Honor Among Friends (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 3-B

“Let me look,” he said, gently reaching for her.

She warded him off. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? If you don’t want me to see, I can take you to the nurse.”

 “Positive. The pain will pass.” He looked concerned, she added, “Don’t worry. I’ll be okay in a couple of minutes. My head’s hard as a rock…just ask my mom.”

He cracked a grin and some of the tension in his shoulders eased. She looked at the spot where she hit her head and realized they’d been standing under a window. He’d been close to her because he was searching for the person following her, not because he wanted to hold her or kiss her or smell her…

Mortification burned in her gut and she tilted her chin down, letting a curtain of hair fall around her face. He must think she was crazy sniffing him like that. She was like a dog in heat!

A cool hand touched her forehead and she drew back in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“Checking to see if you have a fever. You look flushed.”

That only made her skin turn a darker shade of pink. “It’s nothing. Just a little warm in the room.”

Thankfully, he let the subject drop. “You know, for a girl who’s only moved here a couple months ago you sure do have an active social life.”

It was so far from the truth that she threw back her head and let out a bark of laughter. Seconds later, she grimaced as pain shot through her head.

“Careful,” Carson warned. He reached behind her and rubbed her neck. The tips of his fingers dug into her skin, pressing against the pressure points at the base of her skull. She melted into his touch, the sharp pain easing into a dull thud.

“Why do you assume I have a social life?” she asked after a few minutes. He withdrew his hand and she almost wished she hadn’t spoken.

“Well, for one thing, you ran into this room to hide from someone. And you didn’t come to my track meet Wednesday because you had other plans. Plus, all the other times I’ve invited you to staff events and you didn’t come.”

“You said those weren’t mandatory,” she pointed out.

His lips pressed together. “They’re not, but it would have been nice to see you. So who were you hiding from? An ex?”

“I just moved here! I can barely manage to find my way around much less date and breakup with someone.”

“If it’s not an ex, then whose chasing you?”

“It’s complicated,” she sighed.

He studied her. His gaze unwavering as she looked into those brown and green eyes. They were framed with black lashes that curled back. “Alright but if you need a sounding board, I’m available.”