I can meet him again, enjoy his company, and once he’s left for good, it will just be a nice memory for me to revisit from time to time. It’s not even like he’s asked me on an official date or anything. It would just be two people meeting to share some platonic time together.
My mom has long been encouraging me to date. A handful of eligible men at church have made their interest known, but none of them are very interesting to me. After what happened in college with my one and only boyfriend, I haven’t been able to work up the nerve. I don’t ever want to feel that way again. My parents don’t understand my hesitance, but I’m too ashamed to explain to them what happened all those years ago.
“Okay, we can meet again.”
Bastion gives me a pleased grin. It’s the first time I’ve seen a full smile on his face, and the effect is overwhelming. A set of perfectly white teeth lights up his entire face, more beautiful than I thought possible since he’s very much the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen in person.
“Wonderful. Same time, same place?” He arches an eyebrow.
I nod. “Sure.” My voice comes out reedy and thin.
He stands from the chair and towers over me, looking down at me. “I’ll see you then.”
Without another word, he turns on his heel and leaves without a backward glance, which disappoints me more than it should.
No matter, I’m excited to have news to tell Taylor. Bit by bit, I just need to put myself out there a little more.
5
BASTION
Iwake up and roll onto my back, whipping the scratchy sheets off my body. I might be staying at the best hotel in town, but it’s a far cry from what I’m used to these days. There was a time in my life when I would’ve thought this place was the Four Seasons, but those days are long behind me, and I swore to myself that I’d never go back.
Getting out of bed, I walk the short distance to the bathroom and turn on the shower. It takes a whole ten minutes for the damn thing to warm up before I step under the spray. Tilting my head back, I close my eyes as the warm water washes over my face and picture Hattie sitting on the couch in that café last night.
She has the street smarts of a baby kitten. She didn’t even know a predator was in her midst. The woman is naïve at best, stupid at worst.
Just the thought of her is triggering, though. Being in her company, it was a struggle to keep myself together. Every glance at her healthy demeanor, clean clothes, and the way she presents herself to the world—it all screams well-adjusted. A typical, normal upbringing. Something I was never afforded.
My hand grips the wet strands of my hair until my skull aches. It took everything in me not to unleash the toxic fury brewing inside me when I was around her last night.
One thing about Hattie—she’s lonely. It was obvious in the way she sucked up my attention. Sure, she was fidgety at first, but she reminded me of a helpless puppy, panting with its tongue hanging out, sitting at your feet just begging for attention. And every time I gave it to her, she lapped it up, wanting more.
The best thing, though, is I’m pretty sure she’s attracted to me, which makes all of this easier.
You don’t spend twenty-plus years scamming people and not get good at reading them. Reading the subtext of their words, their body language, and the things they’re not saying but wish they could ask for.
My laugh echoes off the shower tiles around me. What a stupid cunt. This con will surely be the easiest I’ve ever encountered.
After my shower, I get dressed and grab something to eat at a shitty diner down the street. I glance at my phone as I’m leaving, satisfied with my perfect timing.
When I pull up to the curb in front of the triplex where Hattie rents an apartment, she’s leaving the building and heading to her car. She’s wearing a pair of billowy white dress pants and a light blue blouse that’s practically buttoned up to her neck and covers her arms.
I wait twenty minutes before I approach the building.
Mr. Smith’s report let me know that she lives on the ground floor of her building—never a good idea for a single woman. Derelicts like me will only use it to their advantage, and that’s exactly whatI’m doing with a reflective vest and baseball cap on. With my blue pants and matching polo, I look official, as though I’m here to take a meter reading or check out the building’s landscaping. I even have a clipboard and pen in hand as I round the back of the building to figure out what my best point of entry will be.
It doesn’t take long for me to figure out that the west side of the building is where I need to be. It separates the building from the house on the street behind it, and lucky me, there’s a fence and tall cedars that run along it. Unless someone comes around the corner, I’m practically undetectable.
With one final check that no one is around, I toss the clipboard and pen on the small round table Hattie’s set up on her back patio.
These sliding glass doors will do just fine. Pulling the screwdriver I brought with me from my back pocket, I approach the door, then get down on my haunches in front of it. It takes me longer than I’d like to get the door to jump its tracks—which I attribute to how long it’s been since I had to do something like this. I’m out of practice. But when I’m finally successful, the blast of adrenaline that pours through my veins is the rush I forgot. God, I’ve missed it.
It’s not like I’ve been a saint for the past decade, but I haven’t had to resort to doing shit like this.
I make my way into Hattie’s apartment and secure the door behind me, then I take a moment to look around. It’s pretty much what I expected—clean and tidy without a whole lot of stuff lying around. The furniture looks as though it may have been passed down to her. Though it’s dated, it’s been taken care of, and there’s a crochet blanket folded neatly and draped acrossthe armrest of the couch. Her TV isn’t oversized, and in the corner of the room is a large basket.
Slipping the latex gloves from my pocket, I slide them on as I step over to the basket and look inside. It holds a bunch of yarn.
