The Space Between Us (14 page)

  
“I'm not sorry for taking a shot. I'm sorry for giving you a reason to feel, even for one second, that I would lend myself to anyone else. That anything I give to you so freely or happily, is ever given to anyone else.”

  
“I don't like the idea of lending you in any capacity.”

  
“You'll never have to,” I replied.

  
“I'm sorry I make you feel this way. You have every right to have fun at a party. You weren't doing anything wrong.”

  
“If it made you feel anything besides happy or loved, even for one moment, then I am sorry.” I stood up and walked over to him, placing my hands on his ribcage. His skin was warm and tight over his muscles. I reached up on my tiptoes and placed a kiss right between his shoulder blades, then rested my cheek against his back. “I love you.”

  
“I know, Charlie.” I felt him turn and his hands were on my face. “You don't have to prove anything to me.” I felt the sting of tears in my eyes. The painful lump started to form in my throat. “Bit, what's wrong?”

  
I got a little relief that he called me Bit. He never used my nickname when he was upset with me, so to hear him say it eased my worries a little. I shrugged my shoulders and immediately saw him roll his eyes with a smile.

  
“Tell me,” he pleaded.

  
“I have spent so much time trying to encourage us to be independent of each other that it never occurred to me that we could grow apart.” I took a deep breath. “Back home, no one would have ever flirted with me the way he did. No one. Everyone knew that we were together and no one ever tried to mess with that. And I'm a little disappointed in myself that I let him stand that close to me. That I let him flirt with me.”

  
“Would you have kissed him? Would you have let him touch you?” Asher asked with a gentleness in his voice.

  
“Never,” I said with absolute conviction.

  
“Then you're getting all worked up over nothing.” He rubbed his thumb over my cheek and I could see him thinking hard about something, figuring out a way to put it into words. “We're going to be tested, Bit. There are going to be a million different scenarios in which we'll be given an option to choose us, or ruin us. I
know
we're going to be ok. Everything I do is for us. There will never be a day or a time when you aren't my first priority, and I know you feel the same way.” He placed the smallest and most chaste kiss against my lips then rested his forehead against mine. “The hardest part will be having faith in each other's ability to keep choosing
us
. You will have to trust me and I will have to trust you.”

  
“I trust you. I trust us. And you can trust me. I promise.”

  
“What else can I do with you?” He asked, his voice suddenly darker and deeper. Bolts of excitement shot through my entire body and I shuddered when they ended at the core between my legs. Asher saw my reaction to his words and laughed softly. “I haven't even touched you yet, Bit.”

  
“I'm pretty sure you could make me come with just your words,” I whispered against his mouth, wanting him to take mine so badly.

  
“Hmm...” he groaned as he rubbed his mouth across mine. Not kissing me, but teasing me. “That sounds like a challenge. I accept the challenge, however, we'll have to test your theory some other night. Tonight I want you. All over me.”

  
And there was a challenge I would accept. He gripped my hips and picked me up so I was level with his eyes. I always felt like a feather when he picked me up and I'm pretty sure it made him feel big and strong. No denying his size, he started growing one summer and never really stopped. When he stopped growing tall, he started growing muscle. I loved all his muscle. He wasn't bulky or beefy, he was hard and powerful. His arms were just big enough to hold me and make me feel protected and safe.

  
His lips crushed mine and my hands found the back of his head, hanging on to his hair. He walked me over to his bed and laid me down. He stood over me, undoing his belt, looking at me like he hasn't eaten in days. He was hungry. His pants fell to the floor and he crawled over me, trailing kisses all along my body where his mouth could reach my skin. Up my forearms, the sliver of skin between my jeans and my shirt that rode up my stomach, along my collar bone.  Everywhere he kissed I felt warmth bubbling to the surface of my skin. His mouth traveled along my jaw, over my chin, and when he finally made it to my lips, there was a knock at the door.

  
“No
fucking
way,” Asher nearly growled. “Go away!” His face came back down to mine and he tried to start his seduction over.

  
“Asher?” I heard the voice and immediately I was off the bed and ran to the door. I yanked it open and saw Reeve on the other side, tears streamed down her face.

  
“Reeve, what's the matter?” I asked as she walked past me into Asher's room. She hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t wearing any pants, and he hadn't tried to cover up the fact that he was only wearing a pair of boxer briefs. Luckily for him the interruption was enough to calm him down a bit so that even though he wasn't necessarily covered, he wasn't indecent.

  
“I was hoping,” she said between hiccups and tight breaths holding back sobs, “that you would be ready to go back to the dorm.”

  
“What happened, Reeve?” I brought her in and sat her down on Asher's bed. Asher exhaled loudly and started putting his clothes back on. Reeve wiped at the skin below her eyes, trying to erase the wetness from the tears streaming down her face.

  
“I was downstairs dancing with Caleb. We were having a good time and he told me he had a drink in his room he wanted me to try. At first I didn't want to go, but I guess I figured there were drinks all over the house, and that was the whole point of this stupid party.” She shook her head and I could tell she was starting to blame herself for whatever had happened next.

  
“So, I went with him to his room, but once I saw that his room was locked and no one else was in there, I stalled. I told him I forgot my purse downstairs, I tried to leave.”

  
My stomach began to turn as she was telling me the story. I didn't know exactly where the story was headed, but I could guess and my blood was starting to boil through my veins.

  
“What happened?” I heard Asher ask, his voice sounded just as on edge as I was feeling.

