I Just Need You - J. Nathan Page 0,39

a wonderful birthday.” It might not have been the most conventional birthday, but nothing about my life had been conventional.

“Awwwww.” The girls wrapped their arms around me and squeezed me.

Neither Tristan nor Marco said anything, but at least they knew I appreciated them being there and making my birthday special.

Marco stepped out of the car and opened the back door. The three of us tumbled out, all giggling at our lack of balance. Marco stood there as we righted ourselves.

Elodie threw her arms around him and hugged him, causing him to freeze. “Thanks, big man.”

“Be careful. He’s got a gun,” I whispered.

Elodie released him. Alice didn’t seem to care about his weapon because she wrapped her arms around him next. “Thanks, sweet cheeks.”

His grimace was hysterical.

I saved him the awkwardness by not touching him, instead joining the girls at the closed door.

Tristan drove off to park the car while Marco walked us into the building and escorted us upstairs. I said my goodbyes to the girls then Marco checked my bedroom so I could grab my toiletries. He checked the restroom before I washed up and brushed my teeth. Then we finally retreated to my room for one last sweep. He turned to leave.

“Thanks, Marco,” I called to him.

“No problem, ma’am.” He glanced back to me to see my reaction.

I flipped him off which earned me a chuckle before he closed my door, leaving me alone.

The sudden quiet caused an emptiness to creep into my chest that I hadn’t felt all night. I slipped into my pajamas, wondering if I’d sleep since I’d had so much to drink. I also wondered if Tristan assumed the same thing and wouldn’t come by.

As I climbed into bed, images from the night began to fill my head. And all of them involved Tristan. His breathtaking smile. His lack of annoyance at me and my drunk friends. The normal Tristan would’ve become all grouchy, but he seemed to let it roll off him, even finding it amusing at times.

I closed my eyes and was about to drift off to sleep when I heard my door knob rattle.

Tristan

I unlocked Kresley’s door and tiptoed into her room with the intention of just checking if she was asleep. As soon as I neared her bed, she rolled over, tucking her hands under her pillow and staring at me.

“Go to sleep,” I said.

“Thank you for tonight, Tristan,” she said for the second time that night, still with a slight slur in her speech. On any other girl the slur would have been obnoxious, but it was kind of adorable on her, knowing what I knew about her.

I didn’t respond because I knew she was appreciative. She didn’t need to keep saying it.

“I know you didn’t want to be there,” she said, her voice growing quiet, like she was on the verge on falling asleep.

“I never said I didn’t want to be there.”

Her eyes absorbed the details of my face with droopy eyelids. “I know you better than you think,” she said softly.

I scoffed, knowing she had no idea who I was or what plagued my mind when I slept. “Did you get everything you wanted for your birthday?”

She shook her head. “You didn’t kiss me.”

I flinched, her words yanking the rug right out from under me. Did she really want me to kiss her? Or, was she more drunk than she seemed? I struggled to find the right words to respond. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but rule number one was a real thing. It didn’t matter, though. Because soft purrs of sleep escaped Kresley’s lips, leaving me to consider her words. All. Fucking. Night. Long.

Dammit.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Kresley

I was in a deep sleep when my phone began to ring on Saturday morning. The second I opened my eyes, I snapped them shut as the sun glared through the blinds. My mouth felt as if it were filled with cotton, so I smacked my lips to get rid of the feeling. But there was no getting rid of my slamming headache. I needed to rehydrate and pop some aspirin.

My phone was still ringing. I reached out for it and lifted it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Morning!” Elodie and Alice yelled at the same time.

“I think I’m dying,” I grumbled.

“Not with that hot bodyguard sleeping in your room you’re not,” Alice said.

I glanced around. “Nope. No bodyguard here.”

“We saw him go into your room,” Elodie said.

I gasped, the events of the night slowly coming back to me. “Oh no.”

“What?” they