Page 20 of Captured Heart

“You’re hilarious,” I say, using the same lifeless expression and tone as him. “Much funnier than me, in fact. You really should give up engineering and go into comedy.”

“Comedy is definitely a better career choice than what I’m doing now,” he agrees with a nod.

“But seriously. Why are we here? You don’t even know me. Why change your plans to just...sit around like this?”

“What if that was my plan all along? What if I went home last night and thought about exactly how I could run into you again?”

I see a glint in his eyes, that hint of danger. I must have the worst survival instincts in the world because instead of fear, I’m surprisingly intrigued. “And why would you want to run into me again?”

He pulls his knees up to his chest and casually rests his arms over them. “I’m gonna leave that up to your imagination.”

That’s an error in judgment on his side because my imagination takes those words and turns them into a plotline of a pre-2005 rom-com. Not the trash they make today where the guy barely pursues the girl. No, I’m talking aboutthe classics. Therunning-through-the-airport, jumping-over-turnstiles, shoving-past-securityjust to get to the girl kind of romance.

In my case, it’s probably far less dramatic. He probably just spoke to Corey, who told him when to expect me at the library. But still, that kind of effort shouldn’t go unnoticed, right?

Geez, what’s wrong with me? I don’t even know this guy. A few words shouldn’t be sending me into a tizzy. He didn’t say he likes me or anything remotely like that, so I shouldn’t let my imagination make assumptions so far removed from reality. He’s probably just yanking my chain again like he’s been doing since we bumped into each other.

“What are you thinking about?” His deep voice yanks me out of my thoughts.

“What?”

“You play with your chain whenever you’re thinking about something, so what are you thinking about?”

I look down, and he’s right. I’m toying with the locket on my chain. “Wow. I didn’t even know I did that.” And because it would be too embarrassing to answer his question, I deflect by changing the direction of the conversation. “Are you always this observant?”

“Yes.”

“With everyone?”

“Everyone. Everything. Nothing slips by me.”

I raise a skeptical brow. “Really? Prove it.”

Alex leans back against the tree trunk, his dark eyes zoning in on me. “Alright,” he says, accepting the challenge. “There’s a couple by the fountain to my left.”

I glance over to where he’s nodding and see a girl sitting on the edge of the fountain, her legs crossed, laughing at something the guy beside her is saying.

“They’re on their second date,” he says, as if it’s obvious.

I blink, confused. “How do you know that?”

“She’s laughing a little too much at everything he says. That kind of fake enthusiasm? It’s second-date energy. By the third, she’ll start telling him he’s not as funny as he thinks he is.”

“We can’t prove that. Give me something more concrete.”

He shifts his attention. “The guy over there in the red hoodie, sitting on the bench with the book?”

I follow his gaze to a scruffy-looking student flipping through a textbook.

“He’s not studying.”

I frown. “What do you mean? He’s literally reading.”

“He’s not. He hasn’t turned the page in three minutes, and he keeps glancing at his phone every twenty seconds. My guess is he’s waiting for someone.”

I open my mouth to argue but stop when Red Hoodie checks his phone again, looking around with an expectant expression. I glare at Alex. “Okay, I’ll give you that one. So, what about her?” I nod toward a girl sitting under another tree, scribbling furiously in a notebook. “She seems to be studying pretty hard.”

“Nope.” He doesn’t even look in her direction because he already knows who I’m referring to. “She’s writing a song or something.”

---