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“I never saw anyone after the…incident,” she says softly. “My grandparents wanted me to. I think the ER doctor said something to them when I was there. But I had Athena, and it didn’t seem like there was much she couldn’t do.”
I smile into her hair. “I can tell she loves to take care of you. She was giving me the side-eye the other night when you woke up crying.”
She chuckles. “Tab says she does that to her, too. She’s just being protective.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about the day Athena goes. She’s still young, so we won’t have to worry too much, but looking ahead, that’ll be another tragic day for Raeann. One I won’t be looking forward to either. I’ve never seen a dog act so human before.
We watch the sun disappear over the horizon and then wordlessly get to our feet. I take her hand, and we walk down the pier and catch a rideshare to the hotel. All I can think about is getting back to the suite so I can undress this perfect specimen of female beauty and lose myself inside her, so I don’t recognize the threat at first.
Then Raeann’s body leans into me, and my awareness reaches out. A trio of guys stand near the hotel entrance. The end of a cigarette blazes from one guy’s lips while the one wearing a hoodie looks Raeann up and down like she’s on display for him.
Immediately, my hackles rise, pure anger washing over my body.
“Damn, I wouldn’t mind taking a piece of that,” the third says. He has a ball cap on with a full beard.
Raeann grips my arm. At first, I think it’s because she’s scared, but then I realize it’s because I’ve changed my trajectory. “What did you say?”
The guy with the cigarette exhales his smoke in my face. “Chill out, bro. We’re just out having a good time.”
Hoodie guy smiles at me. “Yeah, congratulations on scoring a ten. Damn.”
My jaw clenches, red infiltrating my vision.
“Come on, Micah,” Raeann says from behind me.
“Oh, shit. She has an accent!” Hoodie guy and beard guy high-five each other, and my chest heaves up and down.
“Holy fuck,” the smoking guy puts out his cigarette. “You know who this is, right? It’s Micah Freeman from the Tennessee Wildcats.”
I take a deep breath, trying to keep everything inside. I’ve flown off the handle before, and it’s not something that Raeann needs to see. Her anxiety is probably already messing with her, so I need to get her inside.
Beard guy moves toward her. “Hi, I’m?—”
I slap his hand down and stand in front of Raeann. “Don’t touch her, don’t look at her, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t talk about her.”
His shoulders puff up like he’s going to start shit with me. This close, I can smell the alcohol wafting off him.
To my left, a security guard approaches. “Is there a problem out here?”
“There will be if these three don’t apologize for their offensive behavior.”
“It’s fine,” Raeann whispers to me, holding on to my elbow. “Can we go back to the room now?”
It’s not fine. I have to go to a game tomorrow, and I don’t know if these three pieces of fucking shit are going to be out here when I can’t be. What if they approach her when I’m not around? What if she can’t defend herself?
“We’re just having fun,” the one guy who noticed me reiterates.
I give him a dead stare and point at his friends. “This one said he would ‘take that.’ This one objectified her body.”
He steps closer, and the cigarette smell permeates between us. “They’ve been drinking, man. They don’t know what they’re saying.” He turns to the security guard. “I’ll get them to our room.”
“It’s not even nine o’clock,” the friend with the hoodie protests.
“Alright, shut up,” the security guard orders. He turns toward Raeann, who’s shaking a little. “Are you scared of these guys?”
She peers at me.
“Come on,” beard guy says. “Don’t be a bitch. We didn’t even do anything.”