Trust in Me(59)

            Jase cursed as he spun around and then pivoted right back at me. “What is going on with you, Cam? You don’t get pissed off like this. You don’t get bent out of shape over—”

            “Don’t you dare say over nothing.” My chin jerked up, eyes narrowing on Jase as fury roared through me like an out of control freight train. I shot to my feet. “He was touching her, Jase. He was grabbing on her and—” I cut myself off before I said the words I didn’t want to, the ones forming on my tongue.

            “So?”

            “Are you fucking serious?” I shot forward, but Jase didn’t back down. He went toe to toe with me. “So? You okay with a guy—”

            “Fuck no, I’m not, but Jesus H. Christ in a manger, Cam, he was some drunk idiot freshman and you and I have seen much worse go down than that.” His eyes flashed an intense silver, a sure sign he was about to lose his shit. Good. So was I. Again. “And before you say you’ve intervened in those situations, too, I know. We both have, but you’ve never tried to take a guy’s head off.”

            He had a point. What the fuck ever. “This is different.”

            “Because it’s her?”

            The way he said “her” made me want to put my fist through the wall. “You better be very careful, bro, when it comes to your next words.”

            His pupils flared wide as he held up his hands. “Look, Avery seems like a nice girl. She does, but the last time I checked, you two aren’t seeing each other.”

            “So?” I threw the word back at him.

            Jase looked like he now wanted to put his fist through me. “She’s turned you down how many times? And you’re acting like a pissed-off, possessive boyfriend, and the last thing you need is to get into a fight. Or need I remind you that if you do, you break your probation and you will in up in prison? Not jail, but—”

            “You don’t need to remind me.” I turned, shoving my hands through my hair. “You don’t understand.”

            He didn’t immediately respond. “You’re right. I don’t understand how this girl is leading you around by your dick. Have you ever considered that’s she playing you, for some fucked-up reason?”

            I whirled on him, hands clenching into fists. If he hadn’t been my closest friend, the one to pull my head out of my ass when I was on home confinement, I would’ve broken his jaw. I took several deep breaths before replying. “She’s not like that, Jase. I know that’s hard for you to believe. I get it. You’ve been screwed over in a way I can’t even begin to fathom, but she is not like that.”

            Shaking his head, Jase turned and leaned against the closed door. “That’s what every guy says before they are royally fucked over.”

            “Avery is different,” I told him, pulling out my cell again. No response. A ball of unease formed in my stomach. “You don’t know her like I do. You don’t know her at all.”

            He stared at me as he scrubbed a palm over his jaw. “I don’t know you right now.”

            I didn’t know how to respond to that.

            “What is it about her?” he asked, sounding like he truly wanted to understand the attraction I could barely figure out. “She’s not like any other girl you’ve gone out with. She’s fucking awkward as hell and quiet. She’s pretty, but—”

            “She’s fucking beautiful,” I cut in, daring him to disagree.

            He didn’t. “Is she worth this?”

            “Yes,” I said, glancing at my phone again. Still nothing. “Yes, she is, and I need to make sure she’s okay.”