Page 72 of I Don't Need Your Protection

As I walk away, I turn my head and watch him for a few seconds. He’s scanning the area with laser-focused eyes, always on alert for any possible threat. For a second, I forgot that he’s my bodyguard and that I am constantly at risk of danger. It felt like we were just two friends enjoying an afternoon together. I don’t know if he and I could ever really be friends, but I wish we would. I feel like the more time we spend together, the more I can help him act more like a kid. But I have to remind myself that’s not up to me. I can’t tell him what to do and how to live his life.

After testing a few balls, I find a dark purple one that’s slightly heavy, but not too bad. When I return to Caleb, his eyes are frantically searching the area, and when they land on me, he seems to relax.

“It’s okay,” I tell him as I add my ball to his. “You think someone would try to hurt me in a public place like this?”

“I never dismiss any possibility.”

“Okay. Well, you’re up.”

He takes his heavy ball and walks up to the front of the lane. Maybe this is due to his martial arts skills, but every one of his movements is so sharp and precise. Even the way he throws the ball. So it shouldn’t come as a shock that he gets a strike.

“Yay!” I clap my hands and jump in my place. “That was awesome, Caleb.”

He tries to hide his smile, but he’s not fooling me. Oh gosh, he looks so good just from that small smile. I’ve seen him smile before, but it was always in an amused manner. Now, it carries a hint of pure joy. Like he’s actually having fun with me.

“Watch me beat your butt,” I say as I lift my purple ball and stick out my tongue.

He crosses his arms over his chest. “Let’s see you try.”

“Oh, you don’t know how competitive I can be.”

I walk up to the front of the lane and study the distance. Precision, precision. If he can figure out the right angle and speed, so can I. I stretch out my arm and throw the ball, then jump in place when it rolls down the middle. Oh my gosh! I’m going to get a strike, too!

The ball veers to the left and falls into the gutter.

“What the heck?!” I cry. When I spin around, I find Caleb once again trying to hide his smile. I narrow my eyes at him as I head back to the ball return machine. “That was just a warmup.”

“Mhmm.”

“Watch me smoke your butt this time.”

Except, I don’t smoke his butt. I manage to knock down only two pins.

“A for effort,” he says.

I playfully shove him, but since he’s built like a freakin’ tree, I’m the one who loses her balance and goes splat toward the floor. But I don’t hit the floor. I’m in Caleb’s arms instead. A rush of heat engulfs me, burning at the areas where his hands clutch my arms.

I gawk at him, then at the floor, then back at him. “You caught me.”

He stares into my eyes, and that’s when I realize there are literally only inches between us. “My reflexes,” he murmurs.

“Are as quick as lightning?” I finish for him.

“Faster than that.”

“Is that even possible?” I breathe, my eyes dipping to his lips before I force them back to his face.

His gaze drops to my lips for a second. “It is for me.” He clears his throat and releases me. “It’s my turn.”

I rub my arms that are still burning, as though he still touches me. Caleb’s focus must be a little off because he’s not as precise this time. When he throws the ball, it rolls slightly to the right and he knocks down eight pins.

“What happened, oh master of bowling?” I joke.

He gathers his ball and heads for the lane, but he stops for a second and says over his shoulder, “I was distracted by a pretty girl.”

My face heats up faster than a furnace. That’s the second time he called me pretty. I don’t understand—he told me when we first met that he doesn’t care about any of the girls here. All he cares about is keeping me safe. And now he called me pretty?

“Spare,” he says when he returns to me, this time with a real smile on his face.