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I hesitantly look over my shoulder and see a guy who spends way too much time in the gym approaching me. As he gets closer, I realize he also likes to wear way too much cologne. A cough escapes me as I suffocate from the overwhelming putrid scent. The guy has a drink in his hand that he holds out for me to take, which I definitely do not.
“Oh, no, thank you,” I say, showing him the drink I already have. The guy towers over me, and not in a sexy way but more of an intimidating way. He clearly doesn’t comprehend personal space since he leaves only an inch or two between us.
“So, what is a sexy girl like you doing here all by yourself?” he asks, licking his lips.
Oh no.
“Oh, I’m not here alone. My friend should be back any minute.” For the second time tonight, I fake a smile as I look around for Sarah, except this time, in a panic, but I still don’t see her anywhere in the crowd.
“Well, why don’t we go wait for your friend in my room?” He raises his eyebrows at me and rests his rough hand on my hip, making my insides churn.
I step away, backing myself against the wall, and say, “No, I don’t think so.” A few drops of my drink spill on my shirt, and when I look down at my cup, I realize my hands are trembling.
He steps toward me, now closing all space between us, and puts his mouth right up to my ear. “You look like you could use a good fucking, and I am just the guy who can help you with that.”
My eyes widen, and I try to turn away from him, but I’m trapped. I drop what’s left of my drink on the floor and move fast to my left, but the guy is faster and blocks me with his arm.
“Come on, stop playing games. I’m captain of the football team for fuck’s sake. Of course, you want me. So why drag out the inev-inevitable?” He slurs his words as he stares down at me. I can tell this guy has no intention of going anywhere.
There’s some cheering in the other room, which must be from the beer pong tournament, and it captures the creep’s attention. I use this opportunity to my advantage and push his heavy arm out of my way and begin to make a break for it, just as he forcefully grabs my arm from behind. But, as I try to pull out of his grasp with whatever strength I have, the guy is tackled to the ground, sending me back against the fridge, which I reluctantly bang the back of my head on.
Ow.
Everything happened so fast that I could barely comprehend what was going on.
“What the …” I start to say, but then I see who tackled the creep to the floor. It’s Nathan. He is standing over the asshole, who is now on the floor in the fetal position — possibly crying. No, I stand corrected. The captain of the football team is definitely crying.
“You broke my fucking nose!” the guy yells from the floor through sobs as he holds his face.
“Don’t ever fucking touch her again!” Nathan shouts, which is heard over all of the beer pong cheering in the other room.
People are beginning to stare. Some of them even cheer, waiting for a fight to break out. The guy on the floor suddenly gets up, looking between Nathan and me as a trail of blood slides down his face from his nose. His fists tighten by his sides as if he is deciding how best to keep his dignity intact. But the second he realizes he has to look up at Nathan and not down or even level, he does what probably any other guy in his shoes would do.
“Fuck this. I’m out of here.” He scurries off to the back of the house and disappears out of sight.
Nathan’s back is to me, and he is breathing heavily. His very stiff broad shoulders are rising up and down. Gently, I place my shaking hand on Nathan’s back and feel his body automatically tense under my touch, but within seconds, he starts to relax. When he turns around to face me, a gasp escapes from my mouth.
“Nathan, your eye!” He has a huge black eye. But how? The creep never had a chance to lay a hand on him, and it didn’t look that fresh … so how did he get it?
Instead of answering me, he cautiously looks me up and down. Not in a sexual way, but more like he is inspecting a car for any damage after an accident.
“Are you ok, Natalie?” he asks, moving closer, intoxicating me with his presence. He pushes my hair back to look at my face for any injuries. For a second, all I feel is the warmth of his strong, reassuring hand on my cheek until I unconsciously wince a little when he brings his hand to the back of my head and touches the spot where it just banged against the fridge.
“Let me get some ice for that.” He removes his hand and walks away from me then opens the freezer door and takes out a handful of ice that he wraps in a dish cloth and places tenderly against my head. Just having him in my presence for the first time in a week is already making me feel better.
“Your hair looks nice like this,” he says with a little smile as he plays with one of the long curls.
“Thank you,” I say, feeling a hint of warmth spread through my cheeks.
“What are you doing here anyway?” he asks, eyeing me warily but still holding the ice in place. “I thought you didn’t like to go to parties?”
“Well, I was …” I cannot tell him I came here looking for him. “I was here with a friend until she ran off with some guy and …”
“Oh, ok, I just wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with the conversation you might have overheard in class yesterday,” he says before biting down on his lip to keep from laughing.
Busted.
Now my cheeks begin to really heat up. “Ok, I knew you were going to be here tonight, so I came here looking for you.” I stare down at the ground, hoping he doesn’t notice the embarrassment that is very evident on my face.
