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“I know.” That’s his only response before he indicates for me to stay put while he enters my house. All I can do is stand here and pace, trying to pretend that none of this is happening.
After a few minutes, he reappears in the doorway, no gun in sight. “You can come in now.”
“I’m sorry for wasting your time, but thank you for checking.” I drop my purse and slip off my shoes, depositing them on the floor next to my cowboy boots. Jay stares at them for a second before looking at me.
“Why do you work at the bar?”
“Why does anyone work anywhere? I need the money,” I say a little too defensively. “I’m sorry, that was rude. I’m a little tense.” I rub my face again, careful not to knock my glasses off, feeling too aware of him watching me.
“The library doesn’t pay you well?” He asks, not at all phased by my earlier comment.
“It does. I mean, I live comfortably on my salary, but all the renovations I needed to do to my house made things tight. Then Kyle kept up-charging me and adding costs… Working at the bar two days a week until September ends will get me caught up.” Once again explaining myself to a man that I hardly know and owe nothing to.
What is it about him that makes me involuntarily spill my guts?
If he was still just a stranger at the bar, I would shut down personal questions, but I guess I have nothing to hide. It doesn’t bother me that I am starting to feel a little less guarded around him. It’s a nice change of pace from my norm.
“I didn’t mean to pry but I’ve noticed a rougher crowd there. I don’t want to see you mixed up in it.”
“Like you?” I counter jokingly, but his face falls.
“Yeah,” he laughs but it doesn’t sound like a real one. “Like me.”
Before I can interject, and tell him I meant no harm, he clears his throat, speaking up again. “I checked the whole house, but you know it better than anyone. Is there anywhere else you want me to look before I leave? To make sure you feel safe tonight. You’ll need to change your locks as soon as you can. That way you don’t need to worry about Kyle coming in uninvited anymore.”
His ability to bring me back to reality and remind me of the potential danger that I’m in is unsettling, but I’m glad he’s aware of risks that I might not be. Though, I still don’t know why he cares. It’s making my crush on him a little too real and I don’t think I’ll be able to handle the rejection when he realizes nothing can come of this.
Not that a relationship is even something that he’s interested in… I can’t fathom any other reason why a man would be showing me such kindness unless he wanted to sleep with me. Which is not going to happen.
Speaking of sleeping. “There is somewhere in my bedroom I’d like you to look if you don’t mind.” I’m halfway up the stairs before I realize how that might have come across.
“Oh my God. I didn’t mean that to sound sexual. There’s an attic in my room,” I clarify. I’m too embarrassed to turn around and look at him, but I hear him stifling a laugh with a cough as he follows me up the stairs.
Despite the platonic nature of his being here, it feels incredibly personal to have a man in my room. It’s been years since I’ve had a man in my space.
“I like your house,” he says as we enter my room.
“Thank you. I wanted it to feel like home and I’m starting to get there. You know what I mean?”
He shrugs but doesn’t respond.
“It’s a vibe thing I guess. I want to spend all of my time here because my favorite things are here and I feel safe. Everything I buy is personal, just for me. None of my college apartments felt like this. Like home.”
He’s studying me closely, probably because I’m babbling so I bite my bottom lip to shut myself up and lead him over to a door that looks like a closet. When I open it, I point to the ceiling where a string hangs.
“There’s a moon room up there. I don’t think he’d know about it, but I’ll sleep better tonight knowing that he’s not lurking up there ready to kill me.”
“A moon room?” He asks, staring at the door suspiciously.
“You’ll just have to see what I mean.” I wave him forward, giving him enough space to get past me without taking the chance that we’ll touch. He pulls the string, bringing the stairs down that lead to my little hideout.
“Wow,” he exclaims as he climbs the stairs to the top. I have to turn my whole body to stop from staring at his ass.
Inside is a small alcove closed off from the rest of the attic, only big enough for maybe two people. I wouldn’t know since I’ve only ever been up there by myself.
“The previous owners were astrology buffs. They put the window in so you can look straight up into the sky. It’s one of the reasons that I bought this house, even though I knew it needed a lot of work. I love it up there,” I tell him as he climbs down.
“I can see why. I think I’d sleep up there if I were you.”
