Page 15 of After All

“Where is she going?” I ask myself, muttering under my breath.

I don’t want to seem like I’m following her aggressively, so I stand frozen in my spot, completely unsure of what to do.

Sudden vibrations against my ass make me jolt as I remember her phone is still in my back pocket. And mine is in hers.

Damn it. What do I do?

I don’t want her to feel pressured, but I don’t want her to get away.

“She’s not Cinderella, Ortiz. Pendejo.”

And now I’ve started talking to myself. This is getting out of hand.

Shit. That might be what happened with Amelie.

If the night was too much… if I was too much, I want to apologize.

I need my phone.

And she’ll need her phone if she wants to leave.

I really hope she doesn’t want to leave.

Chapter 10

Amelie

I finally make my way to the door and slip outside. Taking in several lungfuls of night air helps me get my bearings as I walk towards my car.

Something doesn’t look right as I get closer, and from a few feet away, I realize the front left tire is completely flat.

“Damn it!” I lean my arms against the window and rest my head on my hands. “I just want to go home.”

“I’ll be glad to take you,” a quiet voice says behind me.

I jump and squeal, spinning around, then sigh in relief when it’s Carter. “God, you scared me to death. Why are you out here?”

“I saw you slip out, and I contemplated not following you for about 30 seconds, but then I remembered I still had your phone. Even if I hadn’t, I wanted to at least make sure you got to your car okay. If you need space or aren’t feeling this anymore, I understand. It seems like you’re pretty overwhelmed at the moment.”

I feel the tell-tale burn in my throat that signals the waterworks switch is about to flip, and I do not want to cry in front of him. He won’t likely stick around after that. Who wants to deal with a blubbering woman, especially one they’ve just met?

Lifting my chin and looking up at the sky, I take a few deep breaths, and I forbid the tears from falling. But when he walks closer and lays a hand on my cheek, he sees them, pooling there, waiting to escape.

“Why the tears?” He doesn’t sound weirded out or put off. He sounds… concerned. Truly, totally concerned.

“I told you why. I can’t figure this out.” My breath speeds up, becoming erratic, and my hands move awkwardly. “I don’t like this. This contact, the touching, it’s beginning to freak me out because it’s not freaking me out. And I don’t know what to do with it. I hold a master’s degree in psychology, a doctorate in psychiatry, and a medical license I worked really damn hard to earn. I know how the brain works from all angles. And for crying out loud, I specialize in relationships. Physical relationships, at that. But somehow I can’t seem to fix myself.”

One lone tear chases the curve of my cheek and falls to the ground at my feet before I can catch it. And my biggest fear slips out of my mouth before I can reel it back inside.

“So, who the hell is going to come to me for help when I can’t even help myself?”

Carter’s thumb wipes the trail of wetness my tear leaves behind and smiles at me kindly. “Come for a ride with me?”

If he’d done anything besides ask, I’d have planted my feet and refused, but something about the question softens my resolve. I nod and take the hand he offers. He leads me to a truck about forty feet away from my car and opens the passenger door, helping me up.

“Text Suzette. Let her know you’re okay. I don’t want her to worry, especially if she sees your car here with a flat tire.” He holds my phone out to me, and nodding silently, I shoot a quick text to my best friend.

Amelie

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