AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ll be ready.
As much as I hate to leave after last night, we could probably both use a few days to think. Caught up in the moment, we let ourselves give in to the attraction, the lust for each other. I hope he has no regrets. I don’t, even if it does turn out to be only one night. He initiated it, but does that mean he’s moving on from the ex and ready for more or did our chemistry overcome him?
Sitting here overthinking things isn’t going to do me any good. We’ll talk and figure things out later. Right now, I have a festival to get ready for. I’m glad the night ended with a shower because there’s no time. Arlow doesn’t stir when I get out of bed and slip quietly down the hall to the bathroom.
My small suitcase is packed and waiting in the trunk of my car. After I brush my teeth, get dressed, and tame my hair into a half decent ponytail, I sling my overnight bag over my shoulder and peek into the guest room. He’s still out cold. I’m not going to wake him. I’ll leave him a little note downstairs.
I borrow one of his travel coffee mugs and fill it with cold brew from his fridge, munching on a bagel as I look around for some paper and a pen. I’m not sure what to say.Had a great time riding the hell out of you. See you in a few days?
A giggle slips out as I locate a pen on the table and a notebook on one of his bookshelves. Happiness has me almost bubbling over. Last night really was amazing and now I’m heading off to do my favorite thing in the world. Life is good.
Flipping open the tablet, I realize my mistake. It isn’t writing paper, it’s a sketchbook. The first page contains a rough but skillful sketch of a fallen log. He’s so damned talented. Curiosity gets the best of me, and I flip to the next page.
Maybe it’s the initial shock or just pure denial at the sight of the incredibly detailed picture of me, but for a moment, I can only stand there, staring like it might change.
He drew me. Under any other circumstance, it’d be flattering. Touching. Except I recognize the moment he’s captured.
The only time I’ve been topless in the woods.
That was right after I’d arrived. We hadn’t even met yet, not for another two weeks at least. He had to have seen me to draw this so perfectly, down to the water bottle on the bank of the creek. He was there.
My chest aches, reminding me to breathe. Not knowing what I expect or hope to find, I turn the page to see another drawing of me. This time I’m sitting on the bridge, dangling my feet over. My attention focuses in on one detail, the band-aid on my ankle. I’d scraped it on the edge of a box that morning, only a few days after the day I’d swam topless in the creek.
Tingles run down my spine as I flip through more drawings, all documenting days I thought I was alone in the woods. There’s even one where I’m picking his peaches. Finding me in his orchard wasn’t an accident. Those times that I felt like I was being watched, when I’d dismissed it as anxiety, he was following me.
Watching me.
My heart leaps into my throat at the sound of my name.
CHAPTER 17
ARLOW
“Calliope.”She jerks violently, spinning around to face me, eyes wide with shock. “What’s wr—” The sight of the sketchbook in her hand causes any further words to falter.
“What is this?” she asks in a horrified whisper, holding up the page of her topless drawing.
My blood rushes through my veins, heating my face. There’s no avenue here but the truth. “I can explain.” The quick step back from me when I approach her is a knife in my chest.
“You were following me in the woods. It was you. I thought…” Her chest rises and falls faster. “I wasn’t imagining it.”
“I’m sorry. When I saw you?—”
My explanation is cut short as she rushes out my front door. She’s made it down my steps into the yard when I get to the porch. “Calli! Wait.”
Pausing, she spins around and shakes her head. “Don’t come near me!”
The fear in her voice is tearing me to scraps. “I won’t.” Holding up my palms, I stay on my bottom step. “Please, don’t be afraid of me. I’d never hurt you. Just let me explain.”
Fear battles with rage on her face. “Who was the man yesterday?” she demands. “You sent someone to follow me.”
“No. Listen, please. That had nothing to do with it. I don’t know who that was.”
“You were stalking me!” she shouts, throwing the sketchbook at me. “Why?”
The words spill out without thought. “You shine.”
It’s the truth but not a good explanation. Her frown deepens and she takes another step back. If I don’t tell her everything, I’m going to lose her. She’s going to think I’m some kind of monster who was stalking her through the woods all this time. “I wanted to draw you. I was out in the woods to do some sketches and I stumbled onto you at the creek. Once I saw you, nothing else was worth touching my pencil. You were so happy and all I could think about was capturing that moment. It was wrong. I should’ve left or told you I was there. I’m sorry.”
