Stepping in between him and his would-be attacker, I growl as the bigger man protests, “You were all about grinding up on me and leading me on. How the fuck was I supposed to know you were just being a tease?”
“I wasn’t—” Cody’s breath hitches. “I…I did want…but then I changed my mind. I’mallowedto change my mind.”
“Fucking prude,” Scott accuses.
“Enough!” I bellow. I jab a finger at Scott’s huge chest. “No means no.” I turn my head slightly, keeping one eye on the man while I ask Cody, “Do you want to press charges?”
“No,” he says after a moment of consideration. “No. He didn’t actually do anything. I just want to go home.” His voice breaks a little on the end of his confession, and that’s enough for me.
Even though I’m concerned the big dude is a potential menace to society, I’m more concerned about the upset young man at my back. His welfare is more important right now. And if nothing physical actually happened between them, I doubt the guy would get more than a slap on the wrist anyway at this point.
“Leave,” I demand of the big guy. “Now.”
He hesitates for a brief second before throwing his hands up in the air and yelling, “Fine! Little slut isn’t worth it.” He shoves past me angrily and then wrestles with the main bathroom door, which I locked when I slipped in, wanting to avoid an additional audience. There’s a chorus of relieved groans and loud complaints as he yanks the door open, but I don’t feel at all guilty for having locked the club’s patrons out.
Did nobody care that some brute was trying to beat down a stall door to get to his upset date?
ItisThe Fruitbowl, so…probably not.
“Come on.” I slip my jacket from my shoulders and wrap it around Cody’s, watching it swallow his diminutive frame with a pang of something undefinable, but ultimately inappropriate to feel around my best friend’s kid. “Let’s get you home.”
***
Cody falls asleep in my passenger seat within five minutes of navigating the city streets. I’m loath to wake him up to ask for his address, so I redirect to my place and he’s still asleep when I shutdown the engine after parking in my designated spot underneath my building.
He stirs but stays dead to the world even when I try to wake him up.
With a sigh, I manage to get him out of the car and lift him into my arms with relative ease. He’s petite, but he’s still a grown man and, even with my rigorous gym routine, I won’t be able to carry him bridal-style for too long.
My arms are tired by the time we reach my penthouse apartment, and I’m glad that the elevator opens directly into my living room. It’s only accessible with a combination of key and security code, unless I override it from inside my apartment for guests to come up from the lobby. Not that that happens very often.
I carry Cody through to the guest room and place him carefully down on the bed, then wonder whether I should undress him and toss his clothes into the washing machine.
In the end, I decide not to do that. It seems like a breach of his personal bubble, and he’s experienced enough of that tonight. I take off his shoes, but that’s as far as I go.
My cat, Basil, slinks into the room just as I’m turning to leave. The gray and white asshole zips out of my reach when I try to nab him.
“Basil,” I hiss at him, pointing in the direction of the hallway, “out. Now.”
He flicks his tail back and forth defiantly, then sits and licks his paw, maintaining eye contact with me the entire time.
He’s the devil.
Why I ever thought getting a cat would help ease my loneliness, I’ll never know.
“If you wake him up…” I threaten him, and I swear he shrugs before he closes his eyes and uses his licked paw to clean behind his ear.
“Fine,” I huff. “But I mean it, cat. Leave the boy alone.”
I turn my back and head to my own bedroom, my thoughts preoccupied with the boy —no, young man— in question.
Why did he text me, of all people, for help? And why was he so surprised to see me when I arrived?
I’m not going to get an answer tonight, but sleep is still a long time coming.
Chapter Four
Icome hurtling out of the grogginess of sleep the second I realize I’m in a strange bed, in an even stranger room. I’m fully clothed, which is a good sign, but my memories of last night are hazy.
