Lauren sat on the counter surrounded by broken glass, her chest heaving and her eyes wide.
“Relax, bro! Relax!” one of the boys was yelling as a third ran to help them restrain Michael.
Lauren’s eyes were locked on him as she watched him scan the scene, taking in the people backing away, the blood on the floor, the arms fighting to control him.
He jerked forward again, breaking free from the boys, but this time he moved toward Lauren.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said through labored breath, extending his hand to her.
Her body was shaking with adrenalin, her breath coming in gasps. She glanced over at Jenn, who was standing on the threshold of the kitchen, both hands clamped over her mouth and her eyes wide.
For a moment, it looked like she regretted the advice she’d given Lauren.
But then Michael grabbed Lauren’s hand and pulled her off the counter, towing her out of the room, and as he dragged her past Jenn, she dropped her hands and smiled. “This is it. Call me,” she whispered quickly as Lauren passed her.
As soon as they were outside, Michael released her hand as he tore down the driveway, and Lauren walked double-time to keep up.
When they reached his car a few feet down the road, he yanked open the passenger door before he stormed around the front of the car to his side.
“Are you okay to drive?” she asked softly.
He got in and slammed the door, and the next sound was the thunderous sound of the car starting. She stood there, hesitating for a moment as she took a shaky breath.
“Please just get in,” she heard him say roughly from inside the car, and she swallowed before she slid into the seat and closed the door, buckling her seatbelt.
He took off like a shot, peeling rubber as they turned down the street, and Lauren leaned forward and grabbed the dash.
“Michael, please!” didn’t have to come here.”gry she said, and instantly, he took his foot off the gas and the car slowed to a reasonable speed.
She exhaled heavily, sitting back in her seat as she glanced over at him. He was looking straight ahead, his expression unreadable.
Maybe this was it. Maybe Jenn was right, and this would be the moment he’d confess his feelings. I want you. I don’t want you to be with anyone else. I want you to be mine, only mine.
But there was nothing.
They drove the entire way to her house in silence. He didn’t even turn the radio on.
When Michael finally pulled into the top of her driveway and cut the engine, they sat there for a few silent moments before Lauren finally sighed. “That really wasn’t necessary,” she said. “You could have gotten arrested.”
“That kid mouthed off to me!” he snapped.
Lauren turned toward him, her expression unimpressed. “He said ‘whoa, buddy’ because you cut him in line.”
“He’s got a big fucking mouth!” Michael yelled, cutting her off. “And you had no business getting involved. You could have gotten hurt!”
Lauren closed her eyes and shook her head. She knew better than to try to have a conversation with him when he was like this. She took a small breath and turned to get out of the car.
He reached out and grabbed her arm, gently this time.
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
His voice had softened significantly, although she knew him well enough to know that he was still annoyed.
“No, I’m fine,” she said softly.
Michael released her arm and exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“You didn’t scare me,” she lied. “I just…I wish you would try to keep your head next time, okay?”
“And I wish you would use better judgment when it comes to guys next time, okay?”
Lauren looked at him for a second before she nodded silently.
“Good night, Red,” he said, leaning over to kiss her forehead before he reached across her and opened the car door.
She got out and walked down her driveway in a stupor, knowing Michael wouldn’t leave until she was safely inside her house.
No sooner than she opened her front door, she heard the phone in her bedroom ringing, and she ran upstairs, although she already knew who it would be.
“Yeah?” Lauren said as she sat on the edge of her bed.
“You’re killing me. What happened?”
“Nothing,” Lauren said, half-heartedly kicking off her shoes.
“Nothing?” Jenn asked. “What do you mean, nothing? Guys don’t beat up other guys over girls they don’t want.”
“He went after him because he mouthed off to him at the keg,” Lauren said.
“Oh, come on, Laur, you don’t really buy that, do you? Even Del’s not that crazy.”
Lauren sighed as she flopped back onto her bed. “Either way. Remember when Tommy Greene beat up that guy who slept with his sister?”
There was only silence on the other end of the line, and Lauren knew she had Jenn cornered. “I’m telling you, I’m like his { display: block; text-indent: 5%; font-size: 0.88rem; margin-top: bl you to little sister. He told me to use better judgment with the next guy. That’s hardly claiming me for his own.”
There was another silence before she heard Jenn sigh on the other line. “So that’s it, then?”
Lauren closed her eyes, because she didn’t know what other choice she had. The bottom line was Michael Delaney never held back from what he wanted, and if it was her, she would know.
“Well, this sucks,” Jenn said. “Because after what Mark Valero went through tonight, you’re gonna have a hell of a time getting another guy to hook up with you.”
.
November 2011
Lauren sat in the passenger seat of Adam’s car, alternating between glancing at his profile and looking out the window, trying to figure out where they were going.
When he had called her a few days ago to finalize their plans, he’d only told her to dress casually. Lauren had pressed him for more information, but he was deliberately vague. It didn’t bother her then—in fact, she found it kind of endearing—but now that they were in his car driving to some unknown destination, it was driving her crazy.
When she looked back at him for what must have been the tenth time, she saw a smug smile curving the corners of his lips.
“You enjoying yourself over there?” she asked, her brow quirked.
“Am I enjoying watching you squirm? Of course not.”
“Doesn’t look like it from where I’m sitting,” Lauren said, folding her arms and fighting her own smile as she glanced out the passenger window again.
“We’re almost there,” he said, his voice breaking on the chuckle he could no longer contain, and Lauren shook her head.
“That settles it. I’m definitely escaping through the bathroom window once we get there,” she said, earning her a full-blown laugh as Adam slowed the car and turned up what Lauren thought was a side road, but ended up being a wide driveway.
Through the dusk, she saw the flash of the sign at the bottom of the drive: “South Hills School of Business and Technology.”
She turned toward him, her brow lifted. “You’re taking me to school?”
“Sort of,” he said, pulling into a parking space in front of one of the buildings.
Before she could ask anything else, Adam was out of the car and walking around to her side, opening the door for her. He extended his hand to help her out, closing the door behind her, and Lauren had to bite her lip to hide her smile when he intertwined their fingers rather than letting her hand go as they began walking toward the glass doors at the front of the building.
They walked down the corridor in silence, stealing little peeks at each other as they went. His playful glances—along with the feel of his hand clasping hers—lit a warmth in her belly that reminded her of being a teenager again.
Lauren couldn’t deny how good he looked tonight: a pair of nice jeans and a black button-down shirt, his blond hair looking somewhat unkempt and yet still impeccable at the same time.