With Every Heartbeat

She sniffed and burrowed deeper into his chest. “You’d think he’d know he didn’t have to protect me like that anymore. I’m eighteen.”

Ten smiled. “Doesn’t matter how old you get. You’ll always be his little sister. He’ll always want to protect you.”

“And I’m sure I’ll always want to knock his head off for it, too.”

With a soft chuckle, Ten began to stroke her hair. “I bet.” When he closed his eyes and buried his nose in it as if he was smelling her, something tight wrapped around my chest. He liked her. I mean, he really, really liked her. I slunk an inch in reverse, feeling like a voyeur. But I didn’t know where else to go. So, I just...stayed and watched.

“Is there really a naked picture of Aspen going around?” Caroline asked, lifting her face.

Ten stopped moving his fingers through her hair as his gaze touched hers. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s what got her fired.”

Caroline shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. How could a naked picture of just her get her fired?”

“It had Noel’s arm in it.”

This time, I shook my head, confused, though no one saw me doing so from my hiding spot. Geesh, I was doing a lot of hiding and eavesdropping on couples today.

“I still don’t get it,” Caroline spoke my thoughts aloud. “If all they saw was his arm, then how did they know who she was with? It might not have been a student at all—”

Ten lifted his forearm to point out something I couldn’t see from where I was standing. “About a dozen of us football players got this very same tattoo last year. It did end up in the picture of her, so the university knew it had to be a current ESU football player she was with.”

Caroline studied the tattoo and slowly ran her finger over it. I don’t think she noticed how doing that made Ten close his eyes briefly and then slowly reopen them.

She finally looked up. “So, for all they know, it could’ve been you who’d been with Aspen.”

His lips spread with amusement. “It wasn’t me.”

Her fingers kept lingering on his tattoo while her gaze stayed fastened to his. “I can’t believe they’ve been going through all this, and I didn’t even have a clue.”

Ten shook his head. “You had plenty else to worry about.”

Caroline opened her mouth, but then she shut it before speaking. It took another moment for her eyes to widen with horror. “Oh God. You know. About me.”

She tried to pull away, but he caught her shoulder and tugged her back. “Wait. Where are you going?”

“I don’t know.” Keeping her back to his chest, she lifted a hand in a helpless gesture. “To crawl under a rock and die of humiliation.”

“You have nothing to be humiliated about.” Taking her elbow, he turned her back around to face him.

“How do you know?” she asked. “Did Noel tell you?”

“No. I was there when you told him, remember? It was kind of impossible not to hear every word through those thin walls.”

Her face drained of color. Shaking her head, she once again turned away, but he held her waist and pressed her back to his chest again as she bent slightly at the waist.

“No. Caroline...don’t do that. Don’t turn away.” He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to the side of her neck.

More tears trickled down her cheeks. “You must think I’m a—”

“I don’t,” he cut in intently, spinning her around and forcing her to look at him, cupping her cheeks in his palms. “I absolutely don’t think anything bad of you at all.”

She blinked and one last wet drop slid from her lashes. Ten caught it with his thumb and wiped it away. Caroline’s chest heaved as she drew in a breath. The entire time they continued to stare into each other’s eyes, I held my breath as I waited for what would come next.

Caroline was the first to move. She lifted her chin and arched up onto her toes to kiss him.

But he stepped back, turning his face aside. “Don’t.” His voice was low and strained.

Covering my mouth with both hands, I could actually feel Caroline’s rejection pierce my own chest. And, ouch, that had to have stung. She slowly moved back, then curled her shoulder in before whirling away.

As she ran off, Ten stared after her, gripping his hair. Torment creased his face as he closed his eyes and mouthed something I didn’t catch.

When he opened up, he stepped forward as if he wanted to follow her, but he caught sight of me instead and skidded to a halt.