H E A T H

Leonie went down. One minute she was stumbling and the next I was holding up her full weight while she sagged in my arms. I quickly laid her on a clear space on the floor, wincing because it wasn't clean, but whatever. I was checking her pulse when a small group gathered and crouched beside us.

"What the hell happened?" Jess slurred, I looked at her and noticed that she couldn't focus at all.

"She threw back two tequila shots and she was already wrecked," I explained and lifted her lids to check her pupils. "I think she's alright. Just too much. She'll probably have a vomit and sleep."

"Are you sure?" Jess sounded panicked and I looked between her and Bray. There was a third dude too. Pale with a dark blonde fringe across his forehead.

He was watching Leonie.

"Yeah," I looked back at Jess. "But you should slow down unless you wanna end up the same way."

Bray got a bit lower and looked Leonie over. "I'll put her in the spare bedroom, yeah. She can sleep it off."

Bray was fine. He wasn't a bad egg. He was a little drunk and clueless though. There was no way that I was going to leave Leonie in a spare bedroom, in a house full of strangers where she could get assaulted. Or end up dead because no one was watching her.

"I'll take her home," I said and lifted her into my arms. Her head hung back and her hair flowed. Despite being drunk and out of her damn head, she still managed to look beautiful.

"No," Jess planted herself in front of us as I went for the door. "Freddie will see her and flip out! He'll call her mom. She can't go home."

"Who's Freddie?"

"Her door man!"

"Oh. Well, I'll take her back to mine then," I shrugged. Mom was on night shift and if Sarah was up, she wouldn't say anything.

"Please look after her," Jess seemed like a good friend. Her concern was genuine.

I smiled and nodded. "Of course. Slow down, alright? Have some water."

She agreed and the three of them watched me as I left. Outside, I manoeuvred the passenger door open and slid her into the seat, fastening her belt while she groaned and smacked her dry lips together.

"I know it doesn't feel good," I murmured, pushing her hair back from her face. "I've got you."

Despite the fact that this was self inflicted, I still felt bad for her. Tequila was never a good idea. Especially on top of other alcohol. I'd been there before. The feeling of having zero control over your body. The sick, spinning feeling. Being so beyond drunk that you remember what it was like to be sober and wished that you could be.

The worst.

On the way home, she threw up. I managed to pull the car over and we weren't on the main road which was a relief. Most of it apart from a splash that landed on the seat, went into the gutter. I held her hair back and rubbed her back. She kept trying to get away from me, like she was embarrassed. But I wouldn't have it.

Vomit was nothing at this point. I had a sister who was in chemo every other week. I'd grown up in a hospital with mom who was a nurse. I was in school to become a doctor. Honestly, I was conditioned to it. But my heart tugged at her distress. I wished that I could have sobered her up faster.

She was zonked out again when I carried her inside. Sarah opened the door for me and gaped at Leonie who was limp in my arms. "Is she drunk?"

"So drunk," I turned side on so that I didn't smash Leonie's dangling head into the door frame. "This is what happens. Doesn't look so fun, does it?"

She rolled her eyes. "You can relax. I'm on a thousand different meds that would kill me faster than I'm already dying if I mixed them with alcohol."

I shot her a warning glare before I crossed the living room and into my bedroom. "Go to bed," I called out.

Sarah's argument was quiet and inaudible as I laid Leonie down on my bed, dropped the bag of fries that I'd bought her on the way home on to the side table and slipped her shoes off. Her little one piece thing seemed clean. Which was a relief because I was pretty sure that she wasn't wearing a bra and I didn't want to change her clothes while she was unconscious.

Out in the living room, Sarah had ignored my request that she goes to bed and was sprawled out watching Jane the Virgin or something of the likes. I slipped off to the bathroom.

"Go to sleep, Sarah. For real."

"No."

I sighed and quickly brushed my teeth. As I walked back to my bedroom, I read my phone and checked for text messages. There were two from Jade. Checking in to see how Leonie was doing. I tapped out a quick response and walked back into my bedroom, kicking the door shut.

