“Alright, assclown,” the stranger said, long legs stepping over the bench separating him from Ryan. He moved in slowly, cigarette still hanging from his lips, leaning down so he would be at Ryan’s eye level. After a long minute, he took the cigarette between his lean fingers and exhaled smoke directly in Ryan’s face. “I suggest you run along and find someone else to bother, ya hear me?” His words were slow and deliberate, thickening his accent.
“Or what?” Ryan’s smile was smug, and I was fairly certain he didn’t realize daddy’s money wasn’t going to help him if his jaw was wired shut. Anxiety coiled through me; the other man didn’t strike me as the type of guy who worried about silly little things like the law. That quickly, he had Ryan by the collar, lifting him off the ground. Ryan’s boat shoes tapped for traction on the warped wood floor of the pavilion.
“Hey, come on, let’s get out of here.” I turned to see Josh and almost bumped into his chest with the movement. My first instinct was to pull away from him for fear that his close proximity to me would upset Remi or cause her to growl at him. Surprisingly, she moved toward Josh, leaning her body against his legs as if she was seeking protection from the fight erupting nearby.
“Enough, Jeff,” Josh said, his tone hardened as if he were annoyed by more than the argument in front of us. Ryan grunted, struggling in Jeff’s grasp, but Jeff seemed unaffected, tilting his head to look at Josh.
“He was yelling at her,” he tilted his head toward Taylor and simultaneously shook Ryan by the collar. The way he looked at Josh, I realized instantly that they knew each other well and that the fact they were both popping up in my vicinity on a regular basis was not a coincidence.
Ryan gasped in Jeff’s hold, and when Jeff finally let go, he collapsed to the floor like he was a heap of trash.
Josh leaned down and whispered against my ear, “Come on, you don’t want to get involved in all of this.” He wrapped an arm around my back to usher me forward as I watched Ryan scrambling to get to his feet. “They’re upsetting her,” Josh said when Remi growled in Ryan’s direction, and she was my deciding factor to follow Josh out of the boathouse. I looked back at Taylor to tell her to come with me, but she was glaring down at Ryan, arms crossed over her chest. I knew she’d be okay with Matt there, and I needed to get Remi away from all the chaos to calm her down.
Once we were on the lawn outside the boathouse, Josh leaned down, and before I could tell him that Remi didn’t like men or pull her away, he was kneeling in front of her rubbing her ears. I stood there absolutely dumbfounded that she not only allowed him to touch her, but she was leaning into his touch, rubbing her face against his sweatshirt.
“She’s never…” I stooped down next to them, placing my hand on her back and watching as she ate up all the attention he was giving her. “She doesn’t really like people touching her.”
“I had a dog kind of like this when I was a kid,” he said softly, looking at me with the kindest eyes, and it was hard to reconcile his current expression with some of the other interactions I’d had with him. “She was sweet,” he said, rubbing Remi’s chin and smiling when she leaned all of her body weight into him and went down on her side, flipping over for him to rub her belly.
“You sound sad, like it’s not a good memory.” What I wanted to say was that he sounded the way I felt when I remembered something from before the attack—nostalgic in a melancholy way. I reached out and rubbed Remi’s back foot as she wiggled in the grass under Josh’s hands. He nodded, and his eyes searched mine a little too long, as if he were trying to gauge my reaction. I looked away, breaking the eye contact, feeling an embarrassed blush creep up my cheeks at his scrutiny.
“We didn’t have her for very long.” He shrugged, patting his leg for Remi to rest her head there. “My dad wasn’t a good guy,” he said, pinning me with his eyes once more. “My mom gave her to a family where she’d have a good life.” Now I couldn’t look away from him. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything about him.
“Are you going to tell me why you and your friend are always popping up wherever I am? Why you act like you know me?” I whispered, and this time he was the one who broke eye contact, looking down at Remi and rubbing her face gently.
“Hey, come on, I’m gonna drive you guys home in case that guy is hanging around watching,” Matt yelled, marching across the lawn as he pulled Taylor behind him. I watched as she yanked out of his light hold and shoved him in annoyance.
