“It’s none of your goddamn business, Rowan. Go home. I’m going to that club.”
He exhaled slowly before he said, “Fine. But I go with you now.”
“What?”
“To the club. When you go, I go.”
I couldn’t have stared harder at him if he had grown a third eye. “That’s theoppositeof going home! Why. . . would you go with me?”
“To protect you.”
Okay, screw this. I took a deep breath before I spit out, “Why do you even care, Rowan? It’s none of your goddamn business where I go, or who I see, or what I do. You’re not Daddy, you’re not my brother, you. . .” I trailed off, because I honestly couldn’t think of what to even call Rowan. Godbrother? Friend? Constant and irritating pain in the ass? None of those were a perfect fit.
We stared at each other for a moment in silence. Once I’d collected myself, I continued in as calm and disdainful of a tone as I could manage. “While I can acknowledge the sentiment behind your desire to protectme, I must point out that such an impulse appears to be rooted in a deeply ingrained and antiquated assumption that by virtue of you being a man, you are inherently more capable, and that I, as a woman, am somehow in need of safeguarding. I find that presumption both reductive and profoundly patronizing. In short,” I paused to catch my breath, “Go fuck yourself and leave me alone.” Philosophy class really was rubbing off on me.
“You need a bodyguard,” was all he said.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t need a bodyguard!”
“And yet, now you have one.”
Just let it go,I tried to tell myself even as I stepped closer. I jabbed my finger into that well defined chest hidden under his black shirt, biting out each word. “Listen here, you stubborn shit for brains—"
The door handle jiggled, and Alice appeared mid-knock, catching us in what must have looked like an intimate moment.
“Oh,” she said. “Sorry, I didn’t—"
“It’s fine,” I said quickly. “Rowan, meet Alice. Alice, meet Rowan.”
She looked uncomfortable, “I can come back later if—"
“No,” I interrupted her, “I’m going to grab a shower and Rowan was just leaving.”
“Are you sure? If you two were about to—"
“T’fu,” Rowan spat out the sound he makes when he finds something disgusting.
Well, good to know you find me repulsive Rowan Monroe. And a big fat fuck you, too.
“It’s nothing like that,” I said as I walked to the door, slipping on my shower kitty sandals. “He is a childhood friend of mine who has chlamydia. I will never touch him.”
Rowan followed, his expression unbothered. “I am on the antibiotics, Violet. I already told you this. It is fine,” he said with an infuriating calm.
My eye twitched. “Well, remember to take the full course this time, even if your symptoms clear up. You don’t want it coming back even worse like it did last time, right?”
As we walked past Alice, Rowan gestured to me and said, “She is such a good friend, to worry for my health.” He flashed her a grin and I swear I saw her panties combust.
I stormed out and once we were in the hall and my dorm’s door closed behind us, I shot him a look that could boil blood. “I hate you,” I seethed.
He smirked, leaning close enough I caught his scent, pine and sharp and clean. It made my stomach flip and butterflies dance, reminding me how much I hated my body sometimes.
“So you’ve told me for years. Now, where is your shower?” he muttered.
I pivoted on my heel. “Go. Away. You arenotfollowing me.” I sounded juvenile even to my own ears. I marched towards the showers with Rowan lagging behind me.
“And yet. . . I will follow you.”
I wanted to scream. This man was beyond infuriating. I felt the heat of his glare as I walked away, my sandaled feet slapping against the weathered floors of the school.Who does he think he is? My keeper? My warden?
