Page 60 of Wrong For Me

I sigh. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”

“Write that down, boys!” he calls out to the empty gym. “Twice in one day he says I’m right!”

I toss my sweaty towel at him. “I guarantee it will never happen again.”

Once I’ve decided to take Bodhi’s advice, I sleep a lot better than I had at the beginning of the weekend. The next morning, I leave a few minutes earlier than normal. Even so, the apartment is silent when I wake up, since Bodhi is done with orientation and actually starting student teaching in his fifth-grade classroom this week and apparently elementary school starts obscenely early.

Luckily, I got my car back over the weekend, so I have no problem stopping off on my way to campus to grab a few coffees. When I pull into the psych building parking lot, I’m relieved not to see a powder blue Mustang. Rose must not be here yet.

I park my ass on a bench outside the building’s entrance to wait for her. She isn’t hard to spot—I’d know that blond hair anywhere. What I wasn’t expecting is the guy who’s walking with her.

My eyes narrow as I take them in. Right away I can tell that the dude is a tool. He’s wearing cargo shorts and a pink polo shirt with the collar popped up, like he’s some kind of 80’s teen movie villain. He clearly spent a shit ton of time perfectly styling his wavy blond hair. Everything about the guy just screams smug asshole. And the sight of his hand coming up to brush over Rose’s shoulder sends a bolt of fire-hot rage through my chest.

I’mjealous, I realize, as my gut clenches. I’m so fucking jealous of this guy who’s standing so close to her, touching her, I almost can’t see straight.

Maybe that’s why it takes a minute for her expression to register. While the guy at her side has a smarmy smile pasted to his face, Rose looks like she would rather be anywhere else. In fact, she kind of looks freaked out. And she’s walking fast, as if trying to get away from him.

I’m up and out of my seat before I’ve even made up my mind to go over there. There’s something about her expression that has every alarm bell in my head going off.

As I draw closer, I start to pick up some of their conversation. Or rather, some of the conversation he’s having. Because Rose sure as hell doesn’t seem to be participating.

“…we would have the whole place to ourselves,” the douche is saying. “Unless, of course, you want me to bring a friend. Pretty sure that you’re into that sort of thing, right? At least that’s what I read.”

I lock eyes with Rose and see the fear and frustration in her gaze. Notice the way her shoulders are hunched up to her ears, her entire body tense. Watch as she takes a step to the side, only for the guy to immediately close the gap.

I act without thinking. “Hey,” I say loudly, pushing myself between the two of them. I slip my arm around Rose’s shoulder and she tenses even more, frame completely rigid against me. “I was waiting for you.” I shoot the asshole a glare. He’s glaring right back, clearly pissed that I got in his way. “You need something, buddy?”

“You’re with her?” he asks, disbelief coloring his voice.

“Yeah,” I say shortly. “And from the look of things, she isn’t enjoying your company much. So why don’t you get the hell out of here?”

He makes a big show of rolling his eyes. “Yeah, sure man. Believe me, it takes a lot more than a little flirting to offend a girl like this.”

That red haze that has been coloring my vision since I saw his hand on her? Yeah, that’s getting a lot darker now. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Leo, don’t,” Rose says, her voice strained. She tries to move out from under my arm but I hold her steady. Until I have her away from this guy, I’m not letting go. Which means, as much as I’d like to punch the shit out of him right now, my first priority needs to be getting her into the building.

But the asshole apparently doesn’t know when to quit. “You know exactly what I mean,” he drawls, eyes drifting up and down Rose’s figure. “She’s a wild one, from everything I’ve read. Can’t get enough of the D. What did that article say Rose? Was it three at a time or four?”

Her face goes bright red. “Fuck off,” she growls out, surprising me with the vehemence in her voice.

The guy looks me over. “Not really into sharing with assholes,” he says. “But if Rose is up for it, we can bang her together—”

“You fucking prick,” I snarl, releasing her to lunge at the guy.

“Leo, stop!” she cries, tugging on my arm before my fist can make contact. “Please can we just go?”

I want to pull away from her, want to lay this asshole out like he deserves. But the hand she has on my arm is trembling. I need to get her out of here.

But there’s no way I can just let this slide. So I give Rose a gentle nudge toward the door, noting the number of people standing around gawking at us, and lean towards the fucker. “You ever get near her again, I end you,” I tell him in a low, measured voice, meaning every word. “You understand me?”

Apparently, the guy can see how serious I am, because there’s a flash of fear in his eyes before he rolls them, taking a healthy step back. “Whatever, man. But you’re an idiot if you think a girl like that is going to stick to just you.”

“Stay. Away. From. Her,” I growl. Then I wait for him to walk away before turning back to Rose—who is already halfway to the entrance. “Hey,” I call after her, hurrying to catch up. “Rose, wait!”

She doesn’t even slow but my legs are longer and I reach her side before she gets to the door. “Rose.”

“Please leave me alone,” she mutters, pushing open the glass door to the psych building and storming inside.