When I looked up, I almost dropped my phone. "Fuck. Shit Leonie," she was sitting up, topless with a sheet draped across her lap while she ate her fries. "You scared the hell out of me."

Her eyes were basically closed but she laughed. A low laugh that reminded me of someone who was high out of their head. Her hair was a mess and that was what I chose to focus on. Her little one piece was sitting on the floor.

I palmed the back of my neck. "Why aren't you clothed?"

She chuckled again. "Relax. You touched my vagina last week. I don't think it's a big deal."

I vigorously ran both hands across my face and couldn't stop seeing the words predator in front of my eyes. She was wasted. I was not. I quickly gripped my shirt at the back and pulled it over my head.

Leonie's jaw dropped open and she let her unfocused gaze settle on my torso. I was ignoring the twitch in my dick because now was not the time. I stood beside the bed and pulled it over her head. When her face appeared through the neck hole, she was pouting.

"How come you can be shirtless but I can't?"

"Because you're not totally in your right mind right now."

She slipped her arms through the sleeves and licked her lips which were glittered with salt as she watched me step back from the bed. After staring at me for a solid sixty seconds with no shame whatsoever, she lifted the neck of the shirt and inhaled.

"This smells good. Like you."

Fuck.

I stepped of my jeans and rummaged through my drawers until I found a pair of sweats. I usually slept in my boxer briefs but it didn't seem appropriate given the circumstances.

I climbed over to the other side of the bed and slid under the covers. Leonie remained sitting, chewing on her fries with slow and fumbled movements. Her eyes kept fluttering closed.

"So you didn't like seeing my boobs?" She mumbled and I leaned up on an elbow as she peered down at me.

"Trust me," I said, serious. "I liked it."

Her gaze almost became more alert for a minute. No doubt that vomit helped her out a bit but she was still plastered.

"You're so nice to me, Heath," she picked up the bag of fries and dropped them on the side table. "Just a genuinely nice guy. You're not even taking advantage of me right now. Seriously most guys only want one thing from me."

"Don't you want the same thing from them?"

She kept swaying but her head snapped towards me and she studied me with an intense and somewhat hurt stare. The pang of guilt that I felt pinched me in the gut. That probably wasn't what she needed to hear right then.

"I'm sorr—"

"No. You're right," she nodded and rocked back and forth. "I'm a mess. Such a mess. I can't even give my heart to the one person who deserves it."

My breath caught in my throat. It wasn't a direct confession. But some part of me felt that I was the person that she was talking about. Maybe I was kidding myself. Maybe there was someone else. Someone that made her wish to move on from her late boyfriend. I did want it to be me though.

She went still for a minute. Gaze down on the bedspread. Her whole demeanour shifted. Her expression was dark and without warning, she stood up. "I have to go."

"What?" I sat up and grabbed her wrist before she could step away. "Go where? Leonie, it's late."

She struggled against my hold. "I need to go for a walk. Let. Me. Go."

Her breathing became harsher and more panicked as she clawed at my hand around her wrist. I couldn't just let her go though. It was Flagami in the middle of the night and she was wearing a damn T-shirt. "Leonie come on. You can't go for a walk right now. It's dangerous out."

Her movements became more frenzied and she looked like she was about to go into a full on panic attack. The last thing that I needed was for her to start screaming and freaking Sarah out. So I let go of her wrist but jumped out of bed and managed to intercept her before she reached the door.

"Move," she tried to dart around me but she stumbled. Her own feet weren't cooperating with her. Fuck, I felt like such a creep trying to keep her in my bedroom. "I have to go Heath. I can't stay here. I can't!"

"Listen," I held her shoulders and startled when I saw tears rolling down her cheeks. Her broken sobs confused the hell out of me and I really had no idea how we'd got here so fast. "I'll go and sleep on the couch. You take the bed, alright? You don't have to be around me. But stay here. Please?"

