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“Tell? What the fuck, man!” It bursts out of me in a rush of relief and irritation.
“Uh, I was going to ask you the same thing when you barreled into me…” He’s laughing as he says it, stepping back just a bit to let me catch my breath. My heart is still pounding, but if anything, I find that I want him to pull me back in close.
“Sorry. Just got startled.”
“No kidding?”
“Wait. Are you following me?” It’s meant to be a tease, but it seems awfully odd to run into him on a random street in the upper Woods neighborhood.
“You know, I do have better things to do than follow your sweet ass around town,” he says with a smile that tells me he’d love to do just that and more.
How does he do that to me? A guy I met one time!
Who kissed me better than anyone else ever has…
“I’m heading to my friend's house just up the road. Walk me there?” At least for the sake of some company. The sensation of being followed still lingers on the back of my neck.
“Yeah, I can do that. Actually, I’ve been hoping I'd run into you. We never had a chance to exchange info.” He turns to let me pass, falling into step beside me. As flustered as I am, and a little miffed at the way we just fall into sync so easily, I can’t help but marvel at how disarming he is.
Usually, I would keep my guard up with someone new, questioning their motives. Not that I’m paranoid, just cautious.
My gut says he’s safe, though. That I should trust him.
“Maybe I did that on purpose to leave you guessing.” I nudge him with my shoulder.
“I really was guessing after I heard what happened at that party.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me.”
“But you got away?” Now I feel a little suspicious, because I can tell the question is rhetorical, like he knows I didn’t. I debate evading the issue or testing him to see what he knows.
Instead, I take the direct path. I’m too damn tired to play games.
“Did you know the cops were coming?”
A little jerk of his head tells me I’m onto something, but he doesn’t look guilty, just a bit stunned. “Not exactly. I called 911 to save some pukey girl’s life upstairs. I didn’t think they’d bring the whole squad.”
“But you also didn’t want to be around to answer questions when someone showed up, huh?” I press.
His eyes narrow at me as we reach my destination, a condo at the end of the side street. “You’re too damn sharp, Hella. Remind me not to try and pull one over on you.”
A mischievous glint gleams in his eyes as he leans a bit closer to me. The warmth of his body through the casual, soft hoodie he’s wearing pulls me in, but I hold back. “I won’t remind you. I’ll only tell you once, actually…”
“Tell me what?” His face is so close I could kiss him, easily.
“That if you ever…”
“Yeah?”
“Try…”
“Uh-huh?”
“To lie to me, I’ll kick your ass and you’ll never see me again.” The whispered statement has him pulling up short.
Still, we’re just inches apart, staring right into each other’s eyes.
“Wow. You’re…”
