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“Are you my knight in shining armor, Ry?” I asked and tilted my head, meeting his gaze. “Here to save the damsel in distress?”

His lips kicked up into a small smile of amusement. “You’re hardly a damsel in distress, but if you need help, I’m at your service. What’s up? Is it Riley? Stanley?”

“It’s lots of stuff,” I admitted, looking away from him. “I feel bad about my fight with Dad yesterday, which led to me leaving. I’m staying at Stan’s place for a few days. I’m worried about Riley too after what she said happened last night.”

His back straightened, his eyebrows drawing together with confusion. “What happened last night?”

“She was hanging out with some guy and they got shot at or something. It happened in Crestford. We didn’t talk about it much because she got snippy about it. She was in a lot of trouble when she got home apparently.”

“Who the fuck was she hanging out with? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” he said as the muscles in his jaw ticked with frustration.

“Some Ander guy.”

“Ander Lavaro?” he asked with disbelief, and I shrugged.

“I don’t know him. She just said his name was Ander. Well, she calls him Turbo. Is he bad? She said Dad wouldn’t like me near him,” I said slowly. “Is she going to get hurt by him or something?”

“If it’s Ander Lavaro, then he’s bad news. I’ve heard shit about him at parties in Blackwater and the Heights. He’s into dealing hard drugs and illegal street racing mainly, but he has a chop shop too.”

“Riley’s not stupid enough to get involved with stuff like that. She knows how dangerous cars can be, and she wouldn’t want to get involved with the drugs or she’d join one of the crews,” I said confidently, changing the subject. “Can you tell Rory I’m sorry for showing up that drunk the other night? It was a terrible impression for Kate on her first night there.”

“Mom knows you’re sorry. You sure you’re okay though? Do you need a lift home later since Dad wrecked your car?” he asked with a cringe, but I waved him off with a soft smile.

“Stan’s going to pick me up. I’m spending the afternoon here in the library to get some studying done. If you see Riley, tell her to call me.”

“Sure thing. Don’t let her push you around, okay? You’re too cute to be sad.” He winked before tickling me under the chin. “If she makes you cry, I’ll come and cheer you back up.”

“I have a boyfriend, Ry,” I said dryly, swatting his hand away.

“A door can have a no entry sign on it, but people shouldn’t trust me to know how to read,” he said with a chuckle.

“I’ll see you later.” I laughed lightly, getting to my feet and grabbing my books.

“God, I hope so,” he threw back playfully, leaving the room to most likely chase down Riley for more information about Ander. There was no way in hell she was getting involved in bad things, so I didn’t think we had to worry about it.

* * *

“Party tonight,” Stanley said the moment I opened the car door to climb in after my study session, making me snort.

“Good afternoon to you too. What party?”

“Sorry. How was your day?” he asked with a small smile, leaning over to give me a quick kiss. I kissed him back, hiding my confusion as his lips felt sticky.

“It was good,” I answered, discreetly rubbing my finger across my lower lip and lifting my finger to my nose to confirm what I thought, my heart sinking. Strawberry lip gloss. “What did you get up to?”

“Watched TV for most of the day. Football was on,” he said without missing a beat, the lies leaving his lips with ease. He’d always been so good at that. “Some of the guys want to come around but I told them I had to ask you first.”

“Why would you tell them that?”

“It’s Raymond and some of the guys from the other night. I wanted to make sure you were okay with it,” he replied as he drove out onto the main road and headed towards home.

I couldn’t say no now or I'd look like an ass. He was good at twisting things, and I wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose or not.

“I mean, I guess. If they keep their hands to themselves,” I said quietly, swallowing around the nerves as memories of the last time hit me.

“Thanks, babe. I knew you’d be cool with it. If you don’t want to stay, you could always go out,” he suggested, my chest tightening at the thought. He wanted me out so he could play strip poker or something. Maybe even sleep with some random girl. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could cope with this, but I knew it was me just being needy.

He was a guy, they all did this.