2
DORNAN
"I don't know what to do with her," Ellie says, waving her arm in Celine's direction. "She's a mess."
"She's okay. Just hurting. All it will take is a little time."
"A little time while she kisses her way, or worse, around campus?"
"She's just getting back on the horse." I fold in my lips, remembering how Celine's mouth felt against mine. The passion in her kiss. The way I felt it from the roots of my hair to the tip of my dick. The way it felt so completely right.
Jeez.
Ellie doesn't know, but I've been crushing on Celine since I first laid my eyes on her. She was draped over Eddie's lap, and he had his hand up her shirt, so she wasn't exactly available, but that didn't matter. She was pretty and fiery and funny as hell. She flicked all my switches and more.
But for some crazy reason, she stayed with that idiot, going back to him over and over despite the fact he was a terrible person. Everybody could see it except Celine. When we suggested that maybe she'd be better off without him, she seemed to double down and stay with him longer. She didn't want to face up to the fact that she chose wrong or admit it to anyone else.
And now here she is, wasted and floundering, her vulnerability peeking out from behind a mask.
"I can take her home."
Ellie touches my arm in a gentle thank you. "I would, but I need to get back to Noah, and Gabriella needs to stay for Dalton."
"It's no problem."
As I kiss Ellie goodbye, Elias moves to the booth Celine is currently sleeping in, touching her arm to bring her around. Over my dead body is he going near Celine when she's in this state.
"Hey," I say, covering the ground between us in four long strides.
"What?" Elias turns as Celine cracks one eye open, looking around like she can't focus on anything.
"I'm taking Celine home."
"Like fuck you are."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"She's wasted. I'm going to take her home."
"So you can finish what you started?"
Elias straightens, drawing himself up to his full height, which is equal to mine. Eye to eye, we both bristle with underlying tension. He's not my favorite person, and even though we play on the same team, I've always felt he's an adversary rather than an ally.
"I hope you're not insinuating what I think you're insinuating because that is fucking sick, Dornan." His eyes are dark and furious, and I immediately feel bad. He might be a moody, prickly asshole, but insinuating he'd violate a drunk woman is a step too far.
"I just want to make sure she gets back safely."
Travis approaches, looking down at Celine, who seems to have fallen asleep again, her red hair tangled around her face and shoulders, making her look like a mermaid washed up on a godforsaken shore.
"She's out for the count," he says.
"And I told Elias I'm going to take her home."
"And I told Dornan I'm going to take her home."
Travis looks between us like an umpire at a table tennis game. "So, who's taking her home?"
"ME!" we both say in unison.
He snorts and shakes his head. "How about we all take her home, and that way, she'll be safe, and you guys won't end up killing each other in the process?"
"That isn't necessary." Elias narrows his eyes. I don't know why he’s suddenly so possessive of Celine, but I don't like it.
"I think it's a good idea."
Travis nods. "Now, help me get her up so we can get her to my car."
"You drove?"
"Yeah. I wasn't in the mood to get drunk."
"I'll pick her up," Elias barks, reaching out to get his arms under Celine's body. He lifts her like she weighs nothing and holds her against him like a bride he's carrying over the threshold. I shake my head, frustrated that I'm not getting to be the man who keeps Celine safe. She's my friend, after all.
"This way." Travis heads to the door, kissing his sister goodbye and shaking hands as he goes. Eyes follow us as Elias makes his way through the crowd. I spot Eddie looking on with a smirk on his face. He thinks Celine drank herself into a coma because of him—the smug asshole.
When the cool night air hits, Celine wakes with a long, loud inhale of breath and begins to struggle against Elias's hold. "Hey," he says. "Keep still, or you'll fall."
"What are you doing? Where are you taking me?"
"Home. We're taking you home."
Celine twists to look at me, then spots Travis opening the rear door of his vehicle. "All of you?"
"Yep. You hit the jackpot. Three knights in shining armor."
"My harem." She flings her right arm out expansively and laughs.
Travis cocks a brow, and Elias makes a choking sound. "Right now, we're just a glorified rescue crew."
When Elias lowers Celine to her feet, she shakes her head. "I'm disappointed in you guys. This has the potential to be a seriously hot situation."
"You're drunk." Elias urges her into the car and slides in next to her.
Oh, hell no. I'm not leaving him in the backseat with her while I'm confined to the front. I round the car and slide in on the other side, nudging Celine into the middle.
"Dornan," she squeals. It's not a large car, and Celine is pressed between us like ham between two wedges of bread.
Travis starts the car, turning his head to look at us with an amused smile. "Where to, Celine?"
She recalls her address despite her inebriated state, and Travis puts the car into drive. Music begins to play, and Celine sings along in an adorable but tuneless way. I catch Elias smiling, which is an expression he doesn't make very often, and I'm suddenly hit with the possibility that he might also like Celine in more than a friendly way.
Hell. There's no way I'm letting her go from Eddie's arms into Elias's bed. That's like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
"This is a tune!" Celine sings at the top of her voice, and I wince as Ellias laughs.
"Has anyone ever told you to audition for America's Got Talent?"
"There's no talent here. Just a whole lot of enthusiasm." She throws her arms wide in a showgirl-style way and nearly clips me and Elias in the face.
"Enthusiasm goes a long way," Travis says, making Elias snort. I guess he agrees.
"I had a great night," Celine half-sings. "Except these stupid shoes hurt my feet, but you guys are all great kissers."
"Thanks." Travis seems genuinely pleased.
I would be, too, if I thought she could remember any of it.
