Chapter 39
Evie
As soon as my class finishes, I text Zane.
Me- hey, I’ve thought about it and I’m going to stay in my dorm room tonight. Thank you, though, for the offer and for letting me stay there last night.
I don’t have to wait for him to text back.
Zane- are you sure? You're more than welcome to stay with us.
Me- thanks, Zane, but I want to be in my dorm
Zane- ok
Zane- there's no pressure from me, ever
Me- thanks! When do you want to meet, so I can give you your keys?
We pick a time to meet up, and I head to my next class. I settle in my seat and get my laptop out and my post-it notes. “Hey, Evie.” A tall, muscular guy takes the seat on my right.
I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen him before. “Hi, uh...”
“Adam,” he fills in, putting out his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Adam.” I shake his hand quickly and then turn to my laptop, hoping he’ll get the point that I don’t want to talk.
“Ex,” he calls out, startling me.
Another tall guy walks over to us and hunkers down in the seat next to mine. He puts out a large hand. “I’m Exavier. My friends call me Ex.”
“Nice to meet you, Exavier.”
“Nah, call me Ex. I can tell we’re going to be friends.”
I do my best to give him a friendly smile, but I’m not sure I succeed.
Normally, sitting between two guys in class wouldn’t bother me.
But there’s something about these two; something I can’t quite put my finger on.
I do my best to tune them out, ready to take notes as soon as our professor starts.
I figure as soon as the professor started his lecture, they’ll be quiet.
Nope. They talk to each other the entire hour, and not in a quiet whisper.
No, they talk in low tones that carry. Several students turned around and gave them dirty looks, but the room’s just too big for the professor to see or care about the disturbance.
They ask me ridiculous questions the entire time.
I do my best to ignore them, but I miss pretty much everything from this lecture.
I’m incredibly irritated by the end of class.
I close my laptop and turn to get my bag, only to find it gone.
“Looking for something?” Adam asks, holding my bag high above his head, way out of my reach.
“Why do you have my bag?” I ask in a no-nonsense tone. They have pushed every button I’ve got, and I have no ability to play nice left. I dig deep. “Please give me my bag.”
“Aw, she said please,” Adam says with a grin.
“Catch.” He throws my bag over my head to Ex.
“What are we? In junior high? Give me my bag.”
Adam grins down at me, but it’s losing its playfulness. “What will you give me?”
“Nothing.”
I turn around, hoping Ex might be easier to deal with. “Ex.”
He grins slowly. “Yes, Evie.”
I don’t know why they decided to pick on me, but I’ve had it with this whole thing. “I have a class I’m going to be late for. So, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, we don’t mind at all,” Adam all but whispers in my ear. His body closes in on mine, and I freeze. Ex catches my expression, and his grin widens. But it’s no longer friendly. “What? You put out for the quarterback, but you won’t put out for the basketball guys?”
A sick feeling fills my stomach. “Do you only do football players, Baby?” Adam asks, nuzzling my neck.
I jerk my head away from him, looking desperately for somebody, anybody to help me. I reach my hand into my pocket and snag my phone. I pull it out quickly, but before I can use it, Ex knocks it from my hand. “You don’t need that, Doll.”
Panic builds in my chest, but I try to keep it at bay. “If you guys don’t let me go, I'm going to scream.”
They both laugh. “Do it, Doll. Nobody’s coming for you. Nobody’s in this room for the next hour. The building’s empty.”
I glance towards the closed doors and fear they might be right.
Ex takes a step closer, and now I’m stuck between the two of them.
My fear ratchets up another notch, and I can barely hear over the pounding in my ears.
I watch Adam say something, but it doesn’t register.
But whatever it was, they both get a good laugh out of it.
A hand slides around my waist, and I try to pull away. “Get off me.”
“If you don’t want to lose that arm, I suggest you remove it from her body.
Right. Now.” Relief crashes through me at the sound of Zane’s voice.
I whirl around to face him and almost regret it, almost. His face is a mask of pure rage and not something I’ve ever seen on him before.
Slate steps into the room behind him and closes the doors.
They shut with a thud that echoes through the now-silent room.
I glance at Slate and shiver; his expression is even more fierce than Zane’s.
“Come here, Baby.”
I yank my bag from Ex’s hand. They step just the slightest bit away from me, leaving me room to push through them and walk to Zane.
My legs are shaking, and they barely hold me up.
Zane’s eyes run over my body, like he’s checking to make sure I’m not physically harmed.
Then his intense eyes run over my face, and I watch as his face hardens into something I’ve not seen on him before.
“Are you okay?” he asks in a really deep voice.
I nod, because I’m not sure I can talk. His eyes hold mine, and I watch as they soften a moment.
“You sure?” His voice is more tender this time.
