Deon laughed. “Good. I’ll need an extra-large to cover these.” He leaned away and flexed a little, flashing those arms that I couldn’t stop imagining lifting me up with ease.
I shook my head. “Now you think you’re fucking funny.”
Avery gasped. “Potty mouth.”
“Oh, just you wait. I’m bringing the old Cherri back out. She swears like a sailor,” Deon replied.
Avery looked at me, and I shrugged and nodded, and her grin got a little wider. “Guess I better brush up, then.”
Deon chuckled. “Guess you better. Well, listen. I’m glad I got to see you guys, but I don’t want to interrupt. Enjoy your time, and I’ll talk to you later, beautiful.”
I grinned. “Okay.”
“What the fuck!”
Avery and I looked over our shoulder, along with everyone else in the store. Nathan was storming into the store, blasting past people without concern and beelining for where Avery and I were standing. The screen went black as Deon ended the call, and Avery intelligently snatched the phone out of my hand just as Nathan was reaching out to take it himself.
He glared over at Avery. “Give it to me.”
Avery looked Nathan up and down like he’d lost his mind. “No.”
“Stop it,” I ordered. I took my phone back from Avery and slipped it into my pocket. “You’re making a scene.”
“What were you doing talking to him?” he asked.
“I can talk to friends on the phone,” I replied. “If you can fuck teachers, I can do whatever the hell I want.” With that, and with no desire to attract additional attention, I turned my back to Nathan. “Come on, Avery. Let’s go pay.” I tried to walk away, but Nathan’s hand wrapped around my left bicep, his fingers digging into my arm, and pulled me back. “Ow. Let me go. You’re hurting me.”
Everything after that seemed to crawl to a stop except Nathan and me. He reached up and pinched my face in his other hand. He backed me against a wall with his fingers pressing against my cheek, causing my jaw to feel like it was going to break. My heart was pounding so hard that I was certain it was going to just stop, and sweat started to gather at the edges of my hair.
“You will not talk to him again,” Nathan hissed at me. “You’re fucking mine, do you hear me? Only mine. No one else can have you.”
It bothered me how frozen I was, but Nathan had never gotten physical with me before. Despite the fact that part of my brain was willing me to swing at him or try and bite him or do anything to break loose, it was like he had many more hands than two just holding me in place. My eyes started to water even though I was begging my body not to show weakness. My breath shortened, and all I could hear was a low, white hum in my ears.
Why couldn’t I move?
“Nathan! Let her go!” Avery shouted, and it brought me back to the earth. A guy who’d been in the store with his girlfriend came rushing over. He dragged Nathan off of me, and Avery rushed over to my side and put her arm around me. “Oh my god, are you okay?”
I watched as the evil and wild look on Nathan’s face faded and left a shocked, remorseful one in its wake. He went limp in the arms of the guy holding him and just stared at me. “Cherri…”
“You put your hands on me,” I whispered. “That hurt.”
“I’m so sorry. Baby.” He tried to pull out of the guy’s grip, but the guy held him tight. “I’m so sorry.” Tears welled up in his eyes and then started to stream down his face. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Baby, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Cherri.”
The man holding him looked at his girlfriend and then back at Nathan. “What the fuck is up with this guy?” He looked up at me. “Hey, don’t mess with this guy again, okay? Anyone who puts his hands on a woman is bad news.”
“He’s never done that before,” I responded. “What’s wrong with you?” I asked Nathan.
“I don’t know!” Tears were falling down his face in a continuous stream. “I’m so sorry. I love you, Cherri. I realized this summer that I don’t want to be apart from you. I don’t want to lose you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
The guy clicked his teeth. “Bad way to show it, buddy.”
“You can let him go,” I said. The guy looked at me, shocked, but I nodded. “It’s okay. He won’t do that again.”
The guy’s girlfriend touched his shoulder, and the looks they exchanged were judgmental, but he let Nathan go, and Nathan crumpled to the ground. “Take care of yourself,” the guy said to me before he and his girlfriend wandered off.
Nathan crawled across the floor and clawed his way up my legs to wrap his arms around me. He buried his face into my stomach and pulled me into him. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m sorry.”
“Look at me,” I said, and Nathan looked up. I brought my hand high above my head and pulled it down to slap him across the face. “If you ever put your hands on me again, you’ll regret it.”
Nathan nodded. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Let me go.”
Nathan pulled his arms from around me. I set the jeans I had on a nearby rack and started for the door with Avery right behind me. We rushed out of the store with everyone watching us, and I was glad when we were finally back out in the fresh air.
“Cherri,” Avery called out, but my chest was tightening, and my head was pounding. My legs were moving against my will. I didn’t even know where they were taking me. I was running but had no idea where I was running to. “Cherri!”
Avery bolted after me and finally gained on me, running into my path. I collided with her
