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And I had a feeling that if I stepped back now, I would lose her forever.
Reorganizing my life plans and the goals I had set for myself was easier than I had expected. In front of this innocent and bright woman, all of them crumbled at a touch. I could achieve them all at a different pace, at a different time, but I feared I would never find another Halley.
In my dark dismal world and my dull routine, she’s the one uncertain flickering light that makes it easier for me to smile. She scorns at my temper, ignores my scowls, and she makes me laugh. Her light is so pure and filled with love, that I can’t even fault myself for craving it.
I want her for myself.
I’d been expecting to have to do a lot of convincing, and maybe have her reject me a couple of times, but the incident with the detective had her turning to me and my own protective instincts had been ablaze, fury igniting in me at the very idea of someone trying to bully her.
However, what it resulted in had been beyond my expectations.
Now that I have her in my grasp, I’m not planning to let her go anywhere.
I hadn’t lied.
I didn’t know jack shit about dating or wooing a woman.
But I know how to seduce one.
And I plan to bring Halley to my bed and make sure she never wants to leave.
So, as I hold her to me and she fidgets nervously, betraying her innocence, her wavering frown, absolutely adorable, I pretend not to see any of it, just tightening my hold.
After a few seconds of squirming, she finally seems to realize I don’t intend to release her and she falls still in my arms.
My chin is resting on her left shoulder, and when she finally relaxes against me, I smile slightly till she says, “How long are you going to read the same page for?”
“I’m a slow reader.”
“Liar.” Standing like this, where she doesn’t have to see my face seems to have given her some of her confidence. “You read like an old woman, then.”
“Shut up, Halley,” I respond, pleasantly.
She grumbles and then she fidgets again, as if adjusting her position. “Hurry up.”
“Where do you want to go for pizza?”
She makes the mistake of turning her head to look at me and the close proximity makes her face turn red, and she immediately whirls her head back, stammering, to my amusement, “J-Jerry’s Joint, you know the one near our building.”
I want to continue teasing her but I have a feeling she won’t take it too well. “Come on,” I loosen my hold on her, and to my surprise she doesn’t move for a few seconds and I grin, “Or we could stay here and—”
She darts out of my arms. “Let’s go!”
The day’s unpleasant events are not forgotten but I force them to the back of my mind as we take the elevator to the underground garage.
As expected, one look at my bike has her backing off. “Oh, come on. I hate—”
“I know but I’ll drive slowly,” I coax her. “It’ll be like we aren’t even moving.”
She shoots me a disbelieving look. “Yeah, right. I remember the last time I sat on this death trap. You deliberately drove—”
Convincing her to get on the bike takes a tremendous amount of cajoling and promises. Even then, she grips me so tight it leaves me wondering whether there would be imprints of her arms on me when I wake up tomorrow.
Jerry’s Joint is one of those neighborhood hole-in-the-wall places, which is well lit but mostly empty. A distracted-looking waitress takes our order and once she leaves us be, I notice how quiet Halley is.
Making conversation isn’t my strong point but I want her to say something so I try, “So, uh…the weather is—”
My lame attempt is interrupted by the loud sound of her phone’s ringtone.
