He enters the room fully and jams his giant hands in his suit pants pockets. I definitely shouldn’t be drooling over how well he fills out his shirt.
No, absolutely not.
Especially when I’m dating the twins.
Bad Briar.
“Of course I’m going, we’re all going. We weren’t about to let you go alone.” He leans back against the door, looking at me like I’m crazy.
“I’m pretty sure I’m safe from any would-be killers at the memorial, Cole.”
He rolls his eyes and folds his arms across his chest. “Yeah, because people never get taken from public gatherings. Nope. It’s unheard of.”
His sarcasm makes me smile, and the corners of his lips tip up.
“But anyway, we’re not coming to protect you, we’re coming to support you. I thought you were a smart cookie,” he teases.
Not going to lie, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know this side of Cole since I moved in. I might even miss him when I go back to the dorm.
“Iama smart cookie. Just apparently not when it comes to you four. You’re a different breed,” I tease right back, and his smile grows.
“Come on, Cookie,” he winks. “Let's get going.”
He opens the door and ushers me out. I smooth down my blouse and black skirt, feeling more like I’m going to a job interview than a memorial, but I didn’t have a suitable dress, so this has to do.
“Stop freaking out,” he murmurs in my ear as he places a hand on the small of my back to lead me down the stairs. I have no idea how he knew, but I’ve stopped questioning a lot of things when it comes to Cole Beckett.
He seems to just always know.
The others are waiting for us, all in a shirt and tie, and yet again I chastise myself for thinking how hot these boys look all done up.
Definitely wrong time, wrong place, Briar.
Travis drives us to campus—obviously—and the twins flank me as we walk across the quad to where the memorial is being held by the fountains. Charli said it was Serena’s favorite place, so it made sense for us to hold it here.
We find Penn and Connor in the crowd, Penn’s eyes already rimmed red from crying. I give her the biggest hug I can muster and she starts to cry again.
“Penn! Briar!” We turn to find Charli heading toward us with who I can only assume are Serena’s parents. Penn wipes at her face as they approach.
“Sandra, Ben, these are the friends I was telling you about. Briar, Penn, this is Serena’s mom and dad.”
“It’s so nice to meet some more of Serena’s friends,” her mom says, her voice shaking, and my stomach twists.
I feel guilt for not feeling more loss.
Penn and Connor go with Charli and Serena’s parents while I hang back with the guys. More people arrive and I wander further and further to the back of the crowd. I spot Dante with some of the other guys from the football team and give him a small wave as I retreat. He looks like he wants to come over to say something, but he glances over my shoulder and seems to think better of it. I look back and see the four of them trailing me, never letting me go too far from them.
“Are you okay?” Asher asks when I’ve finally reached the back of the crowd of people gathered for the memorial.
I just shrug, because nothing I say won’t sound callous and I don’t want him to worry about me any more than he obviously already is.
He frowns at me and takes my hand, squeezing it before pulling me close. “You don’t have to be scared,” he murmurs, and I don’t have the heart to tell him that’s not my problem, especially when he’s giving me the warm fuzzies again. “We won’t let anything happen to you. Ever.”
* * *
After the memorial, the twins brought me back to the house and Travis went with Cole for their pregame ritual. Penn still refuses to come back to the dorm, she even mentioned giving it up next semester, so I either need to find a new roommate, or figure something else out.
Exactly what I’ll do is beyond me, but that is not my focus right now.