AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dammit. I knew I should’ve spruced up on my fake English accent.
“Can you just let me get by? I’m trying to go home,” I plead. I’m long past being patient at this point.
A gasp escapes my lips as he grabs onto my shoulders, leaning in far too close for my liking. “I’ll take you home, don’t you worry.”
“Get your hands off of me.” I attempt to pull back. “Let me go!”
“Oi!” A loud voice commands from a few feet behind us, causing the man to freeze in place.
I know that assertive tone. It’s one that I’ve grown all too familiar with over the past few weeks.
Warren.
He came after me.
“Fuck off, Dodgy!”
This is Dodgy?
Warren storms towards us. Not only is his temper making itself visible on his face, but I can see it in the way both hands are clenched into a fist, his nostrils flare, and how his eyes fill with rage.
It only takes a few strides for Warren to reach my side, where suddenly, my panic is replaced with a strange sense of relief—despite his less-than-friendly appeal.
“She’s with you?” Dodgy speaks back up, a hint of remorse in his tone as he releases his grasp. “Sorry, Park…” he stutters over his words. “I wouldn’t have gone for her if I knew she was…yours.”
I can’t help but notice the way Dodgy stumbled backward at the mere sight of Warren like a scolded puppy putting its tail between its legs. It feels as though everyone around here knows Warren respects him. Yet what catches me most off guard is Dodgy’s use of the word “yours” and Warren’s lack of hesitation to deny it.
“You listen when someone tells you “no,” or you’re going to get yourself into a whole lot of trouble. You hear me?”
I almost scoff as I’m reminded of our stand-off at the bar. It takes everything in me to bite my tongue and not tell Warren to take a piece of his own advice.
“Yes, Warren,” Dodgy responds, his voice barely audible as he scurries away down the street.
I wait until he’s out of sight before looking up at Warren, who’s been visibly surveying my frame the entire time with a look I can’t decipher for the life of me.
“Are you alright?” he asks. Concern breaking free from his stare.
I nod faintly. Though I’m not okay. I look pitiful—standing out here alone in a t-shirt and having to warm myself up with my bare arms. All the while having to deal with strangers, including the man who somehow still feels like one standing across from me.
“Right…” Warren mutters, taking off his jacket and placing it around my shoulders. Before I know it, I’m engulfed in the warmth that once radiated off of his body, not to mention the heavenly scent of…him. A scent I can hardly put my finger on but would recognize in a heartbeat…would be content to linger on my skin forever.
“Right, what?” I ask quietly, wrapping his jacket around me without thinking twice. My teeth are chattering, but now I’m not sure if it’s from the cold or because I’m out here on an empty street alone with Warren—a tempting thought that makes my mind wander beyond belief.
“Let’s go on a walk,” he proposes, gesturing his head to the side as his hands find their way into his pockets. “We need to talk.”
I’ve never knownsomeone to say, “We need to talk,” but remain virtually silent.
We must have been walking for 15 minutes by now, and not a peep has left his mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever heard silence so loud. Something is troubling yet soothing about having this quiet between the two of us—it almost feels as though we’re having two separate conversations in our minds but are too afraid to vocalize them to one another.
“So…” I finally speak up, toying with the cuffs of his jacket sleeves to keep my hands busy. I hadn’t realized just how muchthey draped over me until now. “Where exactly are we walking to?”
I hear him release a breath and, in my peripheral vision, stop a few feet ahead. “Take a look for yourself.”
I peer up from my feet, only to be met with familiar surroundings—it’s a place I come to every single day. We weren’t just walking absent-mindedly. Warren knew where he was leading me.
“The field?” I question, tilting my head inquisitively—I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it lit up at night like this. It’s a magnificent sight, though it lessens the sky above us, making my heart wince. “What are we doing back here?”
Warren peers over at me for a brief moment—and the look in his eyes reminds me of the time we first met. He was so unsure, yet I could see him fighting it in his eyes. I never thought I could unsettle someone so much, yet Warren has managed to uncover one of my hidden talents. One that’s working his wonders as I watch him fiddle for his keys in his back pocket and reach for the front gate. “Well, I said let’s talk…” he responds point-blank, removing the lock. “So, what better of a place?”
