“Parker and Blake say hi,” I say passing the message along.
“Hi, pretty girl,” Apollo says leaning in the car putting his mouth next to the phone and close enough to mine I could kiss him again.
I want to kiss him again but I’m afraid if I start I won’t be able to stop this time. And I have to leave, now that Blake has agreed to meet me.
“Tell pretty boy to back off or I’ll rethink my apology for breaking his face,” Blake grumbles in my ear this time.
A wide-eyed wince stretches Apollo’s face.
“Message received, Bruiser,” Apollo says.
“See you in about half an hour, Lily,” Blake says before ending the call.
“Didn’t learn your lesson, huh?” I ask Apollo.
“What can I say? I’m a bad boy, Lilypop. Maybe too bad for a good girl like you.”
“I might be a good girl but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to be bad.”
Apollo’s chest rumbles as he licks half-lidded eyes down my body. “If you don’t leave now, I’m gonna drag you out of this car and back into that house. You won’t be going anywhere for a very long time.”
As much as I want to let him take me back inside, I have to go. “I’ll be back soon,” I say putting the car in gear.
“Yeah. You better.” Apollo throws a wink at me as he steps back and waves from his hip as I back out of the driveway.
∞∞∞
The drive to Mr. Davis’ house is the longest ten minutes in history. He only lives on the other side of town but I sit extra-long at each stop sign debating calling Blake back to tell him we’ll do this tomorrow to turn around and go back home to Apollo and the amazing night he had planned. But every time I pick up my phone, I think of the deadline for the repairs. Every second counts. One night could mean the difference when it comes to Mr. Davis being able to keep his home.
I’m feeling much better about staying the course when I park on the street in front of his house. But that good feeling is gone when I step onto the sidewalk and a frustratingly familiar voice calls out, “Talk about luck.” It’s the reporter from outside the pharmacy and who gave me a funny look at Luke’s the other day. He’s climbing out of his car acting like he just got here. But judging by the heavy fog on his windows, he’s been sitting in there for a while.
“Why? Were you looking for me?” I ask.
There’s that paranoia again.
Or maybe him being here is the proof that I have every reason to believe he’s following me.
“It’s tragic, isn’t it? Poor man going to lose the home he’s lived in almost his whole life. He’s lucky to have someone like you looking out for him though.”
“How do you—?”
“Small towns are great, aren’t they? You ask a question and everyone just answers.” His volume and pitch rise excitedly as my heart drops.
What else did people tell him? What else do people know? Maybe one of my neighbors saw Apollo after all?
No. If that were true, this guy would have been stalking my house, not Mr. Davis’.
I knew he thought I was acting suspiciously at the cafe. I mean… I was acting suspiciously. Because I’m totally guilty but he doesn’t know that. But he will if I don’t find a way to get him off my back.
“Well, I’m sure Mr. Davis is grateful for your concern. I’ll let him know you wish him well.” None of that is true. Mr. Davis would probably tell this guy to shove it where the sun don’t shine. But hopefully saying it will get me out of here.
“Actually, I was hoping I could talk to him myself. Since the other story I came here for fell through, his story could make a decent replacement. People love these heartwarming, small-town stories. The exposure could be good for him. Maybe you could get some crowd funding going to pay for the repairs.”
“Thank you but the costs are covered. I’m actually here to deliver the good news to Mr. Davis but someone’s keeping me from it.” Passive-aggressive is about as aggressive as I get. But if this guy doesn’t take off soon, he’ll get the boot from the most over-aggressive guy in town.
Eat fast, Blake.
“I didn’t think you could cover the costs. That’s what I hear, anyway,” the guy says.
