12. Chapter 12
Beth
“ H ow did you know?” I asked when the silence in the car got too loud to handle any longer.
My cheeks were still warm with either embarrassment or regret—I still wasn’t completely sure which, but my stomach ached with relief.
Every time Carter glanced at me from the corner of his eyes, I became aware of the warmth again, sure that he could see me blushing in the dark.
“Know what?” He turned and looked at me, and the streetlight reflected off his dark-brown eyes, illuminating the depth of his stare. I swore he could see through every nervous wall I had up.
I swallowed the reminder that made a lump start forming in my throat. “That I needed help.”
“I don’t know.” Carter shrugged, but his hands flexed around the steering wheel, making the frustration ripple into his forearms. He knew more than he was going to let on.
I remembered his warning in the library and the look he gave me when I first approached Ethan.
It was kind of like concern—maybe some judgment.
“I just had a feeling.” He clenched his jaw.
“Well, I’m glad you did.” I looked down, picking at the skin at the side of my thumbnail.
It had been stupid of me to think that situation was going to go any other way.
I knew exactly what vibe I had been giving off, and all of it just to make a point to a man who didn’t seem to care either way that I had disappeared down the hallway. Carter did though.
“Me too.”
Why? “I wasn’t going to do anything,” I said. “With Ethan, I mean.”
Carter chuckled, and the sound made my stomach flip. “I know you weren’t.”
“I didn’t do anything with Benny either.” The confessions were rolling off my tongue too easily, and, with each one, the smirk on his face carved deeper.
“I know.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed when he continued to look more amused. “Do you just know everything?”
“I don’t know why you did it.” He looked at me when we drove through another light, and I wondered if it showed him the unsuppressed shock on my face. “Why you pretended to be interested in Ethan like that.”
“Everyone thinks I’m too much of a good girl.” I scrunched my nose and sighed at the description that had been used my whole life to describe me. “I was tired of being a good girl and then I suddenly had this reputation … I guess I just wanted to own the story. I know that’s kind of silly.”
Carter half-shrugged and another chuckle left his lips when he turned into the parking lot outside my dorm. “A little bit.”
“Hey!” I scoffed, swatting at his arm, but I couldn’t stop the light laugh that burst from me when his lips broke into a full smile. “I just wanted to take control of the situation, and I guess it kinda blew up in my face.”
“You’re okay. That’s what matters.” He pulled into a spot and put the car in park. When he turned the engine off, my breath hitched. “And now you know—maybe don’t flaunt and offer something you’re not willing to do in front of someone you don’t actually know.”
Carter and I sat there looking at each other while the air in the car grew stale and thick.
He was right. I wanted to open a window, but I couldn’t move away from the intimidating, dark look he gave me.
“Thank you again for the help,” I said, reaching for the door handle when I became desperate for fresh air.
“Wait,” he said when I pulled on it and the door unlatched. Butterflies in my stomach raced for my throat, and my cheeks got warm again.
“Yeah?” I almost rolled my eyes at how hopeful I sounded. What did I think he wanted? What did I want?
When he reached toward me, I leaned in, anticipating the feel of his hand on my skin.
It never came though. Instead, the click when he unfastened my seatbelt broke the tension that had been building in the air.
“You were still buckled.” Carter winked, and I felt it in the way my stomach tied itself in knots.
“Oh, thank you.” I forced a laugh that sounded just as awkward as I felt when I removed the seatbelt. He looked amused, then he unbuckled his own and reached for the door. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to walk you to your room.” Carter pushed the door open while I continued to hold mine less-than-halfway open.
There was no way I was letting this man—this well-dressed, older, definitely-more-popular-than-me man—see the small mountain of dirty clothes that were piled up in front of my dresser or the collection of sticky notes that covered the wall over my desk.
“Oh I’m okay,” I said, quickly pushing the door open and climbing out. “It’s just right inside.” I pointed at the small path that led to the main entry, shrugging like it wasn’t a big deal. It isn’t.
“I know. I’m going to walk you anyway.” Carter got out of the car. When he shut his door, I considered arguing about it. Then he locked the car, and the finality of the beep told me there was no way I was going to win that argument. “Let’s go.”
Did anyone ever tell him no? I doubted it as the word hung on the tip of my tongue.
I considered insisting that I could get to my room perfectly fine, but I still hurried after him.
