Page 34 of Done Waiting

Fuck. She looks incredible.

She turns around, facing me. “I didn’t peg you as a gentleman, stalker.” Her eyes twinkle at me.

Ah. The sass is back.

A wide smile stretches my face, glad she’s back to being feisty. I like it.

“I’m not. Just looking for an excuse to follow you home.” Clasping her hand in mine, I guide her away, glancing at the idiot stirring on the pavement behind me. He locks his gaze on mine, then scrambles to his feet with a groan. Running to his car, he jumps inside, starts it, and tears out of the parking lot.

Maddie watches him, then looks at me. “I get the feeling you don’t need an invitation. You just do what you want.” An amused smile curves her lips.

I chuckle, shrugging a shoulder. “Well, I am a stalker, right?”

“Do you always pummel random guys who inappropriately hit on a woman in a semi-dark coffee shop parking lot, or am I just the exception?”

“You’re special. I make exceptions for the women I stalk.” A thrill runs through me as I look at her irritated face. She clearly doesn’t like the idea of me stalking anyone else.

Reaching her car, she pulls the keyless entry from her pocket. Her honey-brown eyes shift to mine and she bites her lip. “Um… Do you want your jacket back?”

I shake my head. “You can give it back to me at your apartment.” I lean closer to her, my lips grazing the shell of her ear. “You’re the only one I stalk, baby girl.”

Her expression softens, eyes like melted caramel. She affects me more than any person I’ve ever met. But then her face tightens, her smile disappearing as uneasiness replaces it.

“Worried about your boyfriend seeing me, baby girl?”

Maddie blanches, her face turning bright red as she averts her gaze.

I take the keyless entry from her hand, unlocking her car. “Lock your doors. I’ll run across the road to my truck, then follow you home.”

She hesitates, as if she wants to say something, but doesn’t. Handing her the keyless entry, then her backpack, I feel that spark as our fingers touch. Her gaze is on mine, and I see it in her eyes the second it goes through her.

She slides into the car, and I wait until she throws her backpack onto the passenger seat, then pulls the door shut and locks it. Smiling at her, I turn, jogging to my truck.

She backs out of the space and then turns onto the road as soon as I start my truck. I follow her like I’ve done so many times before.

The only difference is, this time, she’s aware I’m behind her.

15

MADISON

Butterflies flutter inside my stomach, beating their frantic wings as I look in my rearview mirror, his truck following me home.

Emotions swirl through me—giddiness, nervousness, anxiousness, happiness, and finally, guilt.You have a boyfriend, Maddie.Remember Ben?

I snort.Yeah, the guy who texted and said he wasn’t coming home tonight.

Ben and I have separate bedrooms, although we often stay in one another’s room. But there are plenty of nights I sleep alone in my bedroom because he gets home late.

My brows crease. I know the campus library is open late, and since he’s twenty-one, he can legally go to bars. He’s also attended plenty of college parties.

With Chloe.

My fingers clench the steering wheel. It always seems to come back to Ben and Chloe. I have no proof either of them is doing anything wrong, except for a nagging feeling that warns me not everything is as it seems between them.

Maybe you’re just trying to justify the attraction you feel for the guy in the truck behind you.

Ugh.My hand hits the steering wheel. I’d be lying if I denied being attracted to my stalker. He infiltrates my thoughts during the day while haunting my dreams at night.

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