“I’m heading home. Things with Jenna didn’t go as planned.”
“Struck out? Man, you should have bought her the nachos. Nothing says I love you like soggy, greasy game nachos. How do you think I got Reese to go out with me?”
“Nachos, yeah. I’ll remember that next time. Later.”
The gloomy underside of the bleachers smelled of imitation butter and rust with a hint of mildew. A few stragglers stood in the concession stand line, waiting for their caffeine and popcorn fix, as the Wildcat band played the opening march. Aaron ducked into the men’s room to wash popcorn butter off his hands and to gather his thoughts. It should have been the one Quinn-free place in the whole stadium, but before he could even turn off the tap, two guys entered, and of course, they had to be talking about her.
“Man, Quinn’s totally lost it. Did you see her yell at everyone and storm out like that?”
“Drugs, man. They can really mess up your mind.”
Aaron dried his hands on his jeans and slipped out the door before he could hear any more. He was sick to death of hearing her name. The rusted entrance gate squeaked as Aaron pushed his way out into the parking lot.
He wanted to put the whole night behind him—Quinn, Jenna—he couldn’t seem to do anything right. It was time to focus on other things. Quinn was a lost cause and Jenna, well, he could never start something with her until he got Quinn out of his system. She was like poison eating at him from the inside out, but he didn’t know what the antidote was.
A raucous laugh exploded somewhere in front of him, followed by the crash of glass hitting the pavement. Probably some underage tailgaters getting drunk. Aaron shook his head and kept walking. Another rough snicker followed a catcall.
“Hey, sweet thing.” Two boys wearing Eastwood t-shirts stumbled after a girl. He could just make out her silhouette a few feet in front of them. She had her arms crossed, head down, trying to ignore them.
Quinn.
What the hell was she doing out here? He balled his hands into fists.
You’ve got to be kidding me! Why couldn’t he do anything without the universe throwing her right in his path? His head told him to keep walking, that getting involved led to rejection and heartache, but his feet wouldn’t obey, stopping and forcing him to watch as his anger argued with his conscience.
One of the boys caught up with Quinn and stepped in front of her path. “Where ya going, little Filly?” The boy’s speech slurred, and he brandished a half-empty beer bottle in her face. She pushed it out of the way and picked up her pace.
It’s not about Quinn, he rationalized. He would do it for any girl in the same situation.
“Yeah, tired of watching your team lose? Why don’t you join our party?” The other boy grabbed his crotch and made a lewd gesture. “I’ll give you a taste of a real winner.”
His friend stopped to retch.
No matter how angry he was, he couldn’t just leave her. He would never forgive himself if he walked away and something terrible happened—no matter who the girl was.
The first boy, the bigger of the two, grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “Hey, I’m talking to you.” He grabbed her face and forced her to look at him. He smiled as he swayed. “That’s right. You know you want some of this.”
Aaron broke into a run. Quinn stood her ground, and he hoped she didn’t do something stupid before he made it to her. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to kiss an Eastwood boy,” she said and leaned into him. Drunk and stupid, he took the bait. Instead of kissing him, she spat in his face. He wiped at the saliva running down his cheek and looked confused, and she took that moment to knee him in the crotch. Crumpling to the ground, he moaned in pain.
By that time, the other boy had finished retching and grabbed her from behind. Rage worked its way through Aaron, and he barreled toward his target. Quinn screamed as she dragged her nails across her captor’s bare forearms and kicked him in the shin. The boy loosened his grip enough for Quinn to escape.
She bolted as Aaron plowed into him, knocking him to the ground. They rolled across the jagged asphalt, wrestling to come out on top. The pain must have sobered his opponent enough to gain the upper hand. Throwing Aaron off, they both staggered to their feet, but Aaron wasn’t fast enough. The boy took a swing and caught Aaron in the jaw. Pain exploded as his neck snapped back. The bull inside Aaron was fully awake now.
The boy must have sensed it. His eyes widened as Aaron lowered his head and charged, butting him right in the stomach and knocking him to the ground. Air exploded from his opponent’s lips as he curled into a ball, wheezing and gasping for breath. Aaron loomed over him, fists ready, but the fight had gone out of him.
