Page 42 of Stranded
“What? No, I’ll pay.”
“Nope. It’s my treat. I have money, you know. I have a job.”
“But—”
He leaned forward and planted his lips on mine. Did he not care that someone might know us?
Tongue-tied, I watched him leave. I was too hard to get up and follow him, so I remained seated. The minutes ticked by until the lights lowered once more, and the movie restarted. Still no Aiden.
Where was he?
I loathed getting up, since the theater was packed, but when another ten minutes passed with no sign of him, I went to search for him. I checked the concession stand and asked around if they had seen him. The photograph of him in my wallet came in handy. A security guard mentioned he’d seen Aiden enter the bathroom with some guy.
The bathroom was empty. Worried, I hurried along the corridor. In a corner, I spotted an emergency stairwell and slipped through the door.
Muffled sounds of two people talking drifted upward. I glanced down the stairs, and my heart lurched.
A large man had Aiden against the wall, an arm planted over Aiden’s chest. Aiden was trying to fend off the man’s hand tugging at the waistband of his pants.
“Don’t do this, you asshole!” he cried. “I said no.”
“You’re such a fucking cocktease. You stood me up that day, remember? Promised me a good time, then bailed on me. Well, I’m taking?—”
He never even saw me coming. I hammered my fist into the man’s skull, and he staggered back. He missed a step and tumbled down the stairs.
“Jackson!” Aiden wrapped his arms around me.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded and pulled at my arm. “Let’s go back.”
“I need to teach that prick a lesson.”
The man groaned, rolling over. He made enough sound for me to be unsatisfied he wasn’t dead.
“He’s not worth it. It’s my stupid fault for thinking I could explain to him. I didn’t know he would haul me into the stairwell.”
I rubbed his arms. “Are you sure you’re fine?”
“I am now. Let’s just go back to the movie.”
But the night was ruined. He didn’t eat much of the popcorn I bought for us, though he downed the drink. The movie lost its excitement; his laughter turned forced and too sharp. I was relieved when the credits rolled on the screen.
In the car, he huddled into himself and stared out the window. How to get through to him? I should have killed that guy for touching him.
I turned the ignition on and adjusted the A/C but didn’t take the car out of park.
“Deni.” I reached for his hand, but he pulled it away and curled it up in a fist on his thigh. “Don’t shut me out. Talk to me. Did he hurt you?”
He shook his head. “It’s my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“The way I was before, sleeping around, leading guys on and dropping them. It’s karma.”
“What the fuck, Aiden?” I shoved back my seat and hauled his lithe frame over the console and into my lap. “No one has theright to assault you. No one, and if anyone does, I’ll fucking kill them.”
With a sob, he threw his arms around me. Shudders raced through his body.
