My eyes widened when I saw him standing by his car. Despite the fact there was a row of cars and a partition between us, I could still see how angry he looked. I knew for a fact he was remembering our conversation in his car after the last time I came here and he made me promise not to come back.
Luckily, some sort of Gods were in my favor, because when Nathan took a few steps toward me, I saw a burly man that I presumed to be Cotter stop him. They spoke briefly and Nathan's frown only deepened as he listened before Cotter walked off and Nathan turned back to his car. When he climbs in and turns the Mustang on, I realize that he had to race.
And then I realized that I had to disappear.
I wasn't in the mood for the earful that I was sure he would give me about coming here, so I didn't plan on staying. Instead, I turned back to look at Stephanie, who was in a conversation with Justin, and tug her sleeve to grab her attention. She looks at me and her expression contorts into that of confusion when she sees my wide eyes.
"What?" Stephanie questions in a quiet voice as she leans toward me. "What's going on?"
I glance back at Justin, who was looking at me weirdly, and flash him a fake smile. "Excuse us a second," I mutter before dragging Steph a few yards away. Once we were a safe distance from the boys, I hiss, "Nathan is here!"
She mimics my surprised and slightly panic stricken expression as she darts her head around. "Did he see you? Where is he?"
"He's about to race," I tell her in a quiet voice. "But he saw me. We have to go."
I look over my shoulder to glance at the racetrack and see the cars revving their engines by the starting line. I glare at Nathan's car because, well, I had a lot that I wanted to find out tonight and barely made a dent in my questions.
"Now is not the time to watch him race," Steph advises me as she tugs my hand. "Now is the time to get the hell out of here before it ends and he comes looking for you."
I tear my gaze away from the cars right before their engines rev one final time and they begin racing. I look at Stephanie instead and nod begrudgingly. "You're right. Let's get out of here."
We walk back to the boys as Nathan drifts around the second corner and goes onto his next lap. Brett is giving me a weird look when we return to the group and Justin's eyes are glued to Stephanie while Joe grabs another beer. It was kind of cute how Justin still seemed to have a thing for Steph despite the time she's been at college, but now wasn't the time to think about that.
"Is everything okay?" Brett inquires first as he studies my reaction.
I fake another smile expertly. "Yeah, everything's fine." I glance at Stephanie and then back to Brett and frown. "I just don't feel that well. Stephanie and I are going to head home."
Brett frowns in concern as he sympathizes, "That sucks, I'm sorry." His gaze shifts to Stephanie as he says slowly, "I can take you home if Stephanie wants to stay?"
"I don't mind," Steph answers immediately as she gives him an equally as fake smile. "Really."
Justin frowns at Stephanie's reply and she shoots him an apologetic look.
I, however, can't help but let my smile turn genuine at Brett's thoughtfulness. "Thanks for the offer, but you should stay and celebrate the win. I'll see you on Monday."
We didn't stick around long enough to finish our goodbyes. Stephanie grabbed my hand and pulled me away as he began to weave through a few rows of cars to distance ourselves from the track. As we were walking back toward her car at the edge of the parking lot, a certain cherry red car peaking out of the garage caught my eye.
I looked over to the garage and saw Thomas leaning against his car as he talked to Beefy and Meaty. I slowly came to a stop as I watched them talk animatedly, as if they've been friends forever. The wheels started turning in my head: if Luke hated Beefy and Meaty, and they were friends with Thomas, then is that why he has always hated Thomas, too?
"Why'd you stop?" Stephanie asks, and then follows my line of sight, and realization dawns on her face. "Ah, the King of Assholes is over there."
I turn to look at her. "You know how Luke almost got in a fight with Bee- Andrew and Walker last weekend?" Stephanie nods slowly. "Do you think he hates Thomas because he hates them, too?"
Stephanie frowns at me. "But why would Luke hate everyone that those two pricks know? If that was the case then he would hate the entire school."
"I don't know," I answer honestly and then look back at Thomas. "But I want to find out."
I'm not going to lie. This wasn't my brightest idea, nor was it well thought out or remotely well executed. But I walked away from a protesting Stephanie, straight toward Thomas, Andrew, and Walker in the name of finally getting some damn answers.
I only realized how bad of an idea that was until after Thomas had already spotted me and his signature smirk appeared.
Beefy and Meaty turned to look at me and it wasn't long before they had similar looks on their faces as their eyes scanned me up and down.
"Boys," Thomas says plainly as his eyes stay trained on me. "Leave us alone, would you?"
