After two days of laying low, Colton and I decide we need a dose of normal. He decides I haven’t eaten the best burger Thistle has to offer, and so he takes me to some hole in the wall diner at the edge of town, right off the highway.

To its credit, it does have a beautiful view of the other side of Jade Lake, the moon bouncing like crystals off the water, highlighting the patches of ice that are now breaking apart in the middle of March.

“Okay, so this is bloody perfect.” I sigh around a bite of my bison burger, a glob of ketchup hitting my plate.

“I’ll make a messy American out of you yet.” He winks, sipping from his big mug of beer.

Colton ordered the entire meal for us, two bison burgers with extra cheese and pickles, plus the works of onions, tomato, ketchup and mayonnaise. Add in two huge mugs of the house ale, and an enormous basket of steak fries, my stomach was pretty much stretched to its limit.

“You know, you really surprised me.” The gorgeous giant across from me leans back in his chair, patting his hand over the olive-green sweater that I know covers an eight pack of beautiful abs.

“How so? And you should know by now, I’m anything but predictable.” I pop a salty fry in my mouth.

Colton leans across the table, my eyes tracking that strong jaw as it turns up with a smile. “When we first met at that party, forgive me, I thought you were like every other girl who was pledging. I know, I know, you still can’t confirm it even though I’m your boyfriend, but you’re unlike any girl I’ve ever met, Eloise. You don’t care what people think of you, and yet it makes you even more desirable, makes everyone want to get closer to you. You also keep most at an arm’s length, if not to disguise how soft your center really is. You genuinely care about people, and want to solve problems for them. It’s why you keep helping all of the Charter pledges when you can, why you form relationships with your classmates even though they’re not in social clubs and you’ll be going back to Paris soon. I’d like to think it’s why you gave me, a big dumb jock, a chance.”

His words hit something deep in that soft, gooey center he’s referring to … the place I rarely let anyone know I have. It’s true, I know now, that he sees what everyone else can’t. What thousands of others have simply brushed past, what my parents fail to notice, what even I sometimes pretend doesn’t exist. Colton sees me, at my very truest form.

“You surprised me too,” I concede, letting someone see my emotions for once. “I have to admit, I was never looking for you, or anything like what we have. Part of me always thought I wasn’t cut out for this; romantic dinners or inside jokes or spending all your time with only one other person. I’ve always been the social butterfly, the untouchable queen bee … and I have a big enough ego to admit that for a long time it worked for me. Keeping people at a distance was an art. But somehow, this big American jock wiggled his way in, with your wit and charm. And the abs don’t hurt, of that I’m sure.”

We smile at each other, enjoying the companionable silence that follows our spoken revelations. One four-letter word resounds in my head, but I don’t trust it, not yet. I rarely express that emotion to even my parents, the people who gave me life, and so to feel it so soon for Colton feels … scary. Terrifying. I may be able to take down some of my walls for him, but I can’t completely let go of my defenses yet.

“When you go to the tournament games, am I allowed to accompany you?” I change the subject, my heart beating a mile a minute at the realization that I very well am falling for this man.

“They’re all over the northeast, sometimes even farther, I wouldn’t want to make you fly alone. I have to go with the team.” His mouth turns down in a frown, and I can tell he really does want me to fly alone to come see the games.

“Don’t give me the puppy dog eyes and then say you don’t want me to come. You’re not sparing me any hardship, I want to go.” I see through his act.

“How do you know me so well?” It’s meant as a half-joke, but his eyes hold awe.

“You’re really rather easy,” I joke with him. “Besides, while I’m here, I want the full American college experience. I want to sit in the stands and where a colored T-shirt to match all of the rest of the students.”

“In that case, you can also sneak into my hotel room and give me a proper good luck present before the first game.” Colton wiggles his eyebrows at me.

“You’re incorrigible, really.” I swat at him as we stand up from the table and make our way out into the parking lot. “I feel naked without my phone. Isn’t that sad?”

I’d misplaced my smartphone on the night of the basketball game that Colton hadn’t thrown, and I was still waiting for my new one to get delivered. While it was like being in social isolation, I kind of enjoyed not feeling like I had to check in on my timelines and feeds.

Colton’s gloved hand reaches for my mitten as I slip my cold fingers into it. “Look.” he points out into the dark night, the parking lot sitting almost atop the lake on a steep jut of the mountain.

“It’s beautiful.” I settle into his chest where he holds me from behind.

It all happens in a flash after that. It’s dark, and my vision is obscured by the rough hands that grab me. I hear the whoosh of air as a fist connects to Colton’s gut; hear his groaned pain.

