I’ve had enough. Fuck the shirt. Fuck this shit. I don’t want her or anyone else that isn’t my girl touching me.
“Sarah—” I growl, but the creak of the door stops me from finishing the sentence as my eyes meet twin pools of anguished blue. “Hey ma—”
She doesn’t wait for me to finish. She bolts from the hallway, her slender legs taking her quickly from sight as I shove past Sarah and chase after her. “Bibiana, wait!” I shout after her, but she doesn’t stop. Fuck.
I lose sight of her raven-colored hair in the sea of people when we make it to the main part of the house. Shit. Where is she?
I scan the crowd, calling out her name. Several heads turn in my direction—none of whom are her—but I don’t give a fuck what people think. I need to find my girl. What she thinks happened didn’t and I don’t want her worried for even a second longer than she needs to be. Allie is the one who drove so she can’t go far on her own. That’s the one thing I’ve got going for me right now.
I pull out my phone, firing off a quick text message and praying she takes the time to read it.
Me: It’s not what it looked like. Let me explain.
I stareat the screen for several seconds, willing her to respond.
She doesn’t. Shirt still in my hand I throw it on over my head and scan the room again, spotting baby Henderson surrounded by a circle of seniors. Motherfucker. What is she thinking? I make a beeline for her and move to drag her away from her admirers. One of them steps forward to object—some asswipe I recognize from the school’s basketball team—but it only takes a second for him to realize who the fuck I am, and he immediately backs off. “Sorry, man. I didn’t realize Kasey was Devil property.”
“She’s not.” Kasey tries to wriggle away but I tighten my grip. “But she is my friend’s baby sister and she’s fourteen. Which makes her too fucking young for you to get your dick wet with.” He drops his head, a chastised look on his face. Good. These fuckers need to stop trying to rob fucking cradles.
“Emilio, knock it off,” she snaps.
I ignore her, shoving her toward the front door with my hand on the center of her back. “I do not have time for your shit, Kasey. I need you to help me find Bibiana.”
She stops struggling and whirls around to face me. “What did you do?” she asks, hands on her hips.
“Nothing.” I bite out. “Sarah threw herself at me, but nothing happened. Bibiana doesn’t know what she saw.”
Her eyes narrow. “I swear to god if you—“
“I didn’t do shit,” I yell at her, but she doesn’t look convinced, and goddamnit if she doesn’t believe me how the hell am I going to convince Bibiana?
“Yo,” I turn and find Dominique and Roman a few feet away. Allie beside them.
“Either of you seen Bibiana?” All three shake their heads as they move closer. Dominique shifts to Kasey’s side, taking a protective stance beside her as his expression screams to every guy within range to back the fuck off.
“No. She was looking for the bathroom before Roman found me. It’s been kinda long for that though,” Allie says, and I rub the back of my neck.
“Would she have gone to your place?” I ask Kasey. Desperation bleeds into my voice. Where is she?
She shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Fuck.”
“Hey,” Allie says, stepping closer. “What’s going on? What happened?”
I run my hands through my hair. “Nothing, but Bibiana thinks something did. I just need to find her.”
She reaches out and places a hand on my arm. “Take a breath. We will. Let me call her.”
I nod, my gaze still scanning the room in case I catch sight of her. Allie dials her number, but then pulls the phone away from her ear to frown down at the screen. “What—”
“One sec. She sent me a text.”
I move to peer over her shoulder as she reads it aloud.
Bibi: Catching a ride home. Sorry. I’ll explain later.
I rushout the front door. Who the hell would she get a ride with? Everyone who’s fucking trustworthy is right here with me. I don’t want some random asshole trying to take advantage of her. If she’s leaving though, then she has to be outside somewhere. I ask a few of the kids I recognize if they’ve seen her when I spot her curly hair in the dark cutting her way through the crowd. Relief floods through me. I take a step forward, and then notice that she’s veered straight for the bright red car sitting in Kasey’s driveway. One I know doesn’t belong to either Henderson.
