“Hellooo? Peter, I work in a movie theater. Of course I’ve seen it.Empire Strikes Backonly came out last month. Everyone in the free world has seen it.”
“I haven’t.”
She blinked at him. “For real?”
He nodded.
“That’s like…really sad. If you want, we can go see it together.”
He mimicked her. “For real? Tomorrow?”
She laughed, “Sure.” And then her face fell again. “Doyouthink I should go to college? Maybe I am being stupid about becoming a singer. It’s like a one in a million shot.”
He couldn’t stand seeing self-doubt on her face. Her bravado was her biggest attraction. “I think you can be anything you choose to be, and if you want to be a singer more than you want to go to college, you should go for it.”
The beaming smile was back on her face. He barely had time to catch her before she’d leapt into his arms and planted kisses all over his face. When it seemed she was going to pull back, he cuddled her close and deepened the kiss. He’d been thinking about kissing her ever since he’d left her last night. He couldn’t get enough.
He abandoned any sense of propriety and devoured her mouth, pulling her tightly against his body letting her feel how much he wanted her. Her little murmurs and throaty rumbles of pleasure went to his head like the beer he’d once drunk. The doctors had wanted to see how alcohol affected him, so they’d sat him down with a six pack of beer and got him drunk, making scientific observations all the while. Analysis showed he got drunk like a normal man of his weight. What would the docs think of his lightheadedness at a simple kiss?
Except there was nothing simple about kissing Allison. She was the air he needed to breathe, the water he needed to live.
“Get a room,” an ugly voice behind him called.
“Or better yet, let us take a turn when you’re done with her.”
Peter gently but rapidly pulled away from Allison and turned to judge the threat. Three men, around his age, grinned ugly smiles at him. “Don’t talk about her like that,” he said softly.
“Or what?” the biggest of the three said. He was about an inch taller than Peter and outweighed him. “You gonna take us?”
“Not if I don’t have to,” he replied.
Allison tugged at the back of his shirt. “Come on, Peter. Let’s get out of here.”
“Yeah, Peter. Run home. But leave her. She’ll have more fun with us.” The guy’s voice was mocking, and Peter wanted to punch him, but he was holding back for now.
“I don’t think so,” he said, noting Allison’s pulling at his shirt was more insistent.
“Peter, let’s go,” she said.
The fear in her voice was his undoing. Red rage bled into his vision and a buzzing in his ears deafened him to anything but the need to defend his woman. A mental warning popped in his brain that physically engaging with these jerks was as bad an idea as President Carter’s handling of the hostages in Iran. But the warning was ignored when one of the men stepped close and pushed hard against Peter’s upper chest.
“Step back,” he said quietly to Allison. And when she was safely out of striking zone, he proceeded to do what he’d been bred to do. Kick some serious ass. It almost wasn’t fair, even with the numbers against him. The three men were tough in a high school locker room sort of way. They’d never skimmed the surface of the kind of training Peter had been taught since his toddler years.
It was over in less than a minute, and all three men were down.
“Peter,” Allison said with a gasp. “How…” Her eyes were wide, and she looked more frightened now than when they’d first been approached by the wannabe tough guys.
“They’re all still alive,” he said, surprised his voice sounded calm. White-hot fury raced through his veins at his first challenge outside a staged environment. He wanted more. He wanted to run through Annapolis taking on anyone who breathed the wrong way.
“I’ve never seen anyone fight like that except in a Chuck Norris movie.”
“Who’s Chuck Norris?” he asked, but she didn’t answer. She hadn’t moved her gaze off the three men on the ground who were groaning and holding various body parts that would be bruised tomorrow, but not broken. Even in his rage, he’d been careful to do no permanent harm.
“Do we need to call the police?” she asked.
“No.” His response was quick and curt. He could not risk even brushing past local law enforcement. He’d never be allowed off campus again. “I think we should leave.” Without waiting for her answer, he grabbed her hand and walked her back in the direction of her car. This afternoon had not gone the way he’d hoped. He’d planned on finding a private place to talk and kiss Allison, and instead he’d nearly risked his identity by getting in a fight in a public place.
“Peter, slow down. I can’t keep up.” Allison was running alongside him, and he lessened his pace a fraction. “Are you okay?” she chattered, but he didn’t answer. The adrenaline from the fight still pumped inside him, and it needed an outlet. He was afraid he’d release the steam by grabbing Allison and taking her as he had yesterday up against the nearest tree.