Page 16 of Feels Like Coming Home

“I’m sure they have the bar somewhere!” I had to practically yell because someone had turned the music up in the once quiet room.

I walked through the house again, Cam keeping close behind me until we found the bar, which was a makeshift stand with two giant orange coolers filled with god knows what. I took a sip from my cup and felt a burn as whatever it was slid down my throat. I looked at Cam as he took a drink and felt like I was in a dream.

Here Cam and I were, drinking at a frat party as if it were a normal thing to occur. I knew why it had felt like a dream because I had had this dream before. Except, my dream ended with us in bed together doing things we had never done before, and I knew that wouldn’t be happening tonight. We would have fun, maybe dance, maybe get a little tipsy, and then we would head back to my dorm and I would let him sleep in my bed while I slept next to Piper.

My dream would stay a dream, and I would do my best to enjoy the night.

An houror so into the party, Piper came and found me after seeing Mr. Ethics hooking up with a different girl from their class and she asked me if I wanted another drink. I was already on my second cup and it was still more than half full, so she asked me if I wanted to do a shot with her instead. Cam was a few feet away, standing in the corner and talking with the guy who was at the door when we got to the party. Every so often I would look in his direction to find him already looking back at me.

I agreed to the shot and let Piper drag me over to the bar where a guy stood behind it, pouring multiple shots for the people around us. He tipped an empty shot glass toward the two of us and we nodded to let him know we wanted one too. We pulled the shots back and finished them in one go, smiling at one another after we finished them. My head was starting to spin as Piper pulled me toward the dance floor.

We were dancing together when a guy came up behind Piper and started dancing with her. Within a few seconds, a second guy came up behind me. When he tried to dance with me, I took a step away from him and grabbed Piper’s hand. He then followed my movements by taking another step forward and placing his hands on my hips. Again, in an attempt to move away from him, I moved my body to where I was now standing next to Piper, looking at her and still holding her hands as we danced. I didn’t want to dance with some random guy while Cam stood in the same room as me.

I wanted the guy I danced with to be him.

“Hey, why are you so squirmy?” the stranger said as he started to put his hands on my hips again, “I just wanna dance with you.”

“I’m okay, thanks though. I just want to dance with my friend.” I gave him a half smile, hoping he would take a hint and get lost.

He then put both his hands fully on my hips and pulled me into him, rubbing his crotch against my back. “Come here, baby. You know you wanna dance with me. Stop being such a fucking tease and just dance. I won’t hurt you.”

As he pressed his body against mine, I realized just how tightly he was holding me where I stood. My heart started to race, and my head started spinning even more. The music was so loud and I was starting to panic, looking at Piper like a deer in the headlights. Before I could panic any longer, I suddenly stumbled backward as the guy holding me in place stumbled backward too. His hands released their grip from my hips as he tried to catch himself before hitting the floor with an audible thud. Some people around us had stumbled as he went down.

“I’m pretty sure she told you she wasn’t interested.”

My eyes went wide as I looked toward the booming voice and saw Cam towering over the stranger who had been behind me not five seconds earlier. Cam looked like he was ready to go to battle and the fierce look on his face made my heart beat faster than I even thought possible. His jaw was clenched and the muscles in his arms were pulsating.

“What the fuck?!” the giant ogre of a guy said from the floor, still trying to figure out how to get his feet under him.

“I said, I’m pretty sure she told you she wasn’t interested. And since you’re clearly too fucking stupid to take a hint, let me spell it out nice and clear for you. You touch her again, and I will kick your ass,” Cam said slowly.

I looked around the room to see everyone watching us.

“Come on, Haley, we’re leaving.” He grabbed my arm and there was nothing I could do but follow him out of the party.

Cam heldonto my arm all the way back to my dorm room, not letting go even when I had to pull my keys out of my small purse to unlock the door or when I sent Piper a text making sure she was okay to get home with a friend. When she said she would be fine, I crossed that off my list of things to worry about.

Now I just had to think about Cam and how he had acted at the party in front of all those people.

We hadn’t said a word to each other since he pulled me from the frat house, but now that we were back in the quiet of my room, I knew the words would have to come out.

I stood there in the middle of my room, watching Cam as he kicked his shoes off and threw his jacket over my desk chair. I didn’t do anything besides look at him, a swirl of emotions wracking around in my stomach like a tsunami.

Why had he acted like that? Why was hehere, in my dorm room, on a Saturday night alone with me? He could have spent his weekend at his school with all the pretty girls I’m sure were throwing themselves at him since he was the star football player. I looked at him until he noticed that I was still standing in the middle of my room with my shoes on.

“What?” His voice came out strong and sharp.

“I just…I was just thinking that I’m a little confused.” My arms were folded across my chest defensively.

“Confused about what?”

“Confused about why you did that at the party and why you drove all the way here and why you showed up at my door completely unannounced and why you’re lying in my bed and why you’re looking at me like I'm being crazy right now!” It all spilled out so fast and in one breath.

“That guy was a jerk and it was clear you weren’t interested, so I did something about it.”

“Butwhy?” I asked, hoping for a very specific response.

“Because Haley, you’re my friend and friends protect one another.” He sat up in my bed and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair, his eyes cast toward the cold tile floor.

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