Gently guiding her back towards the bed, I laid her down and pulled the blanket up over her frame. She was shuddering and racking with sobs that made my heart clench. But where the hell did all of this sudden emotion come from? The only other time that I'd seen her cry was when she'd beat the shit out of that Harlin girl. She'd been drunk then too.

"I'll be right outside," I said, backing towards the door. Leonie wasn't still. She was tossing and turning and I understood it. The feeling of wanting to crawl out of your own skin because you're so drunk. "I'll be on the couch if you need me."

Before I could close the door, I heard her small broken voice. "Heath?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't leave me."

I sighed and rested my hand on the door knob. "You want me to stay in here now?"

She didn't respond. The blankets were still moving on top of her though which meant that she must have been awake. Perhaps it would help if she threw up again. Now that was a thought. I quickly ran across to the kitchen and grabbed a mixing bowl, some water and some activated charcoal. Sarah peered over the back of the couch and winced as I reached my room again.

"We're not disturbing you, right?"

"No," she chuckled. "The drama unfolding in there is better than Netflix right now."

"Sarah," I told her off but it was non committal.

I closed the door, put the bowl, water and charcoal beside the bed and leaned on the mattress so that I could get a better look at Leonie. She was covered in her own hair. I was surprised that it wasn't suffocating her. Sweeping it back, I found that it was damp, as was her face and she had red rimmed eyes. Not to mention the makeup all over her cheeks.

"You want me to stay in here? Or go and leave you alone?"

She tried to look at me, but her focus couldn't settle. "Stay," she croaked.

I nodded, made her swallow a few tablets with water to soak up the alcohol toxins and crossed the room to turn off the light before I climbed back into bed.

"You need anything else? Food? There's a bowl beside the bed if you need to throw up again."

There was no answer but the mattress and bedding did start to ruffle, like she was moving around and then her small body was tucked in beside mine. My heart sped up as she rested her head on my chest and her hand settled on my stomach. The comfort must have been as instant for her as it was for me. Her tremors settled down and her breathing evened out.

Even if she was drunk, it still felt nice to have her close. To have her soft smooth leg draped across my legs. To have her warm breath on my chest. To have her hair tickling my shoulder. I rested my arm around her back and couldn't help but give her a soft kiss on the forehead. I hoped that she felt safe right where she was.

"Goodnight, Leonie."

Her words were barely coherent. She was practically snoring. But I heard what she said and it made my heart beat harder than healthy.

"I wanna love you."

It was a relief when we got to the morning and Leonie remained asleep for the night with no more drama. After I'd showered and slipped on a pair of shorts and a tank top, I found some Advil and water for Leonie. I'd set it on the bedside table and figured I'd wake her up before she slept the entire day away. It was eleven already.

Her long thick lashes were glued together with thick clumps of mascara which was also all over her face. But she managed to open her eyes and slowly sat up, wincing as she peered around the room. Her gaze settled on me and she tiredly groaned.

"If we finally had sex and I don't remember it, I'm going to die."

"Uh no," I laughed and wasn't sure whether to feel flattered or not. What did she mean, finally? "That would have been rape. And I'm decidedly against that. You don't remember what happened last night?"

She accepted the Advil and water with thanks and a thoughtful expression. "Not really. I remember doing the tequila shots. I remember throwing up outside of the car and oh! I remember getting naked while you weren't in here."

She started to laugh and I shook my head with amusement.

"That's it. There's nothing after that."

"You fell asleep not long afterwards," I told her while she threw the pain killers back. She didn't need to be told that she turned into an emotional wreck. But I did think that it was worth talking about her need to go off and walk the streets alone at night.

"You wanted to go for a walk," I told her as she set the empty glass on the bedside table. Her expression wasn't alarmed or surprised. She nodded.

"Yeah I'm a wanderer when I've had too much. Not sure why."

"That's dangerous."

"I know. Did I put up much of a fight?"

