True (True Believers #1)(35)
Author: Erin McCarthy

“Robin is with us, too,” I told him, nervously scanning the dance floor for my friends. All I could see was a mass of bobbing heads and jostling bodies under the strobe lights. The bouncers shoved past as I got my coat from coat check, watching Tyler get swallowed up in the melee, punches clearly being thrown in multiple directions. The cops would be called if security didn’t get this under control in the next minute or two.

The noise level had increased as girls started screaming and bodies hit tables and the floor. The DJ brought the music to a screeching halt and turned the overhead lights on, momentarily blinding me. Jessica came bursting out of the crowd, then Robin, Tyler blocking them from blows with his forearm, his other hand cutting a path through the crowd. They both look relieved to be out of the mess, and Jessica grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to the front door of the club.

“Let’s wait outside.”

“Where’s Kylie?”

“Tyler will get her.”

He was already making his way back with a determined look, and I let Jessica pull me outside into the cold, my jacket sliding down and almost hitting the ground.

“What the hell happened in there?” Jessica asked. “Stupid idiot boys.”

I shook my head. “Some guy fell into another guy and spilled his beer.” Biting my lip, I watched the door as person after person came flooding out, intent on escaping the fight. I heard the distinct sound of sirens coming from down the street. Worried about Kylie and Tyler, I bounced on the balls of my feet.

Robin’s teeth were chattering, and her hair was whipping around her face in the crisp, late-fall breeze. She was wearing only a miniskirt and a one-shouldered stretchy top. I was handing her my coat to put on when Tyler hit the sidewalk, dragging Kylie behind him.

“Car is that way,” he said, pointing to the right. “Go before the cops get here.”

Kylie was stumbling along, her dress hiked up to her thighs, her mouth bleeding. “Oh my God!” I said, trying to reach for her to see what had happened.

“In the car,” Tyler said, nudging me forward.

Jessica pulled me until we were all fast-walking, Robin wearing my coat like a cape. The car was only a block away, and we all fell in, a pile of colorful satin tops and mounds of hair. Kylie had taken the front seat and she turned around, wiping at her bloody lip. “I got punched. By a dude.”

“Are you serious?” I asked, horrified.

“She took it like a champ,” Tyler said, pulling out of the parking lot. “Didn’t even hit the ground.”

“Why did he hit you?” Jessica asked.

“It was an accident. He was aiming for the douche bag next to me.”

“Did he apologize?” I asked, wondering what I would do if I got punched. Cry. No doubt about it.

Kylie grinned, her lip already swelling. “No worries, Tyler made him sorry. Thanks, Ty,” she told him.

“No problem. Now where is Robin’s car?”

“We walked,” Jessica told him.

Tyler sighed. “You shouldn’t be walking alone at night.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

He glanced at us in the rearview mirror. “Rory, where’s your coat?”

“Robin is wearing it.”

“Where is Robin’s coat?”

“I didn’t wear one. Nobody wore one but Rory.”

“So the only one who brought a coat was the one wearing sleeves?” Tyler shook his head. “At least Rory has some sense.”

That was what every girl wants to hear—that a hot guy thinks she has sense. Wanting to roll my eyes, I knew I should appreciate the intended compliment, but I was feeling decidedly less than sexy suddenly. I couldn’t take a punch like a champ.

“Except when it comes to you,” Jessica said, with a grin, giving me a nudge with her elbow.

Ha ha. I was so not amused.

“Was that idiot bothering you all night?” Tyler asked, glancing at me in the rearview mirror, making no indication whatsoever that he’d heard Jessica. “Is that why you wanted me to pick you up?”

“No.”

“We had a fight with each other,” Kylie told him. “We cried on the sidewalk in front of the club. It was awesome. Best Girls’ Night ever. We laughed, we cried, we drank, we danced. Got punched in the face.” She gave a happy sigh.

I sat in the back and looked out the window. Maybe now Jessica and Kylie would trust me when I said that Tyler was a nice guy. He was. He had risked getting arrested to collect us from that club, and I honestly wasn’t sure what would have happened if he hadn’t been there. So why did I feel so weird?

“I’m not real crazy about Girls’ Night, to be honest with you,” he said, lighting a cigarette.

Kylie laughed loudly.

When Tyler pulled up into the circle in front of our dorm, he put the car in park with the engine still running. He got out as I slowly stepped out onto the street, feeling awkward and unsure of what to do. Maybe I shouldn’t have texted him. Maybe that had been presumptuous. Maybe he was genuinely and truly annoyed with me for dragging him into our night of ridiculousness.

As the girls waved and tottered toward the entrance, Tyler moved in close to me and put his arm around my waist. “Well, that was interesting.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him, genuinely meaning that. “I shouldn’t have texted you.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I overreacted and I ruined your night. You could have been arrested in that club because of me.” Tears rose in my eyes and my lips started to tremble. I clamped my mouth firmly shut.

“You did not ruin my night. I’m glad I was there to get you all out of that frat boy hell. If I never hear another Usher song for the rest of my life, though, I’ll be happy.” Tyler bent down and kissed me. “What were you girls fighting about, anyway?”

You. But I just shook my head. “Stupid girl stuff. There may have been alcohol involved.”

He snorted. “Yeah, no shit. Though you seem sober enough.”

Too sober to be feeling as weepy as I did. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Except that I wanted him to invite me to come home with him. I wanted to press my body against his and have him wrap his muscular arms around me, my cool leg laying on his warm one, his soft hair tickling my skin.

“You should go up and get some ice on Kylie’s lip. She’s too drunk to do it, and tomorrow she’s going to look like one of the Real Housewives from all the swelling.”