My tempting bodyguard

The escape

The next few days, I wasn't allowed outside of the safehouse at all. My dad had the bodyguards both inside and outside of the house, and Nick was following me around like he took the job a bit too seriously. Every time I went outside of my bedroom, he stood there. I found out that he didn't warm up to being more talkative as time went on. He mostly stood there brooding. I have not seen him sit down a single time, so I seriously wondered what magical shoes he wore to prevent his feet from hurting. 

But today was the day when I got to go home. My father told me they had been surveilling our home the past few days and that no one was seen near it. He still insisted that Nick would be my full-time guard, and I accepted it without further discussions because I knew that once I got to my college, I would be losing him. I went inside our home and went directly to shower in my bathroom. I had already missed the first hour of classes, but I intended to attend the rest of the day. And I desperately needed some alone time after being cooped up in a house full of testosterone.

After the shower, I dressed in a flowy short skirt and a dark blue blouse. Man, it was good to be back home. My hand was starting to get better, but if I weren't careful, it would start bleeding again. At least now, I only wore a compress on it, so it wasn't as visible for when I got to the school. 

I grabbed my stuff and my backpack, threw on a jacket, and rummaged through the pockets to find my car keys.

"I'll be driving," said a dark voice behind me, and as I turned, I saw Nick holding up my car keys before he shoved them in his jacket and held out his keys. I gaped at him and tried burning a hole in his head with my glare.

"You can't take my car keys! Give them to me," I said horrified, as I held out my hand. Nick shook his head and walked past me outside the door and to the black SUV. I ogled at him as I locked the door behind me and went after him.

"Fine, you can drive if we take my car. Your car is way too flashy," I said, trying to compromise. I didn't want any unnecessary attention. Instead of responding, he grabbed my upper arm a bit too hard and pushed me inside the front of the SUV. I cursed at him as he shut the door, and I could see his smug smile as he rounded the hood and got in. 

"You're a son of a b***h. You're my bodyguard; you aren't supposed to manhandle me like that!" I seethed towards him. Liam had never done such things; he had always stayed in the background, barely noticeable. Nick started up the car, and with his focus on the road he said,

"I don't care." I clamped my jaw together, crossed my arms over my chest, and stayed silent for the rest of the trip. As Nick parked the car at the college, I got exactly what I didn't want. Extra attention. I groaned and opened the door, but before I could jump out, Nick reached over and shut it, following up by locking it. I leaned back in my seat because of his closeness, and then he retreated.

"I know you lost your phone at the gathering. Take this; my number is in there," he said, giving me a phone. Dumbstruck, I took the phone and gave it a onceover. Why would I need his number when he would be with me all the time?

"Don't lose it," he said, and I nodded inwardly. Ah, it had a tracker inside of it, that's why. I said nothing of my knowledge of it to him; I just nodded and yanked the door handle.

"Let me out," I said, meeting his eyes. He smirked at me and held my eyes for a bit, as if contemplating something, before he finally unlocked the doors. Hell, I was out of there before he had the chance to change his mind. 

As I entered my school, my friends Alex and Jane soon surrounded me in a crushing hug.

"Where have you been? We have been so worried! You weren't answering our calls or texts! Jeez, what happened to your hand? Who's that stud looking like he could kill someone?" They began questioning, and I laughed them off. Alex had been my friend since I was little, and he knew about my family and my situation. Jane was a more recent friend, and she only knew that I was rich, and that my father was very protective of me, hence the bodyguard.

"Calm down! I am okay, I was just sick, and then I fell down the stairs, cut my hand, broke my phone. I'm fine. And that.. beast over there is my newly assigned bodyguard. He's awful," I explained, proud of myself for perfectly reciting my excuse for being away. Nick had drilled me on it earlier today, and had made sure that I could pull off the lie. As Jane was ogling Nick like she wanted to eat him alive, Alex looked at me with a worried look. He probably knew there was more to it. I gave him a reassuring smile, and hugged him again. 

"Come on, class is starting," Alex said, dragging Jane out of her trance. I know Nick is good looking, but he's maybe even more handsome to other people, who don't know what an irritating bore he is. Alex and Jane walked into the classroom, and I was about to go before stopping in my tracks. I turned around and collided with Nick with an "oompf," who was standing way too close for my liking. Jesus, he was by the door a second ago.

"Uh. Could you maybe stay outside of the classroom? I don't want the other students to think I'm a weirdo," I asked, craning my neck to look up at him. He looked at me with an amused smile, and grabbed the top of my arms.

