Page 64 of Between Steel and Secrets
“Don’t,” I tell him. “I’ll catch the city bus back home.”
“Seriously?” Luca shakes his head. “She’s drunk, Liam.”
I shove my face back into the car, glaring at Luca. “I’m well aware. She’s also fainted on me too many times over the summer. I’m not taking a chance that something happens to her or someone takes advantage of her. I know to be a gentleman.” I slam the door shut, and Bristol is already a few feet ahead of me, walking herself home.
I’m right beside her, strolling up, my arm around her waist while I glance over my shoulder as Luca pulls away.
“You don’t have to walk me home. Wait. How are you going to get home?” she mumbles, her words slur together.
“I’ll figure it out later.”
The answer is the bus, but I don’t need to tell her that right now.
She slips her arm around my waist and pulls me against her chest, cuddling me.
Instantly, my arms envelop her, and I can feel her breath against my racing heart. “It’s cold, we should go inside.”
It’s not that cold for early October, but I’m grateful to keep moving and walk her inside the building.
Bristol could use a glass of water and a bed, to sleep off the alcohol.
“Inside,” she says and smiles up at me. “Okay. Good idea.”
I escort her inside and up to the elevator. I’m constantly at her hip, worried she’ll pass out on me, but she doesn’t faint.
She stays completely upright, except that she stumbles in those heels every so often. I keep her from tripping and falling, my arm practically a natural extension of her body, holding her against me.
I don’t dare admit that it feels good.
The elevator dings as we arrive at her floor and I follow her out, letting her lead the way.
She’s on the same floor but in a different room this time. Apparently, she’s moved dorms since the last time we met.
Good information for me to have.
Bristol fiddles with her keys, struggling to get it into the lock.
“Here, let me,” I say, wrapping my hand around hers as I steady her trembling hand.
The key slides in, turns and she opens the door, showing me her dorm room.
There’s a single twin bed in the room, a desk at the opposite wall.
The walls are plastered in posters and rope lights that are currently on. It gives off a nice mood lighting and a bit of a witchy feel with her crystal ball on the corner and her tarot cards lying next to it.
“No roommate?” I ask.
“Not this year.”
There’s an array of fancy clothes, including that short leather skirt, strewn across her mattress. I wish she’d worn that sexy ensemble tonight, instead of the Predators’ jersey, but Bristol would intentionally wear the one thing that would piss me off—the opposing team’s jersey.
She shoves the clothes to the floor in a heap.
“I never took you to be messy.” I tilt my head, curious what’s going through her mind.
“I couldn’t decide what to wear tonight.” She plops down on the bed and wiggles her feet at me. “I forgot I put these killers on.”
I bend down, helping Bristol out of her heels, placing them on the floor. “You should climb under the covers, get some sleep.”
