The man throws his head back and laughs, and then he launches a punch right into Nate’s mouth. I scream, Nate lunges at him, and chaos breaks out in the bar. I watch in horror as Nate drives his fist into the man’s face, and then receives yet another punch. Blood trickles down his chin from his split lip, and his eyes are wild.
“Break it up!” Kelly and Keanu yell at the same time, leaning down to take one man each.
Kelly has Nate and Keanu has the older man. Nate has a swelling eye and a split lip, and he’s panting with fury. “If a girl says no, she means fuckin’ no!” he roars.
“You’ll pay for this,” the old man bellows.
Kelly drags Nate from the bar and I begin to panic. I rush around to Quinn, who is watching with wide eyes.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“I’m okay. I’m going to see if he’s good to get home. Is that all right with you?”
She nods. “Josh is away tonight, so he’s left me in charge. Jessica will be here in ten minutes so you’re okay to leave. I’ve got this, go.”
I hug her quickly. “Thank you.”
“Text me later,” she says as I throw my apron down and rush out.
Kelly is outside with Nate, who is pacing up and down the sidewalk. When he sees me, he charges over. “You okay?”
“Shit, Nate,” I say, staring at his battered face.
“He needs to go home, Av,” Kelly says. “I can’t drive. I’ve had too much to drink – we were down the road drinking before we came here so we’re all out.”
“I’ll take him.”
Kelly nods and glares at Nate. “Sleep it off, bro.”
Then he gives me a quick hug before going inside again. I stare at Nate, feeling my heart swell with emotion. “I’ll take you home.”
“Don’t wanna go home,” he grunts.
“Where do you want to go?”
He looks me in the eye. “With you.”
“Nate . . .”
“Just let me hang at your house for a few hours, Dancer. I can’t go home like this.”
“All right, I’ll take you home and clean that up,” I say, pointing to his eye. “Then we’ll work out what to do from there.”
He nods and I point to my car across the road. He follows me over and we both get in, silent, worried. The entire drive to my place is the same and by the time we get there, you could cut the tension in the air with a knife.
“You didn’t have to do that for me, Nate,” I say, daring to make conversation.
“He was sleazing onto you, and he wouldn’t accept your refusal.”
“It happens a lot,” I offer. “I’m okay.”
“I’m not,” he grinds out, turning to me. “I’m not, because I fuckin’ hate seeing another man’s hands on you.”
“Nate . . .”
He swings the car door open and climbs out, stalking to my front door without another word. I sigh and follow him, unlocking it and letting us inside. Caffy comes barreling toward us the moment we step in.
“Okay, okay,” I say to her. “I’m coming.”
“Nice place,” Nate says, staring around my small apartment. I was going to stay with Max or Kelly for a while, but I ended up finding this place and with the extra work figured I could afford it. It’s only tiny, but it’s mine and that’s all that matters.
“It’s okay. It’s all I could afford.”
“I like it,” he says. “It’s cozy.”
I laugh weakly. “You could say that.”
The room suddenly feels thick with tension as an awkward silence fills the small space. I shift uncomfortably and then murmur, “I’m going to get the first-aid kit. You sit down.”
I rush off down the hall and into the washing room. I shut the door and press my back against it, dropping my head back and taking a long, deep breath. You can do this, just fix him up and call him a cab. There needs to be no more to it. Gathering all my strength, I turn and open the cupboard, pulling out my first-aid kit, then I rush back down the hall.
Nate is sitting on the couch, staring at his phone. When he hears me he shoves it into his pocket and his gaze fixes on me. I sit beside him and suddenly feel the heat being shared between us. I want to move back, because being this close is dangerous. I open the kit, trying to focus on getting him fixed and out of here. It’s all that matters.
“You’ll need some ice for that eye,” I say, jumping up and rushing into my small, lime-green kitchen to get an ice pack.
I bring it back and hand it to him. He takes it and presses it to his face, not taking his eyes off me. I find a cleansing swab and I tear the packet open before pulling out the damp cloth. I hesitate, staring at the small split on his lip and the dried blood on his chin.