Back Where You Belong by Vonnie Davis Page A

as they dashed for his pickup. He opened the door for her and helped her in, his demeanor one of gentleness, as if she were a fragile piece of artwork.
    Once he was settled behind the steering wheel, he reached for her hand. “You okay?”
    “I’m fine.” Really, what could she say that he’d want to hear? That having her bare behind viewed by millions was so humiliating it haunted her in her sleep? That as a woman exposed, her emotions were scraped raw from the abrasive loss of her self-dignity? That the security she felt from being home again had just been snatched from her, too? No, he wouldn’t want to hear any of that. Nor could she make him understand.
    He released her hand and fastened his seatbelt.
    Her cell phone chimed at an incoming text. She pulled it from her purse and checked. Megan, apologizing. Not wanting to deal with it, she shoved the phone back into her purse.
    As he started the truck and backed out of the parking spot, she turned her head and stared at the rain pelting the side window, replaying the overheard conversation in the restroom. It certainly wasn’t the first time she’d listened in on conversations about the video. There’d been whispers behind her back in the classrooms, in the hallways as she passed by, in the cafeteria and the tables in the library. Signs plastered on the dorm hallways and cafeteria. She swiped at a falling tear. How many hundreds of emails had she received with the video’s link in it? Would she ever escape the never ending embarrassment?
    Another text chimed its arrival, and she ignored it, too. Megan, no doubt.
    She’d thought coming back home would end this emotional torture. So much for that erroneous idea. And so much for keeping the video quiet. She swiped at a last tear and crossed her arms under her chest. It was time she dealt with it. As long as she kept hiding, this relentless nightmare would never end. She exhaled a shaky sigh, pressed her head against the headrest and turned to look at Tyler.
    “I was raised to believe you had to live with the consequences of your actions. If you did something wrong, you had to pay the price.”
    He glanced at her. “Don’t do the crime if you don’t wanna do the time.”
    “Exactly. But I’m paying for someone else’s bad behavior. And, frankly, I’m getting damned tired of it.” That video had taken so much from her. First, her feeling of self-worth and enjoyment of college, and now her good name, and possibly the greatest loss of all—this man beside her. He was so respected, so stable. While she was a continual joke, a laughing stock. Having her name associated with his would only bring him shame.
    The intensity of the rain increased. Thunder rumbled and shook the ground. Shards of lightning ahead slashed the night sky in two in just the same manner as the video had ripped apart her life.
    Tyler took her hand again and gently squeezed it. “You never explained your remark about the friends you ran into while you were away from the table.”
    “Sorry. Two of the friends I was with the night I threw the dart at you came into the restroom. They had no clue I was in one of the stalls. Anyway, they started talking about the video. One had seen it, the other hadn’t. It was a cruel reminder that people talk, even people you think you know.”
    “Do you regret telling me?”
    “No, you need to know why I can’t see you anymore. People will find out about the video and look down on you for being with me.”
    His gaze swept over her. “Do you think I give a tinker’s damn what someone else thinks? Besides, there are two people in this relationship and, for damn sure, one of them is not ready to give up. Not until we see how this thing between us plays out. Because, Sugar, for the first time in years, I feel alive. And it’s because of you.”
    “This is all happening so fast.” Her phone chimed again. She pulled the cell from her purse again and glanced at the display. Megan. “Maybe it’s just our