A Shattered Moment (Fractured Lives 1)

His legs were easily a foot longer than mine, but he matched my pace so I wouldn’t fall behind. It was hard not to feel self-conscious about it, even though Bentley didn’t seem to care. He kept me entertained with a running commentary about his roommates. I had discovered in my eavesdropping earlier that week at the library that Bentley was a good storyteller. He knew how to use words to paint a picture. By now I had a pretty good visual of Sherman, the iguana, who apparently had it out for him, and Chad, his best friend, the gamer. I couldn’t help smiling at how animated Bentley became in his descriptions. It had been a long time since I’d felt so carefree. I wondered if that was his intention or just a coincidence of his charm. The nice thing was not once did the conversation go to my leg, my friends, or anything else about the accident.

Wherever Bentley’s surprise destination was, the walk was longer than I was used to. I began to worry about my leg tiring, but he kept the pace slow, and for the time being I was holding up fairly well. Finally, we had made it off campus on the opposite side of the property from where my dorm building was. He seemed to be guiding me toward an apartment complex. I thought I had made it clear a party was out.

“You okay?” he asked when I paused in the middle of the sidewalk. He looked down at my leg, clearly concerned. “Do you need to sit down for a minute?”

“Where are you taking me?” My tone was completely bitchy, but I didn’t care. I was not relishing a long hike all the way back to my dorm because he’d decided to ignore my wishes.

“My apartment.” He looked surprisingly confused at my sudden mood swing. “Oh, shit. My bad. Look, I was just trying to be charming

ly mysterious, but it’s not what you think. I promise.”

“So, why else would we go to your apartment? I told you I didn’t want to go to a party.” My stomach began to clench. This is what I got for letting my guard down around people.

“I know. Trust me. We’re not going to a party. I have something else planned.”

“In your apartment?”

“I swear these hands will come nowhere near you if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets for emphasis. He began walking backward while coaxing me to follow him with a nod of his head.

I stood in place, waiting for my legs to make the one-hundred-eighty-degree turn to walk back to campus. I felt like a child who couldn’t make up her mind. I just didn’t want him to think he could force me to do something I didn’t want to do. This was ridiculous. One way or another, I had to make up my mind.

“Come on,” Bentley continued to tease me. “You know you want to.”

“Gah, fine. Just so you know, I’m going because I want to, not because you’re forcing me to.”

“I would never. I know how to respect the wishes of a lady,” he said in a mocking tone.

“Not funny, jerk.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. So, you’re good with this?”

“I still don’t know what this is,” I said, waving my cane toward the apartment building.

“Come on and I’ll show you.” He grabbed my hand and led me toward the apartment complex. This guy didn’t know how to take a hint. His grip was strong, but not like he was trying to pull me anywhere against my will. Evidently, I was going with the flow, and tonight would be another first.

The feeling was a bit liberating. It wasn’t that often anymore that I left caution to the wind like I had tonight. Then I noticed the concrete set of stairs. “Oh, please no,” I mouthed to myself. I guess it was too much to ask the cosmos for Bentley to suddenly turn toward an apartment on the ground floor. There was no way I’d be able to climb them, not after the long walk it took to get here.

I ran several scenarios through my head on how to get out of making a fool of myself with the stairs. I could claim to be sick. Tell him I changed my mind and didn’t feel comfortable going to a guy’s apartment who I barely knew. That seemed like the more reasonable excuse. Of course, it didn’t feel like that with Bentley. I felt like I’d known him forever. A week was far from forever. I was smart enough to realize that, but he had also been there to help me during the worst night of my life.

Before I could shoot down another one of his ideas, he’d already taken matters into his own hands—literally. One minute both my feet were firmly on the ground, the next they were dangling over his shoulder. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Killing two birds with one stone. I need to keep in shape for work. What better way than carrying a pretty lady up a flight of stairs. It’s the least I can do after dragging you all the way across campus.”

“Put me down.” I tried to sound stern, but I couldn’t help laughing as I bounced up and down with each step he took.

“Trust me, ma’am. I’m a trained professional,” he answered as I continued to laugh. Damn him. Why did he have to be so sweet? As we reached the midpoint between floors, he stopped and gently moved me from his shoulder to where I was cradled in his arms. He held me like I weighed next to nothing, pulling me snugly against his chest. His breathing was smooth and effortless. I held myself stiff in his arms, although the urge to relax and nestle closer was strong as my heart raced. I felt safe, which was a problem. That feeling frightened the ever-living daylights out of me.

Bentley chatted away as he climbed the stairs, just like he had done during the walk to the apartment complex. He talked so much I never noticed that his apartment was only on the second floor, and even though we were no longer on the stairs, he was still carrying me.

“You know. You broke your promise.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said your hands would come nowhere near me,” I reminded him.

“Oh, yeah. You sure you don’t have a photographic memory?”

“I know a player when I see one.”