You and I Forever (23 page)

“
Jerk.” I shove his shoulder playfully and then turn back towards the bar. “How much longer do you think you will be here?” I ask, cocking my head to the side to meet his gaze.

“
Not much longer. You need a ride back to the hotel?” He asks.

“
Heck no! I got Tina.” I laugh when his eyebrows shoot up in question. “My car.” I laugh again. “I named her Tina.”

“
Why Tina?” He shakes his head and laughs at me.

“
I don't know. She just seems like a Tina.” I shrug, taking a drink of my water before facing him again. The moment my eyes meet his, I burst into laughter. He is looking at me like I have six heads and is quite possibly one of the cutest expressions I have ever seen before.

“
You're lucky I love you.” He smiles, pushing himself off of the bar stool.

“
You're lucky I love you.” I retort, spinning to face him. Grabbing the front of his jacket, I pull him down to my face.

“
You're right. I am lucky.” He agrees.

“
And don't you forget it.” I breathe across his lips before laying a heated kiss across them. Pulling back, I laugh when he clears his throat and adjusts his pants, clearly aroused by my playful seduction.

“
I'll see ya back at the hotel?” I ask, trailing my eyes down to his crotch suggestively before meeting his eyes again.

“
I'll be there in thirty.” He lays a swift kiss to my lips and then spins, exiting the main room of the club before I have a chance to even move from my spot.

Laughing, I turn back towards the bar. “See you later Sean.” I call out, waiting for his wave before turning and walking away. Deciding that if Bentley is going to rush home then I had better be ready when he gets there. I'm thinking naked on the couch will be a nice welcome home.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

“
What do you mean you broke up?” I cross the living area of the hotel room and slip on my flip flops, throwing Bentley an apologetic look. “No. I'm on my way.” I reassure Andrea as she sobs into the phone. “I'll be there in twenty minutes.” I say, clicking off the phone and turning towards Bentley.

“
I’ve got to go. I'm sorry.” I say, crossing the space to where he is sitting on the couch. Leaning forward, I give him a quick kiss before grabbing my keys off of the coffee table.

“
It's really late. Are you sure you need to go over there right now?” He asks, tossing down the book he's reading to give me his full attention.

“
She's my best friend and I've never heard her this upset over a guy before.” I say, grabbing my jacket off of the back of the chair.

“
Let me drive you.” He stands, crossing the space towards me.

“
Don't be silly. Stay here. I will go calm her down and I'll be home later.” I say, pulling the door open before turning back to take one more look at him.

He gives me a sad smile like he really doesn't want me to go and honestly, I don't want to go. But if the situation was reversed, Andrea would be there for me no questions asked. I can't just leave her hanging when she needs me the most.

“
I love you. Be careful.” He says, crossing the distance to where I am standing. Leaning against the door frame, he lays a light kiss across my mouth.

“
I will.” I say, pulling back. “I love you. I gotta go.” I say, backing out into the hallway. The second the door is closed, I take off in a jog down the hallway towards the elevator.

Within two minutes I am climbing inside of my new Lexus, not able to contain my smile when the engine purrs to life. It's been a week and I still am not used to how amazing this car sounds and feels for that matter.

Traffic is light at this time of the evening. It's just after nine and as such, most of the Tuesday rush hour traffic has died down and the streets are relatively quiet. It takes me just under fifteen minutes before I am pulling up outside of the dorm building I once shared with Andrea. It feels like ages since I have been here.

Pulling into a vacant spot not far from the front door, I kill the engine and climb from the car. Locking the doors, I practically run inside of the building, eager to get upstairs and make sure Andrea is okay.

I get to the landing of the fourth floor when my phone buzzes to life. I pull it from my pocket to see Andrea's name flashing across the screen. Stopping on the stairwell platform, I swipe the screen and answer the phone, a little breathless from my trek up three flights of stairs.

“
I'm here.” I get out in a pant.

“
Shit Anna. I'm sorry. Collin is here. He came over to talk.” She still sounds upset but a million times better than before.

“
Okay¸ do you want me to hang out for a while and wait?” I ask, not sure what I should do.

“
No. No. That's okay. It might be a while. I'm sorry.”

“
No apologies.” I say, leaning against the stair rail. “I will head back to the hotel but make sure you call me the moment he leaves. I want to know everything.” I say, waiting for her to agree before ending the call and retracing my steps back down the stairs.

Pulling my jacket tightly around myself as I step outside, I lower my head slightly to avoid the cold wind blowing directly in my face and begin crossing the lot towards my car. The temperature has dropped significantly this week and has been getting really cold at night. I silently curse myself for not wearing more than a light jacket as I pull out my keys and unlock my car using the remote, a feature my old car did not have.

“
Nice car.” His voice washes over me like ice the moment I approach the drivers side. Flipping my head up, Aaron is standing just two feet from the front of my car, his arms crossed in front of his chest, a bottle a whiskey dangling from his hand.

I don't need anymore indicators to tell me that this is not a situation I want to be in. “Thanks.” I stutter out, taking the remaining steps towards my door, eager to get the hell out of here.

“
Whoa, whoa, whoa. And just where do you think you're going?” Aaron laughs, stepping up next to my door just in time to shove it closed seconds after my hand reaches the knob.

“
I'm going home. Now if you don't mind?” I say, pulling on my door handle. With his weight pressed against it, it doesn't even budge. Backing away a few steps, I pin my eyes directly on Aaron's face, realizing immediately that I need to figure a way out of this situation before it goes from bad to worse.

