“She’s new at Hollis. She doesn’t know anyone,” I say to Nick. “I don’t want to be a jerk and make her fend for herself in a room full of strangers.”
I direct my gaze back at Briar. When she finally looks at me, I arch my right eyebrow at her. It’s the signal we came up with years ago—my silent way of checking in with her.
She nods twice. That protective feeling swoops through me, and I walk over to her.
When I slide my arm around her, she beams. Her eyes sparkle as she gazes up at me.
“Hey, you,” she says.
“Hey, baby doll.”
She purses her lips like she’s trying not to laugh. I lift my shoulder in a small shrug. This is a thing we do sometimes. Whenever a guy is hitting on her, and she’s not interested, I look over at her to check on her. If she nods twice, I pretend to be her boyfriend and make the guy go away. And I always use a different pet name for her every time.
The guy hitting on her looks between the two of us. His shoulders sink in disappointment.
“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend,” he mutters.
She offers a polite smile. “Yeah. Sorry.” She tucks her hair behind her ear. “I would have mentioned it, but you were really passionate about that documentary you were telling me about. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
He frowns. “I’ll, uh, leave you two alone.”
He walks off, and I look down at Briar.
Her mouth tilts up in an amused smile. “Baby doll?”
I grin. “What’s wrong with baby doll?”
The bridge of her cute, ski-slope nose wrinkles. “It sounds so old-fashioned.”
“It was the best I could come up with. I’ve already used the most common pet names. Honey, baby, darling, sweetie, cutie.”
She chuckles. “Okay, yeah, you definitely get points for originality.”
I notice her cup is empty. “Want another beer?”
She nods. We walk into the kitchen, and I grab a can from the fridge.
“So what documentary was he telling you about?” I ask as I fill her cup.
She leans against the counter and groans. “I don’t remember the name. It was about cryptocurrency.”
I burst out laughing. “Seriously?”
She nods and thanks me when I hand over her drink. She takes a sip. “I don’t even remember half of what he said. It was so boring. I’m pretty sure my eyes glazed over at one point.”
“It didn’t look like he even asked you anything.”
Her smile turns teasing. “You were watching me for a while, weren’t you?”
Heat climbs up my face. She’s gonna think I’m so creepy for doing that.
I shake my head, but she just giggles and pats my arm. “I’m glad you were keeping an eye on me. You’re such a good friend, Blake. Seriously.”
That embarrassed feeling fades. “It’s no big deal.”
She squeezes my arm. “It is though. You’re amazing. You could be partying with your teammates, but instead, you’re making sure I’m okay. On top of that, you’ve been letting me stay in your bedroom this past week.”
Briar’s new apartment fell through at the last minute, so I offered to let her stay here for free while she looks for a place to live.
