Temporarily Mine

28

HERO

In no hurry, I climb from the truck.

I finish off a full bottle of water, throw back a pack of peanuts and text my mom to check in on her as I head for Josephine.

Some of my teammates are parked next to each other, so I stop and chat, making sure the girls are still where they're supposed to be every few minutes.

A few minutes too long...

Sandra Black slides up.

"Hey." She smiles, leaning in.

I go to give her a one-armed hug, but her shoe knocks into mine and she stumbles closer.

She giggles, her vodka breath fanning across my face as she looks up.

"Damn." My head tugs back. "Gettin' fucked up, or what?"

"It's Senior Night." She smiles, shrugging against me. "Why not?"

"Might wanna pop a piece of gum in your mouth. Campus security is scattered all around."

"Or..." she whispers, her hands come up to pull my head down. "We could hide out in your truck, or my car. You up for it?"

I grip her wrists, freeing myself from her grasp. "Back up, girl. That's not happening."

"Oh, come on." She pouts, running her hands through the ends of her long, dark hair. "We can even try for a quickie, even though we both know we need longer than that."

I go to step past her, but she's quick to wrap her fingers around my arms and peers up at me through her lashes.

She opens her mouth, but when a small shriek follows, my eyes narrow only to widen in the same second.

Josephine tugs her back, stepping in front of me. "I always thought you were sweet. A little loose, but sweet."

Sandra's jaw drops and people begin looking this way.

"I realize now you're just another girl who thinks she can have whatever she wants because you're pretty and say please, but that's not going to work here. You can screw whatever guy you want, Sandra, with the exclusion of mine."

Sandra blushes, her bloodshot eyes filling with moisture. She peeks around before stepping toward Josephine.

Mandy and Cassie move closer, but when Sandra only reaches out to grab D's hand, they pause.

"I didn't realize--"

"Yeah, you did." Josephine gently pulls herself free. "If acting shitty embarrasses you into lying, then don't be shitty. It's really not hard."

Josephine locks her fingers into mine and leads me to my truck.

There's commotion behind us, but she doesn't spare another glance, instantly releasing me when we're back to our area, and busies herself pouring a cup of coffee.

She's jerky with her movements, so when she drops the stack of lids for the third time, I snatch them before she can, pull one off and hand it to her.

She cuts me a quick look before walking over to Felix's front seat where she pulls out one of the root beer bottles full of Kahlua and pours some into the cup.

She takes a small sip, attaches the lid, and takes another.

She's frustrated, pissy as hell, and it's got everything to do with what just happened.

My groin heats, and I can't hold it in. "Thought you said she wasn't hurting you and you were gonna be nice?"

Her head snaps my way, nothing but sass to be seen. "When did I say that?"