"Now, how would I know if you are safe if I'm not even in the same room as you?" he asked, c*****g his head at me before he spun me around and harshly pushed me into the classroom. I had to grab the back of a seat to not fall on my ass, and I mumbled a sorry to the person. I straightened up and turned to glare at Nick, who was still looked amused. I felt like stomping my foot at him, but I didn't want to look like a child. Instead, I whispered

"you're an asshole," to him as I went past him to get to my friends. I don't know if I imagined him chuckling or not. I probably did. 

I sat down beside Alex with a huff and received a comforting look from Jane. She may not know everything about me, but she knew that a bodyguard wasn't supposed to meddle like that.

"Miss Knowles? Is there a reason for bringing a chaperone today?" my teacher asked, and I instantly flushed.

"Uh... he's...uh," I stuttered, not knowing what to say.

"I'm her bodyguard. You should all get used to me being here" I heard Nick's voice, confident and intimidating as ever, and I hid my face in my hands. God, kill me now. If this doesn't make me a weirdo, then I don't know. I felt my face becoming red, and I was so angry and embarrassed that I could cry. When I finally removed my hands from my face, the teacher and the other students were still staring at me. This annoyed me, and I gave the teacher a look that meant, 'what are you waiting for?'. The teacher finally came to his senses and started the lecture. 

The lecture lasted for 2 hours, and it was mostly spent talking to Jane and Alex. Jane, trying to find out more information on Nick, and I gave her the little I had. Alex, trying to get me to tell him about what really happened discreetly. I told him I would tell him everything after school when we were away from Nick. They both agreed to help me escape him, as I felt suffocated by him just being there. I could feel his eyes on me the whole lecture, and I couldn't stop squirming.

When we could, we walked down the hallway towards the library. When we had to go through a huge mass of students, I took my chance to run and hide behind a soda machine and waited there for Alex to tell me it was clear. I had given my phone to Jane, who would meet up with us later. Finally, Alex came and found me, telling me that Nick had followed my phone with Jane. I breathed out a deep breath as we made our way to his car. We drove to a lake in the middle of nothing and sat down on the dock. 

"Man, I can't stand feeling this trapped. And it's only been less than a week!" I exclaimed, leaning back on my backpack. Alex soon joined me and looked at me with worry on his face.

"But he's probably there for a reason?" he said, urging me to tell him everything.

"He is... With Liam, I never was bothered by it, but it's him. I don't know why my dad put him on me; he even said he approved him himself. But he's... not being a bodyguard. He's intruding and pushing me around," I said, getting angrier by the second. Alex looked at me with a frown and slightly sat up.

"You could tell your dad. He would probably give you a new one," he said, staring at the water. I sighed and fixed my gaze at the water too.

"I know...I will try talking to Nick first, though; I don't want him to get sacked just because he's an asshole," I huffed, hating to be the reasonable and nice girl that I was.

"Now, tell me everything," Alex said, devoting all of his attention to me. We turned to each other and sat cross-legged with our knees touching.  

After I told him everything, he blew out a breath, like he couldn't fathom this being my reality.

"Now I kinda don't care what type of asshole your bodyguard is, as long as you have one," he said, looking at me with a gleam in his eyes. I punched his shoulder and laughed.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" I laughed, and Alex joined in. 

We eventually figured it was time to go back, and when we returned to his car, we were met by the dreaded black SUV. As soon as my stalker laid his eyes on me, he hopped out of the vehicle. And...so did Jane! What? Did Jane give me up? Jane came running to me with an apologetic smile as she hugged me.

"I'm sorry! He threatened to inform the school of my citizenship if I didn't sell you out. Sorry!" she whispered hurriedly in my ear, but my focus was all on the handsome man in black coming towards me. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were dark and burning. Crap. I hope he won't tell my father about this. 

"I hope whatever you were doing was worth risking your life," Nick said, his voice cold. I chewed on the inside of my cheek; I didn't miss the danger in his voice. Did my father do a thorough background check on him? He couldn't have, because Nick was far from bodyguard-material. I swallowed hard and was about to explain myself, but Nick cut me off.

"Don't bother. Get your things and get in the car," he said, no discussion allowed. I hesitated and looked to Jane and Alex for help, but they just stood there staring at the man before us.

"I think you should go," Jane whispered and pushed me towards Nick. I huffed and looked at her, but she almost looked scared.

"Now!" Nick's voice boomed, which really got me going. I scrambled to take my backpack from Alex and went in silence to the car. Nick got in after me and closed the door unnecessarily hard. I winced and dared a glance at him. Oh boy.