“What?! Let go! LET. ME. GO.” I’m chanting, not able to see the person who is dragging me away from my boyfriend.

“Shut up or we’ll kill him.” It’s hissed in my ear as a hand is slapped over my mouth.

I stop writhing, my crisis instincts kicking in, knowing that I’ll be able to gather more information if I stand still and be quiet. Four men, that I can see. One holding me, another holding Colton, one smashing his face to bits, and one standing off to the side, his hands on his hips. That must be the top man. Thinking back to our conversations about the trouble he’d gotten himself into, I remembered Colton mentioning a man named Mac.

“We’ll teach you not to disobey us, Reiter. When you take our money, we own you.” The man, assumedly Mac, gets right up in Colton’s face as the other man takes a fist to his ribs.

I scream through the hand slapped against my lips, because I can see how much they’re hurting him. My stomach lurches as I watch this person, the one I find myself drawn to at all times, be beaten so badly that he starts to wail. No one is coming out of the restaurant, no one seems to realize that any of this is going on. If they don’t stop soon, he’ll be unconscious.

“Stop! STOP!” I demand, but no one listens to me.

Headlights from a car on the highway illuminate the dark parking lot, and I see the blood dripping from several cuts in Colton’s face.

“I’ll give you whatever you want! I have money!” I tell the man holding me, thrusting my bag in his direction.

The other men turn around, leering at my words. For a minute, no one moves, and I spring into action.

Holding up my purse again, I beg. “Do you know who I am? Who my father is? The famous British actor, Martin Mason. You know him, don’t you? That makes me one of the richest people in this town currently, and in my bag I have a wallet full of cards. They’re all yours, if you just leave him alone!”

Colton picks up his drooping head. “Eloise, don’t …”

“Mac smacks his cheek half-heartedly, and then starts toward me. “My, my … Colton, you never told me you were fucking a cash cow. If I’d known that, I could have milked you for all you were worth.”

My lip wobbles as the creep gets closer, but I stiffen it, showing no fear. “Everything in my wallet, it’s yours for a week before I cancel the cards. Take it now, spend whatever you’d like, no one will come asking. Seven days of free money, and in exchange, you leave us the hell alone. For good.”

I know that my father never checks my cards, or the amount spent, so I’m good on my word. At this point, I’ll give them whatever they want.

“Yeah … I’ve heard of him.” Mac uses two fingers to lift my chin, and I choke back the bile in my throat. “How do we know you won’t have your rich daddy come after us?”

I look him square in the eye. “The same reason I know you won’t expose Colton, or ever ask for any of your favors from him again. Mutually assured destruction, you know what that is, right? You get away with a boatload of money, no questions asked. My father and the authorities will never know about the shopping spree I go on for the next seven days. And in return, you never contact Colton again, and no one ever hears about the deals you made with him. If either of these sides are revealed, the other will be dragged down with them. And so, we will all stay silent.”

To my credit, I sound more confident than I feel, but it seems to drive my point home. Mac grabs my purse, which in and of itself costs a bundle, and motions to his thugs to get out of there quick.

“We’re even.” They drop Colton where he falls into a heap, a pained groan moving through his chest as he hits the concrete.

After they peel off through the night, their tires screeching the pavement, I run to where my boyfriend lies.

“Oh my God, love …” I pick up his head, placing it in my lap.

I should try to get him up, get him in the warm car, but I think I’m still in shock myself.

“You. Shouldn’t. Have. Done. That.” Colton wheezes, holding his hands to his ribs as he winces between each word.

“We should get you to a hospital.” I touch his face in several places, my hand coming away bloody.

“No. No hospital.” His eyes roll back and I’m afraid he’s going to pass out in the middle of this parking lot. “Thank. You.”

Those eyes find mine as the moonlight illuminates us, the gratitude and something more making my heart dip. “Can you stand?”

He nods, every ounce of his flesh protesting as he gets up. I help as best as I can, shouldering so much of his weight that he crushes me, but I take it. We finally get to the car, me loading him into the passenger seat as I prepare to drive his American car on the dark winding highway. I need to get him back to my dorm, I need to see how badly he’s hurt.

When I get into the driver’s seat, adjusting all of my mirrors and the seat so that I don’t get us killed on the road, Colton’s hand gently grabs my chin.

“My savior.” He pulls me as best as he can, the rest of me going willingly, before planting a solid kiss on my lips.

And as I release his mouth, I breathe a sigh of relief. Because even though that moment scared the piss out of me … it was now over. Colton was free.