My heart skipped a beat.
Was he asking me out on a date?
His eyes were alluring, and I almost agreed, but then I caught myself.
I forced myself to look away, focusing on a spot behind him.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I can,” I told him.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know you. I mean sure you saved me that night and I know your name, but…” I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence as he grabbed my chin and lifted my gaze to meet his.
His touch was gentle, but he was a complete stranger, and today my reaction was more normal than yesterday in the park.
“What are you doing?” I asked him, alarmed.
He let me go as if my skin had burned him.
“I’m sorry,” the confusion on his face made him look surprisingly vulnerable.
“It’s a little weird and intense, the way you’re acting,” I explained.
“Again I’m sorry. I should show more restraint. I would really like to talk to you though, get to know you better, and I thought doing so over a meal would make it easier.”
There was something in me that urged me to accept his invitation despite the fact that every logical part of me told me not to.
“Just dinner,” I found myself saying before I could stop the words from escaping me.
“Yes, I’ll even let you pick the place.”
“Okay.”
“Would it be okay if I picked you up here after work today?”
“Yes,” I replied after some consideration.
He smiled triumphantly before he turned and walked away, and I was yet again left with a feeling of confusion in his wake.
When he was gone my common sense returned to me and I was outraged by what I had just done. Going to dinner with a stranger was not a good idea, even if he saved you from creepy men in alleys.
Besides, he seemed to know more about me than he should, like where I worked and when I was finished at said work for the day.
“Who’s the mystery man?” Crystal asked in a whisper as the door closed shut after Seth.
Her brown eyes were glowing in anticipation of gossip.
I loved Crystal, she was a great friend, but she had a tendency to be a little too nosy sometimes.
“He’s just some guy. It’s not important,” I said dismissively.
“Oh come on. Just some guy?” She obviously thought there was more to it.
“Yes.” I wasn’t ready to talk about him.
There wasn’t much to tell anyway apart from the fact that he had saved me, but I didn’t want to talk about that night. I’d told my mom about it, and after that I’d promised myself not to talk about it again.
Even though nothing had happened, it could have, and it had still been a traumatic experience.
“It looked like you guys were having a moment, just saying. It seemed a little too intense for him to be ‘just some guy,’” she pointed out, flipping her caramel curls behind her shoulder.
I didn’t reply.
“So what did he want?” she asked impatiently as we walked over to the counter to take care of some customers who were ready to pay for their books.
“He asked me to dinner,” I replied once the customers were leaving and we were alone again.
“And?”
“And…I said yes,” I sighed.
“Well once you’re ready to tell me more about him, I want details,” Crystal said with a smile.
“Whatever.” I couldn’t help but smile back at her.
“He’s very handsome, though he does look a little scary,” Crystal admitted, a thoughtful expression on her face.
She meant the scars, I was sure of it. And it was true, he did look quite intimidating.
“I guess,” I shrugged.
She knew I was ready to move on from the topic, so she let it drop. I was grateful that despite her nosiness, she wasn’t the type to push too hard for information.
I was distracted the rest of my workday, which made me clumsy, and I kept bumping into stuff or almost dropping things. By the end of the day I was full of annoyance at Seth, because this was all his fault.
When I was about to leave, a part of me hoped he would stand me up, but when I walked out of the store, he was already there waiting for me.
He was wearing black jeans again, but his sweater was navy today, and instead of carrying his coat he was wearing it.
His pristine clothing was such a contrast to his rugged looks, but it looked good, and I couldn’t help but notice how well the colors suited him. My heart did a little flutter at the sight of him.
He directed a crooked smile at me.
This was just dinner, and by the end of it I would tell him to leave me alone.
I’d decided that I did not need this man—who made my body react in strange ways and said things I didn’t understand—to be a part of my life.
When I approached him his smile widened, and he was practically beaming down at me when I finally stood in front of him.
“Do you know where you want to eat yet?” he asked me.
“Not really, I haven’t had time to consider it,” I replied.
In actuality I just hadn’t been able to decide on a place since my ability to think had been slightly impaired by his earlier, sudden appearance, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.