To my utter surprise, Beefy and Meaty left without any words escaping their mouth, but their eyes practically undressed me as they walked away. I glare at their retreating figures before turning back to Thomas and straightening out my expression to appear stoic.
"Well look who came crawling back," Thomas mocks me with his stupid smirk. "Couldn't stay away for long, could you, babe?"
Instead of spewing out a heated I'm not your babe, I remain calm. "I'm not here to make up with you. I just have some questions."
Thomas actually laughed at my response. "And why would I give you answers?"
I fire back, "Why wouldn't you?"
"Because the last time I saw you, you were with Rhodes." Thomas practically spat his name as if it had a bad taste in his mouth. "And you called me an asshole, if I remember correctly."
Instead of acknowledging his claim or inquiring about his relationship with my little brother, I can't help but ask, "Why do you hate Nathan so much?"
Thomas narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he finally drops his smirk. "What, you think that I'm going to give you answers if you ask nicely?"
"I'm just curious," I mutter as I feel myself deflate. But I try again. "You never talked about him before when we were..." I struggle to spit the words out. "... dating, but apparently you hate each other's guts. Why?"
Unfortunately, his sickly smirk returns. "Babe, I didn't tell you anything when we were dating. You were too much of a good girl. Besides, we both know I wasn't around to tell you about my life."
I can't help but flinch when the words come out of his mouth. No matter how much I tried to forget the fact Thomas had used me for sex, I couldn't. And now, as I stood in front of him practically begging for him to answer my questions, I just felt stupid. And dirty. He had a way of making me feel both of those things pretty easily.
"But now that things are different," Thomas snakes his hands around my waist and pulls me closer to him. "Why don't you and me find some place we can be alone? We could try us again, you know."
And then my mind reiterated my original point: this was a horrible idea. The feeling of his hands on me made me feel disgusting. Used. I wanted to get out of his grip as quick as possible and then punch him in the face for being such a scumbag. So, I tried to do just that. Unfortunately, the key word there is tried.
I wriggled in his grasp and lifted my arm to throw a punch, but he grabbed my arm with his free hand and pulled my fist down before I could try. I opened my mouth to scream profanities at him and tell him to get the fuck off of me, but all my protests were muffled when he slammed his lips against mine.
It was weird how I used to think that kissing Thomas was pleasant. But now I could see things for how they really were: rough, sloppy, selfish. I put my hands against his chest and shove away from him with a stronger force this time and successfully disconnect our lips. Before I can try to punch him again, though, a fist that is definitely not mine suddenly collides with his nose.
I feel someone pull me behind them as they stand in front of me and I look up in time to see Nathan land another punch straight to Thomas' jaw. I stare wide eyed at the spectacle as time resumes in slow motion and Thomas staggers backward holding his face in his hands. I feel another set of hands tug me backward and turn around to see Stephanie.
"I didn't know what to do," Stephanie says quickly, her words coming out jumbled. "I went and got Nathan when I saw that look on Thomas' face that meant trouble."
My gaze whips back to the brawling boys in time to see Thomas land a clean punch on Nathan's jawline. They continue throwing punches at each other and nobody seems to notice or care, and I begin to panic. My shocked state finally dissipated and it felt like I could move my limbs again, so without thinking, I made the second dumbest mistake of the night.
"Stop it!" I scream at both of the boys and, in a desperate attempt, I step in between the both of them to try and cease their fighting.
Just like last time, I didn't have the liberty of realizing this was a horrible decision until something happened. My attempt is both a success and a failure. How, you ask? It was a success because both parties immediately stopped fighting each other and instead froze on the spot. Unfortunately, they did so because someone had mistaken me for the other guy and delivered a punch to my gut.
And let me tell you, boys hit hard. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest and cutting off the oxygen as I slowly stumbled backward. To make matters worse, I tripped over my own feet and fell on the ground, which was the concrete floor inside the garage. My eyes screwed shut upon the impact and everything seemed to fade until I could only hear this faint ringing in my ear.
Amidst the faint, barely there ringing, I could hear Nathan's voice. "Look what you fucking did!"
I finally caught a breath and opened my eyes as my breathing began to steady, but my vision was momentarily blurred. The ache in my gut hurt like hell, but I was determined to get back up and make sure the fight was over. When my vision cleared, I saw Steph kneeling beside me, her face drenched in worry as she looked at me.
