and bent his neck to look down at me.
“Who is that guy?”
My body went unnaturally stiff at Bass’s tone and stiffer still at the stern look in his eyes.
“Let go of me, please,” I whispered, and Bass’s eyes narrowed.
“That Trey?” he asked but didn’t let go.
The tremble had started. I knew from experience I had two seconds before it happened. Anger was sliding up my spine. He wasn’t listening. He wasn’t letting go even though I asked. The helpless feeling was swimming below the surface, trying to break free.
How many times had I asked Keith to let me go, or not hold my hand so tight, or to get off of me? How many times had he ignored my wishes? How many times had I asked and he had not listened?
“Let. Go!” I snapped.
His arms released me at the same time I jerked back, causing me to stumble.
“Damn, Addy, you okay?” Bass asked.
Mr. Sweet Guy back in full-force. But it was too late. My heart was pounding and that sick feeling had crept up and taken over.
“When someone asks you to let them go, you fucking let them go.”
Hadley and Quinn gasped at my outburst.
Then suddenly I was no longer looking at Bass because Trey was filling my vision.
“Baby?”
“Huh?”
“Look at me.”
“I am.”
“No, baby, you’re not.”
I blinked and blinked again until some of the haze started to go away. Only, unlike the first time I’d had a freak-out in front of him in his kitchen, I didn’t feel embarrassed. I was ticked and I was also lost in my anger.
“I asked him to let me go.” Trey’s gaze went soft and I didn’t understand that, so I went on so he’d understand. “When someone asks you to let go, you let go.”
“Adalynn.”
“What?”
“You’re not looking at me.”
“I damn well am,” I told him because I was. I was looking right into his stunning, soft eyes.
“Okay, then, baby, you’re not seeing me. I need you to see me right now.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re scaring me.”
Scaring him? How was it possible I was scaring Trey?
“What? How?”
“Because I’m sensing that what you’re saying doesn’t have anything to do with Bass but with something else. And what I’m sensing scares the fuck outta me, Addy. So, please, come back to the room and see me standing in front of you.”
That sobered me.
We weren’t in his kitchen alone. We were in the gym with my sisters and Bass.
“Trey,” I whispered miserably.
“There you are.”
Then he wasn’t there because he turned to face Bass, which meant I lost his soft eyes and had his t-shirt-covered back.
“Man to man, when a woman asks you to release her, you do it. When that woman is my woman, you do it immediately. I’m guessing you’re here because you rightly assumed what Addy was doing in my kitchen first thing in the morning cooking breakfast. What you don’t know is it says a fuckuva lot more than you assumed. You two are friends and that’s cool. What it means for you from now on is, she takes your class and the two of you go to lunch as friends. What it does not mean is you put your hands on my woman—ever.”
“Right,” Bass muttered and smartly said nothing else.
When no one moved, Trey asked, “You done here?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I came here to ask Addy how she was. I haven’t done that. So maybe you’d like to step aside so I can do that and apologize for freaking her out when that was not my intention.”
God, that was nice of him to offer after I’d made a fool of myself. “Bass, you have nothing to apologize for. I made a big deal—”
The rest of my statement died on my tongue when Trey grunted.
“Don’t let me off the hook, Addy. I was shocked and making a point that very obviously didn’t need to be made. I scared you, and bottom line, the point I was making was a dick thing to do. And in the process, I might’ve damaged a friendship. So let me tell you I’m sorry and it won’t happen again.”
Trey stepped to the side and his arm slid around my waist. Oddly, this wasn’t done in a “piss on my patch” sort of way. He was lending me his strength and I appreciated it.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“I hope you know if you need anything, you can call,” Bass went on.
Jeez, that was super nice and it made me feel like even more of a twit. Bass was not Keith.
“I do.”
“Hope to see you soon.”
And without acknowledging anyone