"Na," I waved it off. When I looked up and met her eyes, I found her watching me, an almost sad smile on her lips. It was also the first time that I noticed how puffy and swollen she looked from all of the crying.

"I've missed you," she said. It surprised me. 

"You have?"

She nodded.

"I tried texting a couple of times."

"I know," she nodded and shrugged her shoulders. "I just thought that it might have been easier if there was space. I had the feeling that you wanted more for us and I felt selfish asking you to be my friend when I couldn't give you more."

I did want more. So much more. "Shouldn't that be my decision to make. Whether I can be around you as a friend or not? Because I missed you too."

Her smile lifted a little. Just a little. But it was enough to illuminate her entire expression. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Text me back next time," I teasingly told her off.

She nodded and flicked the comforter back, revealing her smooth, curved legs that were all exposed in my t shirt. While she was sitting down, it sat around her hips and exposed the band of her lace underwear. Fuck. It was going to put an obvious strain in my pants if I kept staring. But I couldn't help it. She stood up and bent over for her shoes, giving me a view of her round ass. Torture. Was she doing this on purpose?

"Should we go and get some breakfast?" She asked, walking over to my mirror beside the closet. She winced and started rubbing at her cheeks. "Let's go to that Charlie's place around here. It's so good."

My gaze moved over her body which was short and curved in all of the right places. She wasn't a thin girl but damn was she perfect. My shirt came to her thighs and stretched out on her ass which jiggled while she rubbed her face. I could see the outline of her black underwear and I was in hell.

"Yeah sounds good," I looked down and saw the outline of my growing dick.

Okay. Settle down you fucking animal.

"How about I go and get you a hot face cloth?" I offered, watching the floor. If I was going to be friends with this girl, I needed to keep my shit together and not get a stiff whenever her body was exposed. It was the shirt too. She looked so good in my clothes.

"That'd be good thanks!"

I came back from the bathroom with a cloth, damp, so she could clean herself up. In hindsight, I could have just offered her the bathroom to use. But I'm clearly not doing my best thinking this morning. I blame it on the tiredness.

"Alright. Let's go," she said and threw the cloth to me. It was smeared with black makeup and her face was flushed red from being rubbed raw. I wouldn't mind rubbing something else raw.

What. The. Fuck. Dude.

"Um. You don't want to change first?" I asked as she picked up her romper and arched a brow.

"Not really. This is long enough on me. I'll give it back. I'm just comfortable right now."

"Oh sure. Yeah it's just that um— well it's a little see through on your— bum."

She shook her head and shrugged. "And? I'm wearing underwear."

"Oh yeah. Okay that's— yep. Cool. Let's go then."

As we went through the living area, we found Sarah sitting at the dining table with a bowl of cereal. She straightened up and gave Leonie an enthusiastic wave.

"Feel like shit?"

"Sarah," I ran a hand through my hair. "Come on."

Leonie laughed. "You're damn right I do."

"Last night was hilarious," Sarah continued. "You were all like—"

She slumped over in the seat, her head fell back and her tongue rolled out of her mouth as she mocked Leonie and the way that I'd carried her inside last night. If Leonie was embarrassed, she didn't show it. She laughed, loud, and nodded her head.

"I'm all class," she grinned.

"Come on," I gestured at the front door. "Sarah, I'm going to Charlie's. Want something?"

"Just a lemon slice if he offers."

"Got it."

At Charlie's, we stood in line and I shoved my hands into my pockets before I shoved them into the face of the dumb looking jock in the window booth. He was staring at Leonie's ass and whispering with his friends.

True, it was blatant and out there to see. But I didn't like it. If I told her, she'd handle it herself. No doubt about that. I was sort of tempted to as well.

But before I could, we reached the countertop and the cashier with the vicious long nails and short dark hair was serving. She was wearing a name tag this morning. Beth. I said hello and she smiled at Leonie who was reading the menu board.

