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“Um, that’s not going to happen,” I inform him. “Well, unless you do something miraculous. Then maybe I will.”

“So I have to earn it?” he questions with a cock of a brow.

“If you think my opinion is worth it. But you barely know me so I don’t know why it would. Well, I take that back. You do know my eye color.”

That gets him to chuckle, his arms lowering to his sides. “Man, you’re ruthless. I put my heart out there and you mock me.”

“Yeah, right? More like you put your stalker tendencies out there and I’m mocking you about it.” I continue teasing him.

“I wasn’t stalking you,” he keeps insisting. “We’re in the same class together.” He’s laughing.

It almost makes me laugh. It’s been a long time since a guy has made me do that.

I cock a brow at him. “Hmmm… Maybe. But that doesn’t explain how you just happen to show up at this park right when I was here.”

His lips part in a shocked laugh. “Hey, I’m with my friends.”

I lift a shoulder. “And that proves your point how?”

I’m mostly joking with him, but I can’t help thinking about how only minutes ago I thought a guy was stalking and chasing me.

That reminder sends my mood nose diving a bit.

I’m starting to turn into a paranoid person. I really.

“They can vouch for me. My friends, I mean.” He nods his head back at where his friends are. I cringe because a few of them are glancing our way. “You can go ask them why we’re here and they’ll tell you the same thing I told you.”

“All right, I believe you.” I need to calm down and stop thinking people are stalking me.

It may have happened once before, but that doesn’t mean every person is out to get me.

Sometimes it feels that way, though…

I sit down onto the grass to continue stretching out my muscles.

He looks down at me, his body a shadow against the glow of the sunset behind him. “I honestly think you never doubted me.” He sits down with me. “I think you just like messing with me.”

I press my hand to my chest. “Me? I’m like the nicest and serious person ever.” I really have to work for this one, struggling not to laugh, because I am definitely not any of those things.

He covers his mouth with his hand, probably to conceal his laughter. “You most definitely are,” he finally manages to get out with a straight face.

I roll my eyes. “Dude, you were doing so well until then. Don’t bullshit me now.”

He massages the side of his neck while chuckling under his breath. “All right, you are definitely not the most serious person I’ve ever met. I do think you’re nice, though. Maybe not to everyone. But you are to Zayla.” He stretches his legs out to the side of him.

Part of me wants to tell him to go away, that he can’t sit here and stretch with me. That I like being alone.

But I don’t. I don’t even fully know why. Maybe because I don’t want to be alone now that it’s dark? I also really don’t mind his company, and I question if it’s because of him or if my forced anti-social behavior has started to cause loneliness to consume me.

He leans to the side and then he touches his hand to his foot.

“That’s a fair assumption.” Speaking of Zayla. “Since you seem set on stretching with me, I get to ask you a question.”

He smiles at that while shaking his head. “Go ahead and ask.”

I put my legs together and slant forward. “Do you know Trystan St. Clairford?”

“Yeah, he’s in my frat.” A short pause. “Why?”