“All by yourself?” His brows furrow in…concern.
Concern? You’ve got to be kidding me.
I shrug. “So?” I make this journey in the dark multiple times—from school to home, work to home, study session to home, to name a few—and I haven’t had many problems, except for a homeless dude on crack, chasing me for food back in August but it’s not out of the ordinary for me. I’m from Miami, Florida.
Need I say more?
“At midnight?”
“What’s with all the questions, Carson? Can’t you save them for our next tutoring session?”
“There won’t be a session if you walk home alone and get attacked by a fucking creep! And I may be an asshole in your eyes but I refuse to let you walk home alone.”
“Creep?” I roll my eyes. “I’m more in danger of getting attacked by you than a homeless dude on crack, given how much I’ve been seeing you today alone.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m letting you walk home alone,” he argues.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I reply, “I can take care of myself, Carson.”
“I do not doubt that,Just Diana.” He runs one hand through his light brown locks hastily. “But there’s no point when I’m already heading in the same direction.”
“Already?” The girl next to him whines. “But it’s just getting fun.”
I think amid this conversation, we forgot that she was still here. We both turn our heads to her and it’s then I notice how close our faces are.
All it would take is for either of us to move even a centimeter closer…
I take a step back, putting some space between us. Maybe the hot air inside this house is getting to me and I really need some fresh air. So I grab the door while he’s distracted with who I assume is his sister and step outside, immediately getting hit by the chill, mid-October breeze.
“Thank fuck,” I mutter to myself. I check my pockets for my phone and realize that I had left it charging in my room. I let out a groan and run a hand through the ends of my hair.
I guess that means…
Carson and that girl (I seriously don’t know her name) walk right out and when his eyes find me waiting by the door, he gestures with his free hand to follow.
“Fine,” I mutter and walk behind them.
One minute, I’m annoyed by Carson’s chivalry, and the next, I’m following him around like a lost nymph.
Boys are so fucking complicated.
10
Late Night Walks
Carson
I truly didn’t think she was gonna say yes.
Technically, she didn’t say yes but I got a mumbled agreement out of her mouth as she started following me and a drunk Carly—who is slung over my shoulder, laughing her ass off at a squirrel that just wandered by—back to my house.
Since Carly is in no shape to drive back to her apartment, I’m taking her back to my house to sober her up and let her sleep it off. After spending the entire summer break stressing out about post-production for her film that premiered on Friday, she deserved to let loose and have some fun until her next project.
“I get knocked down, but I get up again,” Carly sings drunkenly while dancing. “You’re never gonna get me down!”
“Shhhh!” I cover her mouth with my one free hand. “You’re gonna wake up half the neighborhood!”
She bites my hand, causing me to yank it away. “What the fuck, Carly!”
