Protecting Her: A Romance Bundle

He holds out his hand and I shake it. “I’m Tom. So at least you know someone now.”

I smile at him gratefully. He seems like a nice person. Clearly, he’s come to rescue the damsel in distress here. “I’m Veronica. It’s nice to meet you. Are you one of the fraternity brothers?”

“No.” He shakes his head fervently. “Not me, but my cousin is. I’m here because of him. And he’s abandoned me much like it looks like your friend has done to you.” He points to where she’s now kissing the guy she was arguing with only moments before. “So, it looks like it’s just me and you for the night.”

He’s a nice enough looking guy, with a sweet preppy look and a nice lopsided smile, but he doesn’t stir up anything inside of me. Maybe if I wasn’t still harbouring this crush on Jordan things would be different, but I can’t see past anything but him at the moment. Still, talking to Tom is preferable to being on my own.

“Looks like it!” I smile up at him. “Sorry, you got stuck with me.”

“What are you apologizing for? You’re the most beautiful girl here, I’m lucky to be ‘stuck with you’.”

The compliment feels so nice, it washes over me and makes me feel a little better. I suppose if Jordan’s found somewhere more important to be then this is just fine for me. There are worse places I could be. The urge to be back in bed all by myself has died down a little bit. I’d love to make a new friend.

“So, Tom, since we’re stuck together, you might as well tell me all about yourself.” I see him react like me to that intrusive question, so to soften the blow I try a different tactic. “Such as who’s your favorite superhero?”

A neutral topic, one that doesn’t really tell me much about him but also lets me learn enough. It’s the perfect conversation starter and actually gets the ball rolling. This certainly isn’t where I expected the night to end up, but I could always stand to expand my circle. One of the things I’m learning is that I can’t have too many friends.

“Well, I mean, Batman is an obvious choice to the untrained eye… but you aren’t talking to someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about here. I’m an expert in this very subject.”

“Oh, well it’s a good job I asked it then,” I chuckle along with his joke. “I cannot wait to get your expert opinion. This is something I struggle with so much.”

As he launches into his tirade, I can’t keep the smile off my face. This party is starting to really look up now. Thank goodness!

4

Jordan

Idiot, idiot, idiot! I curse myself as I run to the party. I am such an idiot! Veronica is going to hate me.

I promised to be at this stupid party at nine PM, and I even planned on getting there a little bit before, but then I made the dumb decision to take a nap first so I could stay up much later if needed, and I overslept. What an idiot. I must have slept through my alarm and now I’ve missed out on hours I could’ve been with Veronica. I might see her a lot but it honestly never feels like enough, and now I hate myself for this error.

What if she’s already left? I think as a dart my eyes around this horrible, smelly frat house. I know that Rachel always ends up making brand new friends when she’s been drinking and she ends up leaving Veronica alone. There’s a chance that she might have given up waiting for me and gone back to her dorm. I don’t suppose I can go and see her to apologize for my error because there’s a chance that she’ll be asleep. I’m such a fool.

I quickly spot Rachel over by the drinks table which doesn’t give me enough but it’s a start. I make my way over there, ignoring the guy who’s stood beside her with a moony expression on her face while I speak.

“Rachel, have you seen Veronica?” I ask, a little desperately. “Is she here? Did she come with you?”

Rachel giggles at the wrong time, proving that she’s already had too much to drink. “She was dancing before.”

Dancing? There’s no chance in hell that Veronica would dance alone. She’s got great moves but she’s far too shy to do it alone. I know Rachel must be wrong, but it’s the only lead I have, so I chase after it. I go to where there are a few people gathered on a make shift dance floor and I flick my eyes all over it. Of course, she isn’t there, just as I knew she wouldn’t be, but I do spot a shock of flame red hair just outside… that could be her, so I

push past the crowds of people and follow it with my heart hammering in my chest. I feel oddly nervous, which is crazy because I know she won’t be mad at me. I guess I’m scared that she’s been all alone and is hurt.

I’m here now, I try to shoot across that telepathic message. Not that I truly believe we have a mental connection or anything, I’ve just become really desperate. I’m coming for you, Veronica. Just you wait…

It’s almost as busy outside as it is in, so while I know she’s out here somewhere – that was definitely her hair – I can’t immediately lay my eyes on her. It’s like I’m on a wild goose chase and I’m coming up with nothing. I need to find her, I feel utterly compelled to, it’s like I’m a drug addict and I really need my fix.

Then I spot her, and my blood runs icy cold. The sight before me stuns me to my core and tilts the world on a brand new, very unpleasant axis. I feel unsteady on my feet, dizzy and sick like I’ve been drinking for hours rather than that I’ve only just turned up a short while ago. I’m lost, bewildered, I’ve become the one alone.

There’s Veronica, I’ve finally found her, only she isn’t alone. She’s with some smart looking guy who’s staring at her like he adores her. His body is completely turned around to her and he has his head tilted forwards as if he wants to rest it on hers. As he laughs at something she says I’m left with no doubt. He’s one hundred percent into her. He looks like he actually likes her, and not just for some fun like most of the guys want around here. He’s giving her a look as if he wants to take her out on romantic dates, he wants to make her feel good about herself, he wants to kiss her, to hold her, to make love to her, to be the best boyfriend he can be.

I suddenly realize that my fists are balled up by my sides as if temper is coursing through me. There’s definitely an odd bitter snake coiling through my organs, but that isn’t rage, it doesn’t mean anything, I’m sure.

I turn my eyes away from him just so I can resist smacking him for some inexplicable reason, and I focus on Veronica instead. Immediately, my mind softens, my muscles loosen, I feel a strong sense of calm. She has this relaxing, delightful effect on me, one that I want to cling onto forever more. She’s amazing. There isn’t anyone else who can do that for me. If anything, they all stress me out. But not her, never her.

I can tell that she isn’t flirting back with the idiot boy next to her, Veronica is just being friendly, but still, I don’t like her being that close to him. It makes me feel possessive and needy. I want to be that person next to her, holding her, making her smile that way. I always want it to be me, it has to be me. No one else will do. The more I look at her, the more I think about being the person touching her, holding her, and making her happy. I want to take his place, I wish that I’d arrived on time so I could be, I want to have my head against hers.

Oh my God, what is wrong with me? I demand. What is going on here? Do I love her?