Sean heard my pathetic sounds, and I realized the music was no longer playing. He stopped hitting him, turning toward me.
“Fuck,” Jack said from just inside the hallway.
I pushed my face into my knees, not wanting him to see me like this.
“Might want to stop hitting him before the cops come. Just get him away from her.” The words came from much closer, and hands stroked along my arms.
“But I didn’t do anything!” Caleb shouted. “All I did was kiss her.” He grunted again.
“Hey, Hailey,” Jack said softly. “Can you lift your head for me? I want to see that you’re okay.”
I shook my head against my knees, holding on to them even tighter. “Nothing happened,” I mumbled.
His hand brushed over my hair. “I can see that’s not true.”
“It was just a kiss,” I said, latching on to that. “He’s right; it was just a kiss. I didn’t like it, and I couldn’t get away, but that’s all it was.”
“He had his hand—”
“Sean!” Jack snapped. “Just drag him somewhere else for when the cops come. Ask Wendy to help close up.”
“Fucking hell,” Sean said.
“I’m going to take her upstairs if she’s up to moving,” Jack told him, making no sense. The bar didn’t have an upstairs that I’d seen.
My body tightened more, as if defending against him picking me up. He didn’t try, though. He settled in beside me, his hand rubbing my back between my shoulder blades in soothing strokes. “I’m sorry. I should have sent Sean sooner.”
I shook my head against my knees again.
“I got a weird feeling when I saw him head back here. I told myself that he just wanted to try to kiss you, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. I never should have—” He broke off. His hand had paused while he spoke, but he started moving it again.
I sucked in a breath. “It was just a kiss.” My head lifted. My face felt swollen and hot, but I turned to face him anyway.
His other hand lifted, and he cupped my face, wiping one of my wet cheeks with his thumb. “Your face says different.”
My breath shuddered out, and I focused on pulling in a deeper one. He continued to stroke my cheeks free of tears as I got my breathing under control.
“I was going to leave with him,” I admitted. My hands shook where they still clutched my knees. “I can’t believe I almost left with him.”
“Come here,” Jack said, his voice husky. I leaned into his side, and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his body. His head rested on top of mine as we sat together.
“Cops are here,” Wendy said from the end of the hall.
“We’re coming,” Jack called back, lifting his head. His arms stayed around me. “Can you stand?”
I nodded, and he pulled away. My legs shook as I rose to my feet.
“Your zipper—” Jack’s voice choked on the word.
I hastily dragged it back up, fastening the button as well. “It was just a kiss,” I repeated, sounding like an idiot. “I don’t want to get him in trouble.”
“You’re not doing anything. You’re just going to tell the cops what happened. They get to decide what to do from there.”
I nodded.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, okay,” I said. My legs were still weak as I made my way to the front of the bar, but they held steady enough to get me there. Talking to the cops was not easy, but Jack and Sean were nearby, and that helped me get through it.
