“But itdoesmatter, Pres.”
Her hand reached out to grab my arm. Her fingers were warm on my skin as they wrapped around my bicep.
“It matters a lot.”
I shook my head again, but I could see she wasn’t going to be content until she said what she needed to.
A group of young women spilled from the bathroom, laughing and chattering, totally unaware of their surroundings. I moved to stand in front of Jess, protecting her from being bashed into by the women as they passed.
We stood so close, I could feel the puff of air on my cheeks with every breath she took.
“I liked you, you know?” she said. “But when you gave me the flowers, I got scared. I thought everyone would laugh and tease us. I panicked.”
The music and noise from the bar were all around us, but somehow in that moment, it all faded. All I could see was a twelve-year-old girl dropping flowers in the dirt and a boy who stood in front of her, his heart breaking.
I cleared my throat. “You don’t need to apologize.”
“I do,” she insisted. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She burped a little, and her hand shot up to cover her mouth as she giggled. I grabbed her elbow, keeping her upright as she swayed on her feet.
She really was drunk. She should be in bed.
“Come on.” With my hand on the small of her back, I led Jess back into the bar and scanned the room for her friends. Charli caught my gaze and came over immediately.
“Is she…”
“Drunk?” I chuckled. “Oh yeah.”
“I don’t know how it happened.” Charli shook her head, obviously feeling responsible for the state of her friend. “It’s like she was on a mission tonight. I’ve never seen her drink so much.”
Jess dropped her head to my shoulder and closed her eyes, sagging against me.
“I’m worried about her, Preston. I just think that maybe…” Charli drifted off, snapping her mouth shut as if she’d already said too much.
But she didn’t need to say any more. I thought I understood just fine.
“Don’t worry,” I told Charli. “I’ll take her home. Her place is on my way.”
“Thank you.”
I offered a small smile and wrapped my arm around Jess as I led her through the busy bar.
Her eyes snapped open. “Are we going to dance again, Pres?”
“No, sweetheart. I think we’re done dancing for the night. I’m going to take you home.”
“Okay.” Her eyes shut again, her lips curling up into a smile. “That sounds good.”
Jess
My head was spinning.
The whole room was spinning.
MaybeIwas spinning.
Somehow, my feet moved while Preston guided me up the stairs to my room.
