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Axel smirked and sat back. “You joined him eventually?”
“We dated for a while,” I said. “I learned a few tricks. One day, though, he picked up some little nerd girl’s book bag. She had an expensive calculator and some personal items, like a gold bracelet with her name on it. I knew it was a gift. I didn’t want it and told him to put it back.”
“He wouldn’t do it?”
I shook my head. “We got into a fight about it. I got the bag back, though. From then on, I was on my own.”
“You kept doing it, though,” he said.
“Yeah. During high school, while I was there, I didn’t really need the money. I’d pick up a wallet or two, but mostly I was pulling out whatever just to see what it was. I’d put it back in a book bag, or drop it near the kid’s foot and tell him he dropped it.”
“Impressive,” he said. “And you didn’t keep anything? You were just curious?”
I turned my head, looking out the window. It was dark, but the lights outside glowed onto some bushes, casting strange shadows. I found it easier to focus on those rather than Axel. “I didn’t start stealing money until after high school. When I got my GED and left, I was working odd jobs where I could, but I couldn’t ever get something more than part-time, and then very sporadic work.”
“So you did it when you were desperate?” he asked.
I leaned forward, crumbling one of the biscuits between my fingers. “One day I came back to the apartment we were living in, and our things had been thrown out the front door in trash bags. The landlord said the rent hadn’t been paid on time. I didn’t know it before, but Jack hadn’t paid for two months. Two whole months and he didn’t say anything. He was just going to let it happen.”
“Then what?”
“I begged the landlord to give me a day. He almost said no, but then gave me until the next afternoon to find it or he’d make kicking us out permanent. So I went to some of the places I’d been working before, but they didn’t need me. I couldn’t even beg them for a loan. And then I was walking by a hardware store, and a man was loading up his truck in the parking lot. His wallet was sticking out of his back pocket.” I sighed, wiping my fingers on the napkin. “The next thing I know, I had enough to at least convince the landlord to give me a chance. I was lucky that guy had carried so much cash that day. I only needed the one.”
“And you’ve been doing it ever since,” he said.
I nodded. “Yeah. I told myself I’d earn the money back, put it in his wallet and mail it back to him, but…”
“There’s never enough money,” he said. I looked up and those dark eyes had softened, and he was leaning forward, his head resting in his hand as he gazed at me. “But you ended up giving the wallet back without the money anyway.”
“I didn’t want to risk using the credit cards,” I said. “And the rest was useless. At least he’d have his ID and know it was only cash I took. It would make me feel better, I think, knowing my ID wasn’t being used for something horrible. I stuffed it into a mailbox, hoping the Post Office returned wallets.”
The waitress placed down two glasses of white wine and then returned a few minutes later with our food.
I ignored the wine completely at first because I was still hungry. I started on the fries and shrimp.
“We all have our reasons,” Axel said, as he used his fork on his tuna, slicing small pieces. He’d eat a bite, and sip at the wine. He tilted the glass away from him, checking the liquid inside. “This one’s not bad.”
I glanced at my own glass. “Are you supposed to twirl the glass or something?”
“Aeration of a wine happens in the pouring.” He nodded his head toward the glass in front of me. “Go on.”
I twisted my lips and picked up the glass. In the pit of my stomach, I felt a twist.
I told my stomach to shut up and put the glass to my lips. The cool liquid washed over my tongue. At first, it was just a pungent grape juice to me. It wasn’t until after I swallowed that I felt the slight burn of alcohol. I coughed.
“Try it with the shrimp,” he said. “Eat a piece of shrimp and then take in a small bit of wine.”
I did as he directed. The flavor changed slightly. I could still taste some shrimp, and it made the wine less acidic. This time the burn didn’t bother me. I licked my lips after. There was a difference in the flavor as well. “Not bad,” I said.
“You’ll have to try different ones to see if there’s something you like better.”
We ate quietly for a while. I inhaled the rest of my food, occasionally taking sips and finishing the glass. He ordered a second glass for himself, but stopped eating when I was finished with my food. I had a lot on my plate, and there were still fries, a hush puppy and a couple of pieces of shrimp left. Axel asked the waitress to bring a box, and he packed up the rest of my food along with his.
“Ready?” Axel asked after the ticket was left on the table. He put down enough cash for the bill and a tip before he looked up at me. “We should get back to the hotel. Someone should be showing up soon.”
