Page 29 of I Don’t Need Your Protection (Harrington Bay Academy #1)

Addie

My eyes slowly open, and the first thing I notice is a large, muscular chest in my face. What in the heck…?

Oh, right. My nightmare. Caleb holding me in his arms, letting me fall asleep on him. He didn’t leave my side all night. He could have gone to his bed once I fell asleep, but he didn’t. Or…did we fall asleep together?

My cheeks burn when I remember how nice, sweet, and caring he was after I woke up from my nightmare.

I mean, after he woke me up. He held me so gently and carefully in his arms, like I was precious to him.

Which is crazy because he’s Caleb . He’d never admit it, but he’s more than just my bodyguard.

And I’m more than just his assignment. He made it perfectly clear that he’d do everything in his power to keep me safe, including staying in my bed to keep me relaxed and comfortable .

That’s why it’s so mortifying to wake up in his arms like that. But…I don’t hate it. I actually wouldn’t mind waking up like this every day…

Oh my gosh! What am I thinking about? I’m supposed to be getting close to Warner.

Caleb’s eyes snap open and he stares at me. He blinks around as it takes him a second to figure out where he is and how we ended up entangled in each other like this.

“Good morning,” he whispers, pushing some hair away from my face. Everywhere he touches leaves tingles, and I shudder slightly. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah! I mean, yes. I did. I slept very well.” Because he held me and wouldn’t leave my side.

He smiles in relief. And I once again can’t help but notice how good he looks when he smiles. “I’m really glad to hear that.”

I nod because I don’t know what else to say. Or do. I’m trapped in his arms and can barely move, but I don’t really want him to let go. Even though he’ll have to soon because we need to get ready for school, I want him to hold me as long as possible.

From the expression on his face, I get the feeling he doesn’t want to release me, either. We just gaze into each other’s eyes like we’re getting lost.

After what feels like a long time, Caleb drops his gaze from mine and his body goes stiff. It’s like he’s been snapped out of whatever trance he was in. Lowering his arms from around me, he sits up and turns away from me. “We should get ready for school.”

“Right.” I sit up, too. “We totally should.”

He nods slowly, though he still doesn’t look at me. “Get ready and then I’ll go to my room to shower and change.”

Considering I woke up all sweaty last night after the nightmare, I’d better take a shower, too.

The problem with that is that once I’m inside, I can’t stop thinking about Caleb.

And that’s not good. Because for starters, I have Warner.

Second, Caleb is supposed to be my protector.

Just my protector. Not someone who I’m thinking about in the shower.

I don’t want to compare the guys, but would Warner watch over me the way Caleb did? Would he climb into bed with me and say soothing things to me? I don’t think so, but I can’t know for sure. Warner is nice and fun to be around. That’s what I should focus on.

But darn it. I can’t get those ocean eyes out of my head.

“Stupid,” I mutter as I gently bang my head on the shower wall. Caleb doesn’t see me as anything more than a client. Sure he cares about me more than just a job, but it’s not like his mind is reeling with thoughts about me.

Is it?

Ugh. I seriously need to stop.

“Addilyn?” Caleb says from outside the bathroom. “Are you all right in there?”

Shoot. I’m taking way, way too long in here because I can’t stop obsessing over him and what happened.

And did he call me Addilyn? Unless I’m mistaken, he called me Addie last night. So, I guess we’re back to being bodyguard and client. Not…whatever we were at bowling and last night.

“Addilyn?”

It hurts that he’s putting up a wall, but what was I expecting?

“Yes!” I call. “I’m fine.”

I hurry to finish, get dressed, and leave the bathroom, finding Caleb sitting on his chair. He put on a tank top, and my mind immediately travels to last night, when I felt the warmth of his naked chest pressed against my face.

He stands, narrowing his eyes at me. “Is something wrong?”

My cheeks heat up. “No, nothing.”

He nods slowly, not taking his eyes off me. It’s like he’s studying me to try to figure out what’s wrong with me. I force a smile, hopefully one that tells him all is good and there’s nothing weird or awkward between us. Nope, not at all.

“I’ll shower and change and be back in five minutes.”

“You know you can take a longer shower. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be back in five minutes,” he repeats. “Don’t open the door for anyone. Not even your friends.”

“Got it.”

I plop down on my bed as I wait for him to return. My mind once again fills with memories of last night, but I shove them away. I need to think about Warner. Warner. Warner. Not Caleb.

The door opens and Caleb enters. He looks at me and his mouth opens like he wants to say something, but then he shuts it. Opens it again, furrows his brows, then shuts it again .

Does he maybe want to talk about last night? I kind of rather he didn’t. I’d like to pretend it didn’t happen. I hope I won’t have another nightmare tonight, even though a part of me wouldn’t mind him holding me again…

No! Warner. Warner .

I get to my feet. “Let’s go to breakfast.”

I grab my backpack, he takes his, and he follows me out the door.