“
You were saying?” He taunts me, taking a step towards me when I take a step back. “And I thought you lived here?” He questions, cocking his head to the side.

“
I did. I don't anymore.”

“
Is that so?” He questions, taking another step towards me.

“
What do you want Aaron?” I decide trying to talk to him may be better than getting him riled up. After all, I think that's what he wants. To see me panicked and scared. He's the type of man that gets off on striking fear into people, that much I know to be true.

“
What I want is to even the score with your little boyfriend.” He slurs, taking a step towards me. “But I think maybe we can work out an arrangement.” He cocks his head to the side, a wicked smile pulling up the side of his mouth.

“
Why are you even here?” I ignore his comment and try to get him to keep talking while I try to figure out my next move.

If I run, he'll chase me. My phone is in my back pocket. He would be on me before I could even get it out. All I have is my keys. My keys. Instantly the wheels are turning. Positioning my thumb over the alarm button, I take another step back, prepared to push it if he comes at me.

I'm not sure what good it will do me but a blaring car alarm is bound to pull the attention of someone. This is a college campus after all. Students are wandering the grounds at all hours of the night and there is also campus security. The car alarm is my best shot.

“
I came here with Collin.” Aaron slurs again, slumping casually against the side of my car before taking a long swig from his whiskey bottle. “Apparently him and his girl had a bit of a misunderstanding.”

“
And that requires you to be here why?” I ask.

“
Well when I found out he was leaving the party to come here, I offered to walk over with him on the off chance I might see you. Imagine my delight to see you get out of this sweet little ride here. Tonight must be my lucky night.” He smiles, his eyes not leaving my face for even a second. Pounding his fist on the side of my car, he pushes away from it.

“
Lover boy buy this for you? I bet he buys you all kinds of stuff. Collin told me about him. Some kind of rich athlete right? Is that why you're fucking him? For his money?” He takes a step towards me and I immediately take a step back. “I always knew you were a whore. I just didn't realize you were a gold digger too.” He snorts, laughing lightly to himself.

“
Aaron, you're drunk. Maybe you should head home.” I say, my finger still firmly on the alarm button as I take another step back.

“
Maybe.” He says, glancing at his watch casually like this is just an everyday occurrence. I relax slightly, thinking maybe he's just trying to get a rise out of me but then again, I know better than to let my guard down with this man. “Or maybe I won't.” He smiles again, this time telling me everything I need to know.

He's already taken three quick strides towards me before I even realize he's coming. Spinning, I don't get one step before his hand closes down around my forearm and he spins me back around. The moment I am facing him, I swing my free hand towards his face as hard as I can, my fist connecting with his right temple but having very little effect.

He laughs at my feeble attempt and drops his whiskey bottle to restrain my other hand, the glass pinging off the concrete but somehow not breaking. Realizing my keys are still in my hand, I press down on the car alarm button. The moment the noise registers through Aaron's inebriated state, he makes a grab for my keys.

Tossing them as far as I can with next to no ability to move my arm, I manage to get them far enough that he has to drop one of my hands in an effort to retrieve them. He leans down the moment he spots them and I seize the opportunity to lay a hard kick to his knee in an effort to catch him off balance.

It works. The second my foot connects with his bone, his leg buckles and he goes to the ground. Unfortunately, he does not let go of my forearm as he does and the weight of his body pulls mine to the ground right along with him. I land on my side on a hard thud, my arm hitting the pavement below me causing a splitting pain to shoot through my hand.

I attempt to roll to the side but Aaron quickly recovers and pins me beneath him. With my keys in his hand, he quickly deactivates the alarm and tosses them to the side before grabbing my face in his hands and squeezing hard.

“
You stupid fucking bitch.” He spits in my face. “You never fucking learn do you? You thought you could fuck with me? Sick your little rich boyfriend on me and I would what, just let it go? Time to pay up Anna and I know just what you can do.” He pushes off of me, grabbing me by the hair as he pulls me to my feet.

I scream at the top of my lungs praying that someone will hear me but if they do, they are too far away to see what is happening. No one comes to my rescue. No one is coming to help me.

He tangles his fingers in my long strands and twists painfully tight, pulling me along side him. Reaching down, he grabs my keys. Pulling open the drivers side door of my car, he shoves me inside, my knee hitting the gear shift in the middle console hard as he forces me to the passenger side.

I immediately reach for the passenger door and try to slip out the other side but his grip on my hair is too strong and he pulls me back hard, eliminating my ability to get away. “Aaron please. You don't want to do this.” I plead, trying to keep myself together as he fires the engine to life and punches the car into reverse.

“
Oh I think I do.” He pushes my head to the side the moment he's speeding down the road, releasing my hair. He knows that I have no way of escaping unless I plan to throw myself out of the door of a moving vehicle.

Everything in me is screaming. I have to find a way out of here. There is so much adrenaline pumping through my body, so much fight. I know I have to try. If I die trying, at least I tried. Looking around the car, I try desperately to figure out a solution and then it hits me.

My phone
. Without another thought I make a grab for it in my back pocket. Aaron senses my movements and swerves into the other lane of the road trying to stop my action. Pulling back into the correct lane, the moment he sees my phone, he makes a grab for it.

My hands are shaking so badly, I can't even manage to unlock it as I try to fight Aaron off from getting it. And then I remember, Bentley programed my phone to the car. Reaching underneath his arm, I hit the touch screen on the console, a voice immediately filing the space.