My body felt glued to the ground and my plan to get up was temporarily put on hold. All I could do was look around. I looked toward where the boys had been fighting to see Thomas staring at me wide eyed from his car as Nathan approached me. In one swift motion, he bent down, wrapped his arms underneath my knee and behind my back, then picked me up bridal style.
Maybe it was the shock or the pain in my stomach, but my lips felt cemented together. And maybe whatever it was also momentarily deterred my mind the issue at hand and made me realize how toned Nathan Rhodes was. But the moment passed and soon the ringing stopped and I could hear Stephanie beside Nathan as we walked away from the garage.
"Lauren," Stephanie repeats. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I somehow finally make myself speak and actually regain brain function. "Yeah, I'm fine. Nathan, you can put me down."
He didn't look at me, nor did he answer me, but kept his expression impassive as he continued to walk somewhere. I tried to fight the embarrassed blush threatening to spill onto my cheeks at the fact that Nathan Rhodes was carrying me bridal style away from a fight. Unfortunately, my cheeks warmed anyway, so I gave up pretty quickly.
Instead, I try to cut my embarrassment short by getting him to put me down. "Nathan, put me down."
"I have first aid stuff in my car," He says roughly. His voice sounded deeper than usual. "I'm bringing you there to clean up the cut on your forehead. Just relax."
I lift my hand up and gingerly let my fingers touch my forehead. I wince when I feel the wetness of blood coming from a new cut, probably from when I fell, and draw my hand back to see the very liquid staining my fingertips. Nathan continues walking behind the garage, where he had apparently parked his car, and Stephanie follows close behind.
When we reach his Mustang, Nathan gently sets me down on the hood of the car and then rounds it to the trunk. All the while, he refuses to make eye contact with me, which is probably for the best, considering I was still embarrassed about the whole ordeal. I mean, how many times did Nathan have to come to my rescue before I learned how to fend for myself?
"Are you sure you're okay?" Stephanie asks again with worry lacing her tone. "You're bleeding kind of a lot."
I give her a (hopefully convincing) smile. "I can't even feel it. I'm fine."
She looks at me in concern for a moment more before she shakes her head and her eyes narrow at me. "What the hell did you think was going to happen when you step in between a fight? That they'd stop punching each other and just hug it out?"
My smile drops as I mutter, "I don't know. In movies, when someone gets in between the fight, they stop."
"This isn't a movie," Stephanie scolds. "That was so dumb."
"And irresponsible," A deep voice cuts in as Nathan comes back to the front of the car. "You could've gotten yourself seriously hurt. You're lucky the cut is minor."
I hang my head when they both scold me as if I'm a child being yelled at for stealing the last cookie in the jar. The worst part was that I knew that this was just the beginning of the lecture Nathan would be giving me for disobeying him and getting myself in trouble again.
"It's been a long night. Why don't you head home?" I look up to see Nathan talking to Stephanie. "I can bring Lauren home when I'm done cleaning out her cut."
I look at Stephanie and expect her to refuse, to tell him that of course she's going to stay, to tell him that she would drive me home. After all, the last conversation we had about Nathan, Stephanie told me blatantly that she wasn't his biggest fan. And yet Stephanie steals a mischievous glance at me before she nods to Nathan.
"Yeah, okay." Stephanie agrees instantly and smiles at my incredulous expression. "Don't worry, L. Nathan will take care of you. Call me when you're home, okay?"
I narrow my eyes at the suggestiveness of her words, but she just snickers before she says goodbye to Nathan and walks back toward her car. I watch her retreating figure, but two hands on my knees make me snap my gaze back in front of me. Nathan gently pushes my knees apart to step in between them and get better access to the cut.
I stare at him silently in shock for a moment as he pulls something out of the first aid kid. Once again, I feel my cheeks heating up at our close proximity as he leans in and rests his wrist against my temple before he begins dabbing at my cut. For some reason, my heart was racing, and I think it had to do with being punched in the gut, because otherwise I couldn't explain the reason.
I stare at his face, mostly so he would look back at me, because he had resumed the game of ignore Lauren. His eyes were narrowed slightly as he dabbed my forehead with some gauze. I was too caught up in staring at his stubble line jawline, cloudy blue eyes, and full lips, that I didn't even realize he had lowered the pad and grabbed a new one with some kind of gel on it.
"This might sting," Nathan mumbles and, even in a mumble, his voice manages to sound deep and sexy.
I wince this time when he dabs the gauze on my cut as the stinging sensation burns my forehead. My eyes shut automatically as I familiarize myself with the feeling and, after a second, I get used to it. I open my eyes to look at Nathan again, and this time he's finally looking back at me.
