Page 22 of Alpha Bait

"I guess the cat's out of the bag."

"Yeah, I guess it is.”

"What's wrong?"

"I'm Richard Carmichael."

"Oh no..."

"Oh yes."

"No!" She said. "No fucking way!"

"I'm not any happier about this, trust me."

"This is..."

"Disgusting?" I finished for her.

"Yes! It's disgusting! Ew!! You're Richard Carmichael?!"

"Ew!"

"You look nothing like your brother!"

"I thought you'd be... shorter!"

"Shorter?"

"Oh hush!" She huffed, "people saw us together. Oh, my goodness..."

"I don't think your friends recognized me."

"Not yet, but what if they do! If Jamal finds out, he'll kill me."

"If my brother finds out I'll never hear the end of it."

"This was a mistake," I countered.

"Yes," she replied, "I agree. A mistake."

"We can go our separate ways and pretend it never happened."

"Pretend? Nothing happened.”

"Right, nothing happened."

She turned to walk away.

"Wait!" I called.

"What?”

"It's not safe for you to walk home alone. Let me walk you back."

She snorted, "It's the Hamptons honey. I can handle myself."

"Good night then."

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