Resist Me

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Lincoln

“Does Willow need a ride?” Kai asked from the doorway.

West shook his head. “She’s with Rick. He’s gonna drive her, apparently.”

“You good with that?”

“Sure. He hasn’t run yet and she hasn’t set his clothes on fire, so they seem fine.”

“Alright. I’ll meet you there. Don’t forget the tie.”

He scowled at the place it was lying on the bed. Kai winked at me before he left us alone. I leaned my hands behind me and licked my lips. It had been a fight to get West to agree to wear a dress shirt. We’d compromised and decided that he’d wear some nice black jeans, which was better than I expected, so I wasn’t going to complain. Besides, he looked dreamy in the black button-up paired with his matching hair and light skin.

“What are you looking at, pumpkin?” he asked, meeting my eyes in the mirror.

“Your ass.”

“Want me to get naked so you can see it better?”

“If we had time. You’re already running behind. ”

“Being on time is for suckers.”

“That sounds incorrect, but what do I know, snookums?”

His nose wrinkled. “That one is just offensive.”

“And calling me a meatball wasn’t?”

Turning around, he flashed me a heart-stopping smile. I sat up as he approached me. With that look on his face, I almost decided the dinner wasn’t worth it, but my grandparents wouldn’t appreciate me bailing because I was obsessed with this asshole. I hadn’t seen them since last summer and I was excited but also nervous because I hadn’t actually told West they’d be there. It was harder for him to dip if there was social pressure to be polite. I wouldn’t apologize for my actions.

He put his knee on the bed and leaned down to kiss me. When he pushed his fingers through my hair, I grabbed his wrists.

“West, damnit. I’m gonna have to fix my hair.”

“Nope. I like it this way. It was the plan all along.”

I gripped him tightly and turned him onto his back. His lips were so soft against mine, it should’ve been criminal. I held onto the side of his neck while I deepened the kiss. His fingers pressed firmly against my skin, just as they always did. He rarely did anything gently. West was a raging bull and my favorite color was red.

He started to sit up, forcing me to do the same, but he didn’t let go of me. His arms wrapped around my middle and held me to him tightly. It was so intimate that it made me feel warm.

Suddenly, he pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine. “Will you think I’m stupid if I say I’m scared?”

“Of course not. Why are you scared?”

His eyes closed and with my hand on his neck, I could feel his heart hammering. With his lips a fraction of an inch from mine, he let out a breath.

“Because if you don’t start acting like a dick again, I think I’m going to fall for you really fucking hard.”

Well, god damn. Did he have to say that when we were about to go to an event with a bunch of people where we had to act civilized? I didn’t want to move from this position for the rest of the night.

“You’re not the only one,” I admitted.

“I knew you were obsessed with me. I’m not actually falling for you. Just needed to trick you into admitting your guilt. ”

After I shoved on his chest, I got to my feet. Ignoring his infuriating smirk, I picked up the tie and brought it behind his neck. He huffed but allowed me to do my thing.

“You ever think about how they named things?” he asked. “Like tie. You tie a tie. That seems like the laziest term for it. Some guy said, ‘What should we call this? Well, we tie it, so let’s call it a tie.’ It’s like calling a cow a moo. We can’t just turn action words into nouns.”

My fingers tripped up on tying the knot while I tried not to laugh. I failed miserably and had to take a moment before I started again.

“Well,” I said. “The color orange was named after the fruit, so I think we can just assume that humans are unimaginative.”

He grunted his agreement. Once I finished with his tie, I took a step back and admired him. If I wasn’t already falling for him, I would have in that moment. Beautiful bastard. I was inclined to ask how I got here again, but I didn’t really care anymore.

“This is the fanciest knot I’ve ever seen,” he noted as he looked in the mirror.

“Everybody will think you’re distinguished. I thought it’d draw attention away from your animalistic tendencies.”

“Animalistic? I’m not an animal.”

“You sorta are. I’ve seen you eat a hundred pizza rolls in one sitting. You need to be tamed.”

I fought the urge to groan when he sang ‘can’t tame me’ to the tune of ‘Can’t Touch This.’ Instead of letting him get too distracted, I took his hand and pulled him toward the door. If we didn’t get sidetracked again, we might not be the last ones there. When we made it outside, our ride was just pulling up.

