“Christ,” I mumbled while balancing on one foot. “Weston, let me help you this one time.”
Before he could reply, someone clapped him on his shoulders. I jumped in shock. Weston stood firm, unbothered. A tall guy with brown skin and a buzz cut stood on the staircase. His eyes were dark as my skin and his body was built like a tank. He was the same height as Weston but looked a few years older.
“Look who showed up,” the guy said, still gripping Weston’s shoulder.
“Damnit, Lawrence,” Weston mumbled under his breath. He turned around so I was shielded behind him. “A frat party? Really?”
“Don’t have many options. You’re a hard guy to track down. Callie figured you’d be here though,” the guy replied as he turned his attention to me. “Who have we got here?”
“Have you spoken to anyone?” Weston asked instead of answering the question. The guy’s eyes didn’t stray from me. Weston’s avoidance spiked his interest even more. I felt strange under his stare. He wasn’t your usual horny male partier. He looked at me as though he could smell fear.
I tried to keep my expression neutral, but his gaze quickly centered on my mouth. I had a slight tick when I was anxious. Only people who knew me long enough noticed the rare pursing of my lips. He found it within a few seconds.
“You mean your little college buddies?” the guy said with an amused grin as he looked back at Weston. “No. I can keep a secret. And so can you, it seems. No one knows where you come from, do they?”
Weston pulled his keys out of his pocket and slipped them into my hand. “Text me if you need something. I won’t be long.”
I chewed on the inside of my lip. This guy looked like bad news. I wanted no part of him. Especially since Weston hadn’t wanted him to see me. I also didn’t want Weston to go anywhere with him. Weston could bench twice my weight, but I still felt protective over him.
“Promise to be safe, yeah?” I squeezed his upper arm.
“Yeah,” he agreed and surprised me by leaning in for a brief kiss. “I promise.”
I started back toward the front door while Weston and Lawrence went up the stairs. On the way to the door, I bumped into Callie. She had another drink in her hand and this time offered it to me.
“So, he found Lawrence?” She smiled, watching the two disappear upstairs.
I eyed her suspiciously. “Seems so.”
“Perfect.” Callie bounced on the balls of her feet. “Things are finally going to get interesting around here.”
Chapter 30
I satin the truck bed with a sketchbook on my knees. One good thing about growing up with just internet friends -I knew how to prep for long stretches of boredom. I’d been waiting for Weston for almost an hour, and the partiers seemed to get louder and louder.
“Didn’t know you were a designer,” a voice said beside me.
I jumped and almost slammed shut the sketchbook. David stood behind me. He wore an amused look at my sudden movement.
“You walked here?” I studied him, impressed.
“No way.” David shook his head. “I have other friends besides Weston.”
“Oh,” I said and directed my attention back down to what I’d been working on.
“A maze?” David continued.
I frowned, looking back up. Why did he stop here? We weren’t friends. He never seemed to take the slightest bit of interest in me, other than to disapprove. “Yeah… want to solve it?”
I didn’t think he’d actually say yes. David raised an eyebrow but took the pencil and sketchbook when I offered. I watched him start, at first assured. Soon enough he slowed down after getting to dead end after dead end. I smiled when he finally finished. It didn’t take him more than a few minutes.
David watched me with curiosity. “Make another one?”
I nodded and reached for the sketchbook. He moved to the opposite side of the truck so he could speak to me face-to-face. As I sketched out another maze, he watched me. Like when I was under anyone’s gaze, I felt a sudden pinch of anxiety. I tried my best not to let it muddy my thoughts as I constructed the next game. I wanted it to be a challenge. He was the kind of person lots of people disliked, but also the kind of person people wanted to impress. I was no different.
“Here,” I said after putting on the finishing touch. “Want a timer?”
He grinned, unable to refuse a bit of competition. “Go for it.”
