Page 13 of Forever Yours
He leans in and his hot, alcohol-tinged breath hits me in the face. “Shit,” I mutter and pull back from him again.
His arms are like shackles as they come around me. “Come on, you know you want me. Everyone wants me.”
This guy just doesn’t get it, does he? I raise my arm and curl my fist tight just like Brian and Liam taught me, ready to punch my would-be attacker.
“Fuck that. No one touches my girl.” Before I’ve registered what’s happening, Liam is pulling Matt off me and hauling him to his feet.
“You like making girls feel scared? Is that a real turn-on man?” I register a crunch as Liam’s hard fist connects with Matt’s face.
Matt moans and slumps to the ground. Liam doesn’t give up though, hauling him up by the collar again and punching him. I swear I hear cartilage break.
I grab his arm before he can swing it again. “It’s done Liam. He won’t hurt me again.”
He gazes at me with a wild look in his eyes. “He tried to hurt you, Soph.” His voice is that of a little boy and my heart aches for him.
I tug his arm again. “I know. But I’m okay. Because you were here. Because you’ve always been here.”
Liam finally lets Matt go and his limp body slides to the ground. After a moment, he moans and curls into the fetal position.
“Take me home, Liam,” I say and hold out my arm.
Chapter Fifteen
Nobody touches what’s mine- Liam
Liam
I’m still vibrating with rage by the time I get Sophie back to my apartment.
“Liam, I’m fine. Just take me back to my room. I’ll be okay.” Sophie sounds tired as she sits at one of the counter stools and takes a sip from the water bottle I gave her.
I pace back and forth across the kitchen floor. “You’re not fine. He could have done anything to you, Soph. It was luck that I was there. God, if I hadn’t been…” my voice trails off as I think about all the horrible possibilities of what fate could have befallen her.
Sophie raises an eyebrow. “Yes, it’s very lucky that you were there. In a random parking lot, on a Friday night, nowhere near campus.” She taps her lips. “Very lucky indeed.”
Shit.“Well, there’s a gym over there I like. I was just coming from working out.”
She surveys me up and down. “You work out in khakis? And I thought you worked out at the school gym with all the other athletes.” Her skeptical look makes it clear she doesn’t believe me.
My shoulders fall and I run my hand through my hair. “I followed you,” I whisper.
She crosses her arms. “I know. My question is why? If you’re so incapable of feeling anything for me, why follow me? Why watch me?”
I lean across the bar so that we’re face to face. “I never said I don’t feel anything for you, Soph. I said I can’t be what you need.” I reach out to touch her face and she leans into my hand. “And I follow you because it gives me comfort. It makes something in here,” I point to my chest, “settle down so that I can breathe.”
She closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens her baby blues, the glare she gives me is fierce in intensity. “Why do you say stuff like that?” She stands up from the bar. “Why can’t you just be awful so I can let you go?”
I try to hold back a grin but fail at it. “I’ll try to be awful from now on, Sophie.”
She pushes at my chest. “You don’t get it all, do you? I need to leave you behind.” She holds her hands to her heart. “If you can’t feel what I feel, then I need to let you go.”
She turns and I gulp hard. “So, you’re just going to leave?” I ask softly.
She swings around. “What else would you have me do? Wait until you think you’re ready? You say that you won’t ever be. What should I do? Wait forever?” The agony in her voice is real and my head drops to my chest.No, I can’t make her wait forever. I won’t do that to her.
I feel panic as her hand reaches for the doorknob. There has to be a way through this. A way to give us what we both want.
“Wait Soph,” I say softly.
