Fall

“I get your point.”

“Do you?” She scooted away from her chair and examined the copier. “All I’m saying is that… every man has the ability to fall in love.”

“Not one who’s thinking with his pants.” I crossed my arms. “Okay, how many copies did you want?”

“Thirty.” She sniffled. “His accent is so nice too.”

“Thirty copies it is.”

“And that tattoo, well it’s positively sinful. Delicious, I always was a fan of tattoos.”

“Is this all you needed?” I said through clenched teeth.

“And did you see the size of his—”

“Stella!”

“Hands dear, his hands. So masculine and lovely — an artist’s hands, that’s what I’d call them.”

“I’ll walk home.”

“I can take you!” Stella argued.

I waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. My house is only a mile away, I have my keys, I can just walk there then take my car up to the condo. Did you happen to get a hold of my parents for me?” Stella may be old but she was a texting machine, I’d texted her during the first stash of boxes to see if she would call them and give them details. The last thing I wanted was my mom and dad freaking out or crying on the phone over me. I was fine. Everything was fine.

Besides.

I didn’t want to hear their sighs when they discovered how much the damage would cost.

The house was paid for; it was the church’s after all.

Our only job? To pay for insurance.

Insurance we didn’t have because my dad paid from month to month and often during the summer and fall months, chose not to pay because it meant putting more food on the table and putting my silly sister through cheer camp.

“Voicemail.” Stella’s tone was low. “I’ll try again, but you really should try too, dear, your parents will want to know you’re safe.”

“I’m safe.” Yeah, right. If safe was living next door to every girl’s fantasy, sure I was super-duper safe. “I texted him,” I offered lamely.

Her eyes narrowed. “Your dad will be fine. He always is, he’ll bounce back from this, don’t worry your head, sugar.”

I nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, ’kay?”

“Alright, dear.” Stella pulled me in for a hug then gently shoved me toward the door. I went back to the room and grabbed my purse and keys and made my way outside.

I was about halfway home when I felt like someone was watching me. Call it paranoia, but I almost started to run.

And then I heard honking.

I turned around ready to ram the car with my purse, when it pulled up alongside the sidewalk. It was Smith’s truck.

“Going somewhere, beautiful?”

“Home.” I bit my lip to keep from smiling like an idiot. “I was going to pick up my car.”

“Better idea.” He tapped his head with his finger. “How about I take you to dinner, then take you to get your car, and then you can go home to your freakishly nice condo and fairy tale next door neighbor?”

“Umm…” I shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t know.” What did I really know about Smith? Other than he was hot and interested? Sure he was Evan’s brother, but did that make him safe?

“Please,” he begged. “I promise I’ll feed you really good food. How could you say no to food? Besides, the company isn’t so bad either.”

“Oh yeah? You bringing someone else?” I joked.

His eyes narrowed but his smile never left his face. “Please?”

I looked down the road again, then nodded. “Fine, but I carry pepper spray, so don’t think you can kidnap me or anything.”

“Noted.” He laughed, then unlocked the doors and reached across to open the passenger side. “Now, let’s go on that date. I’ve been thinking about you all day and I can’t wait to see what you think about this new place.”

“Where’s it at?”

He didn’t answer right away. Smith made a turn in the truck then started making his way toward Highway 101.

“Smith?”

“Canon Beach.” His smile was bright. “It just opened. I swear you’ll think you died and went to heaven.”

“Um, well, okay.” I needed to stop being so paranoid. He was nice, more than nice, and he was taking me to dinner. “I am kind of hungry.”

I lied. I wasn’t hungry. Jaymeson had fed me more food than I ate in two days combined, but still.

My finger hovered over my cell, guiltily I felt like I should let him know where I was. Friends did that, right? Ugh, but we were still on shaky ground and I just… it felt weird.

I pulled up Facebook really quick.

Me: On my way to dinner. If I get kidnapped, I’ll be in Canon Beach.

Jamie Hudson: Please don’t freak me out like that. I’m young but my heart is weak, real weak. Serious. I had heart surgery when I was six. Who are you with? Do you have someone with you?

Me: Smith. He’s a… friend.

Jamie Hudson: Define friend. Is he a friend as in you know his most embarrassing moments and can tell me his favorite color? Or is he a friend in the sense that you know he has really pretty eyes and wants to feed you before he kills you?

Me: Can it be a tie?

Jamie Hudson: Shit.

Me: What?

Jamie Hudson: Just… be careful, okay? Can you check in mid meal? Say you have to go to the bathroom or something.