I eyeballed Jamie. “Seriously? Do you hear this guy?” I said with a nod in Jack’s direction.
Jamie laughed and gave me a hearty shove. “Get out there. ”
“You come to me,” I insisted, staring him down.
All eyes were on us, entertained by our stubborn battle.
“Gladly,” Jack responded and walked hastily toward me. He lifted me up in the air and I wrapped my legs around his waist.
“Keep it in your pants, pal,” I whispered into his ear before nibbling on his neck.
“You better stop or I’ll throw you on the floor and have my way with you. ” He yanked my hair back, forcing my head away from his before ravaging my mouth.
“Get a room,” Brett shouted.
“We’ll just take yours,” Jack mumbled between kisses.
“Go or you’ll be late. ” I unwrapped my legs and hopped down.
Jack looked at me one last time before turning to his teammates. “Make sure she doesn’t walk alone to the game. ”
“I don’t need a babysitter. ” I frowned at him, rolling my eyes.
“Dean?” he said sternly.
“I got her, J. I promise we’ll all go together. She won’t be alone. ” Dean smiled at me and then looked reassuringly at his brother.
“See you guys at the game. ” Jack closed the door and all eyes fell on me.
“What? Don’t look at me, I’m not the crazy one!” I yelled, shaking my head.
“Just so you know, I’ve never seen him act this way about anyone other than Gran,” Dean said, without looking up from his cards.
I tried not to smile, but failed miserably.
Forty minutes later, the group of us headed toward the far end of campus. The guys were playful as they walked, bumping into one another and knocking each other’s hats off. I stopped walking to fall slightly behind when Dean turned around, noticing my absence. I waved him ahead, pulling out my camera and removing the lens cap. When he saw my intention, he rejoined the group with a big smile.
I knelt on the sidewalk, framing the group of guys in the viewfinder, smiling to myself at how happy they all looked. Click. Another shot of Dean’s hand smacking Brett’s hat off. Click. Jamie and Matt holding hands from the back was too much for me to resist. Click.
“That’s a nice camera. ” A harsh voice startled me and the camera fell from my eye.
I looked up to see a large, beefy silhouette towering above me, his face shadowed by the setting sun. “Give it to me,” he insisted, before taking a swig of something hidden inside a brown paper bag.
I stood up instantly, glancing past the man’s shoulder for Dean. I was too shocked to shout. Too nervous to run. You know how you think that if you’re ever in a bad situation, you’ll be all tough, like in the movies? That’s bullshit. You’ll freeze, just like I did. All I could do was silently will Dean to look back at me. I prayed he’d notice I still hadn’t caught up.
“I said give it to me, bitch!” the man shouted before introducing the back of his hand to the side of my cheek.
His knuckles hit me with such brute force that my head flew to one side, my hair flying out all around me. I whipped my head back to face him in shock, strands of hair sticking to my eyelashes and lips.
Did he just hit me?
“That guy just hit Cassie! Hey!” I heard Dean shouting and the sound of feet heading in my direction.
I couldn’t move. My body was still frozen with shock. I couldn’t believe this stranger hit me.
He struck me again, this time punching me with a closed fist on the other side of my face. As I stumbled with the force of the blow, I looked in the direction of the group, my eyesight crystal clear. Dean sprinted full speed toward me when the man suddenly appeared in front of him. I watched as Dean shoved him, but the man lifted his brown paper bag and slammed it against the top of Dean’s head.
Thick green glass shattered and spilled onto the sidewalk as Dean’s body crumpled lifelessly to the ground, blood spilling from his head. I wanted to scream, but no sounds came. My mind immediately replayed the scene: Dean’s tall, muscular body losing all coordination as it collapsed into a heap on the concrete, then blood. Lots of it. Brett ran to Dean’s limp body and quickly pulled Dean’s arm around his shoulder, lifting him and dragging him away in the opposite direction.