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That was it.
And all during the physical activities, he was fully engaged and open.
"Everything alright?" I asked, stopping short as I reached into the closet to pull out my duffle bag and place it on my side of the bed, digging out the galaxy-print leggings, a tank, and the red wine-colored shrug along with some underthings.
"Fine," he said in that creepy dead tone of his. He was watching me as I piled my clothes, his face guarded, eyes cold.
I had a strong urge to take my clothes and go into the bathroom. But, at the same time, I knew he was watching me. And he wasn't watching me in the way I often found him doing over the past few months and, especially, since we hooked up. That was the kind of watching where he was trying to catch my smile or trying to imagine me naked. This was a completely different kind of watching. This was invasive and clinical and it seemed to leave my body cold and my skin slimy.
But it felt like a test.
It felt like he wanted me to take my clothes and walk away, like in doing so, I was somehow proving some silent point of his.
So I reached for the tuck in my towel and I pulled it, grabbing the towel and tossing it on the edge of the bed as I reached for my panties. He watched every single move I made, hardly blinking, and I tried my best to not be bothered by it.
I was bothered.
But I didn't want him to know it.
I was hoping that maybe it was just some little bullshit thing that got him in a pissy mood and that if I didn't focus on it too much, it might go away on its own.
I should have known better.
Problems didn't just go away.
Anytime I saw Renny for the rest of the day, he was always further away from me than usual, not smiling, and barely interacting with anyone.
"Come on," he demanded sometime around midday right after I finished straightening up the mess the guys had all left around, trying to remind myself not to be pissed about it seeing as it was a clubhouse and was never known for being immaculate before.
"Come where?" I asked, turning to find him waving keys at me. "We can't leave. You're in charge here," I reminded him.
"Lo said she would hold down the fort."
"Why?" I asked, knowing very little was more important to a Henchmen than loyalty. And he was supposed to be protecting the women and kids.
"Because I have a surprise for you."
I should have been thrilled.
When men spontaneously had a surprise for you, you were supposed to be excited and happy and just about bursting.
But instead, my stomach twisted almost painfully and my heart seemed to freeze in my chest.
"What kind of surprise?" I asked cautiously.
"Get your purse and let's head out," he said instead of answering, making me all the more sure that something was up.
But I went to grab my wallet, slipped into the flats Ash had packed, and followed him into the garage where we loaded into the SUV and headed out onto the main drag.
He pulled to a park just barely two minutes down the road in front of a storefront with a sign that was unfamiliar to me, but the name on it was familiar.
She's Bean Around.
It was the coffeehouse Cyrus worked at.
"Renny, you really shouldn't be..." I started, but he jumped out and walked toward the sidewalk, "in public until we are sure the threat was gone fully," I added to myself as I reached for the door handle and let myself out. "What is this? A date?" I asked as he moved silently toward the door and held it open for me.
But he didn't answer, just let me inside and followed behind.
The inside toed the line between intimate and packed with about ten small tables of two lining there walls and a couch seating section in the center around a coffee table. There was a counter along the fourth wall with a giant blackboard with multi-colored chalk outlining the menu.
Two women were behind the counter- a stunning redhead and an equally stunning black woman, both in black pants and a black tee with the store's name across the front.
The music was loud and almost overwhelming, but according to the sign near the register: "Our music keeps us from slapping rude customers. No, we will not turn it down or change the station. K, thanks."
I turned back to Renny only to find him several feet away, standing near a table where two people were crammed in the space where only one was supposed to be sitting, watching me.
And those people?
Yeah, they would be my parents.
Parents I hadn't seen in eight years, mind you. Parents I had purposely walked away from. Parents who were to blame for every bit of coolness I wore like a shield.