“I can take you,” Josh said, standing up, and I watched in awe as Remi stood quickly, tipping her head up and licking his hand.
“Addison,” Matt whined as he got closer, causing Remi to back up between Josh and me. Her back stiffened as she watched Matt’s every move. “We’ve gotta get going.” He must have taken one step too close to me, because she leaned forward, snapping her teeth. Josh grabbed her harness, pulling her back, wrapping her in his arms as he lifted her up against his chest with ease.
“Hey, you’re good. No one is going to hurt you,” he said in such a calming tone that Remi’s whole body relaxed against him. I knew the effect he had on her because I’d experienced it first hand. Sometimes when he spoke to me or looked at me a certain way, the comfort I felt with him was not only undeniable but also unexplainable. But then he’d ruin it by shutting down and avoiding any direct questions I asked him.
Someone I just met should not have that much power over my emotions.
Speaking over the low bickering between Taylor and Matt, I said, “Come on, Rem.” I avoided looking at Josh when I scooped her out of his arms because I didn’t want to get sucked back into the little bubble where we always seemed to find ourselves.
I glanced back at the boathouse as I set Remi down on the grass. Maybe Jeff really was just here coincidentally, but I couldn’t shake the feeling he’d been waiting there, watching us out of his peripherals. I took my hand that gripped Remi’s leash and lifted it, giving him a thumbs up. Without breaking his stare on the water, or even turning his head, he grinned and lifted his middle finger at me, letting me know he was still watching.
No matter how comfortable Josh made me, I needed to protect myself above anything else, and things weren’t adding up.
Chapter Nine
The next rugby game was three nights later. Taylor and I were on our way to pick up Laney. We’d ultimately railed against going to the game when Laney suggested it, for more reasons than just the terrible weather forecast, so she ended up getting a ride from Nick. Unsurprisingly, that went poorly and had spiraled into a huge fight just after the game ended.
“Remember when we met Laney, and I told you she was going to be a pain in the ass?” Taylor asked as she maneuvered her car down the slick road, rain lashing the windshield.
“To be fair, you think everyone is a pain in the ass,” I corrected, and she only hummed in agreement. I squinted, trying to see through the windshield wipers’ rapid movements as we pulled into the parking lot of the closed down high school. Because everything was so spaced out in the rural community outside of Kensington University, we were about 40 minutes away from campus.
“Just keep it running, and I’ll go find her,” I said, already opening my door and pulling my hood up around my head. I was hoping that I could get Laney back to the car and avoid seeing Josh.
I was halfway across the parking lot when I heard Laney arguing with Nick over by his Jeep. She was yelling loud enough that her voice carried over the rain that seemed to be coming down harder by the second.
“You completely ignored me, like I don’t even exist just because your friends were around!” she yelled, shoving him so hard that he had to take a step back. Even from feet away, I could see the mascara running down her face mixed with tears, leaving black residue in its wake.
Just as I was about to rush over and try to calm her down before she did something she would regret—again—someone grabbed my arm and spun me around.
“Why are you out here by yourself?” Josh asked, his voice lo
uder than normal to carry over the pounding rain. He was still in his rugby uniform, but he wore an open jacket to shield him from the rain, and my stomach flipped at the intense way he leaned in to look me in the eyes.
I stepped out of his reach, trying to shake off the haziness brought on by his close proximity. I was still unsure of my willingness to trust him, despite how he’d shown such tenderness toward Remi and me during the scuffle in the boathouse.
“I’m just here to get Laney before she causes another scene she’ll regret tomorrow.” I started to walk away, but he pulled me back to him.
He didn’t respond at first, but instead searched my face as the rain picked up and completely drenched my hoodie. “You’re getting soaked. They’re not going to be finished arguing for a while,” he said, reaching out to cup my cheek. “Please just come with me, I really need to talk to you, and every time I try to get the words out, something stops me.”
