Somewhere in Between (Madison Square #1) (15 page)

I kept my eyes closed, focusing on the sensation of his fingers tugging at the edge of my panties. I was just about to hit the brakes when I heard, “Shit!”

I froze and pulled away, thinking it was Peter who said it, but he looked just as confused as I was. I looked over his shoulder and Drew was standing just inside the door, livid. You could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears.

I scrambled out from under Peter, fixing my dress as I sat up.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Peter muttered under his breath.

Once I was sitting up with my dress back down where it belonged, I addressed Drew. “What are you doing here?”

He looked at me, confused. “I…I wanted to talk to you. I didn’t know you had company.” He shot a nasty look at Peter.

“Maybe I should go.” Peter got up from the couch. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

He leaned down to give me a quick kiss. He picked up his jacket and walked out the door. Drew’s eyes followed him the entire trip from the couch to the door. He stared at the door long after Peter shut it.

“Drew, why are you here?” I was angry and a little embarrassed.

He turned toward me, running a hand over his face. He looked flustered. Maybe he was just as embarrassed as I was.

“I don’t know any more, Alex.” He threw a hand up in frustration. “I came over to talk to you. You didn’t answer when I knocked, so I tried the knob, and I come in to find that son of a bitch all over you.”

“I’m sorry that you busted into my apartment in the middle of the night because last time I checked, this is
my
apartment.” I can play naked twister with a room full of Bronies if I wanted to in my apartment.

“Were you going to sleep with him?” he demanded.

Was he serious? Was he seriously trying to dictate who I could and couldn’t have sex with? I shot to my feet. “That is none of your goddamn business!” I shouted, pointing a finger at him. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

His face went red. I have never seen Drew this pissed. “I’m trying to look out for you. That guy is complete shit. I’m just trying to protect you,” he screamed, taking a step in my direction. “If you…”

“Fuck you, Drew! I don’t need your protection.” Protect me? Was he kidding?

“You know what? Forget it! You want to fuck him, go right ahead, but when he…” He paused, his beautiful face so full of fury.

“When he what?”

“Fuck this!” He threw his hands up and stomped out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

I sank down to the couch. What just happened?

Chapter 13

Drew (Then)

“I never got the point of this movie,” I said, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

“What do you mean the point?”

“I mean, this old chick trains this girl to fuck with the guy’s head and he just takes it? What a pussy!” Red just looked at me like I was crazy. “What?”

“It’s romantic!”

“This is not romantic.” I pointed at the screen. “This is stupid. The old hag tells him she will break his heart. She is engaged when he finds her again in New York, and he still practically begs at her feet. It’s pathetic.”

“He loves her so much that he spends his life doing everything he can to be worthy of her.”

“Why isn’t he worthy of her in the first place?” I pointed out. “He’s a nice guy.”

“It’s a gesture. He wants to prove his love, like what your mom says.”

“That is
nothing
like what mom says. You fight to be the man the girl deserves after she loves you, not to make her love you. That guy is an idiot. He falls for the first girl to kiss him, and she does nothing but use him and fuck with his head.”

“Then why did you agree to watch it?”

“Gwyneth Paltrow gets naked.” I shrugged.

“Nice.”

“So,” I tried to steer the conversation toward her date with Russell without sounding too interested. “You never told me how your date went.”

“Eh.” She shrugged.

“Eh? What does that mean?”

“It was okay, but there wasn’t really anything there. We have nothing in common.”

“Well, that’s too bad.” I tried and failed to hide my smile.

“I think it was mutual anyway. He hasn’t called me, so no big deal.”

I told that son of a bitch to stay away from her. Looks like he heard my warning loud and clear. “I’m sorry, Red.”

She looked at me with a smirk on her face. “You are not.”

“I didn’t like the guy, sure, but I do want you to be happy.”

“Well then, I guess it worked out for everyone, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I chuckled.

***

I woke up on the couch. The TV was still on and Red was asleep on my chest. We must have fallen asleep and shifted during the night. Her breathing was soft and her head rose and fell with my breathing.

She looked so beautiful. I ran a hand through her hair and she stirred. She turned her face up to mine and opened those beautiful green eyes, focusing on me.

