Chapter 9
Felix
It’s the middle of the night, and I slide my sweatpants on and don a stupid Cornell hoodie. My steps are silent as I creep down the stairs and sneak out the back door. I know I’m playing with fire; if Father finds out, I can’t even imagine what he’d do, but I can’t help it.
I saw him twice today for a reason, and I can’t get him out of my mind.
I have to see him.
My mind goes back to the way Torren watched me at the school. His lips were curled in a soft smile, his head resting on his fist, like he was happily daydreaming as he watched me. He looked so handsome like that. So open.
When he realized I had seen him, he fled the scene. Why can’t he just admit he’s into me? I know he feels it too. There’s a link—we’re locked in on each other the moment we’re in the other’s orbit.
And then the whole carburetor thing?
I mean, come on. I have a dream of my dead mother handing me a fucking car part, and there he is holding the exact samething? It’s all too serendipitous not to meansomething.
My bike rattles on the broken roads as I race along the empty streets. My palms are slick with sweat, and they slide about my handlebars. I’m so nervous. It’s one thing to be a little shit at the diner, but driving to his home late at night is, admittedly,a lot.
The auto repair shop comes into view, and I slow down and stop about 10 yards from the entrance.
This is it.There’s no telling what might happen, but I’m here. There’s a part of me that’s proud of the fact that I’m being a category five creeper. Old Felix would have never done this, but, like my impulsive decision to get a job atMaggie’s, I’m shooting from the hip. If I think too much about what I’m doing, I’ll stop myself, and I don’t want to do that. I want tolive.
I hop off the bike and slowly roll up to the garage doors. I rest the bike against the wall and scan the area. Do I knock on the garage door? Would he even hear it?
The building across the street is a rundown warehouse. It doesn’t look like it’s in use anymore, which makes me a little nervous. Running around the Patch this late at night is dangerous. My feet scrape along the ground as I study the entrance, and I nearly fall on a large piece of concrete that’s broken from the sidewalk. A cat screams, and so do I.
Jesus Christ!
How can an empty street make me shake in my shoes, but I’m perfectly fine chasing after a notorious criminal?
This would be a great subject for a therapist if Father would let me talk to one.
I walk around the perimeter of the building, hoping to find a window that will reveal where he lives. The moment I roundthe corner, I see a light on in one of the second-story windows and run to it. I look up…
My God, he’s beautiful.
There he is, shirtless and chugging a fucking beer. Like he’s ready to brood around, make a mess in the kitchen, then scream, “STELLA!”from the bottom of a staircase. He’s so virile. Between that black hair and his tan skin…
Woof.
When the beer is done, he holds it above his mouth, savoring the last few drops that drip to his tongue, and tosses it. I can hear it clank against the wall from down here.
I don’t know if Torren being drunk is the best way to meet him outside of work, but I came all the way here. Maybe it’s a good thing? Perhaps he’ll drop his defenses in his tipsy state. I search the sidewalk for some gravel, pick up a few tiny pebbles, and begin hurtling them at his window.
Torren is about to crack another beer open when he hears the first pebble hit the windowpane. He looks confused, listens a bit more, then goes back to drinking.
I throw another, then another. Finally, he realizes the sound is something hitting against his window, and he goes to it and looks outside.
I’m standing under a streetlight, giving him a clear view of the culprit, and his eyes widen the moment he sees me. A glimmer of excitement flashes across his face, but he quickly sours, before throwing open the window and screaming, “Have you lost your fucking mind? You’re coming to my place? In the middle of the night?”
I’m speechless because he’s shirtless, looking down at me with anger in his eyes, and all I want to do is fall to my knees.
I think back to the first time we met. It all felt so effortless.Why can’t it be like that now?
“I saw you today, Torren. You were watching me at that school.”
He clenches his fist and sighs. “I was in the area. I saw the commotion at the school. I went to see what was going on, and you were there. That’s all.”
