Chapter 11
EVIE
As I push through the wide glass doors of the library and step outside, thunder rumbles overhead.
Just my luck. The sky is dark, and as drops start to fall, I walk quickly towards the pavement. Hopefully, it doesn’t begin to pour before I can get home.
The thought isn’t even cold when there’s another crack of thunder, and it starts to rain heavily. The drops are big and fat, soaking my clothes.
Being wet in the cold makes my body start to tremble. For a crazy second I contemplate running back to the library so I can take shelter until the storm passes, but then I remember Rhett and the girl he was with.
I’m not even sure why seeing him with a girl hurts so much. It’s not like I’m friends with Rhett. Hell, I’m nothing but a charity case.
Just thinking that makes me feel grateful once more that I got the job at the gas station. When they called me this morning, I was so surprised. I’ve been unsuccessful with so many other applications that I didn’t think I would get the position. Even though I’ll be working nights, I’m excited that I finally got a decent job, especially one where they don’t require me to remove my clothes.
But still, there’s an ache in my chest when I think of what Rhett and that girl were busy doing seconds before I got there.
A blowjob at the library! Nevermind that it happened in a public place, I never thought of Rhett as a man with needs. For some reason, knowing this about him has changed how I always saw him. I used to see him as some savior of sorts, but now… now I’m forced to see the man. I worked hard to ignore the initial attraction I felt towards him. Not that I’m suddenly feeling attracted to him. It’s just that… ugh, I don’t know what it is.
“You're silly, Evie!” I mutter under my breath. “It’s not like you see him a lot anyway.”
The thunder rolls again, and I can swear I hear my name.
When lightning strikes nearby, I let out a startled shriek. Someone grabs hold of my arm, giving me such a fright that I immediately yank my arm free. The sudden movement makes me lose my balance. Unable to catch myself, I fall, and my butt slams into the pavement with such a force, I feel the vibration all the way to my teeth.
“Fuck.” The harsh growl above me has my eyes darting up.
The sight of Rhett towering over me makes me swallow hard. His shirt is soaked through, making the fabric stick to his broad chest and showing off every sculpted muscle. Drops of water run down his face, and his dark eyes and hair make him look like a fierce god.
Well, no need to keep sitting at his feet. It’s not like his savior complex needs a boost.
When he reaches a hand out to help me up, I ignore it and climb to my feet. I right the strap of my book bag over my shoulder and take a step back.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I called, but you didn’t hear me,” Rhett explains.
“It’s fine.” I point to behind me. “I have to go. It’s raining.”
Way to go, Evie. Like the man doesn’t know that it’s pouring.
“Let me give you a ride home. You can’t walk in this weather,” Rhett says as I start to turn around.
I’m shaking my head before he’s even done talking. There’s no way that I can be alone in a car with him right now. I’m too embarrassed from knowing about the blowjob. The ride home will only be painfully awkward.
“I like walking in the rain,” I say, but my shivering from the cold doesn’t make me sound very convincing.
Time to make a run for it, Evie.
“See you around.” The words rush from me as I spin on my heel, walking away as quickly as I can without falling down again.
The next second, strong fingers wrap around my arm, and I’m whirled back around. I slam into Rhett but before I can recover from the shock, he bends down, presses his shoulder against my stomach, and then I’m airborne.
“What are you doing?” I shriek as my book bag tumbles to the ground. I’m too busy clinging to the soaked fabric on his back to try to stop my bag from landing on the pavement.
“It’s wet and fucking cold out here, woman” Rhett growls as he plucks my bag from the ground.
I try to wiggle my body out of his grip, but his arm tightens over the back of my thighs.
“Rhett!” I hiss through my teeth, dumbfounded by his caveman behavior. “Put me down.”
I place my hands flat on his back and feeling his hard muscles flexing beneath my palms, almost makes me forget that he has me upside down over his shoulder. I shake my head lightly to rid my traitorous mind of the foolish trance a few muscles has it ensnared in, and start to wiggle again.
A wet slap to my bottom makes my eyes widen, and my lips part as a tiny peep rushes from me.
Rhett just slapped me on the butt.
“You can’t walk home in this weather,” he says, calmly, as if this isn’t… crap, I don’t even have words for what this situation is. Nothing like this has happened to me before.
When I hear whistles and Rhett’s name being cheered from a nearby dorm, I pinch my eyes shut. My cheeks start to flame with embarrassment from other students witnessing this absolutely crazy moment.
I’m so thrown by what just happened that I remain speechless until we reach his car.
I hear my bag falling to the ground with a wet slap. Rhett moves his hands to my hips and pulls me down the front of his body. My breath wooshes from me as my feet meet the ground.
When I realize how close we’re standing to each other, I yank my hands back from where I was gripping his shoulders. The tight grip he has on my hips keeps me from moving further away, making my eyes dart up to his.
I should let him have a piece of my mind for tossing me over his shoulder, but my mouth dries up the instant our eyes meet. His eyes are so dark and intense that my stomach flutters with something I’d rather not name.
“Yo,” my mind snaps derisively, “don’t even think about going there. Get me out of the gutter.”
I open my mouth but still, nothing comes out. I must look like a gaping fish right now.
“He’s off limits, silly girl,” my mind adds her two cents as if I wasn’t aware of that glaring fact which keeps slapping me upside the head whenever I have a moment of weakness, and I dare think that Rhett is hot… and dark… and broody… and sexy … and damn I’m so screwed.
His eyes finally release mine, but then they travel down my body. Doing a leisurely sweep down to my shoes before coming back up, it feels as if his heated gaze is scorching every inch of my icy skin.
“It’s no use,” my mind sighs sullenly. “You’re definitely screwed. When this blows up in your face, don’t come crying that I didn’t warn you.”
When his eyes collide with mine, and his fingers tighten their grip on my hips, I realize why I was upset about what that girl said in the library.
I want Rhett to notice me. Not as a homeless girl he needs to take care off, but as a woman.
The thought is so jarring and unexpected that I rip my body free from his hold. I grab my bag and walk around the car to the passenger side.
Breathlessly I say, “Fine. If you want your car wet it’s your loss. Can we leave already? I need to get home.”
I yank the door open and climbing into the car, I swear I hear him muttering under his breath, “It’s not the only thing I want wet.”