Page 8 of The Marriage Deal
"Yeah, yeah. Call me when you get to your hotel room."
"Of course."
I ended the call and chugged down the rest of my drink. Now that the alcoholic fog was wearing off, I realized that I had to make serious plans for where to go. I could do the hotel thing, but I was sure my wallet was in my purse, which I left at Wyatt's place. Fuck. I staggered out of my seat and wandered out of the bar. It was close to midnight, but the campus streets were busy. I stumbled and leaned against the walls of the pub. My vision was hazy. I had underestimated the alcoholic content of those cocktails, and it was all threatening to come out. My body doubled over in preparation for a hurl of vomit, but nothing came out. I was still feeling nauseous, and taking deep breaths didn't seem to be working.
"Hey!" someone called out. "Are you okay?" I heard a whistle and looked up. Two men who looked like sophomores were sauntering over to me. Ugh. Frat boys. "You look pretty wasted," one said in a bemused voice.
"I'm fine, thanks." I waved them away weakly. Instead of taking it as the dismissal it was, they took it as an opening.
"Are you sure?" I heard one of them say. They were coming closer. I felt a hand on my back. "You don't look fine."
"Hey!" a third voice called out. "Get away from her!"
"Who the fuck are you?" Frat boy one said.
"Her boyfriend."
I heard a snicker, but then a few moments later,thehand disappeared, and another, much gentler one went around my waist, helping me up. I could recognize that cologne anywhere. It reminded me of oak and morning dew.
"Levi?" My gaze went to his face. It was him, alright. He wasn't wearing his glasses, making his gray eyes even more devastatingly mesmerizing under street lights.
"I told you to wait for me inside," he said.
Huh. "Sorry," I muttered, not sure what I was going along with. I just wanted to be out of here.
"See?" he said to the frat bros. "She's fine, fellas. Thanks for your concern." To me, he whispered into my ear softly, "You looked like you were going somewhere?" A thrill ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the chilly weather.
"The parking lot. I left my car there."
Levi helped me towards the parking lot. My heavy legs and nausea made me stagger, but walking helped to clear my head somewhat.
"You shouldn't leave a beautiful woman like that alone," Frat boy two shouted.
"Ignore them," I said when I felt Levi turn. "What are you doing here?"
"Am I not allowed to go to a pub?"
I snorted. "You don't fraternize with the plebs."
"What are you doing here? Where's Wyatt? Should I call him?"
"No!"
Levi jerked back, surprised by my vehement refusal.
"I mean," I said in a lower voice, "please don't call him. We, uh, fought."
"At dinner?"
"We didn't even make it to dinner."
"I should have realized," he said, waving at my clothes. I was still wearing the same outfit I had on during the day. "That bad, huh?" he added.
I nodded. I didn't know how to tell him I had found Wyatt in bed with my friend. Wyatt was his friend, too. The whole thing was a mess.
We arrived at the parking lot where my battered yellow Mini Cooper was sitting next to his much more impressive Maybach SL. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he had looked for my car and parked next to it, considering the parking lot was nearly empty. "I didn't park next to yours deliberately. It wasn't as deserted as it is now," he said almost self-consciously. And when I turned to look at him, his cheeks had some color. Odd. The most confident man I knew was acting shy.
"I didn't say anything."