"Sometimes I do this," she whispered without looking at me. "To pretend to be a regular customer that doesn't know what she wants. That tries something different every time."

I laughed and pointed at the chilled glass cabinet. "A lemon slice please."

"Make it on the house," Charlie appeared, walking with his limp that had better days than others. He stood beside Beth at the register and smiled. "How's our Sarah?"

"Good at the moment thanks, Charlie."

"Fries please," Leonie told Beth and looked up at me. "I don't have my card. I'll fix you up."

I handed my debit over and punched in the code after it had been swiped. Leonie was bouncing on the spot beside me and I desperately tried not to look at her bra-less chest.

"Her hair," Charlie threw his hands up with a big bold smile. "It looks so lovely. She came in with Jazz and told me all about a lovely young girl that had bought it for her."

"That was Leonie," I pointed down at her and she gave a modest wave. "Generous wasn't it."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he extended his hand and Leonie went all soft and sweet as she shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too," she grinned.

"You got fries last time too," he pointed a curious finger as if he was sure that he remembered right but needed her to confirm.

"I did," she seemed pleasantly surprised that he remembered.

"Well next time, they're on me. Anyone who does a nice thing for that sweet Sarah is family around here."

Leonie clutched her chest, her expression full of aww. She almost looked like she was going to sob. It was clear that food was the way to her heart. Unfortunately it wasn't getting me anywhere.

"Can I call you Poppa?" She said so suddenly that I almost dropped the lemon slice. Honestly, this girl was in a league of her own.

Charlie burst out into a loud rumbling laughter. He wasn't offended, instead he shrugged his shoulders and threw his arms up. "Sure. Why not?"

She grinned and picked up her fries that had been slid across the counter by Beth, who seemed totally amused at the entire exchange. "Okay," Leonie smiled and blew a friendly kiss. "See you next time Poppa."

We walked out to the car and as usual, I felt like my head was spinning at the mere intense presence of one small woman. "Poppa?"

I looked at her as I started reversing, I put a hand on her head rest and peered over my shoulder, tongue between my lips as I pulled out. When I put the car into drive and looked at Leonie, she was staring my arm. The one that had just been behind her head rest. And her nipples were now super visible through the thin white shirt.

"Good?"

She started and met my eyes. "Yeah," she looked forward and shifted in her seat. Huh. So I affected her too. Good to know.

"So do you call all the old men that you just meet Poppa?"

"He said I was family," she defended with a small smile. "I never had a Poppa before. I like it."

"You're incredible," I mumbled with amusement.

"I'll drop this lemon slice to Sarah and then take you home."

"You can take me back to Jade's," she offered, digging into her fries. "Bray will be there. I hope. He can give me a ride home since he lives close."

Another reminder that these people, her friends and herself, were all in a league of their own. Rich kids from South Beach. I'd noticed that her white vans were stained with splashes of alcohol and she hadn't seemed bothered at all. This was not a world that I was used to. Or fit in with.

"Unless you want to join my Sunday ritual?" She looked at me as she licked some salt of her index finger. Her plump round lips puckered. I gripped the steering wheel.

"Uh—"

I couldn't help but think about how terrible that had gone last time. Shit. It had been an entire week since that kiss. Well, it was a bit more than a kiss. But if I thought about touching her wet sex, I was going to combust inside of my pants.

"Movies, food, I've got some cash in my drawer that I can give you," she grinned and that put a halt to the blood rushing south.

"I don't need your money."

"Uh, woah," she twisted in her seat and I could feel a telling off coming. I wasn't even nervous because I didn't want to get scolded. I was nervous because of how her no bullshit attitude made me react. "I owe you for the ride. I don't just take what I want and expect handouts. I'm wealthy. I'm not spoiled."

"Okay," I shifted in my seat at the strength and seriousness in her tone. "But you've done a lot for Sarah already. So sometimes it's okay to let people fit the bill or give you a ride with no expectations."

