Brady tilts to his left and I can see that he’s had more to drink than I initially thought. “Dude… Cole, I swear that I had no idea that the chick was here with you.” He chokes on a laugh and slaps my shoulder. “You never bring girls to this kind of thing. I thought that you liked the room to play a bit?”
My eyes meet Aimee’s. She blinks nervously and opens her mouth. “It’s not—”
I cut her off by applying gentle pressure to her neck because she does not need to clarify the situation for this asshole. If she does, he’ll only see it as an invitation and he’ll be right back to ogling her tits and imagining what it would be like to get her in a dark corner. Brady Samuels is one horny dude. He’s like a fourteen year old running rampant in a porn shop.
“It turns out that you don’t know shit, Brady, which is why I’m just giving you a warning that she’s not available. Got it?” My hip brushes Aimee’s arm as I move into the space beside her.
Brady shakes his head and I can tell that he’s not going to be a problem anymore. He stalks off toward the inside bar and he doesn’t look back. I’m guessing that he’s going to find the guys on the team and ask them what the fuck is up with me tonight. That’s fine. Let them try to analyze it because I sure as hell can’t figure it out.
Breathing heavily, I turn back to the bar and see that Aimee has closed her eyes. It gives me a chance to study her—to soak her in—which is something that I’ve wanted to do since the first time I saw her. Everything about this girl seems ridiculously delicate. Even the pink scar that weaves across her pale skin looks like it was drawn on her body with a fine-tip paintbrush.
My eyes slowly follow the outline of her small mouth and the slope of her nose and cheeks before moving over to the thin skin of her eyelids. She’s got these insane dark spiky lashes that magnify her light eyes like she’s some kind of doll or anime character. And that freckle…
“Are you okay?” I ask, yanking myself away from my thoughts. Damn it. Does my voice sound as scratchy as I think it does?
She doesn’t answer right away and I worry that Brady really upset her. I press two fingers under her chin and force her eyes up to mine. “I promise that he won’t bother you again, Aimee. I’ll make sure of it.”
“It’s not that,” she says, sucking her bottom lip in between her teeth. She blinks rapidly and I’m afraid that she’s about to cry. What the hell will I do if she starts crying? I’m not one of those guys who understands what it takes to be comforting.
She pulls away from me and squeezes her shoulders in around her body. “I-I’m just completely embarrassed and sorry that you had to pretend to be here with me. What a joke.” She grimaces. “Is that guy one of your friends?”
“I wouldn’t call him a friend. He’s on the track team with me so, yeah, I have to put up with his shit pretty frequently, but it’s damn sure not out of choice.” I flex my jaw and push my hands back through my hair. What is it about this girl that has my emotions all over the place? “And, Aimee, you have nothing to be sorry about. Brady should have left you alone the first time that you said that you weren’t interested.”
“It wasn’t anything—just harmless flirting. I’m the one that let him buy me the drink and fries so I don’t think I can get too angry about it.”
My eyes dart to the glass in her hand. I make a low sound of disapproval in the back of my throat. Why did she let that asshole buy her anything? “You really shouldn’t go around accepting anything from random guys that approach you at bars. He could have put something in your drink. It’s not safe and—”
The expression on her face stops me cold. Shit. She looks like I just ran over her puppy and then I want to kick myself in the balls because I remember who this girl is and what she’s been through.
“It’s only a soda and trust me—I’m always careful. It never left my sight, and anyway,” she shakes her head lightly, “it was an apology.”
I take a deep breath and soften my voice. “For what?”
She shrugs. “He bumped into me when I first got here.”
I don’t want her to think that I’m a dickhead like Brady, but I do want to lighten the mood and I’ve just found my opening. I brace my elbows on the edge of the bar. “Why didn’t you say so? You can buy me a Jack and coke—lots of ice.”
“What?” She sputters and her mouth twitches. It’s not a real smile, but it’s damn close so I’ll take it.