Oh, right … stupid, confused brain.
“I didn’t think you were the type to read.” I shrug my shoulders.
He laughs and rolls his eyes. “And why not?”
I gesture my hands up and down. “Well, look at you.”
Resting his elbows on the table, he leans forward toward me. “I look at myself all the time. I even—”
I wave my hand in the air, stopping him mid-sentence. I know he was going to say something dirty. I don’t feel like blushing in front of him. He’s a guy who would smirk at me and let me suffer. For God’s sake, he would probably sit back and enjoy the show. But I can’t imagine how he would look under my sheets, hot and sweaty—
Shut up.
I promised myself … I can’t fall for this guy. I can’t like him. I have to hate him. I know nothing about him, yet I feel so connected to him already.
“You just look …” I pause and search for the right words. “You just seem like the type to ride motorcycles and get drunk every day of the week,” I explain. “Not the guy who sits in his bedroom all day and reads books willingly.”
He just stares at me with his jaw clenched. After a while, I shift in my seat and glance down at my lap.
Why is he just looking at me? Did I say something wrong? Is he going to kidnap me and torture me? Damn it, I knew he was in the Mafia!
When I glance back up at him through my eyelashes, I meet his intense stare.
“I’ve never willingly read before,” he admits. His husky, deep voice makes me focus harder than before. “I thought I would try it. It might help me with my boredom.” His eyes travel around the small plaza we’re currently sitting in. “I write.” Leo continues, “But I haven’t been able to write for a while …” He trails off, lost in thought.
So, the mysterious guy writes. I wonder if he writes poetry or books. One day, if he’s still around, I’d definitely like to get my hands on his work. He’s very hard to read. I wonder if reading his work would help me understand him better.
“That’s cool.” I nod at him.
Leo sends me a surprised look before a small smile reaches his lips. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
I pick at my nails awkwardly and jump, surprised when he rises from his seat in a frenzy. Picking up his cup, he throws it into the trash can. I watch as it bounces off the edge and lands inside.
Grabbing his car keys off the table, he nods at me with slightly wide eyes. “Let’s go.”
Telling him we just got here is at the tip of my tongue. I throw away my trash and chase after him. Looking behind me as I run, I find nothing out of the ordinary.
What’s up his butt?
Once he settles into the driver’s seat, he starts the engine. The car speeds off with a squeal just as I slam my door shut.
“Leo!” I gasp as my body jolts forward from the force. Securing my seat belt around my body safely, I can’t help but stare at him in shock.
What was that about?That was the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me.
As he drives out of the parking lot, I spot three teenage girls staring at us in shock. One of them is jumping in happiness, and the other two are looking at each other in confusion.
Does Leo know them and want to avoid them? I decide not to bring it up when I see the look on his face. Annoyance, yet somehow, he makes it look hot.
God, give me strength.
* * *
It’s been two days since Leo took me to the bookstore. It’s been forty-eight hours since the strange moment with him leaving in a hurry without even a warning. After that awkward, silent car ride, he dropped me off at home and told me to come find him when I finished reading chapter five. I just nodded at him and thanked him for the book.
What else more could I have said?
Now, I sit in my room, just thinking. I do that a lot.