Aaron’s chest heaved. He turned to find Quinn. She’d made it halfway across the parking lot and never looked back. It would take some serious sprinting to catch her. “Quinn!” He called as he ran. “Wait.”
She was fast, but he was faster. “Quinn?” He grabbed her shoulder.
Her jaw tensed, and she pushed him as hard as she could.
“Hey!” He gasped to catch his breath. “What’s your problem? It’s me.”
The tension drained from her body as she doubled over and vomited into the grass.
“Oh god. I’m sorry.” She said between dry heaves. “I thought you were one of them.”
Aaron massaged his temples as he paced. Anger ebbed and flowed through him. He wanted to explode, to tell her how sick he was of coming to her rescue only to have her push him away. Watching her crouched in the grass, shaking and vulnerable, constrained his irritation. She’d just been attacked; maybe he should cut her a little slack. He bent down next to her and tentatively placed a hand on her back as she emptied her stomach. When the spasms finally eased, Aaron pulled a napkin he had stuck in his pocket from the concession stand and handed it to her. “Better?”
Quinn nodded, and then the floodgates opened. Her whole body shook as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Caught off guard, he stiffened and patted her shoulder. He didn’t want to encourage her, but he couldn’t exactly turn her away, not after everything she’d just been through. Let her calm down, walk her to safety, and then be on his way.
“I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my whole life.”
When it was convenient, when she needed something from him. How many times did she have to push him away for him to get the picture? Now it was his chance to push her away, turn around, and keep walking. But his heart betrayed his head as her tears soaked his shirt, each one a bolt of lightning through his veins. She consumed him; her emotions exploded in the back of his head with a flash. He tried to maneuver through the onslaught of feeling, the deep anger, hurt, confusion, and fear, emanating off her in waves.
Their physical touch magnified the telepathic link times a thousand, and Aaron couldn’t seem to sever it. In a desperate attempt to ease the intensity of her emotion, he fed calm, safe thoughts to her, giving her his strength. In return, her hunger for reassurance drew him closer. It was working; her thoughts were evening out, becoming content and less chaotic, but the more he gave, the more tangled their minds became, and he was becoming weaker every second. Jelly replaced his knees as she leeched energy from him. He had to turn off the tap before she drained him dry.
***
Quinn couldn’t stop shaking. The events of the night played over and over in her mind. And Aaron, there he was again, rubbing her back as she puked her guts out, comforting her while she cried. Most guys would have turned their backs, run away from an emotional basket case like her, but not Aaron.
It took everything inside her not to blurt out what she’d seen in the stadium, to tell him everything as he held her close. Her questions and uncertainty about everyone and everything ate at her from the inside out, burning a hole in her so deep she couldn’t imagine being whole again. At this point she wanted to trust someone, anyone. She needed someone to tell her she wasn’t crazy. Doubt crept up on her. If she was going to trust anyone,
it should be Reese, not some boy she barely knew. But Reese wasn’t here, and Aaron was. The voices, or whatever they were, had said he didn’t care about her, but if that were the case, why did he always arrive when she needed him most?
Being near him calmed her, restored balance in her head and made the darkness recede. She pulled him tighter, and her racing heart slowed, her thoughts cleared. His arms were the safest place in the world, and she didn’t want him to let her go. She could trust him, tell him everything.
“Quinn.” Her name sounded beautiful coming from his lips. She wanted him to say it again. “Quinn.” This time her name sounded strained on his lips. Cupping her cheek, he raised her eyes to his, and she tilted her head in anticipation of his soft kiss. “I’m sorry.” Stilted words rasped against her waiting mouth, and he gently pushed her away, untangling himself from her grip. She blinked, confused. What happened? Had she done something wrong? Released from the soothing shelter of his embrace, the dark thoughts returned.
