“Christ! Fine, come with me, then. Where the fuck are the ski masks?”
He froze and looked me up and down before his gaze landed on the lube and condoms still in my hands.
“Never mind,” he said, taking a few small steps backward before turning and walking away.
“That was a joke!” I lied, calling after him.
I headed down towards the sporting goods section and, after having to ask another associate, I finallyfound a small selection of full-faced masks. I grabbed an all-black one that covered everything except my eyes, then I headed to the self-checkout stand. I scanned the items and was only slightly appalled that a small bottle of lube and a box of condoms were over $20.00 by themselves. Inflation had obviously hit like a bitch while I was behind bars.
Madness.
Before I got in the car, I opened the new deodorant and applied it, along with a quick spritz of the spray. I wanted to smell different than I had when I’d been around Avery before. I couldn’t shake the anxiety about telling him who I was. He’d broken up with me because he said he was in love with someone else. At the time, I thought he was making bullshit excuses because of David. But, after he texted, I found out he was in love with me. Or, the otherme.
Fuck, now I’m confusing myself.
At any rate, I had exchanged enough dirty letters to know that this was gonna turn Avery on anyway. He did say that he trusted me.Maybe I should just scrap this whole thing, and just tell him the truth now…
I opened my phone and read back through the messages. As my thumbs hovered over the keyboard, something else seemed to take over. Instead of sending the message, I simply plugged in the address of Avery’s parent’s house and hit the gas.
Chapter Ten
Avery
Stepping out of the shower, I used the maroon towel to blot at my hair and face. Not for the first time, I appreciated the fact that my mom bought nicer linens than David did. Checking the time on my phone made me relieved that I’d taken less time cleaning myself than I’d thought I had. I hadn’t properly prepped myself for a date in what felt like years.
Lately, David only wanted sex when he’d been drinking. At that point, he couldn't care less how clean I was. With James, I was giddy and nervous. I had read through our short text exchange a dozen times, and I was pretty sure I knew exactly what he’d been hintingat. A shiver ran down my back at the thought of what was probably about to happen.
I’d left the back door unlocked, like he’d instructed. My breath hitched thinking about him already being in the house. We never established a rendezvous time. I considered myself lucky that I’d made it through my shower ritual and opening myself up a bit before he’d arrived. It was hot imagining him catching me in the shower, but my nerves were jangling, and I needed to maintain just the slightest bit of control over the situation.
Stepping into a pair of my tightest briefs and pulling up the elastic waist of my sweats had me cursing under my breath as the thin fabric clung to my damp skin. I don’t know why I was in such a hurry to get dressed and head downstairs. Did it really matter where in the house he found me? My nervousness seemed to increase with each passing minute, and I caught myself neurotically checking the time on my phone as if we had an appointment.
A quick spray of cologne helped to ground me with subtle notes of amber and incense. Taking one last glance in the mirror before flipping off the light, I decided this was as good as I was gonna get.
Beginning to second-guess my decision to wear pajamas instead of being properly dressed, I hesitated halfway down the staircase. I had nearly turned around to head back upstairs when my attention was pulled to the living room window as the garage securitylight painted a warm glow across the floor.
Frozen in place on the stairs, I listened. Fifteen seconds turned into 30. After nearly a full minute had passed, the light had gone out, but my heart was still thumping in my throat. Shaking off the panic, I finally made it to the first floor.
James had said to leave the back door unlocked, so why would he have triggered the light in the front of the house?
My whole body jerked, and I whipped my hand over my mouth to stop any noise that might escape as three loud knocks came from the front door. The security light came back on an instant later, along with three more knocks. Then, the knob jiggled.
“Avery?”
I ran over to the door and undid the bolt. “David,” I said, surprised, but trying to keep the panic out of my voice. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at the station.”
David, dressed in his crisp uniform, handed me a bouquet of pink and white flowers wrapped in thick, crinkling cellophane.
“I just wanted to see you. I feel bad about what happened at the diner. You know I just get upset sometimes. I just want you to be safe.”
I turned my head to the side as David took a step forward and tried to kiss me. “Thanks for the flowers, butI told you I wanted to spend the night alone. I just need some time to clear my head.”
David frowned. “Avery, I’ve already told you that I’m sorry. Don’t be difficult.”
I was having a hard time hearing anything he was saying to me as my mind raced a thousand miles a minute. I had to get David out of here before James showed up and literally broke into the house. I couldn’t imagine a worse scenario. Panic and nausea made my gut contract.
“Avery?”
“Hmm?”
