Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“Oh, fuck off with the water,” Aaron said, waving a hand.
“Water will make him less drunk, but it won’t fix what’s wrong in his brain,” I said under my breath. “Get hit with one too many footballs, Aaron?”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Thomas coming out the side door with my margarita.
But right as I turned to walk over to Thomas, I saw Aaron’s hand come out to give me a shove.
I stumbled, my calf awkwardly pushing back against the bench seat of one of the tables behind me. It wasn’t anything like the playful shoves Finn and I gave to each other. Aaron was a drunk oaf, and the shove had been much harder than it needed to be.
Heads all around the patio turned to look at what was going on, now.
“Get the fuck away from me,” I told him as I found my balance. “Touch me again and—”
He didn’t wait for me to finish before leaning in and giving me another quick little push, this time right in the center of my chest.
The instant his hand landed on me, Finn broke into action, moving Aaron away from me.
Aaron stumbled, now, completely off-balance.
Finn had every advantage. He looped his arm around Aaron’s front and quickly took him to the ground.
A small crowd of people gasped, dozens of pairs of eyes turning toward us.
“Oh my God,” I heard Thomas say from beside me, coming over to pull me back a little bit.
Finn knew what he was doing. He got Aaron onto the ground without any harm to his head or his back, making sure to place an arm below where Aaron could really get hurt.
But Aaron was bellowing like an angry animal now, cursing at Finn and occasionally mentioning me, too.
I watched as Aaron took one haphazard swing, trying to reach out and sucker punch the edge of my leg. Finn moved just in time, blocking it and taking the punch to his own arm instead.
My heart was running at about a million beats a minute. Thomas had put down the drink and had one arm around me, pulling me close.
“No fuckin’ way,” I heard a deep voice from the patio door. Kane came out a moment later, a stern look on his face. “No fights in my bar. Get him the hell out of here, now. Couple of water bottles on the house, but you can’t stay here.”
“Dumb fucks,” Aaron mumbled as Finn finally let him go. I saw a tiny trickle of blood from a place on Finn’s arm where Aaron’s watch must have clipped his skin. Both of them stood up, and Kane and Finn each took one of Aaron’s arms, leading him around the outer edge of the building toward the front.
“I’ll call a taxi,” Kane said.
“Could call a ride from the police instead,” I heard Finn say. “You got him from here?”
“Got him,” Kane told him.
Finn turned around immediately and looked back at me. His eyes glanced from my face, down to my shoulders where Thomas had his arm around me, and back again.
A few strangers came up to me, too. They said Aaron was acting like an idiot all night on the patio and they were glad to see I was okay.
“Are you okay?” Thomas was asking me, rubbing my back as Finn approached us again.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Who cares about me, though? Finn, why did you do that?”
As he came up I saw the small amount of blood on his arm. I took off my hoodie and pressed it to his arm.
“Whoa, whoa,” Finn said, looking down. “Don’t ruin your white hoodie for this.”
My heart felt like it was lodged somewhere up high in my chest.
Finn was hurt because of me. Guilt and shame welled up inside me, just like they always used to when he would put his social reputation—and his body—on the line, just to do things for me.
I hated feeling like I had to be protected, but Finn always stepped in.
I didn’t know why I thought it would be any different now.
“Why did you do that?” I repeated, feeling like I was watching this from somewhere outside myself.
“I don’t know,” Finn said. “My body just… went for it. I don’t think I could watch anyone try to fuck with you and not step in. Shit, Ori, this hoodie is screwed up now. I’ll get you a new one.”
I puffed out a laugh despite everything. Finn was still worried about my hoodie when he’d just tackled a guy to the ground for me.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Thomas told me.
Finn looked between the two of us again.
“Thank you, Finn. Jesus,” Thomas said. “I felt like I was watching a horror movie when I came back out here. One minute I’m trying to show Ori a good time and take him on a date, and the next thing I know he’s about to get punched. You’re a hero.”