He paused at the end of the sidewalk for me to take the last few steps.
As soon as I was half a step ahead of him, he put his hand in the center of my back.
It was all I could focus on as we walked up the short path.
I was still thinking about it when we got to the steps before the door.
Even though I’d gone up the same stairs a number of times, I missed that they were there.
My shoe caught the end of the step, and I shrieked when I watched the cement stairs move quickly toward my face.
Just before the painful impact I anticipated, I was lifted back to my feet.
Carter’s arm was wrapped around my waist and when I looked up at him, he was smirking and shaking his head. “Are you always so accident prone?” He has no idea.
I dusted the dirt that never made it onto my dress off the skirt before taking the step.
This time I did so more gracefully, making it to the door without tripping again.
“I’ve survived this long.” I pulled the heavy door open, thinking he would leave me there.
Instead, he took the handle from me, pulling it the rest of the way and stepping in behind me.
On the staircase that took us to the second floor, I felt each of his breaths in my lungs.
When his hand dragged along the handrail, I felt the static in my skin.
It had to be the alcohol—or the fact that he’d pulled Ethan off me and driven me home in his fancier-than-most-college-kids-owned car under the comfort of his intimidating stare.
Every girl thought about what it would be like to spend the night with the man who rescued her from a sticky situation, right?
Thankfully, my roommates would be home so I wouldn’t find out tonight.
“This is me,” I said, pointing awkwardly at the door when we stopped in front of it.
My voice was quiet in hopes that they wouldn’t hear me on the other side.
Carter nodded, and his eyes locked with mine.
I couldn’t look away, even when the door to the room next door opened and slammed shut again. “Thank you again for bringing me home.”
My mouth was dry and when I licked my lips, I swore Carter’s eyes followed the movement. Was he feeling the same swirl of butterflies that was making me nauseous? Maybe it’s the liquor I pretended to drink.
“I was happy to.” For a second, I thought he might kiss me. His eyes lingered on my lips and when I smiled, his lips twitched too. I held my breath, waiting for him to make the first move. Then he took a step back, and disappointment filled my stomach with lead. “I’ll see you around, Beth.”
“Where did you go?” Isabella demanded the second I walked into our dorm room.
Amy sat up quickly, pausing to close her eyes when the room must have kept spinning.
“Yeah, one minute you were walking away with Hottie Beta Chi or whatever his name is and then the next everyone was talking about how you left with Carter Carlisle?” She looked like she was about to burst. How much of that was alcohol induced?
Isabella nodded excitedly. “Exactly what she said. Now, spill, girlfriend.”
“Nothing happened.” I shook my head, climbing onto my bed and crossing my legs.
It wasn’t completely true, but how much did I really want to tell them?
When they both cocked their heads to the side and pursed their lips, I knew they didn’t consider my answer to be sufficient.
I sighed. “Fine. I thought maybe Ethan and I were going to get along. Turned out he was a total jerk, and Carter burst into the room and—”
“Wait, he what?” Isabella sat up straighter, and Amy’s eyes widened.
I took a deep breath, wishing I was back in his car.
“He must’ve heard me. He made Ethan stop and then brought me home.
And that was it.” I brushed my hands together like it wasn’t a big deal—like I hadn’t put myself in a dangerous situation and been lucky because Carter was there. “Like I said, nothing happened.”
“Do you realize who he is?” Amy asked. Her voice was nearly a whisper, like she was trying to stop anyone else from hearing through the thin walls. As if they haven’t already heard everything else.
“Who?”
Isabella kicked her legs off the side of the bed. “Carter.”
Carter? What did they mean? I shook my head. “No. Who is he?”
“He’s, like, the richest guy on campus. Or… one of them.” Amy started to get excited. I thought about the leather interior in his car that still smelled new.
“So?” Did it matter?
“So you’re, like, dating a millionaire!” Isabella shrieked, and I put my hands up in front of me, crossing my arms to form an “X.”
Then I shook my head again. “We’re not dating. He’s just some guy I know.” Apparently a very rich and overly protective one.
Amy and Isabella looked at each other like I was missing a joke, then they climbed back into bed. Even though they’d made it clear the conversation was over, I knew it wouldn’t be the last I was going to hear about it. “If you say so,” Amy said.
Isabella laughed. “That’s how it always starts.”