I have to admit, I’m a little more nervous when Friday rolls around. “If they were going to do anything, it would be this afternoon, right?” I ask Dean while the two of us sit on the couch together. Zuri is upstairs getting ready, and everyone else is spread around the house, or at work or school.
“No one will hurt you, and no one will hurt her. You gotta know that, Ash. You’re…” He lets the word hang because Dean isn’t good at sharing his emotions. He’s good at showing anger and annoyance, and being cocky. He’s exactly what my brother needs, but he’s not good at letting people in.
He does with Tiernan, though.
Once in a while, with Ollie.
And me.
“I know.” I sigh and drop my head against his shoulder. “You protected me in the bar freshman year. Remember that. And I know you’ll always protect me.”
“And you’ll always protect me with your mad ninja skills,” he teases, and I laugh.
“Yeah, I will. Gotta show you boys up sometimes.” We’re both quiet for a moment, my brain flooded with thoughts. “It’s wild being in love,” I say.
“Fucking tell me about it. Your annoying-ass brother made me feel this shit, and it’s terrible.”
I laugh. “No. It’s not.”
“Eh. I guess not.”
“Are you trying to steal my girl?” Zuri jokes when she comes downstairs a moment later and sees us together.
“You might have some competition if I weren’t gay.” Dean winks. “And if T weren’t mine,” he adds.
He stands, and Zuri sits beside me. “Everything is going to be okay today.”
“Promise?” I ask.
“Promise.”
And she’s right. The rally goes incredibly well. A couple hundred people show up. I stand off to the side of the stairs where Zuri is standing with her mic and talking to the crowd. She’s so fucking inspiring, so deep, and so real in her care for people, women, and any disenfranchised community.
When she speaks, everyone listens, and all I can think is how damn lucky I am that she’s mine.
We march from campus and down through Ashford. The guys are all here, too, showing their support—none of them staying close, only watching from a short distance except for sweet Ollie, who is loud and proud and right by our side.
Afterward, we head to The Pizza Palace to celebrate: my family and all the people we love.
That night in bed, Zuri and I laugh and talk, and kiss. We make love to each other and talk dirty to one another, and every single thing about it is perfect.
*
It’s two weeksafter the rally, when Zuri says, “I think Rory can stop being my stalker now.”
We’re in the bath together, me between her legs with my back against her chest. “I don’t know…”
“I’ll be fine, baby. He can’t spend the rest of his life watching me. It was stupid guys doing stupid shit. It’s important to me to have my autonomy—not that I feel like they’re trying to control me, but I can take care of myself.”
And the thing is, I get that because I feel it, too. I don’t ever want to be the weak link, the one the guys have to protect. It’s always been important to me to be my own person. “Okay. I’ll let them know. Do you want to keep staying here or in one of our dorms?”
“I kinda like it here, with our family,” she says, and I smile.
“I like it here with our family, too.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Zuri
