I Just Need You - J. Nathan Page 0,33
you sleeping?” he asked, his frustration evident in his tone.
“I’m just curious about you. Is there something wrong with that? We spend time together. I just want to know more about you.”
He closed his eyes and dragged in a long breath.
Was I pissing him off? Was he regretting his decision to come into my room?
When he opened his eyes, there was a glimmer of resignation there. Then he sighed. “What do you want to know?”
Shit. I hadn’t considered he’d offer that up to me on a silver platter. Did I ask if he had a girlfriend? Did I ask where he grew up? Did I ask if he planned to work as a bodyguard forever? “Do you bowl?” I blurted.
His brows arched, seemingly just as surprised by my question as I was. “Do I bowl?”
“It’s a perfectly legitimate question.”
He chuckled. “I don’t know. If I have to.”
“Good to know.” I turned over in bed and closed my eyes.
Maybe I hadn’t learned anything of any real value, but I had made Tristan Stone laugh. And, I really liked knowing I had.
***
“No…stop…please…no…”
My eyes popped open, Tristan’s words yanking me from a sound sleep.
His head was down as he sat in my chair, asleep but speaking. “Please…don’t…”
I froze, not sure what I should do. He was having a nightmare. A terrible nightmare. The pained expression on his face and the desperation in his words shook me to the core. I’d rarely seen his tough exterior falter, so to see this vulnerable side of him rendered me incapable of clear thoughts. I climbed out of bed and crept over to him, careful not to scare him. I kneeled in front of him and placed my hands gently on his thighs. “Tristan?” I whispered.
His eyes sprang open, and he clutched his shirt where his gun lay underneath.
“No! You’re okay. Everything’s okay. You were dreaming,” I assured him with my heart racing in my chest.
As if coming out of a trance, he blinked multiple times.
“You were just dreaming,” I assured him. Holy hell, he could’ve shot me.
“Fuck,” he growled as he pushed himself to his feet.
The sudden movement sent me reeling back and I landed on my butt.
He didn’t move to help me up. Instead, he ran his hands through his hair and started pacing the floor. “How long was I asleep?”
I pushed myself to my feet and grabbed for my phone on the desk. “A few hours. It’s three.”
“Fuck.”
“I think you were having a nightmare,” I said as I sat on my bed, hoping he’d tell me what he’d been dreaming about.
He avoided my gaze and walked to the door. “I’m gonna sit out there.” He twisted the door knob.
“Tristan?”
He stopped before opening the door but didn’t turn around.
“I’m here if you need me.”
He shook his head, mumbling something I couldn’t hear as he yanked open the door and walked out. Thunder outside coincided with the ominous click of the door closing me alone inside my room.
I stared at the door glimpsing Tristan’s shadow beneath it. At least he hadn’t abandoned me completely.
I understood his embarrassment. He was a big bad bodyguard. He couldn’t have nightmares. He couldn’t show weakness. But didn’t he realize that only made him more human in my eyes? We all had our demons. It didn’t define us.
And, though I’d never push him on the issue since it clearly unnerved him, I was definitely curious to know what plagued his dreams. Because most people didn’t react the way he did if it was just a rare nightmare. His reaction told me it had happened before, and he hated that I witnessed it.
What secrets was Tristan hiding?
And, what didn’t he want me to know?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kresley
Marco walked me back to the dorm after my last class the next day. I had a ton of work to do, but I was exhausted since I didn’t sleep after Tristan left my room the previous night.
I unpacked my backpack and was about to dive into planning a mock event for my special events class when there was a soft tapping on my door.
“Kresley?” Tristan asked.
I moved to the door, stopping before opening it. “Yeah?”
“Can I talk to you?”
I stilled. Was something wrong? Did he want to explain what happened the previous night? I opened the door, unable to stop myself from drinking in his dark jeans, navy short-sleeve shirt, and ball cap pulled low on his head. He looked like a college guy ready to head out to class. “What’s up?”
“I was…” he began, his eyes