“Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said, practically out of breath. “But we should probably get ready for class.”
His grin stayed put as he glanced between us, his gaze roaming the parts of me that weren’t covered by my sleep attire. “Mind if I shower?”
I caught my bottom lip between my teeth and bit down. “Go ahead. There’s an extra towel under the sink.”
“Extra toothbrushes, extra towels . . . I almost think you’ve done this before,” he said playfully as he headed for the bathroom, and I blushed at the thought that he might actually believe that.
“I’m kidding,” he said.
When he closed the door behind him and turned on the shower, I reached for my pillow and squealed into it, trying to hide the stupid excitement I felt at Nick Fisher being naked in my shower.
A light knock on my door startled me. Rachel must be home.
“Come in,” I said softly, not wanting Nick to hear.
Rachel poked her head around the door, her eyes wide as she scanned the room. “Is that Nick in the shower? I saw his truck outside.”
I smiled. “He stayed the night.”
“I can tell that, dummy. Oh my gosh, he loves you, doesn’t he?”
“Shut up. He took me home after something happened at the party.” I swallowed, realizing that my best friend didn’t know yet.
She sat down and stole a quick glance at the bathroom door, which was still closed. “I knew he took you home, but what do you mean, something happened? What happened?”
“This guy attacked me at the party. I mean, he didn’t really attack me, but he sort of did. I don’t know.” I shook my head. “He wouldn’t let me go, and he tried to kiss me. It sounds so stupid when I say it out loud.”
Rachel gave me a concerned look. “It does not sound stupid. Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Nick stopped him.”
“Really?”
“I thought he was going to kill him.”
Her lips curled into a snarl. “Should have let him.”
“I’m serious.” I swatted her shoulder.
“So am I.”
The shower turned off and Rachel hopped off the bed. “I’ll go. I’ll talk to you later. You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I think so,” I said right as the door opened and Nick stepped out, drying his hair.
Gossip and Girls
Jess
Nick held my hand as we walked from my dorm toward the tall white buildings in the distance. When I shivered in the cool morning air, Nick pulled me against him, our bodies fitting side by side as if they were made for each other.
Once the campus sidewalks were more crowded, he held on even tighter. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it wasn’t that. I sort of figured that once other people came into view, he’d let go of my hand. But I was wrong. And if I thought that last night was a one-time thing or a fluke, he was proving otherwise with every step we took.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded, a small smile playing on my lips.
I was more than okay. What had happened at the party had rattled me, but it could have been so much worse. And it had been for other girls; I knew that for a fact. But right now, being with Nick like this made everything better.
Two guys that Nick apparently knew fell into step beside us and said hi to me before asking Nick what happened to him last night.
He shrugged. “I took Jess home and stayed with her.”
They whooped and hollered before offering him high-fives. He shrugged at me before giving in to them with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Um, hello! I’m standing right here.” I pretended to pout, so the guys turned to me and offered me high-fives as well. I laughed as I slapped their hands in quick succession.
“Idiots,” Nick said as they walked away in the other direction.
“But they’re your idiots.” I leaned into him.
“So are you,” he said, and I smacked his shoulder.
“I’m not an idiot,” I said through my laughter. “Well, I am holding your hand right now, sooo . . .”
“So that makes you the smartest girl on campus. Obviously.” He pulled my hand toward his mouth and planted a quick kiss on the back of it.
Whispers swirled around us as we walked, and I couldn’t help but notice the looks we were getting. People seemed to be noting our locked hands, not that this was unusual for Nick, but it still tended to attract unwanted attention. I tried to pretend that no one else was around, but it was hard to ignore the death stares.
“You sure you’re okay?” Nick asked as my body tensed.
“It’s just the girls. They’re all staring.”
“Let ’em stare.” He stopped walking and pulled me against him. “Or we can really give them something to stare at.”
“Stop,” I said, unable to stop smiling.
“I think you’re embarrassed to be seen with me, Jess Michaelson.”
“Well, you are wildly unattractive.”
He choked on his laughter as he dropped my hand, and I almost started running away from him, but quickly realized that he’d only chase me if I did that. Running from Nick wouldn’t be a good attention-avoiding tactic.
Nick stood in place and pressed a hand to his heart as I started walking again toward our class. “You wound me, Jess.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ll recover,” I shouted back at him, and he jogged to catch up. “See? All better.”