I let out a humorless laugh and shake my head. “If you prefer to have your dick ripped off opposed to keeping it intact, then yes.” I press my hands harder against his chest and give him a little shove. “Back off a bit, Trevor. Maybe you’ve had a little too much to drink.”

He raises his hands and takes a step back, playfully. “Fuck, you’re feisty. I like it.” I have a feeling that his last shot has kicked in, because there’s now a slight slur to his words. It’s making me uncomfortable. “Come here.” He reaches for my hips, but I shove him back again, causing him to steel his jaw in annoyance. “Calm down,” he says rigidly.

I swallow hard as I look at him, trying to read him. I’m starting to notice that whenever he drinks he gets a bit pushy. I should’ve known from our first encounter at the fight that night. He did reek of beer from what I remember. Now I get it: why Memphis told me he’s no good for me. I always like to judge for myself though, so I gave him a chance. Now I’m done.

“I’m getting out of here.” I walk through the small crowd and over to the table to grab my jacket.

“Whoa . . . wait a minute.” I hear Trevor close in behind me as I slip my jacket on. “It’s still early.”

“It may be early, but it’s too late for you.” I push his hand away as he reaches out to grab my jacket. “Back the fuck off, Trevor.” I raise my voice, letting him know how seriously pissed off I am right now. “I’m out. Leave me alone. Go get another drink. I’m sure you can find some girl here that likes your stupid drunken ass. It’s not me. It’s a complete turn off actually.”

I push my way outside and tense up as I feel the cool rain hit my skin. Trevor is following behind me, on my ass the whole way, and not getting the damn hint. Is he really this stupid . . . or just that drunk?

I stop beside the door and look around me. I realize that it’s probably a really crappy idea to walk home in the cold rain, but it’s probably better than being alone with him. I really don’t want to have to break my hand on his pretty face.

“Get in my car. I’ll take you home.” Trevor backs me up against the wall of the bar, placing his hands above my head. My whole body is quivering from the cool rain, and all I really want to do is go back inside, but I won’t. I’m leaving whether he likes it or not.

“No. I’m good.” I try to move around him, but he keeps his hands firmly planted in place. “Trevor,” I growl out. “Move out of my way. Now.”

He hits the wall above my head in anger, startling me. I hate myself for flinching. I’m stronger than that. “How the hell are you going to get home? It’s raining.” He motions around us before replacing his arm against the wall. “I’m fine. Just let me drive you. Let’s go.”

“No, you’re drunk. Just move out of my way.” I shove him as hard as I can a few times, but he’s so big that it barely fazes him. I try once more to move under his arm, but it doesn’t work. “Move, Trevor!”

Out of nowhere, he suddenly gets pushed out of my way and slammed up against the side of the building.

It takes me a second to register the sight in front of me, but when I do, my heart drops to my stomach and my breath hitches in my throat. Memphis has one hand wrapped around Trevor’s throat, shoving him against the wall. Every muscle in his arm is tense. His face is so close to Trevor’s that they’re almost touching. I’ve never seen Memphis look so lethal.

“Are you fucking stupid?” Memphis slams him against the wall again, but harder this time. “I thought you’d grow out of this shit by now, you dumb motherfucker.” Trevor reaches out, but Memphis knocks his hand out of the way, evidently not done with him yet. “Back the fuck off her. Don’t fucking touch her again. I’m fighting my hardest not to fuck you up here, but next time there will be no controlling it. Got it?”

“Dude.” Trevor finally gets Memphis to release his throat, but Memphis doesn’t back up far enough to let Trevor move much. He’s towering over him, with his muscles flexed and prepared to fight. “You’re going to fight me over this bitch; your best friend? She’s just some fucking girl. She means nothing. What happened to you behind those fucking bars? We had a bro code and you broke it. We are supposed to have each other’s back.”

Memphis turns his face away for a second, his jaw clenched, before he turns around and punches Trevor in the mouth.

Trevor’s head flies back into the building and he reaches out to touch the blood on his lip. “Fuck you, Memphis!”

“Come on. Let’s go.” Ignoring Trevor, Memphis wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me alongside him to his motorcycle.

“You haven’t changed either, Memphis!” Trevor shouts from behind us. “You still can’t control your anger. It’s only a matter of time before you let it happen again!”

Memphis freezes for a second, grinding his jaw, before he places the helmet on my head and helps me on the bike behind him. I can tell that he’s trying with everything in him not to go back over there and pummel Trevor. “Hold on tight.”

AFTER WE PULL UP IN Memphis’ driveway he cuts the engine, but just stays on his motorcycle. He doesn’t make an attempt to move, so neither do I.

“You should go inside,” he says. “It’s raining.”

I think about staying on his bike and just holding him, but then I remember that I’m supposed to be staying away from him. He doesn’t want me like I want him. I need to remember that and move on.

Getting off his bike, I set his helmet down in his lap and start walking through the grass toward my house. I’m so cold by this point that I can barely walk. My legs feel numb from my soaked clothing.

I only get a few feet away before I feel Memphis wrap his arms around my waist and pull me against his body. His jacket is now open, so he wraps me up inside of it, and I instantly cuddle up against his chest to keep warm. It feels so damn good being in his arms. It feels . . . safe.

“Sorry. It wasn’t raining when I left,” he says softly. “I’m being an ass. Come on. You need to get warm.”

Letting go of me, he takes his jacket off and drapes it over my shoulders, while leading me back toward his house.

“Memphis . . .” I try to stop walking, but he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. “Put me down so I can go home.”