Page 36 of Texting Dr. Stalker

I smirked. “Guilty? What am I guilty of?”

“Oh, I dunno. Perving on your hot little neighbour?”

I dropped my bottle. Thank God the cap was on; otherwise, I’d be wearing most of it.

Colin burst out laughing. “No comment, hey? You’ve finally given in to your dirty little habit. Have you asked her out yet? Remember my threat? If you don’t do it, I’ll do it for you.”

My cheeks erupted with fire. I’d never cursed being a redhead as much as I did at that moment. I’d been lucky to avoid the freckles decorating my sisters and most days my hair could be taken for deep auburn instead of anything on the crimson colour palette, but right now, my natural skin colouring gave me away.

Colin quit laughing as I choked. Literally choked on spit and deliberated bolting for the door.

“Wow, I…I’m kidding, Zan. No need to have a heart attack.” Leaning over his desk, he looked genuinely concerned for my well-being. “Are you alright, man? I mean, I’ve seen you wound up before, but this…this is something else. Did you lose a patient or something?”

Groaning, I took off my glasses and tossed them on his desk. Digging my fingers in my tired eyes, I refused to look at him. “Just…it’s been a long week, that’s all.”

“It’s Tuesday.”

“Is it?” I didn’t look up. “Feels like an endless Monday, then.”

“What’s going on? Fess up.”

Dropping my hand, I blinked back the stars I’d left on my eyesight and did my best to lie to a friend who was basically a savant in lie detection. “Nothing’s going on.”

My phone beeped.

I sat ramrod in my chair, not because the alert was for a patient or another work call but because I’d assigned that noise to one person. A person I didn’t think I’d ever hear from again.

One second, I convinced myself I had no intention of reading it.

The next, I practically threw myself off my chair, fumbling for my phone from my back pocket.

Ignoring Colin, I swiped on the screen and clicked on the new message.

LL:A secret, huh?

Full-body shakes had my thumbs punching the screen far too fast.

Me:No one else has to know.

LL:And you won’t murder me?

Me:If I was going to, wouldn’t I have popped around by now? After all, you did call the police on me.

Shit!

Fuck!

Unsend. Unsend.

Too late.

LL:How do you know I called the police?

Hanging my head, I deliberated how to dig myself out of this shit hole. I couldn’t confess who I was. If she wanted me to be her secret, I’d be her goddamn secret. But I also couldn’t admit that I watched her from my house far more often than was normal, legal, or acceptable.

LL:Is your delay because you’re trying to come up with a lie or confess the truth?

Goddamn, this girl.

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