Aaron stood several feet away, arms crossed, eyes glazed, cold. Quinn wasn’t special. He would have defended any girl he saw being attacked. Of course he didn’t care about her. How stupid could she be? And to think she almost confided in him. Quinn wrinkled her nose as the memory of Aaron lip locked with that gorgeous brunette flashed across her mind. What an idiot, throwing herself at him when he was with someone else. “You better get back to that girl you were with before she notices you’re gone.”
“What girl?” Aaron looked confused.
“The one with the throat you stuck your tongue down at the game. Or did you forget?” Quinn rummaged in her purse for a stick of gum to erase the bitter taste of bile.
“Jenna?” Aaron’s tone suggested annoyance. “We’re friends.”
Quinn rolled her eyes. “Right.” She had no right to be angry with him, but she couldn’t help herself. The thought of his lips on anyone else drove her crazy. “A friend with benefits.” She ripped the gum from its wrapper and stuffed it in her mouth.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Aaron kicked a rock so hard it skidded a good ten feet across the asphalt. “Why should you care who I kiss? It’s not like we have a relationship. Are we even friends? You don’t have any claim on me. I’m not a dog that will come running when its master calls. You’re a real piece of work, Quinn.”
“Me?” The sting of his words worked through her like poison. “I’m not the one who keeps showing up out of the blue like some creepy stalker.” She spit back and immediately regretted it.
“Stalker?” Aaron stumbled backward. “Is that seriously what you think of me?”
Quinn covered her mouth, wishing she could take it back. “No.” She stuttered, frantic to repair the damage she’d inflicted. She reached for him, but he flinched away. “I was angry. I didn’t mean it. Please, I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry.” Pain flashed in his eyes. “Sorry for saving your ass over and over again with no thanks.” He slammed his fist into his palm. “Sorry I believed the kiss we shared meant something, that I let you get under my skin. And most of all, I’m sorry you were too blind to see how much I cared about you.” He huffed and raked a stray hair from his forehead.
Cared? Past tense? Turning her head from Aaron, she pulled her sleeves over her fingertips and wiped a tear from her cheek. She swallowed the lump in her throat and ran a hand through her hair.
“Aaron, I … ”
He closed the gap between them in two steps. His hands closed around her arms, clenching and unclenching them with every breath, feverish heat spread across her skin with his touch. Two pools of golden green looked into the depths of her eyes, and her breath caught in her chest. “Every time I get close to you, you push me away. I wanted to have one night, one second where I didn’t think about you.”
And then his lips were on hers. She rocked with the fierceness of his kiss, and she kissed him back, twining her hands through his dark hair, her heartbeat outracing his.
He pulled his mouth from hers, cupped the back of her neck, and pulled her forehead to meet his until they were eye to eye. “If you really want to know the truth, if I had to choose between you and Jenna, I would choose you,” he whispered, breath ragged, laced with what sounded like anguish. “God knows why because you sure as hell wouldn’t choose me over Jeff. I’m tired of playing games.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I kissed Jenna to stop thinking of you. There. I’ve said it. I don’t want to like you, Quinn.” And with that, he let her go. “What I really want is for you to leave me alone.” Aaron turned, shoulders heaving, and stalked away. “I’m done.”
Paralyzed by the sting of his words, her first instinct turned to anger, she wanted to defend herself, but she couldn’t, not with the realization of how much he cared about her. She had treated him like shit, and for what? Jeff? Jeff didn’t give a crap about her anymore; he was with Kerstin.
Panic writhed within her. She couldn’t bear for him turn his back on her now.
“Aaron, please. Let me explain.” She ran after him, reaching for his arm.
Aaron stopped cold, slapping her hand away, turning his hard gaze upon her. “Explain what? How you run back into Jeff’s arms every time we get close? How you push me away every chance you get?”
“It’s complicated.”
“It’s really not. Jeff is with Kerstin, you either like me or you don’t. Simple.”
She wanted it to be simple, to tell him she could see herself falling for him, but the words stuck in her throat. Falling in love with him meant letting him in, and letting him in meant being vulnerable. He would see the real her, and the real Quinn was a mess. Voices. Shadows. Who would stick around for that kind of crazy? She sure as hell wouldn’t.