I eyed him suspiciously, and only when my teeth started chattering from the cold rain seeping into my clothing did I nod, agreeing to leave with him while Laney finished laying out Nick.
It was raining so hard I couldn’t see Laney and Nick anymore as I followed Josh to the edge of the parking lot and under a large tree.
“What do you want to say, Josh? All of this back and forth is getting exhausting. You pop up out of nowhere and then disappear. You kiss me and then tell me it can never happen again. You make me feel like you’re watching my every move and like I should be afraid of you, but I’m not.” I bit my lip, and whipped the residual rain from my face. “And Remi, she doesn’t like anyone, but she loved you. She took to you just like she did me. She doesn’t even let Taylor rub her face like you did.”
I thought he was going to comment on everything I threw at him, and I think he did too because he opened his mouth only to shut it a moment later.
“You’re shivering, let me get you warmed up first,” he finally said, moving toward me, gripping the edge of my sweatshirt and coaxing me to lift my arms, sliding it over my wet hair. Next came my t-shirt, and I blushed, looking away as his eyes roved over the skin my tank top exposed, even in the poor lighting. I could feel his hungry gaze on me, and I felt so cherished and desired under his perusal.
I don’t know what I expected of Josh, but it definitely wasn’t for him to pull a dry hoodie from his backpack and slip it over my head. He reached behind me, grabbing my hair in his fist gently and lifting it from inside the hoodie. He shucked off his coat and wrapped that around me as well.
I opened my mouth to say something, but he swallowed my words as his lips crashed against mine, his palm coming up to caress my jaw. He slowed the kiss down like he was breathing me in as his fingers inched upward into my wet hair. Groaning, he pulled me to him and pushed me back against the tree trunk at the same time. He sucked my bottom lip between his teeth and bit gently, eliciting a moan I’d been trying to suppress since he first put his hands on me. He squeezed the pads of his fingers into my hips, pulling me closer, grinding me against his hardness.
“Addie,” he whispered when he pulled away slightly to breathe, his open lips hovering over mine, brushing gently with a promise of what would come when he’d gotten enough oxygen. I froze in his arms. No one called me Addie anymore, that nickname died with my mom and sister.
“What did you call me?” I pulled away from his mouth, pressing my back hard against the rough tree.
I felt his sharp intake of breath, but before he could answer, a familiar voice interrupted us.
“Yo, Travin. Where are you?” Jeff’s unmistakable southern accent bellowed over the falling rain and my racing heart. “I found her friend, but she’s not…” I’ll never know what the rest of his sentence was because Josh twisted and yelled toward the parking lot, cutting him off.
“I’ll be right there!” Josh didn’t move away from me, his hands gripping me with a gentle firmness as if he knew I was about to bolt.
I pushed against his chest, but he didn’t budge, leaving me trapped against the tree. “Who are you?” I whispered, not even sure he could hear me over the rain.
“It’s not what you think,” he said, trying to pull me to him, but I was too quick, ducking under his arm and stumbling out from under the protection of the tree.
“Then tell me, Josh, what is it?” I yelled as I backed away, not even really seeing him clearly through the rain. I could feel him, sense him in a way I couldn’t explain. “You always say you want to tell me something important, and then you don’t. Clearly you know me, and I used to know you.” I didn’t mention the fact that I’d blocked out everything before the age of seven, because if he didn’t already know that, I didn’t want to give him any more ammunition to use against me.
He moved toward me, getting close enough to touch me, but I was thankful that he didn’t reach out. My mind turned to mush every time his hands glided across my skin, and I needed to keep my senses as I tried to put the pieces together.
“Did you have Jeff follow us? Someone was outside in the woods behind my house the other night after the party. Was it him?” There was no anger in my tone, only exhaustion. I needed to know what his motive was.
“What? No, that wasn’t him,” Josh said, and I could hear the confusion in his voice, which made me think he was telling the truth. “What happened, Addison? Did someone do something to you?”
