I looked around the room and the others averted their eyes. Sonya at least looked remorseful. Olive looked like she was about to cry. Holly stared out the window, clutching the cross on her necklace. My focus returned to the knock-off version of Dakota. “You’re right, Vivian. Like your hair and your lips, the walls are thin. So thin, in fact, that I know you’re fucking Andre behind your boyfriend’s back.”
Her jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?”
I curled my lip upward into a smirk. “So, before talking about my thighs, try closing yours.” The anger I felt made me want to lash out with more than my words. My hands balled into fists and I took a couple steps toward her. “And—”
“Brook, let’s go,” Jay commanded from the hallway.
I looked over my shoulder at him.
“It’s not worth it. Let’s go,” he repeated in a tone that was firm and insistent. He held my gaze with such intensity, I felt as though he was sapping the anger from me.
I nodded, breaking eye contact with him. Casting one last look at the four women in the room, I repeated my best friend’s words under my breath. “You’re not worth it.”
I turned on my heel and walked out with the intention to follow Jay into the room I shared with Carter. I’d barely gotten to the middle of the hallway when the door slammed behind me.
“Good riddance, bitch!” Vivian yelled through the door.
A laugh that I knew came from Holly followed.
I stopped in my tracks and debated going back in there and knocking Vivian out.
“Brook,” Jay called out, refocusing my attention on him. When I entered the room, he took my duffle and picked up my crate. “Is this everything?”
My mouth dropped. “Are you really going to act like you didn’t just hear that? I can’t believe you stopped me from slapping the taste out of her mouth.”
“She waited until she closed and locked the door before saying shit to you.” He shook his head. “You would’ve killed her. You’re bigger and stronger than she is. You would’ve broken her face with that slap. That wouldn’t have even been a fight worth watching.”
Even though I bristled, turning my head away from him, I stayed silent. I knew my anger wasn’t really about him, but my face hardened and I clenched my teeth.
“Brook…” He put the crate back on the desk.
“It’s cool. I got everything.”
Jay crossed the room, closing the gap that separated us. Gently, he placed his hands on my shoulders and he waited. When I met his gaze, his brown eyes burned into my own. Seconds passed and not a word was spoken, but I felt him.
He was a sturdy force, both in physical size and in presence. Without lifting my hands from my sides, I held on to him.
He took long, deep breaths and his shoulders rose and fell with each one. Without realizing it, my body mimicked his.
He had a woodsy, masculine, sensual scent and I inhaled him. Without warning, my breath left my body, expelling anger, hurt, and irritation.
In a brief minute or two, and with no words, James Williams had comforted me, reassured me, and encouraged me.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “You’re welcome.”
We untangled ourselves from the embrace and he picked up my stuff again. I grabbed my keys and we left the house in silence. My car was blocked by Carter’s in the driveway, so I made a mental note to return later to retrieve it.
“I’m glad you came in when you did. Thank you,” I murmured as I climbed in Jay’s front seat. I stared out the window as we pulled off. “You’re a good best friend.”
“I’m the best,” he corrected me as he accelerated.
I rolled my eyes but smiled.
He wasn’t lying. He was the best.
We crossed over the street that ran along the south side of campus. We entered through the back entrance and maneuvered the paved roads.
“I can’t believe you walked from Fraternity Row,” Jay commented as he slowed to let a couple of pedestrians walk by.
“I didn’t have much of a choice. I rode with them.”
“Yeah,” he muttered under his breath as he accelerated.
“Do you have anything to eat at your place or do you want to go get—what is going on here?” I saw more people than usual standing outside of the library. “It’s the third week of school. The library is never this packed this early.”
“It’s hard for me to believe all these people are here for the library.” Jay purposefully missed his turn and continued straight.
I scanned the area between the library and Main Street, and I couldn’t help but feel unsettled that everyone was facing the lake.
As we got close to the end of the street, an officer flagged us down.
“How are you folks doing?” the campus police officer asked us when Jay rolled down his window. “Oh! James Williams! You ready for another great season?”
“Always. Trained hard, ready to show off my moves,” James returned. He had an admirable ease about him in most situations.
“Well, I have no doubt. If the football team plays like they did yesterday, you guys won’t be the only ones on campus with a conference championship to brag about this year.”
“Absolutely.” Jay cleared his throat and gestured to the police cruiser blocking the street. “What’s going on?”
“Can’t say. But it is going to take a while. If you head over to the south side of campus, it’ll add fifteen minutes if you’re going into town, but it’ll get you
