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“It is harassment,” she says angrily. “He’s a jerk and a stalker, but I don’t know how to make him stop.”
“Have you tried calling the cops on him and reporting his behavior?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “It's darn near impossible to file a report while on vacation. And to be honest, I'm afraid of making things worse. What if I report him and he pulls something awful, and I become a dateline special? I don’t want to be on the news as ‘body found’, you know?”
The fact that she even has to worry about something like that makes my stomach twist. I can’t even imagine being a woman in today's world. I hold her a little tighter as a surge of protectiveness and affection overwhelms me. I want to help her. I want to make him stop.
Our song ends and she glances at her friends and then up at me. “I should probably introduce you to them before they lose their minds. Thank you for the dance, by the way.”
“Thank you.”
Her face lights up at my words, and I know she’s happy I thanked her and showed that her time and attention have value to me. “You’re welcome,” she says.
There's an odd connection between us that I both want to explore and want to ignore. She's so different from the women I generally interact with. There's nothing shallow, greedy, or fake about her. To the contrary, she seems genuine, kind, and gentle.
As we make the walk across the floor, she stumbles and nearly falls, but I catch her and pull her into my body, steadying her on her feet. She glances up over her shoulder at me. “I almost fell and looked like an idiot. Thank you for catching me.”
“If you'd fallen, I have no doubt you’d have looked like an angel.”
A flash of surprise fills her gaze, but before she can speak, her friends descend on us, breaking up the intimate moment.
Before they can reach us, I lower my head and kiss her hair and she smiles, welcoming her friends as they swarm us. The blonde one studies me, then her friend, a wide smile plastered on her face. “Are you having fun?”
The gentleman of the group winks at her and the redhead studies me, fascinated. I can see that they're acting like they're happy for her, but I sense that they're worried, no doubt because she probably picks the worst kind of men, judging by her ex. I understand why they might expect me to be a loser too. Of course, I don't like that her friends don't trust her.
I wonder how much they know about what she's going through with her ex, and I'm worried that they might be part of the problem, enabling him to reach out. What if they think he's a good guy instead of a problem? I know it's not my place to feel suspicious of her friends, but I am worried about her safety and mental well-being.
I actually wonder if they know what he's doing to her. Maybe she’s hiding what he’s doing from her friends.
But I know.
And I’m going to do something about it.
Chapter Three
Zoe
I can't stop thinking about him.
I lift my phone to see the text message from Jake and block the friend’s number he’s messaging me from. I don't understand how he's talking our friends into letting him send me messages from their phones, but they’re not the kind of friends I want or need in my life.
And I am so sick and tired of him telling me that I need to forgive him because we're so good together. He cheated on me, we are not good together, and there's no us. He destroyed any possibility for us to have a relationship when he cheated on me.
I don't want him.
I just wish he'd get the hint.
But he's not the one I can't stop thinking about. I can't stop thinking about Damien. The man at the bar. The man who danced with me. The man who kissed the top of my head and made the world feel like it was standing still for a few moments.
It's strange how we've known each other for such a short period of time, but he's already managed to show me what a good person he is. He makes me feel safe and respected. I want to see him again and I'm pretty sure that makes me crazy.
I mean, what kind of person wants to meet up with a stranger they've only seen a couple of times? Sure, those were good experiences, but that doesn't mean he's actually a good person. For all I know he could be a crazy, ax wielding monster. I mean, I thought I knew Jake, but clearly I had no idea what he was capable of, and I’m still dealing with the aftermath of that mistake.
So I'm definitely crazy for wanting to try again... right?
Still, it doesn't seem fair to judge everyone by Jake's crazy actions. Just because he's a rotten apple doesn't mean they all are. And even though he's somehow managing to talk people into letting him harass me, I can't help but think he’s the exception, not the rule. Not everyone out there is bad.
It's just when they are bad, they're really freaking bad. Stalkers, harassers, guys who seem to think I owe them something even after they’ve done something unforgivable.