  
“He told me my purse was safe, grabbed my hand and convinced me to go in.” She started crying harder, but still silently. “When he shut and locked the door behind me I started to panic. I told him that I needed to go, but...” She couldn't continue. She cried uncontrollably now. I brought her head to my shoulder and ran my hand along her smooth hair. I looked over her head at Asher and recognized the rage in his eyes. He tried to control himself and I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted him to exercise control in that moment. But I knew we needed to hear the whole story before he went off to confront Caleb.

  
After a few minutes of holding her and trying to soothe her, I softly asked, “Reeve, can you tell us what happened?” She pulled back from me eventually and tried to dry her eyes and nose on the back of her hand. Asher produced a box of tissues for her and she gave him a small smile, but it was only on the corners of her mouth, it didn't light up her face like it usually did.

  
“I asked him to let me out and he said that I didn't want to leave and that he knew what I really wanted.” I could actually feel the tense waves and rage flowing off of Asher from hearing that one sentence. “I kept saying no, but he cornered me and then he pushed me up against his closet door and kissed me.” Her face dropped into her hands and she let out a few more sobs. “It shouldn't be a big deal, I've kissed him before, but this felt different.” She looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot and her face red and puffy. “I was scared,” she whispered.

  
We both jumped when we heard Asher punch the wall. He moved over to his desk chair and picked it up off the floor and slammed it back down so hard one of the wheels went flying across the floor, broken off from the force of his blow.

  
“Can you tell me what happened next?” I asked gently.

  
“He had me by my arms and he forced me over to his bed and tried to make me lie down. I was telling him no, and I couldn't understand why he wouldn't stop. He was supposed to stop!” She became panicked.  I knew I was going to lose her in a moment, but I needed to get the information out of her.

  
“Reeve, take some deep breaths. He can't get to you in here. Right, Asher?” I looked over at him, hoping he could help me.

  
“I'll fucking kill him, Reeve. Don't worry about it. I've got you.”

  
I don't think I had ever loved him more than I did in that moment. I helped her take some deep breaths and when she had regained some of her composure she continued.

  
“I was on the bed, and he was over me, holding my arms down by my wrists over my head. He tried to get my shirt off. I kept telling him no and to get off of me.” She sniffled again but kept going. “He kept calling me a whore and a cock-tease. I tried so hard to get him off of me. He leaned up a little, I think to try and undo the button on my jeans, and there was just enough room between us for me to knee him right in the junk.”

  
My eyes went wide because, honestly, that is not what I expected to hear.

  
“You got him in the balls?” Asher asked from across the room. She nodded.

  
“Yeah, I got him good too because he immediately rolled off of me, holding himself and groaning. I jumped off the bed and he rolled right off it onto the floor. So then I kicked him in the stomach. I left right after that, but I heard him throwing up as I was running down the hall.” She looked back up at me. “I figured this is where you were, so I ran straight here.” She looked over at Asher.

  
“I'm sorry. I saw the sign on your door. I wouldn't have bothered you otherwise; I just didn't have anywhere else to go,” she started crying again. Asher walked over and knelt down in front of her and tipped her face up to look at him.

  
“Hey, Reeve,” he said in a voice so soft, even I was calming down. “You're one of my best friends. If you need me, I'm here. All the time. No matter what.”

  
Nope. I had never loved him any more than right now.

  
She nodded at him. “Thank you,” she whispered. His hand came to her cheek for just a moment and then he stood again and headed towards the door.

  
“Where are you going?” I asked.  All of a sudden, panic was coursing through me.

  
“Well, Charlie, I'm going to go and kick Caleb's ass.”

  
“Well,
Asher
,” I emphasized his name, making it evident that I didn't appreciate his tone, or the fact that he used my full name. “It kind of sounds like she already did that.”

  
“No, she defended herself. I'm going to beat his ass so hard that tomorrow he won't even remember his name.” I stood up and went after him.

  
“Asher, no, don't. Please.” I made it to him and grabbed him by the hand. He stopped and turned towards me but I saw his eyes rolling.

  
“Bit, I don't have time for this. Someone has to kill him.” I took his face in my hands.

  
“Not you, Ash, please. Let's just call the police.”

  
“We can't call the police! This whole frat house is full of underage college kids drinking! If I call the police so many people will get in trouble. He's the only one that needs to be punished.”

  
“Ok, so, we take Reeve home – both of us – and tomorrow we go to the campus police. We'll report it. Let the school deal with him, Asher. Please don't go to his room. I need you with me right now.” I knew I was playing dirty. I knew I used his inability to walk away from me when I needed him against him, but I didn't care. I cared that if he went down to Caleb's room he could possibly get hurt. “Please,” I begged softly. I saw the moment he made the right decision. His eyes softened and his shoulders lost some of their tension. He bent down so that his forehead leaned against mine.

  
“Fine,” was all he said.

  
We gathered up Reeve and all three of us walked back to our dorm. I took her into the bathroom and helped her get ready for bed. She had grown quiet on the walk home and now she seemed very distant and far away. Her eyes were glazed over and she wasn't responding to me normally.

  
“Reeve? Are you ok?” She nodded her head, but didn't say anything. “Hey, Reeve, everything is going to be ok. We'll go to campus police tomorrow and tell them everything. He'll never mess with you again.” She nodded a second time and I couldn't help but worry. I didn't want to push her.  I had no idea what was going through her head, but I would give anything for her to just look me in the eye or say one word. She was breaking my heart.