Page 22 of The Right Guy
“I wasn’t drinking, Ro.” I suddenly became intimidated by his protective anger.
He stared at me quietly, then squatted. “Let’s go, kid.” Ro patted her cheeks and muttered something under his breath when her eyes rolled to the ceiling.
“Cicero?” Kim grumbled. “Don’t tell mom.”
He shoveled his baby sister into his arms and glared at me just as the music blasted from the speakers again.
Turbulent jitters bounced behindmyribcage. I followed him out of the party, toward his red sports car.It was curvedin all the right places and instantly made me think of Fia. Even his car was an ode to her. I opened the passenger door and watched as he maneuvered Kim into the back seat. “We’ll go back to The Loft. She’ll be better off in her own bed.”He scowled.
“Ro, why are you here?” Kim groaned. “Ugh! There’s acid in my tummy. It burns.” Her arm flapped, and her hand smacked her face harder than she’d planned.
“What the fuck were you two thinking of?” Ro gritted out.
“Don’t blame me. I found her like that.”I protested.
Kim hunched forward, and for a second, I thought she was going to barf over his cream leather upholstery.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Kim. Puke in my car, and Iwilltell Mom you got wasted,” he bit out.
“Ada, don’t let him tell her,” she whined beneath fanned fingers, covering her face.
I glanced at Ro. “I was out. When I got back, she wasn’t there. I went to look for her.”
The lights behind me reflected in his eyes, making them dazzle with specks of danger. He just stood there, silent and sullen.
“You did good, kid.” He finally spoke, tossed his keys in the air, and caught them with his other hand.
“Please stop it with the kid. You’re only a bit older than me.” I sank into the low sport seat and strapped myself in.
The engine revved and he kept his eyes on the dashboard. “She’s my kid sister, which makes you her kid friend. It’s not meant to piss you off.”
“Well, it does. I’m not a kid,” I confirmed.
“No, you’re not,” he agreed.
We spent the quick ride to The Loft in silence, except for Kim’s groans when she grappled with the headrest, trying to sit up, only to slide down again. Ro stopped the car as close to the front door as possible and dragged his sister out onto the concrete. As soon as she landed, a jet of vomit arced through the air and splatted right at my feet.
“We’ll have to watch over her.” Ro sighed and folded his arms. I rubbed her back so her heaving stomach would settle. “I’ll stay. We can take turns watching her through the night.”
Ro Huxley was planning to stay in my dorm room. I internally repeated that fact because I couldn’t believeit,and wasn’t sure if I wanted him to.
“No, it’s okay. I don’t sleep that well,anyway. I’ll watch her,” I insisted, for my own mental safety. Iwas still confused about our kiss.
“We’ll take it in turns, Ada. I’ll crash on your bed when you’re watching her. Okay?”
“Okay,” I relented when his smile lit up the darkness.
Eleven
Don’t leave me
Ro carefully placed Kim into bed, stroked a lock of pure white hair away from her pale face, and then stood back, staring at her with a tight expression.
“Our mother was worriedKim would do something stupid like this.” The room was faintly lit by the lamp on my nightstand. His shadow loomed over Kim’s immobile form like a guardian. “Why would she get wasted?” He twisted, and he glared at me with a natural sexy scowl.
The flutters began in my pelvis and swiftly joined the ones in my core. My pulse chugged faster. I gulped repeatedly to calm myself and then shrugged casually. “She got a guy’s number. A dickhead from the pool party. She didn’t tell me they were meeting tonight.”
He blew out a puff of air and slumped on the mattress, placing his elbows on his knees. “Where were you?”