I meet my friends in the dining hall and we load our plates with different kinds of goodies.

Then we head to our usual table. Caleb stuffs his plate with food as well and lowers himself at the table facing mine.

I watch him for a little bit. He looks so alone.

I know, I know, it’s not new because he’s been alone since day one, but I just feel bad.

And I don’t understand why. He doesn’t seem to care, so why do I?

His head lifts and his eyes connect with mine. He raises a brow, like he’s asking if I’m all right. I give him a slight nod. He lets his gaze roam around the area.

My friends and I talk about different topics as we eat. We’re a little early, so we take our time enjoying the food. Yum. It never gets old. I wonder if I’ll ever get sick of this gourmet food. I don’t think so.

“Hey!”

I glance up and find Clarissa standing there, surrounded by her two friends, Luna and Jemma.

“Hi.” I wave. “How’s it going?”

She smiles. “Good. Well, other than the sucky day with my parents yesterday. Oh, this is Luna and Jemma, by the way.” She points to her friends .

Even though I know their names, we haven’t been formally introduced. I smile and say “Hi.” They return the greeting with smiles as well.

“Can I sit?” Clarissa asks as she gestures to the empty seat at our table.

“Sure.”

She drops down while her friends stand behind her. “So, Addie, I was thinking. Now that you and Warner are, like, hanging out, I think you and I should become good friends.”

“Okay. Sure, I’d love that.”

She beams. “Great. I mean, it only makes sense that we get to know each other because we’ll all be hanging out as one large friend group.”

I sense Raven narrowing her eyes and Sophie and Carly being a bit suspicious, but I don’t look at them. I want to give Clarissa a chance. She seems pretty genuine and nice to me.

“So, Luna, Jemma, and I are having a sleepover this Saturday,” she tells me. “And we’d love for you to come. Don’t worry, my parents will be home, so it’s not like we’ll have boys over or whatever. Just us girls having a good time.”

“Really? Me?”

She nods, giving me a kind smile. “Warner’s really into you and we want to get to know you better, too.”

I’m about to say something, but Raven cuts in. “Don’t you want to get with Warner?”

She laughs, waving her hand. “That ship sailed long ago, Raven. He and I decided we’re better off as friends. He’s like a brother to me. ”

Raven narrows her eyes like she doesn’t believe her.

I stab my elbow into her rib. “Sure, I’d love to come to the sleepover,” I tell Clarissa.

Clarissa claps. “Yay!” Luna and Jemma smile as well. “I’ll text you the details later this week. This will be so much fun!” She bends forward and gives me a quick hug. “Talk to you later.” She and the others give me more smiles before walking to the popular table.

I stare after them, smiling as well. I’ve been to sleepovers many times, but those were with my friends. I’ve never been invited to a popular girl’s sleepover before.

My smile drops when I take in the expressions on my friends’ faces. Sophie and Carly look concerned while Raven looks ticked off.

I sigh. “Come on, guys. I think she’s trying to be nice.”

Raven frowns. “What game is she playing?”

“Raven, please keep an open mind,” I say. “She seemed pretty genuine to me. Don’t you think, guys?” I direct the last part to Sophie and Carly.

Sophie shrugs. “I guess she did. But Clarissa never invites us low people to her sleepovers.”

“Well, she did once,” Carly corrects. “Amara was a scholarship kid freshman year and now she’s part of Clarissa’s crew.”

“Really?” I ask.

Carly shrugs. “Most people either forgot that little detail or don’t care. It doesn’t matter what she used to be. Now she’s popular. ”

“Did becoming part of Clarissa’s crew change Amara?” I ask. “I mean, is she still the same person she was?”

“Maybe she changed a little. She didn’t have friends freshman year and now she’s popular,” Sophie says. “I don’t know. It’s not like she talks to us. She was a ‘loser’ for like two seconds before Clarissa took her under her wing.”

Carly pokes me in the shoulder. “Maybe that will be you one day.” She sighs. “And then you’ll abandon us.”

“Never. Besides, I don’t really want to be popular, but you can’t have too many friends, right?”

Raven scowls. “Who needs friends like Clarissa?”

“Maybe Addie’s right,” Carly says. “Maybe we should drop whatever grudges we have against Clarissa and let Addie draw her own conclusions.”

Sophie shrugs. “Most people don’t really change, but some do. Maybe Clarissa is one of those people.”

Raven lifts a brow.

“You never know,” Sophie says. “Besides, it’s at Clarissa’s house. Her parents will be around. What can go wrong?”

Raven thinks about it for a bit. “Okay, I’m done being the bad cop. I want you to have a good time, Addie. But text us if you need help.”

“I will.”

As they talk about other things, I smile. I’m excited for the sleepover. Even though Raven, Carly, and Sophie are my best friends and nothing will change that, I wouldn’t mind having more. And getting close to Clarissa will help me get closer to Warner. And that’s what I really want.