“We’re taking an Uber?” he asked.

“Yeah, I don’t want to take the bike. Plus, my hair is… was perfect and the helmet would’ve ruined it.”

“Good thing I got to it first.”

“Mm.”

I opened the back door and gestured for him to get in. He made an ‘ooh’ sound and winked at me before he scooted to the other side of the seat. It was entirely possible this guy was going to make a fool out of both of us tonight. I wasn’t second-guessing going public with him, but I did need to take a moment to prepare on the way. I loathed the sort of attention we were about to have on us. It might’ve been easier if we’d been open about our relationship beforehand, but I wanted to give him up until the last moment to change his mind.

The car pulled up to the hotel. It had a banquet hall that they reserved for the event every year. After we stepped onto the curb, I turned to face West.

“Are you sure?”

He bit his lip, but it only took him a moment to nod. “We’re doing this. No regrets, Lincoln Porter.”

It was impossible to restrain my smile. I threaded my fingers through his and took the first step that made everything feel more real.

The woman at the front desk smiled at us, which made West tense a little. I heard him take some deep breaths as we continued further inside. If he bailed now, I’d be disappointed, but it was his decision. God, I hoped he stuck with this, though.

We reached the doors and came to a stop. It felt like the moment of truth. This was the point of no return. If he took this step, I thought we could handle anything that was thrown at us.

He turned to me and offered me a huge smile, then squeezed my hand and threw the door open. I might’ve hyped the moment up in my mind too much. It wasn’t like I’d expected this to be some grand entrance, but it just felt a little anticlimactic when only a few heads turned toward us. People were standing around chatting and laughing. It was the picture of class aside from the rowdy guys grouped together in the middle of the room.

“Come on,” I said, tugging him toward them. He looked a little less optimistic now, but he came willingly.

“Densmore!” Dean shouted. A couple of the other guys followed suit. I remembered when it was me in this position, being metaphorically crowned before my first season as starting quarterback.

West seemed nervous, so I pulled my hand from his, not wanting to draw too much attention at one time this early on. It was enough that we were here together and wouldn’t hide it. He looked grateful and some of his pep came back. Dean took his hand and pulled him into his chest.

“You ready to become more powerful than God?” he asked.

West laughed. “It’s not that big of a deal. ”

My brows raised. “It’s a huge deal. Don’t downplay it.”

Finally, he grinned. “Yeah, I’ll make everyone forget about you before we even play our second game.”

“Good luck with that. I’m more likable than you, remember?”

His eyes narrowed, but I saw the smile trying to peek through. I crossed my arms over my chest, challenging him to let his problematic side come out to play. A few more of the guys came over before I got to see it.

Movement across the room drew my attention. I saw my grandma waving me over, so I nudged West’s shoulder.

“Be right back.”

“What? Where are you going?”

I took his chin between my thumb and forefinger. “You’ll freak out if I tell you. Just be the pretty little social butterfly that you are and don’t worry about it.”

I wanted to kiss him, but I stepped back. Dean cocked his head as he looked back and forth between us.

“Are you guys friends now?”

With a wink at West, I started walking toward my grandparents. He could navigate that on his own. Maybe.

“Hi, honey,” my grandma crooned, immediately pulling me into a hug.

I leaned down to return it and was struck by her familiar scent. It was comforting and made me think of home. When she pulled back, she peered around me toward the team.

“The guy you came in with. That’s him?”

I nodded. “That’s West.”

“Wow. He’s so handsome.”

“Didn’t think I could manage that?”

She swatted my arm playfully. “Oh, you stop. You know that’s not what I meant.”

With a laugh, I took my grandpa’s hand and shook it. I would’ve hugged him, but he wasn’t that type of guy.

“Hey, kid,” he said, then jerked his head toward West. “You did good.”

“Thanks. Fair warning, he doesn’t know you guys are here and he’s definitely gonna panic. He’s… squirrely. ”

“We’ll make sure he feels completely welcome,” my grandma assured me.

When I looked toward the team, I saw him already staring. His lip was between his teeth and his brow was furrowed. When I shrugged and motioned him over, he narrowed his eyes. It was clear that he was contemplating it. Thankfully, Kai latched onto his wrist and pulled him along begrudgingly.