I nod again. “They didn’t hurt me,” I say so only he can hear me.
His eyes harden, and he looks over my head. “Slate, take her out for me. Lock the doors behind you.” He looks down at me. “Go with Slate. I’ll be there soon.”
One of the guys laughs; I’m not sure which one. “What are you going to do? Take on both of us?” They both laugh.
“Dude, if she didn’t want us, she shouldn't have been coming on to us like that. This is a her problem, not an us problem.”
I gasp and spin around, but Slate makes a sound and I look at him.
He nods his head towards the exit. I don’t want to go, but I also know that I’m still shaking too badly to add anything to the conversation.
I follow Slate out of the large room and out into the empty corridor.
He chuckles darkly. “What?” I ask absently.
“They just made it a thousand times worse.”
I don’t get a chance to answer because the door to the building opens, and Quint and Reid enter. Quint grins at me. “Hey, we heard it was going down and came to join in.”
“Really?” I ask in surprise.
“Nah. Zane has it handled,” he says easily.
“Now, what did you do, lowly freshman, to rile up those juniors?” Quint asks slyly.
I’m not really in the mood for his games. “You’re only a sophomore, Quint,” I remind him.
Quint sighs all dramatic like. “That’s true, but at least I don’t look like it.” He flexes his arms, and just like that, I’m over all men.
“Put down your tiny arms, Quint. The only one who has anything to show off is Zane, and he’s a little busy right now.
” I cross my arms over my chest and stare at the door, willing Zane to come out.
The door blows open, and Zane steps out.
My eyes run over him, and relief crashes through me. But then he stops and looks behind me.
“What?”
I turn to see Quint grinning widely, and even Reid and Slate are smirking. I repeat Zane’s question. “What?”
Quint steps over to me and slings his arm around my shoulders. “We’re just happy to see you falling for our main man.”
“You’re going to be falling on the floor if you don’t get your arm off her,” Zane rumbles. Quint drops his arm and steps back, still grinning.
I look behind Zane. “Where are the two guys?”
Zane shrugs. “Not sure.”
I narrow my eyes at him, but he doesn’t let it bother him. “Reid, is this going to be a problem?” Zane asks.
Reid waves off his concern. “I can deal with them.”
I look back towards the room, but Zane wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close. At first, I think it’s to distract me; but then he breathes deeply. I pull back slightly and look up at him. “Are you okay?”
He reaches out and tucks a hair behind my ear. “I need to know that you’re okay. Really.”
I meet his eyes. “I am. They were just being idiots. How did you know I needed help?”
“I felt your fear.”
I frown up at him. “What?”
He runs a hand over his head. “Come on. Let’s get you to your next class.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me close as we walk out of the building. The guys surround us as we walk.
“But what about those guys?” I ask, looking back over my shoulder.
“They’ll be fine.”
I pull away from Zane and stare at him and his friends. All four of them watch me, but it’s Zane that has the most intense look in his eyes. “Zane,” I start.
He takes a step forward, bringing us chest to chest. “I’m not going to apologize for giving them a taste of their own medicine.
” His eyebrows tighten. “No guy should ever come on to a girl and scare her like that, let alone two of them. What makes it worse is that it wasn’t any girl.
It was my—” he stops and clenches his jaw. “Girl.”
“He’s right, Evie,” Quint says in a rare moment of seriousness. “What Zane did was right. We protect women; we don’t hurt them or threaten them or scare them. Zane was reminding them of that.” Both Reid and Slate nod in agreement.
“Besides, if Zane wouldn’t have gone after them, we would have,” Reid says nonchalantly. “You’re one of us now.”
I stare at all four of them as my heart tugs.
I turn to Zane and wrap my arms around his middle.
“Thank you.” His strong arms wrap around me, and I’m pretty sure being in his arms is the safest place in the world.
While still keeping my arms around his middle, I turn to his friends, now my friends.
“Thank you.” I take a deep breath and pull away from Zane and miss his strength instantly.
I reach into my pocket for his keys. “Well, I guess I can pass these off to you now.”
Zane meets my gaze. “You’re sure?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“Okay.” He bends and kisses my cheek. “I’ve got a full day, so I probably won’t see you again today, but text me anytime day or night. If I don’t answer right away, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
“It’s fine, Zane. Your schedule is insane; I get it. Football is important.”
“Not as important as you are,” he says softly. His piercing eyes hold my gaze. “You need me; you call me.”
I nod. “I will.”
“Don’t lie to me, Bennett.” There’s a hint of a smirk on Zane’s face, and that tension that’s been gripping me finally gives way. He seems to be returning to the Zane I know and...I catch that thought and stop it before it can fully form. It’s way too early to be thinking those thoughts.