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I shook my head. “No.”
He chuckled. “Then what the hell are you doing here?”
When I got home from Amir’s last night, I’d looked up the topic of the lecture. The speaker was an expert in data mining and predictive analytics. I was an accounting major, so this wasn’t my field, but I was a stone-cold nerd, so I was interested. Not that I would be spending my free time here if I had a choice, it was just that I didn’t think it would be torture. I would never tell Amir that, though. He could go on thinking this was the worst punishment ever, and maybe he’d send me to more nerdy things instead of making me change his delicious-smelling sheets.
“I’m taking notes for a friend who couldn’t make it tonight,” I explained, even though it was none of his business and I did not like him.
He hummed and shifted in his seat, his leg pressing against mine. “You don’t like me, do you?”
I scoffed and tried to subtly tuck my legs to the side to get away from him. “Why would you think that? Was it the horrible things you said and did to Helen? Or maybe when you proclaimed either of us would do to get you off? Or what about the way you and your friends laugh at me when I walk into class?”
“Hey…” He reached for my arm, but I yanked it away. “I’m guilty of all you said, but my friends don’t laugh at you. They’re very much laughing at me.”
I shook my head, not believing him even for a second. “I don’t want to talk anymore. I have to pay attention.”
He waggled a pen in my periphery. “I do too. Maybe we can talk after?”
I faced forward instead of replying. Guys who didn’t understand “no” were making me really tired. And why were they all coming out of the woodwork? It was like they could smell the chum in the water.
For the next hour, I listened intently, tapping away on my keyboard. At times, I felt like I was being watched, but when I glanced at Deacon, he always had his eyes on the speaker. Still, awareness prickled the back of my neck, and it took all my willpower not to rush out of the lecture hall.
When Drew had watched me before, I hadn’t noticed. At least, not at first. He’d hidden in plain sight, following me on my day-to-day activities. And when I went places, he’d pop up, like we were randomly running into each other. In the beginning, I’d believed his excuses, but when it kept happening, I knew it wasn’t right.
Someone else could’ve been watching me. Besides, why would Drew be here tonight, with so many people around? Maybe I was paranoid. Maybe Deacon had made me more uneasy than I’d thought and this was all due to that.
My heart fluttered like mad as the speaker wound down and people around me started packing up their things. I closed my laptop and grabbed my messenger bag, trapped from escaping by the people beside me who were also waiting to leave.
Deacon bumped me with his shoulder. “Can I walk you back to your dorm?”
I stared at him, not really registering what he’d just asked. It didn’t really make sense. Not coming from him. Especially since I’d told him I didn’t like him. Why in the world would I allow him to walk me home?
Just as I shook my head, the people beside me started making their way down the aisle, and I followed, clutching my messenger bag in front of me. If Deacon insisted on following me, I could whack him in the head with it. It wouldn’t be as badass as the time Helen had gotten him with her skateboard, but it would do.
He stayed on my heels out of the auditorium and into the hallway, curling his fingers around my forearm. “I just want to talk, get to know each other. Don’t be such a snob. Let me walk you home.”
Suddenly, I was shoved back, and there was a body between Deacon and me.
“Not happening. You can walk your own ass home. I’ve got Zadie covered.” Amir towered over Deacon. Even from the back, I could see his simmering fury in the clenched muscles along his spine and shoulders.
Deacon turned tomato red, puffing up his chest as if he stood any chance against a crazy man like Amir. “Excuse me, I was talking to her. As far as I’ve seen, Zadie doesn’t have a keeper, so I think she should be the one to decide who gets to talk to her and walk her home.”
It occurred to me while these two wagged their dicks at each other, I could just...leave. With the way they were facing, the exit was clear, and they were too busy getting out the measuring sticks to really notice.
So I did. I turned around and walked away, taking a deep breath of cool night air when it hit my face. Proud of myself for being brave and not letting myself be controlled, I hitched my bag higher on my shoulder and started the long walk back to my dorm.
I made it three steps before my bag was slipped right off my shoulder and a band of iron wrapped around my waist.
Spice filled my nose when Amir leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I can’t even be mad, can I? My property needs clear instructions, and I didn’t say to wait. You wandered off like a lost little kitty, but don’t worry, I’m here. I won’t let that happen again.”
Anger knotted in my throat as my core flooded with heat. It was such a confusing dichotomy of feelings, I had no clue how to parse it out and wrap my head around it.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you told me to come in your place. I took notes for you. Really good notes.”
He sniffed. “Email them to me. I’ll let you know if they’re really good.”
