“Sure.” He smiled and stood. He took off his glasses and laid them down then grabbed a file and handed it to his father, who looked shocked.
“I’ll be back in an hour. Do you want me to get anything for you while I'm out?” he asked his dad.
“Coffee,” his dad told him. Mr. Stevenson turned towards me. “It was nice meeting you, November. See you next week,” he said, smiling big. EEEKKKK!!
“Nice to meet you too,” I said, walking out the door. “Um, dad. I’ll see you at home, I guess,” I said, almost wanting my dad to offer to stay. I didn’t want Nick to get the wrong idea that this was a date or anything close to a date.
“Sure, baby girl. See you at home.” We were all standing outside on the sidewalk a couple blocks away from Liz’s store. I watched my dad walk to his car. His head was bent towards his boots, and he was shaking his head.
“Um, we can just walk to get Liz, and then go to the coffee shop next to her store, if that’s okay with you?” I said, looking up at Nick.
“Sure, lead the way.” He smiled and I smiled back, and then I pulled out my phone. I debated about calling Asher. I felt guilty and I didn’t want him to find out that Nick was with me by someone else, but at the same time, I didn’t want to call him in front of Nick, and have him freak out and get into an argument with him while on the phone.
“So, are you still seeing Asher?” he asked and I put my phone away, deciding I would just call him later.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling.
“Oh.” His eyebrows shoot together in surprise, and worry crossed his face. “Look, November, I know you’re new but you should know—”
I cut him off before he could make me mad. “What? That he has bagged almost every girl in town? Tell me something I don’t know. Do I like knowing that?” I asked, looking up at him. “No, but it is what it is, and I'm giving him a chance. He is sweet to me, and if there comes a time when he is not sweet to me, I will deal with it. Got it?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Got it,” he said, his lips twitching. I was still looking at him when I was grabbed from behind and pulled off the ground. I screamed and start kicking, trying to throw a punch. I could hear someone telling me to calm down, but I couldn’t stop fighting. I won’t let myself be dragged down an alley and beaten again. I kicked, scratched, screamed, then arms wrapped around me, and I was being rocked back and forth. Someone was whispering to me that it was going to be okay. I started pulling myself together.
I opened my eyes and saw Nick standing further down the sidewalk with Cash blocking him. I took a breath and realized that I'm sitting on the ground. Not only that, but I was in someone’s lap. I held my breath and lifted my head. Yep, it’s Nico, and he has a bloody nose and a mark under his eye.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered. I swallowed hard and shook my head. “I don’t know what happened.” I shook my head again, trying to clear the adrenaline.
“Do not apologize,” he said, framing my face, and I could feel the tears sliding down my cheeks.
“Jesus, Asher’s going to kick my ass.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead then pulled my face back into his neck. I let him hold me for a minute, and felt so embarrassed about what just happened.
“I'm okay now,” I told him, wiping my face on his shirt.
“Did you just wipe your face on me?”
“Nope,” I said, smiling into his shirt, remembering Asher and the fake blood.
“Just checking,” he mumbled. I look to see his lips twitching. His eyes scan my face and his thumb swept my cheek. “Have you talked to anyone about what happened?” I can’t talk. I just shake my head.
“Babe, you need to talk to someone.” I swallowed and looked down. I felt tears pooling in my eyes again. “Ah f**k.” He growled and hugged me tighter to him. Then he stood and pulled me with him, and Cash was there hugging me.
“Hey, sis, you scared the f**k out of me.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled while I tried to smile. I liked that he called me sis. He pulled back and Nick stepped closer. Nico stepped in front of him then I saw the damage I caused. His shirt was ripped, his nose was bloody, and a few bruises under his eye.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. I walked to Nico and grabbed his hand. “Come on, we have to go to the bathroom.”
“What?” He stopped and pulled his hand away. He looked at me like I was crazy.
“We have to go to the bathroom,” I said slowly.
“This may have escaped you, but I have a dick. The only time I go into the bathroom with a chick is for a quick f**k, and that’s not happening, so no, we don’t have to go to the bathroom.”
“Yes, we do,” I yelled. I grabbed his hand again and dragged him down the sidewalk. When we got to the café, I saw Liz. We made eye contact and her eyes almost popped out of her head.
“Hey, honey, I'm going to take Nico to the bathroom. I’ll be right back. Can you order me a coffee and a cinnamon roll?”
“Take Nico to the bathroom? What am I, five?” I heard him mumble beside me, and I giggled.
“Um, sure,” she said, her eyes large from shock then I heard her gasp and looked behind me. Cash and Nick were walking in.
“Oh crap, Liz. Nico,” I said, pulling his hand up, which I was still holding. “Cash and Nick, this is Liz. We will be right back. I dragged Nico with me down the hall and pulled him into the bathroom. I saw Liz give a slight wave to the guys and could tell that she wanted to bolt.