Is this because of me? Is that why he and Austin were at each other’s throats like that?
I frown and immediately dismiss the idea. Gabriel doesn’t know what Austin did to me. And besides, aren’t they friends? This has to be about something else. Maybe testosterone was running too high on the field or something.
Gabriel takes my bag from me and slings it over his shoulder before taking my hand in his like it’s the most natural thing to do. I scowl down at our entwined fingers but mutely follow behind him, still not sure what to expect right now as we make our way down the steps from the bleachers.
Two guys stand near the gate waiting for us. I recognize both from the field. They’re Gabriel’s teammates, so my mind wants to rationalize that they’re safe. That his friends won’t do anything to me. And if they try, Gabriel will stop them.
I want to believe that. Truly.
But the reminder does nothing for the anxiety running rampant inside me at the site of two unfamiliar faces.
What do I really know about Gabriel? Nothing. So what if he kissed me. That doesn’t mean he all of a sudden cares about me. The real me. Not just his hero complex that makes him want to save a damsel in distress, but me as a person. For all I know it could all be a game. He could be just like Austin, and right now, I’m the lamb he’s leading to slaughter.
Hell, Austin did a lot more than kiss me, and that didn’t earn me an ounce of his loyalty or protection.
I shake my head, determined to dump the intrusive thoughts from my mind.Don’t go down that road, Cecilia. Not everyone is out to hurt you.
The closer we get, the faster my heart hammers in my chest.
I’m going to be sick.
I tug my hand free from Gabriel’s grip, my breaths coming faster and faster with each passing second. He turns to look over his shoulder at me with a frown but keeps walking, assuming I’ll follow.
Loud voices reach my ears. I search for the sound and see Austin, Parker, and Gregory leaving the locker room with a few other players I don’t recognize. But there’s no mistaking them. They’re laughing. Playfully shoving one another without a care in the world. Austin looks up, meeting my gaze, and a cruel sneer spreads across his face. He and his friends reach their cars but he’s the last to get in, keeping his eyes locked on mine like he’s issuing a warning. Someone calls his name and he gets into thecar. One by one, the rest of the players leave. Everyone except Gabriel and his two two friends.
We’re almost to them when it’s suddenly too much.
I don’t know them. I don’t know what they’re like. What they’re capable of. I can’t … I can’t do this.
What was I thinking?Stupid. Cecilia. You’re so stupid.
“I’m gonna head out,” I call to Gabriel’s back and he stops. If I get out of here fast enough, maybe he won’t notice my total freak out.
“I’ll take you home.” His voice is firm.
Yeah, no. “That’s okay. I’ll be fine. I just need my keys back.” I hold out my hand, but don’t move any closer. My eyes flick to the guys behind him, who watch us with open curiosity. The attention makes my skin itch.
“Cecilia?” Gabriel closes the distance between us, but so do his friends, deciding to come to us instead of continuing to wait. I take a step back, but as I do, Gabriel reaches out and cups the side of my face in one large, warm hand.
Concern lines his previously angry features.
“What’s going on?”
My eyes flick from him to his friends and back again. “I want to go home.” I add steel into my voice, hoping he’ll give me what I’m silently asking for. An escape. A chance to slip away before I’m forced to face two large and unfamiliar men.
“And I’m going to take you home. The guys and I just had a few?—”
“No.” I suck in a sharp breath. “I need to go home now.” I stomp my foot, knowing that it makes me look like a petulant child. I don’t care. “My mom is probably already worried. Just, give me my keys.Please.”
He doesn’t, and that small piece of trust that’d been forming between us shatters into a million pieces. Why won’t he listen?
I retreat back another step.
Gabriel follows.
“What’s going on right now?” There’s genuine confusion in his voice, but I don’t have it in me to explain it to him.
“Give me my keys,” I demand once more.