"Thank you," I murmur lamely for two reasons: one, because I really should be saying it more often for how much he seems to come to my rescue, and two: because I feel the need to say something so he stops ignoring me.
Nathan doesn't take this well, though, and laughs humorlessly. "For what?"
"For fixing me up," I say softly as his hand lowers and he grabs a bandaid. "And for punching him. He blocked my well deserved punch and yours made up for it."
He just gives me a bitter smile. "That's what I'm here for. To save the damsels in distress by punching the assholes."
The faint sound of roaring engines comes from the tracks, almost like faded music in the background. Nathan reaches forward and places the bandaid one my cut on my forehead before his hands slowly come to his sides, but he doesn't move from his position. He's still close, almost too close for me to focus, but I manage.
"Why were you talking to him?" Nathan asks seriously as he looks at me to watch my reaction.
I don't tell him that I was trying to get him to answer my questions because I figure that will just anger him further. Instead, I lie. "We just ran into each other."
Nathan looks unamused by my lie. "So you just ran into each other and started chatting like old friends? That's why he was kissing you, right?"
The mention of Thomas' lips on mine makes me feel dirty all over again. I look down, away from Nathan's calculating gaze, and murmur, "We were just talking and then he said we should go somewhere we could be alone. He grabbed me and kissed me before I could even walk away."
His cloudy blue eyes look even stormier as they darken. "I should go back there and finish kicking his ass. That fucking scumbag-"
"Hey," I interrupt softly and reach out to put my hand on his arm. "He's not worth it. Seriously." Nathan looks unconvinced by my words, so I try a different approach. "I'm just really tired and I want to get the hell out of here."
And a small part of me was selfishly excited that Nathan cared so much. He not only saved me from a compromising situation yet again, but he saw to it himself that I was okay and wanted to get revenge on who had done me wrong. I knew that he hated Thomas and probably looked for any excuse to punch him in the face, but I still knew that his intentions were good.
"Okay," He finally says and takes a step back, which makes me hand fall onto my lap. "Let's go then."
It wasn't until we were in the car and driving away from the garage that I suddenly felt nervous. The only noise in the car was the Rolling Stones, which were playing quietly from the radio between us. It was quiet. Too quiet.
"I'm sorry for coming to the tracks," I blurt just to break the silence, and then resist the urge to face palm.
It was unreal that I managed to bring up the fact Nathan should be pissed at me for lying and going behind his back. Great job, Lauren. Really.
Nathan casts a wary glance at me and admits, "I had a feeling you would come anyway. You're too damn curious. Persistent, too." The corner of his lips curl up into the beginnings of a smile. "Besides, I knew you were crossing your fingers when you promised me you wouldn't come back."
My jaw drops as I look at him. "How did you know?"
"That doesn't change the fact that you lied," Nathan's almost smile drops and his expression hardens. "I hate when people lie to me."
I felt a weird mix of emotions then. I suddenly felt bad for lying to Nathan about coming tonight when I told him I wouldn't.
But I also felt disappointed in myself to have let someone else down. Especially someone like Nathan, who I know didn't have fiends outside of his circle. And then I felt a weight of guilt fall onto me as I think of all the lies I've told him about the social experiment.
I'd written off my change as a different wardrobe for no reason in particular. I had lied to him every time he asked about it and told him that it was no big deal. But as quickly as these feelings and thoughts flooded my thoughts, I pushed them away with a chaste shake of my head. I couldn't think about that. Not right now.
"I'm sorry," I say quietly and genuinely.
Nathan sighs. "Listen, Lauren. I would rather you come here with me if you come here at all, okay?"
My eyebrows raise in surprise as I lift my gaze to look at his profile. The headlights from the streetlamps illuminated barely half his face and cast a shadow over the other half. His eyes were focused on the road in front of him instead of me in the passengers seat. His words had held their usual confidence, and yet despite all these things, I still couldn't believe it was really him saying it.
"Clearly I can't keep you from the tracks," Nathan continues when he catches sight of my shocked demeanor. "So we might as well make sure you're safe about it."
The corners of my lips tugged upward in an onslaught of a smile. "Really?"
He glances at me and chuckles at my childish reaction. I had clearly disregarded his warning when he told me not to come, yet Nathan's permission felt like it was necessary to continue coming. "Really."
And when Nathan turns to glance at me, the street lights from above hit his face perfectly so I can see him giving me a full smile.