In the laundry room, he emptied his pockets, keys, wallet, his phone, then shrugged out of his jeans and shirt, tossing them in the hamper. He snagged his phone, climbed the stairs in the kitchen, then wandered down the hallway, and slipped under the soft comforter in his bedroom. With a final click, the TV flickered on, bathing the room in muted light as he scrolled for something to watch.
Picking up his phone, Rawley’s thumb hovered over the screen. It was late, past midnight and he didn’t want to disturb Skylar if she’d already fallen asleep, so he sent a message.
Are you alright?He watched the three gray dots pulse rhythmically.
I am, but still a little nervous.
I can understand that. Don’t hesitate to call me.
I won’t. Would you like to have dinner at my place tomorrow night?
He grinned.Yes.
Okay. Good. I’ll see you around six if that’s good for you.
It is. I’ll see you then. Sleep well.
You too. Good night.
Night.
Rawley plugged the charger into the phone, the small white cable snaking across his nightstand. He set the device face-down, then reached for the remote, scrolling through streamingoptions until settling on an old Western he’d seen a dozen times before.
****
Saturday morning, Skylar woke before the sun did. She was so nervous about Rawley coming to dinner tonight, plus the fact, she couldn’t stop thinking about those men following them. That scared her and she hoped they would leave her and Rawley alone.
As she sat at her desk in her office, she stared at the words on the screen, but they all ran together. She jumped when her phone vibrated against the desk. She picked it up to see Ryan’s smiling face and pressed answer.
“Hi,” she said.
“Good morning. I was hoping you were up,” Ryan said.
“I’ve been up since before the sun.”
“Why?”
Skylar took a deep breath and told her what had happened.
“Oh, my God! Skylar, you and Rawley should have called the sheriff’s department.”
“They didn’t do anything. Rawley wasn’t sure it was them in that truck and what could we say? That they were bothering me?”
“Yeah, I understand. I just hope they don’t come around.”
“I know. Me too. Between thinking about Rawley coming to dinner and those asshats, I’m a nervous wreck.”
“Why are you nervous about Rawley? You had a good time, other than those men, right?”
“Yes. He kissed me. Damn, he can kiss.” Skylar sighed, then smiled when Ryan laughed.
“Nothing better than a good kisser. I have one of those too.”
“Please stop. I am so jealous of how happy you and Seth are. He’s so in love with you.”
“And I feel the same about him.”
“I know you do. I am happy for you though. You know that.”
