Chapter 43
GAbrIEL
My eyes dart over the words, and my heart jumps into my throat. What the hell did Felix get himself into this time?
Felix: Get to Zeta Pi. Now.
“Julio!” I call out, knowing he’ll hear me from his room.
I quickly type out a message in response to Felix’s cryptic text.
Me: All hands on deck?
“What?” Julio’s voice echoes from his room. Before I can answer him, Felix’s reply comes through.
Felix: No. But you need to come get your girl. Zeta Pi house. Now.
Fuck.
My heart pounds harder, and panic grips my chest like a vise. I rush to the kitchen and grab the keys to my motorcycle off the hook.
“Where’s the fire?” Julio asks as he sees me scrambling to shove my feet into my boots.
What the hell is she doing there?
“Cecilia’s at the Zeta Pi house,” I blurt out, my mind racing with a thousand different scenarios. None of them good.
“Fuck,” he curses.
My thoughts exactly. Grabbing my helmet, I sprint out the door. The need to get to her thrums through me. If anything happens to her, I don’t know what I’ll do.
Why is she there? We had a plan. Deacon is going to get the pictures to Jameia tomorrow.
Julio calls out at my back. “Want back up?”
“I got it!” I shout back, my voice firm. Felix didn’t say it was an all-hands-on-deck situation, which means between him and me, we can handle it. No sense in dragging Julio into the fray.
I throw my leg over my bike and back it out of the driveway.
As soon as I’m on the street, I flip the ignition and shift my bike into gear, barreling down the street at breakneck speed.
Less than ten minutes pass before I make it to Greek Row.
As soon as I’m in front of Zeta Pi, I kill my engine and get off my bike.
Sprinting for the front door, I tear off my helmet.
My eyes scan the room as soon as I step inside, my gaze sweeping for Cecilia. The scene inside is pure chaos. Girls are dancing, guys are grinding behind them, and everyone seems to be in full party mode.
My heart pounds, and I scan each cluster of people, looking for any sign of Cecilia’s dark brown hair and delicate frame. She’s too damn tiny and hard to find in this sea of people.
Some unfamiliar chick sidles up to me. “Hey,” she says. “You killed it at this week's game against CPU.”
I grunt, hardly spare her a glance, and brush past her, but the girl is persistent.
“So uh, do you come to these parties a lot?”
I ignore the question, still scanning the crowd.
There.
My eyes latch onto what I know is the back of Felix’s head, and I shove my way toward him, ignoring the girl when she calls out my name.
“Gabriel! Wait up.”
Not happening. I’m not here for some cleat chaser’s attention. I’m here to get my girl.
“Where is she?” I demand as soon as I’m within earshot.
Felix looks up at the sound of my voice, relief washing over his features.
He steps aside, revealing Cecilia.
Her skin is pale, her brown eyes wide and filled with fear. Her hair is pulled back into twin braids, exposing the column of her neck, and I can see the rapid thrum of her pulse. But what my eyes get stuck on is what she’s wearing.
Cecilia’s in a dress.
I can’t help but do a double-take. Holy shit. That’s some dress—black and figure-hugging, short, resting on the tops of her thighs.
It’s a sight I can’t quite wrap my head around. Don’t get me wrong, she looks good. Better than good. She looks amazing. But still, my brows furrow in confusion.
Why is she dressed like this?
There’s a guy talking to her, but it doesn’t look like she’s paying him any attention, and Felix doesn’t let him get too close.
Good.
I give the guy a quick once-over. He’s not familiar, not someone I know.
“That was fast,” Felix comments, a hint of humor in his voice.
Fucker.
I shoot him a glare. Like he didn’t expect me to ride over here like a bat out of hell after that text he sent me.
When Felix turns his attention to me, the guy trying to talk to Cecilia manages to shift closer, reaching out to touch her arm.
My eyes sharpen, and my blood boils with barely tempered rage.
Why is this asshole touching her?
Cecilia flinches away from his touch, and my anger intensifies.
“What did you do?” I growl, my voice like gravel.
The guy jerks his eyes toward me. “I’ve got this,” he says to me with misplaced confidence.
