The other guy glanced over at her and suppressed a snort of laughter. “She is pretty massive, though. Do you like a bit of booty now, Ryker?”
Ryker swung at him, his fist connecting with the guy’s jaw.
Jenna’s hands clutched to her mouth, staring in horror. Shrieks of alarm issued all around them, and people began to push back, creating space around the brawling men.
The bigger man charged Ryker from behind. Ryker elbowed him in the stomach, and then turned his fist, connecting with his nose with a crack that made Jenna sick to her stomach. The guy ended up doubled over, his hands at his face as blood streamed through his fingertips.
Neither man appeared to plan on fighting back.
Ryker pointed a finger at them. “Don’t say a bad word about her again, or you’ll have more than a bloodied nose to worry about.”
He turned from the men and wrapped his arm around Jenna’s shoulder, leading her away from the mess. People parted as they walked through the crowd, muttering under their breath. Jenna kept her head down, mortified that a fight had been started because of her—and because of her weight, no less. It was embarrassing enough having people call her names in the street, though it was something she’d grown used to, but having someone start a fight about it made her want to vanish into the ground.
As soon as they got far enough away from the scene of the fight, she shrugged Ryker’s arm off her shoulder.
“I can’t believe you just did that!”
His brows knitted together. “What? Stand up for you?”
“I don’t need you to stand up for me. I’m a big girl, as everyone seems so keen on pointing out.”
“No one should be calling you names.”
Something troubled her and she chewed her lower lip before saying, “The thing is, Ryker, did you start that fight because they insulted me, or insulted you?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“No? Those guys were insulting you just as much as me.”
“How do you work that one out?”
“Because they were pointing out that you were with me.”
“Jenna, being with you could never be an insult. You’re gorgeous, and I don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks about me being with you. I hit those guys because they were calling you names. No other reason. I hate that it feels like everyone is out to hurt you. That’s what makes me crazy.”
“You’re not out to hurt me,” she said, daring to hope.
He stared deep into her eyes and she wanted to lose herself in their blue depths. “No, Jenna. I’ll never hurt you.”
More than anything, she wanted to believe him.
Chapter Twelve
With the party over, at least for them, they walked back to Ryker’s house. Ryker held her hand the whole way, and she found herself clutching tightly to his fingers, not wanting him to let go. Despite everything, her resolve to leave as soon as possible was unraveling with every moment she spent in his company. Even though she hated that Ryker had become embroiled in a fight because of her, her heart lightened at the thought of someone caring enough to stand up for her. She’d never experienced that before.
Jenna had never been so torn in her whole life—even when she’d been with Garrett and had known deep down that he was bad for her. Back then, she’d known in her heart that she needed to leave him, while her head reasoned that he was all she was ever going to be worth. Now everything was topsy-turvy. Her heart longed to stay, while her head told her it was impossible. But the longer she stayed here, the quieter the voice telling her all those reasons for leaving became.
They made it back to his place with no further incidents. Mikey still sat on the couch in the exact same position he’d been when they left. The only change was that he now wore a large pair of headphones which were plugged into his computer. The boy didn’t even notice that he now had company.
Ryker walked over and waved his hand in front of his brother’s face, making Mikey jump.
“We’re home,” Ryker said.
“Yeah, and you just made me die!”
“Don’t be so dramatic. You only got a fright.”
Mikey rolled his eyes. “No, on my game. I got shot in the head because of you.”
Ryker exhaled and shook his head. “Good to see you, too.”
They left Mikey to it and headed into the kitchen. Both of them were still covered in tomato juice, though it had dried on the way home, making their clothes crusted and glued to their bodies.
“Do you think you’ll get in trouble?” Jenna asked Ryker. “You know, because of the fight?”
He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “I hope not. Neither of those guys are the type to get the cops involved. I didn’t exactly make the best of role models for Mikey, though. If the news gets back to him—which it probably will, knowing this town—I won’t have a leg to stand on next time he gets into a fight and I attempt to ground him for it.”