Page 126 of Faking the Goal

Kentaro finds a folded card beneath the purse and opens it. His eyes move across the page once before returning to the beginning and reading it again, slower this time.

"What?" I ask.

He looks at me briefly before reading aloud.

Kitten,

I hope you like your Christmas presents. I picked everything myself, and I was very careful to choose things I know you'll love. I've watched you enough to know exactly what looks good on you.

The dress is my favorite. Wear it with the heels and the purse on Christmas Eve. I've been waiting long enough, and I think Christmas is the perfect time for us to finally have our first real date.

Don't make any other plans. This Christmas belongs to us.

I've imagined meeting you properly so many times, Kitten. I can't wait to finally see your face. Kiss you. Touch you. Hold you the way I've wanted to for so long.

Just a few more days, and I won't have to love you from a distance anymore.

Yours, always.

Kentaro lowers the card onto the coffee table, but neither of us says anything for several long seconds. I can't stop staring at it.

My stomach twists so violently I feel sick.

A fucking date?

What date?

This guy has somehow gone from sending me creepy love notes and unwanted gifts to making actual plans for us, like Christmas Eve is sitting there circled on both our calendars and all that's left is for me to show up in the outfit he picked.

The sheer fucking audacity would almost be funny if it weren't terrifying.

Because nowhere in this completely one-sided relationship he has apparently built inside his head does my opinion seem to matter.

"...What the hell?" I whisper.

Kentaro's jaw flexes as he stares at the card. "Do you think this could be Kirk again?"

I shake my head almost immediately. "I thought so too at first. I really did. But Kirk never called me 'Kitten.' Not once. Babe? Sure. Baby? Sometimes. But never..." I grimace. "That. And as far as I know, he's still in Australia. He posts training photos almost every day. Unless he's figured out how to clone himself, I don't see how he could be dropping these things outside my apartment."

"He wouldn't necessarily have to be here."

I look at him.

"He could have someone doing it for him. The deliveries, at least. The calls and messages are another story." His mouth tightens. "I'm not saying that's what he's doing. I'm saying I wouldn't rule him out yet."

I hate that he has a point.

"But why?" I ask. "The restraining order worked. He stopped bothering me after he was served. Why would he suddenly start all this now?"

"I don't know." Kentaro looks back at the card. "And honestly, I hope I'm wrong."

"So do I."

Although the alternative isn't exactly filling me with warm, fuzzy feelings either.

"If this isn't Kirk..." He pauses, as though debating whether he should even say it out loud. "...then I think you might have another stalker."

I don't answer immediately.