Page 64 of Saving Barrette

Barrette gasps. “I have not.” I look over at her. She’s blushing. I raise an eyebrow, smirking. “Okay, maybe a little,” she agrees.” Do you have plans today?”

With a grunt, I swing my legs over the side of her bed and stand, still completely naked. She blushes again as her eyes roam over my body, lingering on my dick. “Food first,” I remind her, “but I do have a position meeting at three and then some conditioning.” Reaching for my jeans, I pull them on and glance around her room in search of where my shirt went last night. “What do you say I take you to breakfast.”

Barrette stretches out on the bed, my jersey she’s wearing rising up and revealing her tight stomach. How someone so tiny can actually have muscle definition is beyond me, but she does. “I think I can eat,” she says, her head resting on her hand. She’s staring at the new mason jar I gave her this morning. “But I have a question for you.”

I smile. “Another one?”

“Yep.”

“And?”

Her eyes move from the jar to mine. “Are we like,dating?”

I look over at her again and she’s gazing at me with a perfect combination of playfulness, tenderness, and heat. “I think….” I pause and step toward her, my hands on either side of her hips. I kiss her hipbone, then the other. She threads her hands in my hair as I whisper, “We were dating long before last night.”

“Good.” She yanks my head up. “Because I’d like to start calling you honey. Or babe. Or maybe Bear.”

“Bear?” Laughing, I sit up. It’s nice seeing this side of her again. I almost forgot it existed in the first place.

I find my shirt on the floor next to my shoes. I smile because it smells like her.

With a grin on her face, she reads the quote I taped to the inside of the jar.

She sits up and reaches for my hand, urging me forward. “This one might be my favorite.” I don’t know why, or how, but it’s the first time she’s noticed the busted knuckles. How they went unnoticed this long by her is beyond me because it looks fucking brutal. “Oh my God, what happened? Is that from the game?”

I shake my head. “No.” A ball of emotion works its way into my throat and I struggle to maintain a neutral expression. She waits and runs her fingers gently over my knuckles, waiting for an explanation. “I returned Roman’s shirt before Thanksgiving,” I tell her, my words slow. I don’t want to tell her about the girl.

Her worried ocean eyes find mine. “You hit him?”

“No. I hit the wall beside him.” My chest tightens at the admission.

“Oh.” Her eyes are on mine, so many unspoken questions playing them.

I draw in a breath, hoping it gives me courage. It doesn’t. “When I went to his dorm, there was a girl on the floor and all I saw was you.”

Her brows collapse, her hand on her mouth concealing her gasp. “Was she…?” Her words pause, her chin shaking with emotions she can’t contain. “Did he…?” Again, she can’t continue.

“I don’t know. She was clearly drunk, but I think okay. Campus security took her.” I move closer and sit next to her on the bed. She rests her head on my shoulder, her breathing heavy. Guilt rushes through me. For not telling her sooner, and for no reason at all other than if I hadn’t left Barrette the night of the party, none of this would have happened. But then again, I can’t think like that. Just because I hadn’t been at that party, didn’t mean it couldn’t have happened in the four years I was gone. I think about Roman. Every good memory I have of my childhood friend is now tarnished by his betrayal.

I stop myself from the thoughts flooding through me. I’m tired of feeling this way. I won’t let myself any longer and I won’t lether. She deserves better.

I cup her cheek with my hand and twist to face her. “This is just another reminder that going to the police was the right thing to do.” Gently, I grab her by the hips and place her on my lap. She rests her forehead against mine. “Please don’t worry. I’m going to protect you.”

She has that look on her face. The one that screams you’ve lost your damn mind. Actually, it’s shock. It’s similar to the one she gave me last night when she found out I was a virgin until her. “Asa, I’m scared of what this means for you.”

I lean back, searching her eyes and trying to understand where she’s coming from. “What do you mean?”

“You’re on the team with him. He’s well-known and I just, I don’t know….” Panic rushes through her, a tremble working its way to her hands. “You saw him last night. He doesn’t care. I’m worried about his reaction.”

“Hey.” I cup her face in my hands and make her look at me. “We’re gonna be fine,” I assure her. “We’ll figure it out.”

Blinking slowly, she sighs, her shoulders sinking. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she kisses me and then draws back. “Should we see if Joey and Terrell want to get some breakfast?” Though her words are light, there’s an underlying worry to them.

“Sure.”

Life and happiness, it’s fragile. It can all go away in a matter of seconds. Never take that for granted. I would never take Barrette and her love for granted. Not ever. And there is no way in hell I’m going to give Roman the chance to destroy that.

“ASA, OH MYGod, you were amazing last night.”

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