Not just where our bodies make contact, but everywhere. She’s a virus running rampant through my system. A fucking infestation of tiny insects burrowing deep under my skin.
“You’re done for the night.”
Unsurprisingly, no one follows. No one tries to stop me marching away with a defenseless girl.
Surprisingly, Hailey doesn’t react.
I was certain she’d pummel my back with her little fists, but no. She simply grasps the back of my t-shirt with both hands like she’s here for the ride.
“You’re confusing,” she mumbles a hundred yards later. “Can you stop? It hurts.”
“What hurts?”
“My tummy. Your shoulder’s hard.”
“Yes, bones usually are.” I slide her down my front. The warmth of her body works miracles on my wellbeing, keeping me from turning back to end Jensen.
Nowthatwould be stupid with all those witnesses.
I haul Hailey up again. This time, her legs have nowhere to go but around my waist and—fuck... that feels good.
“I can walk, you know?”
“I’m aware.”
She lets out a long breath, waving the white flag before the fight’s even begun. A few steps later, her head lolls onto my shoulder, her small hands cinching my neck.
I keep walking. One hundred, two, three hundred yards in utter silence. I think she’s asleep until her lips part in the crook of my neck.
“Nash?”
“Yeah?”
“Why did you take me away?” she asks, her sweet, warm breath sighing against my skin to leave goosebumps. “I had fun. Jensen’s pushy but I can handle him.”
I’m sure she can. She fucking shouldn’t, though. I’d love nothing more than to go back, drag him a safe distance from the party and make good on my promise. I could put Hailey in bed, tuck her in so she’s safe, and then come back and break Jensen’s fingers, wrists, elbows, jaw, nose, knees... every bone I can fucking think of.
But that would bestupid. It’d raise too many suspicions and I can’t have Hailey doubting me.
“Why did you take me away?” she asks again.
Because there’s no way in heaven or hell that any man will touch you while I’m watching. And if I can help it, not even when I don’twatch.
“Because you’re drunk and Jensen’s a sleazy motherfucker.”
Her lips curl against the soft spot under my ear as her fingers tangle in my hair. She toys with the short strands, sending pleasant ripples through my tense muscles.
It’s calming.She’scalming. A potent sedative.
Another eight hundred yards, and we enter the girls’ dorm, Hailey still in my arms. She weighs next to nothing. A little feather, warm and safe as I navigate the winding corridors, silence blanketing the entire building. Almost everyone is on the other side of the lake, and anyone who skipped the party is probably asleep by now.
The floorboards creak with every step, louder than during the day, and dimmed lights cast our shadows over the bare walls.
I adjust Hailey as I climb the narrow staircase, keeping her in my arms when we reach her bedroom door.
“Good memory,” she praises.
For all she knows, I’ve only been here once.