“I have a suggestion then. It might be a little forward, and it’s not some kind of trick or anything I promise, but I would like to take you to my place.”
I was speechless for a moment. “Absolutely not.”
Seth frowned at my response, but I didn’t care. I was not letting him take me back to his place.
No matter what he said, that was a phrase I’d heard plenty of times and it was always a trick. It never meant just dinner or just talking or just hanging out. No, not happening.
“I’ll have you know, I’m a great cook, but fine, your loss,” he said begrudgingly.
He thought for a moment. “There’s a diner not far from here. I’ll take you there instead.”
He was clearly displeased, but I didn’t care. I was not going home with him.
“Fine,” I said.
The diner was one I’d passed by several times, but never actually gone into. It smelled like fried food and coffee, and my stomach rumbled at the prospect of getting to eat.
Seth led me to a table in a corner, away from everyone else.
He motioned for me to sit in one of the two chairs against the wall while he sat in one of the two chairs opposite from me, positioning himself between me and the other customers.
“Well if it isn’t Seth King himself,” the waitress—a small, round, older woman—exclaimed happily when she arrived at our table.
Seth tensed at her approach, but then he relaxed again when he heard her voice.
“Hello, June,” he smiled warmly at the woman.
“You haven’t been around in weeks,” she swatted at his arm and gave him a stern look, but it soon melted away to something affectionate.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy with…work,” he said.
The way he said it was strange, but June seemed to understand his meaning just the same and made a sympathetic sound.
She turned to me and gave me a curious look before returning her attention to Seth.
“Will it be the usual for you then?” she asked him.
“Definitely.”
“And you, dear?” she asked, turning to me again.
“What would you recommend?” I asked as I had no idea what was good on the menu.
“The pancakes are my favorite. They’re the best in town. If you want something that’s not so breakfasty I would go for the Pinewood burger or the moon stew.”
It was a strange name for a dish, I mused.
I decided to go for the pancakes though because they sounded good.
“I’ll only be a minute,” June said as she disappeared through a set of doors I guessed led to the kitchen.
She came back not long after with a tray holding a plate stacked with fluffy, golden pancakes and a small bottle of maple syrup for me, and a big plate loaded with scrambled eggs, bacon, and a rack of freshly toasted bread for Seth.
It was a lot of food, but he was a big man and I expected he needed it to sustain all that bulk and muscle.
She also brought two glasses and a pitcher filled with water—ice cold, judging by the layer of condensation covering the outside of it.
“Thank you, June,” Seth said, placing a hand on her arm and giving it a gentle squeeze.
When we were alone again Seth looked at me expectantly as I was about to take my first bite. The attention made me slightly uncomfortable, but I was so hungry and the pancakes smelled so good.
When I put the first bite in my mouth I could see why they were dubbed the best pancakes in town. They were the best pancakes I’d ever had in my whole life, and I let out a contented sigh.
Seth smiled and nodded approvingly before he dug in to his own food.
“I think all diners should have an all-day breakfast menu,” I commented as I shoveled more of the delicious pancakes into my mouth.
“I fully agree with that,” Seth chuckled.
I felt a lot more comfortable around him than I thought I should.
While we ate Seth asked me about my job, my hobbies, my family, and he listened with such rapt attention, it was almost unnerving. Like everything I said was the most important thing in the world.
I asked him my own questions too when I felt the attention on me became too much.
I learned that he was an only child, though he’d always wished he’d had an older brother. The expression on his face as he said it had confused me.
He had grown up here in Pinewood Valley, like me, but he’d apparently been homeschooled.
He was only two years older than me, but sometimes he seemed to be even older. There was a heaviness weighing on him, I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
Despite my previous doubts about having dinner with him, and the strange moment when he had tensed and glared at two men sitting a few tables away from us, I really enjoyed myself with Seth.
He walked me home, and we said our goodbyes. I found myself smiling as I opened my door and walked into my apartment.
But then the smile froze on my face. The sound of shuffling feet and rummaging fabric turned my blood to ice. A lamp was turned on in my living room, and a shadowy figure stood in the halflight.
There was someone inside here with me.
