“Hey,I’ve been looking all over for you,” I said, glaring hard at Mr. Polo, daringhim with my eyes to keep a grip on her arm. “Who the fuckareyou?” I growled through gritted teeth.
Hedidn’t let go, but he wasn’t pulling her anymore. “Nice try,buddy.She’s with a girl. I saw her come in.”
“Iwas meeting her here.” The muscle in my jaw ticked and one hand curled into afist. I had never gotten into a fight over a girl I didn’t know before, but Iwasn’t opposed to the idea.
Toprove my point, I confidently slid my arm around her shoulders, not obliviousto the way she tensed under my blanketing touch. Two guys, both over a foottaller than her, staking a claim when they didn’t even know her name. I wasalmost no better than him, exceptmyintentions weren’t to strip her ofher dignity.
Iwas trying to save her from losing it.
Iglanced down at her and saw that she was looking up at me with the moststartlingly blue eyes I had ever seen in my fucking life. A canvas of patchworked blues, lapis and azure, sky, and a touch of turquoise. Her hair clearlywasn’t her only multi-faceted attribute, and my lips parted with my silentgasp.
Ihad never noticed how fucking dull and gray my life had been before. Beforeher.
“It’sabout time you got here,” she finally said in a smooth voice, relaxing againstmy side. I released a relieved sigh and slid my eyes back over to Mr. Polo,challenging him, and he finally dropped her arm.
“Whatever,”he grumbled, defeated and shaking his head. “Asshole.”
Hesulked away to nurse his wounds, but I waspretty certainhe’d get over it. There were other girls there, and I hoped someone else wouldfind it in them to stop him. There were only so many heroic moments I couldmuster and now, I was captivated. Thoroughly entranced by the girl I’d justrescued.
“Didhe just callmethe asshole?” I asked, and my lips curled into an amusedgrin.
Shelet out a laugh, still tightly wound and shaken from her brush withnon-consent. “Uh, yeah, I think so,” she said, hoisting her black bag onto hershoulder. She inched away from my arm and I took her cue, letting it fall backat my side. “Thanks, by the way.”
“Yeah,no problem,” I said with a nod. I surveyed the rest of the room filled withdrunk assholes, oblivious to their surroundings. “I can’t believe nobody elsesaw what was happening.”
“Ican,” she muttered. “I’ve been to enough of these things to know nobody gives ashit about anybody else. All they care about is the booze and the sex, and whenyou’re not into either, well …” She shrugged and patted her bag. “I bring abook with me.”
OhGod, she was a reader too. I begged my groin to behave as I chuckled. “Whatbook?”
“Oh,uh …” She shifted her feet awkwardly against the tile floor. “It’s pretty lameand boring.”
“Tryme.”
Glancingback at me, her blue eyes shimmering in the dim kitchen light, she said, “It’sa book of Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry.”
Cockingmy head, my breath tripped along my throat and I hoped she didn’t notice.
“So,you’re a poet?”
Hergiggle was tight and shrill, her eyes flitted uncomfortably to the side, asthough nervous someone might overhear. “I don’twritepoetry; I read it.Poe is my favorite.”
Icleared my throat, feeling like an instant ass for making assumptions. My gazedodged around the room of moronic college kids, and I felt too old to be there.Twenty-three going on eighty.
Thatcould’ve been a good moment to bow out, to find Trent and suggest he trysomewhere else to find some ass, but she turned her eyes back on me. A hint oflavender caught my interest, I was pulled in again, and I didn’t want to leave.
“So,why do you come to these things if you don’t like them?” I asked, grasping forconversation. At anything to keep her talking.
“Well,”she said, crossing her arms and guarding herself from me. I dropped my gaze tothe floor. “My friend drags me along as her designated driver. Sometimes shefinds a guy to hook up with and I go home alone. Other times, she’s drunk offher ass and Ihave tohold her hair back. Either way,I’m here, for her.”
Inodded slowly, glancing around the kitchen. Some people had coupled up and weremaking out in corners or on chairs. I suddenly felt like the only person notgetting laid and I realized that, I didn’t care. Talking with her seemed somuch more valuable than getting my rocks off.
“So,uh, where is she now?” I asked.
“Whothe hell knows,” she replied with a wave of her hand. “Last I saw her, she wasgoing upstairs with some football player from school.”
“You’rein school?”
Shenodded. “I’m in my second year at UConn.”
