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"What do you mean it's closing? Isn’t this place open until three in the morning? It's barely seven."
The waitress gave him a tight, annoyed smile. "I'm sorry, sir, but we’re asking everyone to leave. Here are some boxes for your food, and then if you could please follow everyone else out, dinner’s on the house tonight." She walked away without a glance back, and my insides were doing excited cartwheels. Whatever had happened, I’d gotten a meal for free that I didn't need to feel guilty about. I could now end the night without feeling like I needed to undergo more awkward conversation.
The situation called for a fist pump.
I boxed up my steak while Connor sulked across from me, finally throwing his food in his container when we were almost the last ones left in the place. Fed up with how slow he was going, I slid out from the table and he reluctantly followed me. I gritted my teeth as his hand went to the small of my back as he led me towards the exit.
"How about we go back to my place and we can work on the project?" he suggested, an undertone in his voice I wanted nothing to do with.
Right. “The project.” I was sure we were going to work on it, just like I was sure the two others in our group were actually planning on showing up tonight. It was all I could do to keep in my eye roll.
"Sorry, I need to get back…so I don't fall asleep on the way home,” I said, my tone apologetic.
Connor's disappointment was palpable, and he opened his mouth to argue with me, but I was already backing away.
"But we’ll have to set up another meeting to talk about the project,” I offered.
He took a step forward, his hand settling on my waist. "That sounds great," he murmured, before shockingly brushing a kiss across my cheek.
What the fuck?
"Okay,” I stammered, turning around and practically running down the sidewalk. I could feel his gaze boring into my back, and I couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't want the night to be over and he was planning on following me.
I didn't have anyone to call for help, but my anxiety spiked as I heard footsteps behind me.
On a whim, I took out my phone and called Lincoln. We'd only exchanged text messages, but I was desperate. It rang and rang, and I'd almost given up when a sexy voice answered.
"Monroe?" he said, sounding breathless.
"I'm so sorry to call. I'm just afraid that this creeper’s going to follow me home, and I wanted to talk to someone so maybe he won’t.”
"Of course, sweetheart. I'm glad you called," he soothed, his voice sliding over me with a graveled husk that sent strange shockwaves across my skin, even under the circumstances. His voice was deep, with a hint of a southern accent.
"Go ahead and glance behind you, and see if anyone’s there," he ordered gently, the rasp in his voice running like silk through my insides.
"Okay," I squeaked, shooting a glance behind me and breathing a sigh of relief when I didn't see anyone there.
"I don't see him. And why would I? I'm probably being crazy," I murmured.
"I'm really glad you called. I don't like the thought of you being scared."
It's amazing how much he seemed to…mean it. I got a little lost in his voice, the fear sliding away as I listened.
"Hi, by the way," he said, his chuckle laced with an edgy heat. "We've officially popped our phone call cherry."
I snorted at that, and his chuckle deepened.
Just then, footsteps sounded nearby, and my breath hitched as I glanced behind me and saw the shadow of someone coming from around the corner. I took off down the street in a light jog.
"Monroe, are you okay?" he asked, the levity in his voice gone. I glanced back again, only to see that it was an old woman with a bag of groceries.
"I don't know why I’m so spooked. I'm being ridiculous.”
"No, it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially after he tricked you into adate.” There was a slight bite of anger to his voice when he said the word “date.”
I huffed out an exasperated laugh. "Right? I mean, who does that?"
"Desperate men do desperate things, I guess,” he murmured, darkness threaded in his words, or maybe that was my imagination based on the weird turn the night had taken.