"You're drunk, Celine." Elias folds his arms across his chest, making his biceps bulge in a way Celine notices and appreciates.
"I might be drunk, but I'm not dead."
We all laugh because Celine’s pretty funny when she's slurring and abrupt.
We're at her dorm in no time, and Travis throws the car into a spot close to the entrance.
We all exit the vehicle like three bodyguards protecting a celebrity, which Celine seems to like. She links arms with me and then Elias. Travis walks slightly to the side, his expression mostly bland with a side of amusement.
At the door, Celine fumbles around in her purse, then fumbles some more. Her hand grows increasingly erratic as she rummages and doesn't come up with the keys.
"They're not in there," she gasps.
"Give it here." Elias takes her purse and shakes it. The contents make a dull thudding sound, and there is no telltale jangle of keys within it.
"You lost your keys?"
"They were in there. At least, I thought they were."
She tips her face to look up at the window of her room as though she's contemplating doing a Spiderman-style climb up the fascia of the building.
"Well, we're not getting a locksmith out at this hour." Travis looks at his watch to confirm.
"You can stay with me," Elias offers, handing the purse back.
"You can stay with me, Celine." I step forward, placing my hand on her elbow.
"This again, guys. What am I? The mediator?" Travis twists his mouth to the side, considering. "I suggest we get a motel room for Celine."
"Okay," Elias says. "How about Molly's?"
"Sounds good."
Celine seems confused and sways in her ridiculous sandals. As she stumbles into the car's back seat, she starts to laugh. "You know Molly's is where Ellie and Gabriella did the nasty with their boyfriends?"
"Please don't talk about my sister doing the nasty." Travis meets my eyes in the mirror and grimaces.
"Yeah. I'd rather not be reminded that Ellie conceived Noah at Molly's."
"Did she?" Elias finds that amusing enough to crack another smile. I swear, the dude has smiled more tonight than in the past six months.
"Molly's is a dive," I say.
"Yeah, but it's cheap and local." As Travis is paying, and it's already the middle of the night, I don't object.
Celine's head drops to my shoulder on the journey, and she snores gently, making all of us quietly laugh so as not to wake her.
When we pull into Molly's, she's fast asleep. "Shall I carry her?" I ask Elias.
Surprisingly, he agrees, and we work together to get her safely out of the car.
Travis heads to reception to get the key, and we follow slowly, waiting outside so the receptionist doesn't see Celine and fear anything untoward is going on. From an outsider's perspective, three men hiring a room for an unconscious woman is the very definition of red-flag creepy.
"Room one-one-one-nine," Travis says, emerging with the key dangling from his index finger.
He leads the way, and we lumber after him, watching as he unlocks a battered green door and opens a far-from luxurious room.
"She's out for the count." Celine's head rests against my chest, and her face is peaceful.
"I don't think we should leave her," Elias says. "At least one of us should stay."
Travis puts his hands up, palms out, grimacing at the prospect of me and Elias bickering again. "I think we all need to stay. That way, Celine will be in safe hands, and we will have each other as witnesses to what does and does not happen in this room. Plus, I'm dog tired."
"Good point."
Elias steps in to tug down the comforter, and I gently lay Celine on the mattress, arranging her beautiful red hair in a fiery bundle behind her head and covering her gently so I don't disturb her. We stand around, looking down on her like she's Sleeping Beauty, and we're about to duel over who will be the one to wake her. There are only two huge beds in the room and a weird chair that looks like it might fall apart at any second. The carpet has seen better days. I don't know how we're going to all stay here.
I can see Elias and Travis thinking the same thing.
"So, we need to leave Celine to sleep alone."
"Yes," they both reply.
"So, two of us can share the other bed and one of us on the floor?"
"Didn't know you cared." Elias shoots me an amused look, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black jeans.
"Very funny."
"I'll take the floor. You guys know each other better." Travis is already pulling a spare blanket from the closet.
"That doesn't make this better." Elias flops into the chair as though he imagines he'll sleep in it. His bulk makes the chair appear the size of a child’s.
Travis wrinkles his nose and sniffs the dark brown fluffy bundle. "I don't think I want to know what people have done on this blanket."
"Take your shirt off, fold it up, and use it as a pillow." It's a surprisingly useful suggestion from Elias.
I flop onto the bed, find my phone, and set an alarm. "I'll sleep for a couple of hours, and then you can have the bed."
Elias nods and rests his head against the wall, closing his eyes.
Travis flicks off the light, and we all settle in the darkness. When I'm just about to fall asleep, Elias says, "She's a good kisser, isn't she?"
"Yeah." Travis's voice sounds like a distant whisper.
"Her ex is such a fucking loser."
"We can agree on that." I turn, trying to make out my teammate's shape in the darkness.
"She deserves so much more."
Again, the creep of jealousy fills me. Celine makes a small sighing sound, and I focus on the curve of her hip and dip of her waist in the darkness. "She does."
"She's going to go off the rails. Last time she broke up with Eddie, she ended up in my bed."
"She what?" I bolt into a seated position because Celine never mentioned anything about spending the night with Elias.
"Yeah. She wanted sex. She was sober. I'm a man. I didn't say no."
"Well, you should have." My anger makes my voice a harsh, low spit.
"If she'd come to you, you would have done the same. And don't try to deny it."
"I would have done the same," Travis admits.
It's hard to face up to the reality that I would have, too. "She's vulnerable. She doesn't need another asshole taking advantage of her like Eddie."
The room goes silent, and after a few more minutes of focusing on Celine's breathing, I fall asleep with the imagined image of her spread out beneath me.