“Good morning, Red.”

She pushed herself off of me and sat up. “Hey.” She wiped a hand across her face. “We fell asleep?”

“Yeah.” I got to my feet and stretched out my back. “You want some coffee?” She shot me an are-you-kidding look. “Right, I’ll start a pot.”

Sean came out of his room and headed into the kitchen. “Good morning.” He shot me a wink. “You two looked cozy on the couch last night.” He stuck his head in the fridge.

“We fell asleep.”

“Sure you did.” He winked at me, sounding less than convinced.

“Whatever, man.”

Red came in the kitchen and yawned, rubbing at her face. “I have to get going. I’ll see you later.”

I nodded. She grabbed her bag and headed out. I watched her leave, keeping my eyes on the door long after she closed it.

Sean leaned against the counter with a cup of coffee. He shook his head at me.

“What?”

“You got it bad, dude.” He took a sip from his mug.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

“Yes, you do.” He set his cup down and turned to face me.

“Look, yes, she is beautiful…” I started, but Sean cut me off.

“That girl is gorgeous, inside and out.”

“It’s not like that. We are friends.”

Sean dropped his head and sighed. “Whether you choose to admit it or not, you want her.” I started to argue, but he held up a hand to stop me. “I just hope for your sake you don’t fuck it up. Someone like Alex has longevity, my friend. Before you make a move, you better be ready.”

“You know me. I don’t do relationships, man. It’s too much pressure. Besides, Red is not into me anyway. She thinks I’m a player.”

“She’s not wrong.”

“I’m twenty-two. What’s wrong with enjoying a little variety?” I smiled.

“Nothing, but just make sure you don’t
enjoy
that particular variety,” he said, gesturing toward the door Alex just left through. He slapped me on the back as he headed into his room.

Alex was beautiful, smart, and funny, but I was not going to go there. She was becoming way too important to me, and whether I wanted to admit it or not, Sean was right. If something ever happened between us, it would be something big, not just a one night stand.

I was thinking about this too much. Red was my friend, nothing more. I shook off my concerns and went to take a shower.

***

The cold weather had let up enough that some of the guys decided to play some touch football in the quad. As I headed over there, I sent a text to Red.

Drew: Hey there, Red. Got a game going in the quad. You down?

Alex: For what?

Drew: Football.

Alex: I can’t play with you goons. You will crush me.

Drew: You don’t have to play, just come hang out.

Drew: We usually go out for beers and some food after.

Alex: I have to study.

Drew: Come on, Red. Bring your shit and you can study there.

Drew: It’s finally warm enough to venture outside. Take advantage.

Alex: Fine, be there in 10.

We were still picking teams when I saw Red heading our way. She dropped her backpack next to a large oak tree and took a seat. I smiled and waved at her from the field. She nodded, grabbed a sketch pad from her bag, and set it on her knee.

“Who’s the girl?” Chuck said, eyeing Red with interest.

“Re—I mean, Alex.”

“You hittin’ that?”

Chuck was not one for subtlety. I wouldn’t call him a friend, exactly, but we hung out in the same crowd. I would run into him at parties now and then, but I knew one thing for sure. I didn’t want him anywhere near Red.

“No, she’s a friend,” I said, my voice coming out a bit more intense than I intended.

Chuck took a step back, holding his hands in the air. “If you say so, man.”

The game was rough, but it felt good to run again, stretch my muscles a bit, and have some fun. Between plays, I snuck a peek at Red, who was engrossed in whatever she was sketching. The look on her face was so intense, I couldn’t help but admire her focus.

She had her long red hair piled up in a bun on top of her head with a pencil stuck in the side. She was working with colored pencils, but every once in a while she would rip the pencil out of her hair and make some adjustments, then shove it back into her hair.

I was so busy watching Red that I didn’t see Frankie headed straight for me until it was too late. He hit me hard in the chest, taking me clear off my feet as he raced toward the end zone.

I went down hard on my back, which forced the air from my lungs. All I saw was sky as I lay there, blinking, trying to catch my breath. Then Frankie’s face appeared. He asked if I was okay, but he sounded weird, like he was talking in slow motion. Red’s face appeared. Her big green eyes were wide with fear.