I nodded and started to get up.
Axel got out first, and then his hand stretched out, touching my elbow, escorting me to stand.
I nudged his arm away. “I’m not an old lady,” I said.
He smirked and then reached for my elbow again, holding it. “Guys should always assist old ladies and beautiful women.”
My breath caught. Did he just…? I choked on a retort.
And then it hit me. This wasn’t exactly just dinner. We could have had room service at the hotel, or vending machine food or something. Was this a date? It was odd because it was situational, so it was one of those dates that could be taken as friendly or romantic depending on how you looked at it. Now that I wasn’t hungry, my mind was whirling, trying to figure out what I was doing with him.
He held open the door for me, and I walked out. The temperature had dipped and the breeze from the ocean was sharper now.
Axel walked up beside me, putting an arm around my neck. “Let’s go.”
Way too comfortable. I should tell him about Brandon. Or Marc. Or anyone. I should say I wasn’t interested.
It would have been a lie. I felt a tug inside me. I was drawn to him, compelled to uncover his mystery. I wanted to know all those deep secrets, and while I tried to tell myself it was to know more about the Academy, there was a small part of me that wanted to know the real Axel.
“You never told me about why you were in jail,” I said, my voice softer than I’d meant it to be. Maybe it was the wine, but I felt relaxed with him now. I thought I could talk about anything. “I told you what you wanted to know.”
“You did,” he said and then drew quiet as we started across the street.
“Will you tell me?” I asked.
He directed me toward the SUV. When we were there, he opened the door and then put the box of food inside. He lifted his legs, and started untying his boots.
“What are you doing?”
“Let’s go for a walk,” he said. “Have you been to the beach yet?”
“A bit,” I said. I didn’t know if the others mentioned I’d gone to the beach when I was really out with Blake. “Didn’t go far.”
He took off his shoes and socks and stuck them inside the SUV and shut the door. He found my hand and tugged. “Let’s check it out.”
I relaxed my hand, expecting him to release, but he re-gripped it, adjusting until I was walking beside him and he could weave his fingers between mine.
Holy shit, it was a date. He didn’t appear to show clear interest until now.
It struck me after a moment that he had been showing interest, though. He’d held my hand as he showed me the glowing fish in his room before. He’d pulled me in, almost hugging me at the hospital when we were waiting on Marc getting his leg fixed. The day before, when I’d been on the floor after finding my brother was missing, he’d touched my face in such a concerned way. I’d dismissed it all as friendly.
&n
bsp; The kiss under the bed may have been more than just silencing me.
I walked beside him quietly, and while I let him hold my hand, I was debating what to do. I wanted to shake him off, as I evaluated if I should fake being interested to save Wil and myself.
My heart was heavy as we left the parking lot and crossed toward the beach. Lying about how I felt wasn’t how I operated. It didn’t work too well if I was feeling flitters of romance when I was trying to pretend. My flip-flops scuffled against the sand and I focused on my feet as I tried to pull myself together.
“Come sit,” Axel said. He pointed to a spot out of reach of the tide, a smooth spot of sand on the beach. He waited until I sat down before sitting next to me. He sat back and leaned on his hands, gazing out at the ocean.
I stole glances, trying to read his thoughts, and became entranced by the way the light behind us and the deeper shadows of the night captured his face. His hair blew behind him, occasionally sweeping into his eyes. His jaw was firm. His lips pressed together.
He was quiet for a long time. I pulled my attention away, looking at the ocean, listening to the waves lapping at the shore.
“My parents were super religious,” he said softly after several moments. “And my father was trying to take over a ministry, but not because he loved helping people. He liked being in control. Dominating. Eternal damnation was his favorite phrase.”
I bit my tongue to stop a comment. I forced my eyes to stay on the ocean. Maybe he was more comfortable when I wasn’t looking.
He leaned in, his arm moving behind me, holding me up where I was sitting. It was a small move, and instinct and wine had me leaning back, stealing warmth and using his strength.
His head tilted until heat from his cheek warmed the top of my head. “One day,” he said quieter, “I walked in while my father was beating an altar boy with a cane. The kid had stolen money from the donations and my father was trying to punish him for stealing. Or so he said.”
“He was a jerk,” I said.
