes do the opposite. They study the contours of his sinful features like one memorizes the fine details of a painting.
Thick brows arched over narrow eyes, a long & straight nose, inviting lips with the bottom one fuller than the top, sharp cheekbones cut from a knife, and a chiseled and square jaw, dark with a five-o’clock shadow.
In other words, theGQmodel looks cover-worthy.
No wonder he sells out the magazines each time he’s on the front.
I’m staring so hard at his pursed lips that I miss him faintly calling my name until he clears his throat. My gaze snaps to his, going round at the knowing light in them.
You’re acting like a schoolgirl around a hot senior, Arya.
Thankfully, he doesn’t call out my shamelessness while he’s treating me like a gentleman. “Are you here with someone?”
We’ve reached the landing.
Did more partygoers come while I was gone? I wonder, searching for my girls in the mass of sweaty and wildly drunken bodies. “Yeah, my friends should be-”
“Aru! Aru!”
Nathan and I turn toward a panicked Noor storming in our direction. Anaya and Misha follow behind her while shoving people out of their way and wearing matching tensed expressions.
“Oh fuck! What happened to you?” Anaya demands breathlessly.
Noor probes, “Where did you disappear?”
“She twisted her ankle,” answers Nathan.
His deep and magnetic voice has the same effect on my best friends as it did on me. They freeze and peer up at him at once. A rapturous spell cascading across their faces.
Hmmm, so no woman is immune to him.
They gape at him, recognizing him instantly.
“She needs to get it checked,” he prompts. Still no response. “Immediately.”
It cuts through their reverie and they all speak at once.