“You okay?” she asked, her voice coming in a little clearer than Frankie’s.

I nodded and Frankie offered me a hand. He pulled me up. My chest ached from the impact, but my head was clear. No real damage except the wound to my pride.

“Dude, didn’t you see me coming?”

“Not until it was too late.” I chuckled.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Red asked.

“Yeah, I’m good, Red.” I gave her a small smile. She was cute when she was worried.

Red refused to take her eyes off of me the rest of the game. I could feel her watching me, afraid I would drop dead any moment. I caught her eye and mouthed, “I’m fine.” Finally, she seemed convinced and went back to sketching.

When the game was over and my team had lost by six, I grabbed my bag and headed over to Red. I dropped my gym bag at her feet and she jumped at the sound.

“What are you working on?” I looked down at her pad.

“It’s a design concept for my residential design class. I’ve been working on a master suite. What do you think?” She held it out for me to see.

I knew nothing about interior design, but her talent was pretty clear from the sketch. “It looks great to me.”

I pulled my shirt over my head. It was soaked with sweat and covered in dirt from running all over the field. I used the dirty shirt to wipe off my face and chest before I grabbed the clean one stuffed in my bag. I noticed Red’s eyes were focused on my chest. I smiled a bit, liking the fact that seeing my body had gotten a reaction out of her.

I was having too much fun not to mess with her, so I dropped the wet shirt next to my bag and rested my hands on my hips. “Like what you see, Red?” I asked, smiling down at her.

She blinked and started to gather her stuff. “No!” Her voice sounded a little rattled as she got to her feet.

“No?” I took a step toward her. “Then why were you staring?” Her face flushed, and let’s just say I was feeling way more than amused by her reaction.

“I was checking to see if you had a bruise from where you got hit,” she said as a cover, but her eyes were telling a very different story.

I took another step toward her, resting my hand on the tree behind her head. “Oh really? So, you were just concerned for my well-being? How considerate of you.”

I stepped closer as she backed herself up against the tree. I was so close to her I could smell the delicious scent of her shampoo.

She swallowed as my eyes dropped to her full, pink lips. A few more inches and I could taste them. I looked back into those beautiful green eyes and saw nothing but panic. That one look brought me back to reality. What was I doing? I pushed off the tree and dug into my bag for a clean shirt.

“Don’t worry, no girl can resist.” I tugged the shirt over my head and winked at her.

Her face went from stunned to pissed instantly and I laughed as she pulled the pencil from her hair and threw it at me. I watched it sail a foot past my shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get you a beer.” I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She playfully swatted at me, but eventually relaxed, letting me lead her toward the bar.

The guys were already a pitcher in by the time we got there. We made our way back to the cluster of little tables they commandeered in the back. When we approached, the guys started chanting, “MVP,” and slamming their fists down on the table, mocking me for how shitty I had played. I nodded, raising my arms in the air to encourage them.

“All right, all right. I suck, I get it.”

“Nah, maybe a little distracted,” Frankie said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I shot him a don’t-go-there look. He shook his head and drank his beer.

“Guys, this is Red.” I gestured to Alex, who was standing at my side.

“Alex,” she said, giving them all a little wave.

The guys appraised Red like vultures circling a fresh kill. I was starting to regret bringing her.

I grabbed a couple of chairs for us and poured some beers from the pitcher. Chuck leaned over the table to address Red, nodding in my direction. “What are you doing with Drewfus over here?” He really is an idiot.

“Eh, my slutty roommate introduced us. Haven’t been able to shake him.” She shrugged and took a sip from her beer. Chuck laughed and smiled at her. This could be trouble.

Frankie bought a round of fireball shots. “Here’s to staying positive and testing negative,” he said, raising his glass to toast before taking the shot. We all tapped glasses and tipped them back.

Red got to her feet and said, “I got the next round.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Chuck said. He got up and followed her to the bar.

I watched them go until Frankie said something I didn’t hear.

“What was that?

“I said, how’s your mom doing?”

I looked down into my almost empty glass. “Not bad, but not great either.”

“I’m sorry, man. No one deserves that shit, but especially not her.” He shook his head. I nodded and did my best to change the subject. Mom was not a subject I lingered on lately.