And do you want to know what else? I don’t think I like Chase Ryder anymore. Not that I liked him before. I mean, I barely know the man. Sure, he looks rather handsome in his jeans and Henley-style shirt today. They look brand-new, by the way. At least he’s not wearing those stupid dress pants. Come to think of it, he was wearing jeans on our “date.” Jeans and a lightweight sweater. He dressed down. It’s too bad the shiny shoes are still in the picture. They look odd with the jeans.
“Well…,” I say, finishing off my food. “Thanks for stopping.” I’ve got my hands on my hips now and I’m looking right at him.
“I’m—May I finish my food?” he asks with a little hesitancy in his voice.
“Sure. Finish up.” I turn toward the adjacent room to retrieve the next piece of trim, hoping it fits where it’s supposed to.
“Did I do something wrong? Did I offend you?”
He’s right behind me. And I meanrightbehind me. It startles me, but at least I hear the footsteps this time which means he didn’t end up getting a board to the head again. I turn my head until our eyes meet. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
He’s stupidly close; I can feel his breath on my cheek. I should ask him to back up. I really should. Instead, I stand stock-still and respond, “I’m sure.”
“Because I was concerned about you ingesting something harmful from the floor. There are carcinogens in saw dust.” He raises his hand and I watch in stunned silence as he uses his finger to push a strand of my hair away from my face.
What the ef?
Doing my best to act like that was nothing, I smile at his words. “Well aware. Ingesting stuff from a jobsite is part of it.”
“But—”
Looking down, I see I’ve got a small space in which to turn. I do until I’m facing him. Well, looking up at him, anyway. “Thanks for caring.” Sure, there’s a little sarcasm there, but part of it was sincere.
“I do.” He swallows. “Care.”
“Why?” We just met.
“I’m not sure.” He laughs. And smiles. Both real. Or they seem real. When he stops, we’re both standing in the same spot. Staring at one another. I’m not sure if I should be the one to end this little standoff or not. I kind of like it.
“Have dinner with me.”
Now I’m the one who laughs. “We did that.”
“You didn’t enjoy it?”
I shrug and do my best to look away. He’s got a way of staring at me that makes me feel, well, like he’s got power over me. “I should have picked a different place.”
“Why?” I glance up and see he’s smirking. “I’m a meatloaf convert now.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Let me take you to Excelsior.”
“My truck is in the shop.” I won’t be able to get there.
“I wondered… I didn’t see it out front.”
No. I hitched a ride with my dad. “My starter went out on it.”
“You don’t have another vehicle?”
I recognize that look. I’ve seen it a gazillion times throughout my life.
Judgy.
“No. I don’t have another vehicle. It should be fixed by Friday.” He says it’ll be Friday, but Hal’s full of it. In all honesty, I don’t know when I’ll get Toni back. It takes Hal forever and a day to fix cars. If he weren’t the only place in Zodiac Hills, I’d go somewhere else, but hisisthe only place in town. Towing it to Excelsior isn’t in my budget. Don’t bother bringing that up.