I huffed because the more I got to know Josh Travin, the more confused I became. “I can’t do this. Find someone else to play games with; I’m tapping out.” I took off his coat and his hoodie swiftly and tossed them at him before turning and running toward the parking lot in nothing but my soaked jeans and tank top.
I made it back to Taylor’s car, where she already had Laney buckled in the front seat.
“Where the hell were you?” Taylor asked when I slid in the backseat and locked the door. “Are you okay? Where’s your sweatshirt?” She asked, putting the car in drive and pulling through the parking lot.
“Josh and I got into it,” I said, my teeth chattering over the sounds of Laney sniffling. I crossed my forearms over my chest and kept my hands up by my neck to hide my scars from their view. I knew Laney most likely wouldn’t take her mind off of her own situation to even glance in my direction. But I was nervous that even in the dark car, Taylor might get a glimpse through the rearview mirror. This was what Josh did to me. He made it difficult to think about anything other than him and how he made me feel. In all the time I’d known Taylor and Laney, I’d never forgotten about my scars once.
Taylor hit the brake momentarily to twist in her seat, looking in the back. “I don’t see it, but dig around. I’ve always got a sweatshirt or a sweater in here somewhere. You’ve gotta be freezing.”
I nodded, keeping my arms crossed over my shirt, hugging myself as the heat wafting through the car finally started to warm me up. Before Taylor turned around to face the steering wheel, she held her hand up to her mouth as if she were holding a bottle and nodded toward Laney to indicate she’d been drinking. I just nodded because it was becoming a normal thing with Laney lately. When she didn’t get her way, she’d drink and have a meltdown that Taylor and I were expected to clean up.
After I found Taylor’s sweater and quickly changed into it, careful not to let my scars show, I leaned up to check on Laney. She wasn’t crying, but she jerked her shoulder away when I reached out to console her. I immediately took my hand away, moving to sit back in my seat. I knew how much it sucked to have someone intrude on a personal struggle when all you wanted to do was forget about it.
“So, what happened with Josh?” Taylor asked after we were on the main road headed home.
I bit my lower lip before answering, debating how much I should reveal. While I wanted to tell her everything, I couldn’t without telling her what happened to my mother and my sister. Sadly, I found that the less people knew about me, the less complicated my life was.
“I think he has that guy Jeff watching us,” I said instead. While it unne
rved me, something in my gut told me that they didn’t have malicious intentions. And for me, the girl who was paranoid about everyone and everything, I’d learned a long time ago to listen to those gut feelings.
“Of course he has someone watching us. Why wouldn’t he?” Taylor’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she flicked on her blinker. Huffing when the car in front of her slowed to a crawl at the intersection, she added, “It has to be us, you know? We’re the common denominators here. We have a creep magnet sewn into our DNA,” she hissed, and I covered my smile with my hands even though I knew she wasn’t looking at me.
“We get it, every guy on campus is obsessed with the two of you,” Laney bit out the words so sharply that I felt my back straighten at the anger in her drunken tone. “No matter what I do, no one wants me.” Her voice broke on a sob as she sniffled out the last few words with such bitterness it made my stomach turn.
I slouched back in my seat and said a silent prayer that Laney’s mood would shift once we got home.
Chapter Ten
During the night, someone busted Taylor’s windshield. I couldn’t wait around for the police because of work, but a feeling of uneasiness loomed the entire day. The fact that someone had been so close to our house while we were completely vulnerable and unaware made me shudder. Despite the noises I heard in the woods the other night, Ryan’s display at the boathouse, and the fact that Laney had the entire rugby team irritated with her, Taylor still seemed to think it was some neighborhood kids causing mischief. She claimed it was because she always beeped at them to get out of her way when they were playing ball in the middle of the street. Whoever it was left my car alone, and didn’t so much as tip over our full trash cans that were sitting at the edge of the driveway, so I didn’t have a lot of confidence in her theory. Something felt off, but I wondered if maybe I was overreacting. Perhaps it really was some mostly harmless kids aggravated that she went out of her way to break up their game. But I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that it was something much more.
Beautiful Legend: An Angsty College Romance Page 6