They reached us and Kai released him before he backpedaled and offered me a thumbs up. West shoved his hands in his pockets, fidgeting. I stepped forward and leaned close to his ear.

“Sorry. Don’t hate me.”

“I do.”

“I know, baby.”

Finally, he huffed and smiled at my grandparents. He thrust his hand out and my grandpa took it firmly.

“I’m West. If you haven’t heard of me, I’m the one who made Linc’s life hell for the past seven months.”

My grandma stepped forward and gave him a hug. He leaned down and returned it a little awkwardly.

“He probably deserved it,” she whispered loudly.

Wrapping my arm around his waist, I pulled him closer. “Let’s not start spreading blasphemy, gran. West’s ego is already dangerously inflated.”

“I’m the quarterback, jellybean. I’m allowed.”

My grandpa surprised me when he laughed. “Oh, Lincoln. I think he’s exactly what you need.”

West shot me a smirk, then settled his arm over my shoulders.

“Lincoln, there you are.”

I looked over at coach, slightly annoyed to be interrupted. “What’s up?”

His eyes shifted from me to West. “Am I missing something?”

“We’re a thing,” West said. “Move past it.”

“Uh, okay. Linc, you’re gonna go up there in about twenty minutes, before everyone starts eating.”

My stomach flipped. It was customary for someone who finished their final season to say something, but I really didn’t want to. Part of me had hoped he’d just forget about it or I could conveniently be outside getting some air at the time .

“Yeah, sounds good,” I replied confidently.

He nodded, surveying us one more time before he turned around. West brushed his lips over my ear.

“Let’s go blow the team’s minds and get this shit over with, otherwise I’m gonna throw up in front of everyone.”

“Are you guys good for a bit?” I asked my grandparents. They nodded and shooed us away.

With both of our arms around each other, we made our way back to the team table. This time, heads did turn. A couple of the cheerleaders that came with some of the guys gawked. Jessi in particular looked completely flabbergasted and maybe annoyed.

“Holy shit,” Matt exclaimed. “Is this a prank?”

Kai came up beside West. Somehow, the way he took a drink of his sparkling cider made him look threatening. I didn’t know how he went from golden retriever to doberman so effectively.

West stood up straighter. “Yeah, yeah. Linc turned me gay. If anyone acts like a dick about it, I’ll make you cry. Cool?”

“Actually,” I began. “I will.”

Dean laughed loudly. “Fair enough. I think you guys look good together.”

The way West’s face lit up made me smile. That wasn’t bad at all. He hadn’t bailed and hardly hesitated.

“Shit,” Kai muttered.

We followed his gaze to the doors. Rick and Willow were walking in and from the way he had his arm around her while she stumbled, it was easy to determine that she was fucked up. West pulled free of my grasp and headed straight for them. Me, Kai, and Sen were on his heels.

I swore when West grabbed the front of Rick’s shirt. Kai wrapped an arm around Willow and pulled her back a little.

“Hey,” Rick said, putting his hands up. “She was like this when I got back from class earlier. I tried to sober her up, but she drank more while I showered.”

“Why would you bring her here?” he demanded.

“Have you tried stopping her from doing something? If I didn’t bring her, she was going to call a ride.” He glanced around quickly, then lowered his voice. “I’m trying to take care of her, man. She’s going through something. ”

“And what exactly is that, Rick?”

“Oh my god,” Willow groaned loudly.

Kai pulled her toward the door and West kept his eyes on them until they were out of sight. Rick looked uncomfortable and irritated, but he didn’t try to push him away.

“I shouldn’t tell you,” he sighed. “But the other day, she mentioned a guy named James.”

West went rigid. I put my hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged me off.

“What about James?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Apparently, he got released from prison. She didn’t want to say anything to you. Something about you feeling guilty and losing your shit. Who is this guy?”

West was paler than usual and his face was completely blank. Releasing Rick, he took a step back. Without looking at me, he left the room. I stared at the place he’d disappeared, unsure what to do. This wasn’t something I could fix and I knew he was going to find her, but I had no idea what direction that would take. I hated it, but I thought this was an instance where I needed to give him some space, at least until after they’d talked.