This is War (Checkmate Duet 1)

“I told you!” I giggle, reaching for my phone and looking for my Uber app.

Just as I schedule the pick up, I lose my footing and stumble back against the person sitting next to me. Patrick grabs my elbow and pulls me back before I can fall any further. “Maybe you should sit while we wait.” He pulls the stool back out, but before I can sit back down, an arm wraps around my waist and possessively pulls me away.

“Viola…” I hear my name on Travis’ lips and shiver. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“She was with me.” I look up at Patrick and see his hard expression. Shit. They’re both trying to intimidate each other.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Travis,” I scold, shifting out of his grip, but he doesn’t release me. “Do you have to be an asshole all the damn time?”

“Do you even know who this is?” he asks me.

“Yes. His name is Patrick. I tutored him last semester, so put back your pitchfork.” I look up at Patrick and give him an apologetic look.

“Wrong.” His voice is jolting. “He was put on probation his freshman year for sexually assaulting a girl at a frat party. She pressed charges and since Daddy’s a lawyer, he got a slap on the wrist.”

Patrick’s jaw ticks, and I can see the hardness in his eyes. I had no idea. Patrick is a year older than me, so Travis would’ve been the one in school with him back then.

“It’s time to go.” Travis links our fingers together and pulls me away. I can’t even be mad at his caveman behavior after learning about Patrick’s history.

“We were just going to share an Uber,” I start explaining, although he hadn’t asked. “I wasn’t going to go home with him.”

He doesn’t say anything as he sets his mouth in a firm line.

We walk out into the parking lot of the club and the cool night breeze begins to sober me up, although those last set of shots were really a bad idea.

“You should’ve never been drinking that much with a guy you hardly know and especially never Uber home with him. He’s dangerous.”

“Well, I didn’t know that at the time. He’d always been nice to me.”

“They’re always nice, Viola. That’s how they get girls to go back home with them.”

Clearly, I hadn’t know that.

“Well, he wouldn’t have had to try real hard. I’m practically naked already.”

He walks me to the side of the club and as I lean up against the building, he paces in front of me, brushing his hands through his hair. “You shouldn’t say shit like that, Viola. Guys see you and they see a good fuck. They don’t see the real you.”

“Well, you would know, right? You don’t hook up with girls to get to know them. You go for the quick fuck and kick them out before the morning coffee is done brewing.”

His head is bowed, but he looks up at me, his eyes locked on mine. “I’m only going to say this because I know you won’t remember it. Guys like him don’t want a one-night stand. They don’t find girls to hook up with just for the thrill. They want power and control. My bet is he was hoping to get you back to his place and give you his special cocktail that would make you pass out just enough so he could take full advantage. Guys like those are cowards and a pathetic excuse as a man, so don’t put me and him in the same category. I might get off on having a sexy little thing like you under me, but it’d be completely mutual. I get off on getting girls off, not on taking something they’re not willing to give.”

His breath is ragged, and I can see how tense his mouth is as he confesses that to me. I’m not sure where it came from, but it was a side of Travis that actually sounded genuine.

“So what you’re saying is the real me isn’t good enough to be someone’s one-night stand? I’d only be good if I were unconscious…?” I know I’m testing his limits, but liquid courage is making me bolder than usual.

He mutters curse words under his breath, and I know I’ve pushed too far. I hear a car driving up behind him and look to see it’s the Uber driver.

He wraps a hand around my elbow and leads us to the back door. “Get in the car.”

I blink. “What?”

He reaches behind me and grabs the door handle. “Get in the car, Viola. We’re going home.”

I do as he says and buckle myself in. His silence is deafening and I’m sure I’ll wake up filled with regret.

I lay my head back against the seat and close my eyes. How the hell did the night make such a turn for the worse?