Vince laughs, and I find myself laughing along with him, the awkwardness melting away.
"It rained on us," I say, holding up my soggy shirt like it's evidence of some miracle. "Can you believe that? It's always sunny here. I don't think I've checked the weather once since I moved. Do you realize how insane that is, not checking the weather every day?"
He pulls up to a red light and turns to look at me, his expression unreadable. The steady rhythm of the windshield wipers fills the silence. The weight of his gaze sets my face on fire.
Am I rambling?
Do I have mud on my face?
Why the hell is he staring at me like that?
"Will you run with me again tomorrow?" he asks suddenly, his voice cutting through the silence.
I blink, caught off guard. "Really?"
He laughs as the light turns green. "Yeah. Really."
I hesitate, glancing out the window. "I don't like you having to drive me back and forth like this. It seems ridiculous."
He shoots me a mock glare, his smirk betraying him. "Get over it."
I laugh nervously as he pulls up in front of my apartment and unlocks the doors.
He looks at me expectantly. "Well? Will you?"
I search his face for any sign he's kidding, but his expression is sincere. Slowly, I smile. "Alright. I'll run with you on weekdays. Running buds."
The grin that spreads across his face is like he's just won the lottery, and I have to fight the blush creeping up my cheeks.
Clearing my throat, I search for my keys in the drenched pocket of my shorts and open the car door, trying not to let more water drip onto the pristine interior.
As I step onto the curb, the passenger window rolls down behind me.
"Hey, Andrew."
I freeze, my heart skipping a beat at the sound of my full name. Slowly, I turn, grinning like an idiot. "Yeah?"
Vince stares at me blankly, his mouth twitching into a playful smirk. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."
My brows furrow as I laugh nervously, leaning against the car. His smile is so infuriatingly smug it makes me want to climb back in and... well, something. I don't even know what.
"Bye," he says simply, the word hanging in the air.
I shake my head, grinning as I turn toward my building. "Bye. See you later?"
His hand lifts in a gesture somewhere between a wave and a dismissal, two fingers raised in casual farewell. The tinted glass rises with a soft whir, sealing him away in his world of leather and luxury as his car idles at the curb, a low, contented purr that seems to hold its breath alongside me.
My fingers fumble with the keys, the metal slippery against my rain-damp skin. The lock resists for a moment before finally yielding with a satisfying click. Only when the door swings open, revealing the familiar chaos of my small apartment, does the Porsche's engine finally respond—a deep, throaty rumble that echoes down the street as he pulls away from the curb, his red taillights shrinking to pinpricks before disappearing around the corner.
I lean against the doorframe, my legs trembling from exertion. The hallway light catches the water still dripping from my hair, creating tiny puddles on the worn linoleum at my feet. My heart hasn't slowed; if anything, it beats faster now, a frantic rhythm against my ribs that has nothing to do with our morning run. The scent of rain and expensive leather still clings to my skin, a phantom reminder of his presence.
This whole thing is getting dangerous.
Not the kind of danger you can see coming, but something slower, more insidious. It's in the way his laughter sounds different from anyone else's, in the unexpected vulnerability behind his teasing smirk, in the way he looks at me when he thinks I'm not paying attention. It's dangerous for my heart, at least—this fragile, newly awakened thing that has spent too many years dormant.
And as I step inside, dripping mud and possibility onto my own floor, I realize with a jolt that I might not want to pull away from this danger at all.
Chapter 11