Cecilia offers no response. Her eyes are locked on something in the distance, and I follow her gaze to see Austin Holt standing on the other side of the room, near the kitchen’s back door. He offers me a smug grin and raises his beer in a mocking salute.
Son of a bitch.
I position myself to block him from Cecilia’s view and move closer to her.
“Cecilia,” I pitch my voice low, “Hey, baby girl, look at me.”
But there’s no response from her. Tears well up in her eyes, and she trembles on her feet. That guy is still fucking touching her, but to her, it’s like he’s not even there. None of us are.
All she can see is Austin.
“Hey, man. I said I got this,” the guy tells me. “We’re good.”
Is he fucking kidding me right now? “No, you’re not good. She’s having a panic attack, and you’re in my way.”
His expression darkens. “Look, I don’t know who you—”
I ignore him, taking another step closer to her. “Cecilia. Look at me.”
Nothing.
“Bro, seriously. Who the hell are you?”
I do not have time for this shit. “Who the fuck are you, man? And why the fuck are you touching her?”
He startles, taken aback by the fury in my voice, but seems to recover when he steps forward, getting in my face. “I’m Wyatt, her date. Who the fuck are you?”
My vision goes red hearing him refer to himself as her date. But I don’t have time for this asshole’s bullshit.
My gaze snaps to Felix, my jaw tight with anger. “Her date?” I seethe, the word leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
He nods. “Dumbass stopped here on his way to take her home.”
My head falls back and for a second, I stare up at the ceiling. Did I do some fucked up shit in a past life or something to make me deserving of this? Fucking hell. Can’t a guy get a break?
“Look, I didn’t know,” the guy starts to explain.
Oh, and now he does?
Good for him.
“You got this?” I ask Felix, indicating the douchebag beside me.
“Yeah,” Felix says, his voice laced with irritation. “I got it.”
With that settled, I shove the guy out of my way and into Felix’s grip. He wraps his arms around the guy—Wyatt or whatever the fuck his name is—trapping his arms at his sides, while I turn back to Cecilia.
As long as we’re here, in this fucking house, she won’t be able to pull out of this.
Getting her out of here needs to be objective number one. We can talk and sort everything else out after that.
Dipping low, I wrap my arms around her knees and hoist her over my shoulder. She doesn’t even object to the contact, just exhales a shaky breath.
“What the hell!” Wyatt shouts at Felix. “Dude, let go.” Then he turns to me. “Where the hell are you taking her?”
“Chill the fuck out,” Felix snaps. “And you—” He glares daggers at the fucker’s friend. “Don’t even think about it. Let my boy handle this.”
“You can’t just—”
I don’t stick around long enough for Wyatt to finish his sentence.
I carry Cecilia outside, ignoring the weight of Holt’s gaze on my back as I head straight for my bike. The evening breeze whips around us and sends goosebumps along my skin. Cecilia’s got to be cold.
Setting her on her feet, I cup her face in my hands and force her dark brown gaze up to mine.
“Cecilia?” Tears well up in her eyes. I thumb the moisture away, stroking her cheeks. “I’ve got you,” I tell her. “I’ve got you.” Pulling her into my embrace, I give her what little comfort I can before reminding myself that we need to get out of here.
Tugging my helmet onto her head, I buckle the chin strap and help her onto the back of my bike. She’s still a little out of it, but she’s responding to my directions, even if it isn’t with words.
“Don’t let go,” I tell her as I pull her arms snugly around my waist. Her tiny hands curl into the material of my shirt, and I kick myself for not remembering to grab my coat on my way out. She’s going to freeze to death on the ride home. In that dress—shit.
I still can’t wrap my head around seeing her out like this. And on a date.
There's a whole mess of feelings swirling around my head, but anger is the one punching hardest through the noise.
She’s out with some random guy when it’s only been a handful of weeks since she broke things off. What the hell is going on? Does she want a relationship now?
Jesus—fuck.
Is she seriously considering being with someone who isn't me?
Just the thought of her with another guy, letting him touch her. It's like a volcano erupting inside me. I can't wrap my head around why she would do this to me. To us.