Waiting On You

“Is there a problem here?” It was the limo driver, followed by Chris.

“This asshole grabbed me by the throat!” Jake said, his tone immediately sullen.

“Sounds like you deserved it,” the driver said. “At least, according to him.” He gestured to Chris, who gave her an ashamed nod. “Now get in the limo, rich boy. Party’s over.” The driver looked at Colleen. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She hesitated, then nodded.

“If you ever touch her again, Jake,” Lucas said, his voice soft and matter-of-fact, “you’ll be eating through a straw for weeks.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jake said. “Just because you snuck up on me—”

Lucas made a small movement toward him, and Jake screamed and jerked back.

“Come on,” the driver said.

“Oh, Jake?” Colleen said sweetly.

He gave her a lethal look.

“You wet yourself.”

Jake looked down at his crotch, froze a second, then shuffled off the dock. He yelled at Jase, shoving him as he walked past.

“Stupid little dick,” the driver muttered. He turned to them. “You guys all set?”

“Yeah. Thanks,” Lucas said.

“Sorry, Colleen,” Chris muttered, following the driver down the dock.

It was only when they were gone that Colleen looked at Lucas. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“Sure.” He took a few steps down the dock to his cousin. “Bryce, you okay?”

“Hey, dude,” Bryce said. “What was that yelling all about?”

“What did I say about drinking tonight, huh? Someone almost got hurt, and you’re shit-faced.”

“Sorry, man. I had a little too much, I think.”

“Get up, buddy.” He helped his cousin to his feet.

“Remember when I saved you?” Bryce said.

“Yep.”

Bryce took a weaving step toward her. “Oh, hey, Coll. How you doing?”

“Hey, idiot,” she said gently. She put her arm around him, steering him down to the shore.

Delayed terror kicked in then, and she started shaking. “You cold?” Bryce asked.

“Little bit,” she said.

Tanya was sleeping on the sand, and without bothering to try to rouse her, Lucas simply picked her up.

“I’m tired,” she whined. No one bothered to answer.

A mountain bike was parked behind the Mustang. Lucas dumped Tanya in the backseat, then popped the trunk and loaded the bike in. “You rode here on your bike?” Colleen asked, though the answer was obvious.

“Yeah.” He glanced at her. “Where’s your car?”

“I was playing chauffeur. Tanya can’t drive, and Bryce was already pretty sloppy.”

He nodded once, then opened the car door for her.

No boy had ever held a car door for her before.

She gave him directions to Tanya’s house, then walked Tanya to the door. Mrs. Cross was waiting up, her mouth falling open when she saw her daughter’s less-than-sober state, then thanked Colleen for seeing her home and began laying into Tanya for her stupidity. Colleen waved and went back to the car.

Bryce was sound asleep in the backseat, his snoring soft and rhythmic.

“Does he drink this much all the time?” she asked.

“Once in a while.”

Colleen nodded. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked, because Lucas seemed tense. Then again, this had been a tense night, hadn’t it? Holy Mary. There’d be fallout—Jake was not the forgive-and-forget type. She might have to make sure everyone heard about his pants-wetting. Then again, that could make matters worse. Don’t poke a wounded snake and all that.

“You’re gonna have to watch your back,” she said, stealing a look at her driver’s profile.

“Yeah.”

She cleared her throat, uncharacteristically nervous. “You were really brave. Three against one.”

He glanced at her. “Three against two,” he corrected.

“Yeah, well, Bryce wasn’t much help.”

“I was talking about you.”

The words brought a nearly painful heat to her cheeks. “I am pretty good in a fight,” she said, forcing some bravado into her voice.

But she hadn’t been good. She would’ve lost that one without Lucas, and the thought made her legs start shaking again. “Take this left, and we’re the third house on the right,” she said.

He pulled into her driveway, then turned off the engine and got out. She got out as well, all too aware of his presence behind her.

The house was quiet, but Mom had left the light on over the sink, her code for everyone’s in bed. Colleen turned to Lucas. His eyes were steady on her, dark and mysterious in the moonlight.

“Thank you again,” she said briskly.