“See? That’s what you were missing.”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and shook. “No. You don’t get to do that.”
“Excuse me?” he asked. “I was kissing you. To show you what we could have.”
My hands shook, and bile filled my mouth. “Stop. Go away. I’m sorry, but it’s not going to work out, Xander. I didn’t want you to kiss me. I didn’t let you. You don’t get to force that.”
“So now you’re going to call it forced? All I did was kiss you. Good God, we went on a date. We’re dating.”
“No, we aren’t. Go away.” My heart raced, and I swallowed hard. He was blocking my way to the door. I didn’t know if anybody was home. I didn’t know how I could get out of this. My keys were in my hand. Maybe I could hit him with them, but then what? Could I run fast enough?
“Nessa?” Miles’ deep voice reached my ears as he came forward.
Relief filled me, even as Xander glared. “We’re talking here.” Xander smiled, but the look sent shivers down my spine.
Miles raised a brow. “Nessa? Want to come and stand by me?”
“Gladly.” I took a step, but Xander reached out and gripped my arm—hard enough to leave bruises. “Let go,” I snapped, pulling away from him.
“We’re talking. Get lost,” Xander snarled at Miles.
Miles came forward. It was then that I realized how big Miles was. He sometimes hunched his shoulders and looked a little geeky, doing his best not to take up space. But out of all the roommates, Miles was the largest. He was wide, full of muscle, and those broad shoulders were good enough to pit against any hockey player.
“You’re going to want to let her go right now,” Miles growled.
He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and I saw the danger in his eyes.
My heart raced. I just wanted this to end. I wanted to get inside.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Xander growled.
“I’m Nessa’s friend. You really want to let her go, or I’m going to call the cops.”
“The cops? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I reached out and kicked, lifting my knee. Xander went down, cupping his balls. I practically ran to Miles, mainly because he was between the house and me but also because I wanted to be near him. At his side, I wasn’t alone.
My heart raced, and I couldn’t keep up with my thoughts. So, when Miles took my hand, I freely clung to him and stood slightly behind him. Not entirely, but enough that I felt safer.
I could not believe that I was cowering like this, but I had kneed him. I had fought back.
“You’re going to want to fucking go, or we are going to call the cops,” Miles bit out.
“Go, Xander,” I blurted, wanting this over.
Xander stumbled up and glared. “Fine,” he snapped. “I see there’s been a misunderstanding.” He held up both hands. “I’ll go.”
And then he stomped off toward whatever house he had supposedly been going to, and my knees began to shake. “I think I need to go inside.”
“I’ve got you,” Miles said, and then he picked up my bag, the one I hadn’t even realized I’d dropped, and practically carried me into the house.
The lights were off, and that’s when I realized that Natalie’s car wasn’t in the garage. She wasn’t here. I had been alone. Truly alone. And then Miles was there.
“I just…how are you here? What the hell just happened? My flowers.”
Miles blinked at me, went to the fridge, and pulled out a bottle of vodka. “Is this the only alcohol you have?” he asked.
“That and some terrible wine.”
“Do you want a shot?”
“I hate the taste of vodka, but yes.”
He gave me a look, a tight nod, and then pulled out a 7Up. He poured a shot of vodka into two glasses, put in some ice, and poured the soda over it before handing me one. He clinked our glasses, and each of us chugged quickly.
The bubbles of the soda tickled my nose. The vodka burned, but I calmed down, looking at the empty glass in my hand.
I hadn’t even realized I had sat down in my kitchen or that Miles had closed the door behind us.
“What were you saying?”
“My flowers. My dad got me an arrangement. It’s still in my car.”
Miles sighed and held out his hand. “Give me your keys. I’ll make sure that it gets inside.”
“I should be fine going out there. I’m an adult. Only what if he’s out there?”
“Are we going to call the cops?”
I let out a breath. “I’m going to need to. I should have just now, but I didn’t. That was probably the wrong decision, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do at all.”
“It’s fine. You’re fine.” He knelt in front of me. That’s when I realized he was wearing gray sweatpants, running shoes, and a sweatshirt.
“Were you jogging?”
He nodded. “I needed to think, and I do better when I jog or lift weights. Wasn’t in the mood to lift tonight.”
“That’s why you have so many muscles.” I was rambling now, but I didn’t care.
His cheeks reddened. “Probably. When I get stressed, I work out, do math, or play video games. In other words, I do anything but deal with what’s stressing me. Much like this conversation.”
“I can’t believe he did that,” I whispered, tears threatening to fall.
Miles remained kneeling in front of me. I hadn’t realized he was still holding my hands until I looked down at his large palms against mine.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. Xander said he was walking by, much like you just were,” I said softly.
He narrowed his eyes. “You live down the block from me. I always run this way because you have bigger sidewalks than the other street. You’ve seen me running in front of your house before.”
I cringed. “Yes, I’m sorry. I wasn’t comparing you.”
“I get it. It’s fine. Now, I think we’re going to call the cops, we’re going to call the girls, and then we’re going to figure out what to do.”
I froze. “The girls?”
“We need to tell them and maybe the guys so they can be on the lookout. We’re your friends, Nessa. Let us take care of you.”
I nodded, knowing he was right. “Tomorrow. We’ll call the cops now, but we’ll tell the girls tomorrow. They’re all doing their own things, and I don’t want to ruin their nights.”
“Nessa.”
“Please? I always feel like I’m the one people have to come and rescue.”
“You know that is the farthest thing from the truth,” he growled.
“Can I just have tonight?”
He sighed.
“I’ll tell the girls tomorrow, I promise,” I said.
“Okay. Then I’m spending the night,” he stated, and I widened my eyes.
“What?”
“If the girls aren’t here, I’m sleeping on your couch. It’s either that or we bundle you up and you stay at our house. But then you’d have to tell them what happened. I get that you’re going to need a moment to think, and that’s fine. But I’m staying the night. You’re not going to be alone.”