When she didn’t reply right away, Aaron sighed and shook his head. “That’s what I thought. You’re safe now. I’m out of here. Don’t expect my help again.”
Quinn watched him walk away. Truth was, she couldn’t imagine life without Aaron now. He’d been the only thing that made her feel sane. Why hadn’t she recognized it earlier? Why had she been fighting it? Aaron had etched himself on her heart while she’d been busy pining for a guy who had moved on. Erasing Aaron from her heart would be impossible. If she let herself, she would love him. It was now or never. She had to jump in or lose him forever.
“Wait. Please.” Quinn stepped in front of him, walking backward, getting in his way every time he tried to dodge her. “I’m sorry, Aaron.” She had to make him listen. “You’re right. I shouldn’t care that you kissed Jenna.” With Jenna’s name, he groaned and turned around to avoid her and walked in the opposite direction. Quinn turned too, putting herself in his path. “But I do, and that’s how I know you’re wrong about Jeff.” It felt good to tell him how she felt, a first step. Maybe if she could trust him with her heart, she could trust him with everything else, eventually.
Aaron stopped, but he wouldn’t look at her. Instead, he fiddled with a guitar pick he retrieved from his pocket, avoiding her pleading eyes. “What do you want from me, Quinn?” He sighed.
She took his hands and forced him to look at her. “Maybe it’s too late, but I want you to know that I choose you. Right here, right now. I don’t want you to walk away from me, from us, from what could be.”
Aaron didn’t move. He didn’t say anything. He stared at her, his eyes searching hers. Her heart hammered against her chest. A sliver of light crossed Aaron’s face.
“Oh my god! Look at your cheek!” She ran a finger across the puffy red welt rising on his usually chiseled jaw. He flinched. “It’s swelling up. You should get some ice on it.”
“It’s fine.” Aaron pushed her hand away. “I’ve had worse. Honest.”
“You put some serious moves on that guy. I didn’t know you were half ninja.” He didn’t even give the hint of a smile at her lame attempt at a joke. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, not sure what else to say. As long as Aaron still stood in front of her, she might still have a chance.
> Aaron shook his head. “You’re right, it’s too late.” He didn’t move.
“If you really believe that, walk away. I won’t follow.” Quinn gave him an out, and he didn’t take it, but he still didn’t look convinced. “You said you thought our kiss didn’t mean anything, but it did, and that scared me. But I’m not scared now. I want to be with you, to trust you. I’m ready to see what’s between us. I want you to give me one more chance. Please.”
“Is that what you really want?’’
Quinn nodded, afraid to breathe in case he changed his mind.
“I’m a mess. I’m a fool. Please, Aaron. One more chance. I care about you.”
“You have a funny way of showing it.”
“Want to get out of here? Talk?” She motioned to the exit. “You have a car?”
“Motorcycle.” Aaron straightened and looked at her as if he were trying to decide whether or not to buy what she was selling.
“I’ve never been on a motorcycle before.”
“Won’t you be missed?” Aaron pointed at the stadium, thawing slightly.
“Screw them. I’ll be suspended by the end of the week anyway. Please, Aaron. I can’t go back up to those vultures. Run away with me. Please.”
Aaron sighed, took her hand, and twined his fingers around hers. He searched her eyes, and she didn’t flinch away, opening herself up to scrutiny, hoping he would see her sincerity. It must have worked because after a few seconds, he nodded. “Okay. Where should we go?”
“As far from Westland as possible. Somewhere away from brunettes and ex-boyfriends.”
He rubbed his jaw. “Okay,” he said decisively and pulled her through the rows of parked cars.
Aaron’s bike, slate black and silver chrome, waited in the parking lot. Her mother would freak if she saw Quinn on the back of a dangerous, teen-killing machine. Perfect.
Aaron ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ever ridden a bike before?”
Quinn shook her head and with Aaron’s help, settled herself on the bike.
“You’ll have to wear this.” He wiped the inside of the sapphire-blue helmet with his sleeve. “It’s my brother’s.”
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