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William’s eyes went steely and he nodded. “He’d better be happy the bouncers dragged me off him or I’d still be taking it out on his hide.”
That shouldn’t have been comforting, but somehow it was.
Knowing that he’d jumped to my defense soothed something in me, and after a shaky breath, I smiled. “Thanks for the save.”
He grunted, uncomfortable with the praise. “Of course.” Then he straightened, looking between Alice and me. “Are you two going home or staying?”
Before Alice could answer, I cut in. “You should stay, you were looking forward to tonight, right?”
She shook her head, that fiercely loyal expression coming to her face as she growled. “I’m not making you sit here a minute longer than necessary. The girls will understand needing to reschedule.”
I sucked in a breath to argue, but before I could really get started, William spoke up, surprising both of us.
“I’ll take her home. I need to change out of these clothes anyways, now.”
We stared at him, and after a minute, he cleared his throat. “What? I know that look on her, and so do you. She’s going to argue with you until she’s blue in the face. If I bring her home, you can stay here and she can get some rest. It seemed like a win-win to me.”
Alice bit her lip, eyeing me hesitantly. “Are you sure you’d be okay with me staying?”
That was so her, always worried about other people, and that more than anything is what made me nod.
“You don’t get to hang out with all of your friends often, and everyone’s schedules are lined up for once. I’d feel bad if you canceled because of this, and I’m probably just going home to hide for a bit. You should stay.”
She stared deeply into my eyes for a minute, then nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure.” Then she turned to William. “Thanks for this, I know you probably had something completely different planned for your evening.”
He raised a brow, confusion painting his features. “I planned to drink with Devin but considering how late he is, I’m guessing he got caught up at work. There were no plans for today other than that.”
So he hadn’t come here to pick someone up?
Sickening relief hit, and I bit back the urge to groan. I had no right to feel that, not for him. He didn’t like me, not how I wanted him to, and it was wrong to let the infatuation get worse.
He hadn’t saved me because he cared for me like a lover would; he did it because I was his little sister’s best friend. Heck, my brother was his best friend. There was no personal connection between us, and there wouldn’t be either.
My heart twisted at the reminder, and I let it writhe. I couldn’t get sucked into the trap of hoping for something that would never happen. It would only hurt more later, not to mention it’d make things painfully awkward between Devin, Will, Alice, and I.
William’s hand squeezed mine, gently easing me out of the booth. “Come on, let’s get you home. You’ve definitely earned the right to hide from the world for a bit.”
Alice pulled me into a hug, her face still a war of worry and uncertainty. I offered a tired smile, hoping it would help, then I turned to Will with a nod.
“Yeah, home sounds good.”
I linked my arm with his on habit, leaning on his shoulder.
He stiffened for a second, then relaxed, his arm winding around my waist. The weight was comforting, and it was only after we pulled up to my and Devin's apartment that I noticed his knuckles.
They were cracked and bleeding, evidence of how hard he'd gone at the guy in the bathroom.
Taking the injured hand in mine, I stroked lightly over it and hummed. “I’m sorry you had to deal with this.”
I appreciated the save, but why did it have to be him that stepped in? Now my stupid crush was trying to make this into something it wasn’t because he was there for me. I’d already been brawling it out with my feelings over him, this was decidedly not helpful for that.
He shook his head, pulling me back to the present as he gently took his hand back. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t like you asked to be put in that position, and that prick better be happy that the bar’s security was there or I would have done a lot worse than what I did. I can’t stand his type, and he got off easy compared to what I wanted to do.”
I believed him. His tone was crystal clear and protectiveness all but oozed out of it. A hefty dose of anger sat there too and I nodded.
“Alright, but I insist on cleaning this up for you.”
He opened his mouth to argue but I cut him off with a glare. “Don’t even try it. We have no idea where that slime has been and I don’t want to risk you getting an infection.”
