And yet I don’t feel scared. Not for me. Not even for Drake.
But he’s being a bully, and that’s not cool. “Drew, this is my friend Drake.” My voice is cordial, even, hopefully reminding everyone to be civil. “He takes classes at the yoga studio where I teach. Drake, Drew lives in the house behind ours.”
With this polite introduction, both men shift on their feet, seemingly unsure where they stand. But I know where I stand. Drew’s intrusion, bullish though it was(such a Taurus!), has given me the opening I need to end this date, and I’m taking it.
“Drake, thanks again for a lovely dinner.” With a speed and deftness that surprise me, I insert the key in the deadbolt and unlock it. In the next moment, I’m standing in the open doorway facing them both. “I’ll see you at the studio.” Then I shift my gaze up to Drew’s, but his gray eyes are masked in shadow. All I can tell is they’re pinned on me. “Drew, have a good night.” And with that, I slip inside and bolt the door.
Gemini is at my knees, whining and pawing with excitement to see me, and I drop my bag and reach down to rub a hand along his sleek back, but I don’t move otherwise. Instead, I peer through the peephole at the fishbowl image of two men glaring at each other. The standoff lasts just a few seconds, and then Drake breaks right, heading back to his car. But he keeps his eyes on Drew as he goes. Drew, in turn, pivots to track Drake and doesn’t move until Drake’s ignition fires up and his reverse lights come on. Then he slowly stalks back into the night.
And that’s when I bolt through the front room. “C’mon, Gem.” The dog tears across the floor, hard on my heels until we reach the hall closet where we keep his harness and leash. Excited that we’re going for a rare late-night walk, Gemini leaps and twirls, making it almost impossible for me to loop the harness around his long forelegs.
“Hold still, buddy,” I hiss whisper, not wanting the noise to attract Tori’s attention or wake her if she’s sleeping.
Once he’s harnessed and leashed, I stuff a roll of poop bags in my pocket, and we dash back to the front door. Drake’s car is gone, and the street in front of our house is empty, but I don’t think Drew could have gotten far.
Pulling Gemini with me, I take off in my midi dress and lace-up espadrilles, running through the grass in the dark. At the street, I look right towards Souvenir Gate and the lights of Champagne’s Grocery, but I see no one. Spinning left reveals a hulking shadow moving with ground-eating strides toward Howard Avenue.
“C’mon, Gem.” And with that, we break into a run. My dog and I are not the stealthiest pair, so I’m not surprised when the shadow stops moving. He’s facing me when I slow to a walk about fifty feet from him.
“What are you doing?” he asks, his voice accusatory.
“What amIdoing?” I scoff, closing the distance to ten feet. “What areyoudoing?”
The light from the streetlamp at the next house only illuminates his silhouette, but his shrug is unmistakable. “Going for a walk. What does it look like?”
“In the middle of the night? Right in front of my house?” Gemini strains on the leash, eager to meet this new friend, and even though I try to anchor him with my weight, he pulls us until he can sniff Drew’s shoes.
This close, I can make out more of his features. He doesn’t look any happier to see me than he has every other time I’ve encountered him. But, in spite of my irritation, I’m secretly glad to see him.
Elated, really.
After thinking of him all through dinner, the moment I heard his voice from my front porch, I’d felt like I’d won a prize.First Prize for Daydreams Coming True goes to Evie Lalonde!
Yeah, maybe he was an ass to Drake. I’m not about to ignore that. But out of all the things I could be doing at ten-thirty on a Friday night, talking to Drew Moroux has suddenly become number one.
He crosses his arms over his chest. He’s wearing a white T-shirt — maybe it’s just an undershirt; I can’t tell — jeans, and what appear to be work boots. Whatever they are, it’s a good look for him, especially the T-shirt.
“I needed air, so I took a walk around the block,” he says, his voice flat. “Yours isn’t the only house on it, guppy.”
My eyes bug.“Guppy?!”
I hear rather than see him snicker, and he shrugs again. “It sounded better in my head thanPisces.”
I want to laugh, but I shake my head instead. “No. It doesn’t.”
This time he laughs for real, and for the life of me, I can’t help it. Laughter ripples from me.
This. Even just this feels better than my entire date with Drake.
I let myself take a step closer, and my laughter settles. “You needed air?” My tone is light, as though I’m only mildly interested, but that’s not true. Despite the banter, I know he’s likely to slip away any second, and I want to keep him talking.
Drew doesn’t answer me, but he reaches down with one hand and scratches Gemini on the head. Gem opens his mouth with what I think of as one of his canine smiles and wags with gusto.
Drew’s squats down and smoothes both hands along Gemini’s neck, petting and stroking.
“Hey, boy,” Drew coos with such gentleness, I’m almost jealous. Scratch that. Iamjealous. It isn’t just the soft tone of his voice or even the touch — though I’d be lying if I said both didn’t tempt me — it’s the way Drew’s guard comes down as he pets my dog.
When he speaks again, he sounds a long way off. “I can’t remember the last time I touched a dog. Any animal, for that matter.”
