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Laney paused and frowned at him. “You don’t look particularly happy about it.”
Ivan tore his gaze from me and shot a disgruntled look at Laney. “I like looking at her, but I’m not too thrilled about all the other assholes at this party seeing what I’m seeing.”
Laney gave a deep sigh coupled with a dopey smile, as if Ivan had said the most romantic thing in the world, instead of looking pissed and possessive and frustrated. “Those frat guys wouldn’t dare hit on Emmy. Not with you there.”
“Goddamn right,” Ivan muttered. A sudden frown fell over Ivan’s face as he looked at Laney again. “Where’s your boyfriend?”
Laney gave a little embarrassed laugh. “Oh, he is going to meet us there. He has some work to do.”
Ivan’s eyebrows jumped a little, then formed into a scowl. “What kind of guy lets his girl go to a frat party alone?”
I wasn’t sure how Laney wouldn’t be offended by Ivan being so judgmental of Drew, but, being Laney, she saw it through a different lens.
“Ivan, you’re so sweet to be concerned about me! Drew will be there. I’m texting him while we walk over so he knows when to meet me.”
Ivan grunted, knowing he wasn’t being sweet at all, but said nothing more about it.
It was going to be an interesting night.
Chapter 14
Ivan
What the fuck was I doing here? I asked myself for the thousandth time tonight. As I looked down at Emmy, her delicate, pale shoulders gleaming in the dim light of Christmas lights strung all around the dank, crowded basement and I knew why. I was way too old for this shit, but there was absolutely no way I was letting Emmy stay at date rape central by herself.
I glanced at her again—it was nearly impossible to keep my eyes off of her—remembering how I almost swallowed my tongue when she answered the door. She was wearing makeup tonight and it removed any bit of girlishness that I might have latched onto as a barrier between us. Not that it had been working.
When I realized her shirt was virtually backless, I almost waltzed her ass back to her room to change. Who knew a fucking back could be so provocative? But it was. The shirt displayed a smooth expanse of pale flesh and revealed the gentle curve of her waist, making it clear she wasn’t wearing a bra. My hand tightened in a fist in order to resist sliding my fingertips up and down her soft skin.
I had made a vow not to touch her tonight, but with what she was wearing and all the looks she was getting from these fraternity assholes, I knew it wasn’t going to last long.
I already had my hand at her waist to broadcast to these bastards that she was off limits. I had a bad feeling it was going to be the least of my transgressions tonight.
When we arrived, Laney grabbed us beers, then stared at her phone for what felt like twenty minutes straight while Emmy stood next to her shooting her sympathetic looks and biting her lip. While she was giving Laney consoling looks, I was shooting daggers at all the assholes staring at Emmy. Every time one of these motherfuckers checked her out, my arm tightened around her.
“I’m sure Drew will be here soon, Lane.”
Laney gave Emmy a pathetically hopeful look. “You think so?”
Emmy looked pained. She obviously didn’t think so but didn’t want to hurt her roommate’s feelings. “Has he texted you?” she asked, artfully avoiding Laney’s question.
“No, nothing! I can’t believe it. I’ve texted him, like, five times! I told you he was like this, like sometimes he isn’t into me. Recently, I thought things were going well. He was always asking to hang out. I figured he’d be here,” she said glumly, staring down at her non-responsive phone. “Do you think something happened to him? Like, maybe he’s hurt?” she asked with comical optimism.
“Um, maybe?” God, Emmy was a horrible liar.
Laney became doleful again, accurately reading Emmy's response. “He’s blowing me off.”
Just then, the screen of her phone lit up, as did Laney’s face when she read who the text was from. “It’s Drew!”
I watched Delaney’s elated expression collapse into one of misery. “He’s not coming. He said something came up and he can’t make it and he’ll talk to me tomorrow.”
Emmy’s face scrunched in disapproval and surprise. “That’s it? That’s all he said? He didn’t explain anything?”
“No, nothing. I’m texting him back and asking what’s going on,” Delaney murmured as her fingers flew over the phone screen. After she sent her text, she simply stared at the screen for a full minute while Emmy and I stared awkwardly at her.
Emmy put her hand over Laney’s phone screen. “You know what? If he doesn’t answer, who needs Drew? It’s his loss. We can have fun without him,” Emmy said optimistically, and honestly, she was right. She didn’t need that asshole. Drew was a dick to blow off Emmy’s roommate. He should just be up front if he didn’t want to be here—lying was such a bitch move.
Laney nodded her head, frowning lightly, as if the idea of having fun without Drew had never occurred to her. “Yeah, you’re right! I’m going to get us another round of beers.”