She didn't respond. I had a feeling that she wanted to remind me that she had money and I didn't. Not a lot of it anyway. I wasn't hanging around with her for that reason though. I could almost forget that she lived in an apartment at the top of a beach side building in one of the most luxurious locations in Miami. She was so down to earth. I was seriously losing my mind over this girl.

"So are you coming back to mine?" She pressed.
"Yeah alright."

Leonie went straight for a shower when we arrived at her place. There was mild disappointment. I wouldn't have minded seeing her in my shirt a little longer. She told me to get comfortable on her bed and the first thing that I noticed about her room, was the state of it.

There were clothes all over her dark grey carpet. Her expensive looking desk beneath the window was covered in products and more clothes. Her lavender walls were scattered with photos of her friends and because her closet doors were open, I could see that it was overflowing with clothes from top to bottom. You could almost fit another bed in there if it weren't for the mess.

I sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard. Her television was mounted on the wall beside the window and on the bedside table, a book was open, face down. I didn't take Leonie to be a reader. But she often surprised me.

Curiosity got the best of me and I picked up the book, reading the page she had left it at.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling. "Scarlett, I saw the look on your face. It was fucking scary. I couldn't just watch you run away when you looked like that. You needed somebody, and while I know you hate it, I was there. So, you can yell at me, you can punch me, you can kick me out, but I'm still going to care, Scar. Besides, I don't like rules," he smirked, staring me down intently with his deep blue eyes.

I stared at the paragraph in bewildered amusement. It was almost ironic after what we'd been through last night.

Leonie emerged from the bathroom with wet damp waves. She was dressed in a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top. No bra. Why did she do this to me? Oh of course. Because this was her Sunday where she liked to veg and be comfortable. It had nothing to do with me. But that didn't mean I wasn't feeling it.

"Didn't know you read," I mentioned, turning the book over in my hands before I put it down, careful not to lose its place.

"I'm not a huge reader. But we have to do reading reviews for English. So I got that one out from the library. I actually really like it so far."

She swung her legs over mine and crawled over to the other side of the bed.

"What's it about?"

"This girl that was kidnapped when she was a child. She finally escapes at seventeen and she reunites with her parents. But they're like high society rich people. So she has to adjust back into the world but also learn to adjust to this world of wealth at a private school which has all of its own issues.

"And then she meets a guy who kind of seems like a prick at first. But he's misunderstood and she's misunderstood and they sort of learn to understand each other and it's super cute. If the story doesn't have a Nolett endgame, I'm going to hunt the author down and shank her."

"Nolett?"

"Noah and Scarlett. That's the names of the couple. Their ship name, so I've decided, is Nolett. I mean, the book has way more depth than just the romance. It's about mental health awareness and communication and the author does well, touching on these issues. I still love the romance though."

"Wouldn't have picked that for you," I mentioned, folding my arms. Leonie stuck out her tongue and started pulling her damp hair into a bun. Her chest was moving and bouncing while her arms were above her head. Pure fucking torture.

"I like reading about romance, Heath," she said. "Especially in novels and watching movies. It's like, you know that it's going to be a happy ending. You can get invested and not have your heart ripped out at the end of it. Well, most of the time. I wish real life was like that too."

She scratched the back of her neck and lowered her head.

"What movie do you want to watch?" I asked, changing the subject so that I didn't bring up what she'd said last night.

I wanna love you.

Fuck. I couldn't stop hearing those words over and over again. She was clearly fighting against something and while I knew why and wanted to respect that, I wanted to win her heart as well. Even just a chance to see what this could be. I wanted that.

"You pick," she said, cheering up.

"Van Helsing it is," I said, grinning because I knew her preferences.

She snuggled down and pressed in beside me. I was in pain as her soft chest pressed against my arm. "Jokes on you, Gilmore. I love this movie."

____

The little book excerpt above is from an actual book here on wattpad called, Becoming Scarlett. It's by my lovely friend Ashley_Mariex ♥️