AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She leaned her hip against the side of the couch and half-grinned. “Yeah, I can sound like a native speaker.” She stopped petting Riley and leaned her head on the couch. “I have to get go back to my room and get ready for my classes.
I drew in a breath. “Same here.” I cradled Riley’s head and slowly got on my feet. “You going to be in the library tonight?”
She nodded and, suddenly, I thought that the day was going to go by too slowly.
Chapter 17
Mariska
THROUGHOUT CLASS TODAY, I thought about Hunter. Despite the pouring rain last night, I’d gotten out of the car and then back inside numerous times before he’d tapped my window. I’d wanted to tell Hunter that I wouldn’t call him those awful names anymore and I’d expected him to tell me that he didn’t think I was a virgin princess. And he had told me, although not directly.
Only Bri knew that Hunter was becoming someone important in my life. Someone whom I didn’t want to keep a dirty little secret. He’d taken the leap by kissing me at La Caridad. But I hadn’t really done the same, and Hunter acted like he didn’t care, but I think he did. His emotions were easier to read lately. He didn’t have a guard up like he had weeks ago and I didn’t quite know what to do with this change in his behavior.
When Bio Lab ended, Scott walked ahead of me and I saw some swelling on the side of his face. I ran a little and reached for his shoulder. When we faced each other, I was taken back by his crumpled t-shirt and cargo pants. Besides his football uniform, I’d never seen him in anything but an ironed shirt, slacks, or designer jeans, and shoes.
“Are you okay?” I asked and saw that he had a black eye. Someone had punched him in the face recently. This couldn’t have happened during the away game, because I’d seen him when he returned on campus and he hadn’t had a visible scratch or bruise on him.
He bobbed his head and then turned around, but I stood in front of him. “No, you’re not. Tell me what happened to you.”
Scott looked at me for a moment and then straight ahead of me. He wasn’t scared, but he was in pain and, even though he never really liked me, I didn’t enjoy seeing his face like that. He was very strong and could defend himself, so it led me to believe that more than one guy took some swings at him. As I stood next to Scott, Jake sneered. Scott shot him an equally scathing look and then stalked off.
“Did you do that to him, Jake?” I asked when I reached him.
“Yeah.” A furrow appeared between his eyebrows. “I’d heard that he had bet with his roommates that he’d…you know.. Chase and Pierce had a talk with him, but I hadn’t. So, before the party started last night, I did. He didn’t think it was a problem, since he wined and dined you. Like that would automatically get him to… ”
I let out a sigh. “You can’t do hothead stuff like that anymore. If Scott had told anyone, you would’ve gotten expelled.” I pulled his arm in mine and walked down the hallway toward the doors. “They have a zero tolerance policy.”
Jake scoffed. “And I’ve got a zero tolerance policy against people doing anything to hurt you or Beth.”
I trembled at his unwavering devotion to Beth and I. I loved him fiercely, too. When we were out of the main building, we paused. “I have the same policy. But this isn’t back home where your parents can come smooth things over. You can’t do this again. Not for me. And not for Beth. Please, Jake.”
He exhaled deeply and we resumed walking, arm in arm, until I opened the door to our residence hall. I had to switch books to study for my other classes in the library, where I’d see Hunter again.
“I came back at four this morning and you weren’t here,” he said when I pressed the button for the elevator. Eyes as dark as my own snapped at me. “Where were you? Bri and Pierce knew where you were and they wouldn’t tell Beth, or me. They don’t have good poker faces.”
I r
ealized I was laughing nervously when he frowned at me. “I was at Hunter’s last night,” I admitted and my handsome, model looking best friend and brother’s face seemed to age, within the span of thirty seconds.
Jake’s eyes grew large. “Are you serious? Because, if you’re messing with me, this is not something—”
“I was at his house, Jake.” My voice came out small and I felt like I’d done something wrong. Being with Hunter hadn’t felt wrong when I’d woken up this morning.
“Shit,” Jake shook his head. “That explains why you didn’t drink anything last night. You did it for him.”
“No,” I murmured. “I really didn’t want any last night.” He arched a brow at me. “And I didn’t want him to smell it on me.”
Giving me a pointed look, he said, “Or taste it on you.” He raised his head to the ceiling. “They’re going to kill me.”
“Whose going to kill you?”
“Your parents,” he pulled in a deep breath. “They’re convinced that Hunter was trying to put the moves on you and they asked me to watch you guys when we were home during Fall Break.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We haven’t been telling each other about a lot of things. I didn’t think you two liked each other, so I didn’t give it a second thought. Where do you think this will go, Mariska?” Uncertain of the answer to that question myself, I shrugged.
He took a step from the elevator as people came out. Setting his hands on my shoulders, his gaze trained on me. I forced my face and my body to relax. My parents knew that, by asking him to watch Hunter and I, they were bringing out every protective streak he had, even if it meant that it could’ve gotten him in trouble. They only thought about their agenda to ensure that my life was how they wanted it to be. They justified getting Jake involved, because he was family to me. I could hear them now, telling me that it was for my own good.
