Page 132 of Texting Dr. Stalker

Sailor

You Have a Choice

I SENSED HIM BEFORE I SAW HIM.

Peng did too. His little ears sprang up and he scrambled off the couch, tearing toward the back door as if his long-lost littermate had returned.

Huh, that’s strange.

Peng hadn’t met X yet. Why did he react so—

Wait, they met briefly last night.

X had said he’d heard Peng crying outside, and that was why he came to check on me. I assumed he’d brought the cat in with him because all the windows were closed and the kitten safely tucked inside when I woke from my post-orgasm glow.

The quietest knock rapped on the back door as I padded barefoot into the kitchen. The dense sugary smell of chocolate permeated every inch, overshadowing the usual scents of thyme and oregano.

Brushing down my blue jumper that I’d shrugged into after getting a chill, I second-guessed my inappropriately short Sailor Moon night shorts. The tiny crescent moons seemed juvenile and far too young for the type of behaviour I hoped X would be open to indulging in once I’d fed him my thank-you cake.

I smirked.

Apparently, I was making a habit of thanking men with baked goods. Jim had enjoyed his peach upside-down cake so much, he’d begged me to make another, and I had every intention of making something for Zander after he let me tag along on the back of his bike today.

He’d gone fast but not petrifyingly stupid.

The fields had zipped past in a blur of patchwork green, all while fresh air blew away the shadows in my mind. I felt windswept and suntanned, and after a nice long shower and a cuddle with my best-friend, Peng, I floated with freedom I hadn’t felt in well…ever.

You should’ve accepted his invitation to hang out at his house.

I stiffened, recalling the way my instincts flared with warning.

I liked Zander. I might even be at the point of admitting I’d always had a crush on him, but the thought of being alone with him…at night.

I couldn’t.

It would prove Milton’s judgment and jealousy were founded. That every kick and punch he’d given me had been justified because I did fancy my saintly neighbour, after all.

No.

It was too big a step, too soon.

I was getting better, but…I wasn’t at the point of being alone with Zander despite every piece of me desperately ready to be alone with X.

It didn’t make sense.

I shouldn’t be afraid of spending a quiet evening with the guy I’d known all my life, yet be so turned on at the thought of making out with a masked stalker who refused to tell me his name.

You’re messed up.

And youwillbehave yourself.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I forbade any ideas of throwing myself into X’s arms.

Just because we’d shared a moment last night—just because he’d shattered me apart with his fingers and tongue—didn’t mean we were an item or that he’d want to do it again.

With my cheeks pink and heart rabbiting, I opened the door and leaned against it.

Our gaze instantly met, locked, and held.

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