Page 33 of Pick Me

I clicked the little blue message beside Henry’s face and started typing.

Thea:Hey Henry, it’s me. Hi. I’m the girl who was wearing the fuzzy purple thing from the other night and stared a little too long at your pizza. This is probably a little forward, but you seemed like a nice guy, and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out some time.

I sent it and started to put my jacket on. Not even a minute later, my phone dinged with a message from him.

Henry:Thea. Hey! Of course I remember you. I’ve got to admit, I didn’t expect you to message me.

Henry:I’m happy you did, though.

I smiled, feeling good about the message, albeit he seemed a tiny bit desperate.

Henry:I’d love to go out. I’m free tomorrow, the day after, and on Saturday.

My lips pulled into a frown. Was this why Brandon wanted to build his confidence? So he’d stop acting so overeager? Brandon said I didn’t have to, and I hadn’t expected Henry to respond so quickly. So desperately…

I tucked my phone in my pocket, not sure if I wanted to go through with a date. I’d need to think about it.

“Umm, I’m sorry, ma’am, but we need to clean the popcorn under your seat.”

Surprised to be surrounded by movie theater employees holding brooms and glaring down at my feet below, I followed their gaze. Yeah, there was a lot of popcorn all around me.

“Whoops.” I smiled, picked up all my things, and shuffled around one of the employees as I mumbled out a small apology. Walking through the foyer, I felt a certain sense of anxiety seeing the darkness outside. I’d never liked going out at night, but the feeling of dread whenever I was walking home on my own only happened afterthe incident.

I took a deep breath, reminding myself that the movie theater was only a five-minute walk from my apartment. There were plenty of people walking in the same direction, so someone would hear me if I screamed this time.

Following a couple I recognized from the movie, I took in my surroundings. I couldn’t describe the sense of relief when my apartment block came into view.

After slipping into the building, I skipped up the stairs and opened the door.

Jackson jumped from the couch, dropping his remote as he stalked over to me, glaring like I’d burned all his baseball hats.

“Thea,” he gritted out, and my pulse spiked, so I did the only thing I could. I walked backward and shut the door in his face.

“What the?” Jackson said from the other side of the door before opening it again and looking at me with furrowed brows.

I smiled.

“Why did you shut the door?”

“Because you were acting like I just walked in on you naked.”

I glanced down, happy to see his pants were on and there were no questionable stains on them, so that was a win. Then I pushed past him, looking for any drug paraphernalia he might’ve left out.

“You’re back.” The statement was strained, and I realized it was because I’d teased him with the potential of having this place to himself tonight.

I flitted my hand over my shoulder so he could see it, then dropped my bag onto the kitchen counter. “Yeah, well, going all the way on a first date would be pretty bold of me. Figured I’d make him sweat until at least our second date.” The lie was getting more and more complicated. I hadn’t even been on a first date with this random mystery man, yet here I was, planning to sleep with him on the second date. I could only hope his dick wasn’t as imaginary as the rest of him.

“That’s good to hear.” Jackson’s voice was so wistful, and I couldn’t help but wonder why he sounded like a lover who had waited a hundred years for me to return. Also, why was his face just as strained? Confused, I checked each corner of the room to see if there was a hidden camera around. None of his reaction made sense.

“Why do you care?”

“Because—”

He stepped forward, but I raised my hand, not allowing him to finish his sentence. “I know. I know. Tanner’s probably texting you constantly, checking up on me.” I rolled my eyes at the thought. This lie was getting too big not to make it a reality now. “Maybe I should just text him my minute-by-minute itinerary. That will calm him down.”

“It’s not that,” Jackson said with a little croak in his voice. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked a little tired. There was definitely something going on with him, and I wasn’t sure I cared enough to look into it. “It’s… I don’t know. A little fast. Don’t you think?”

The surprise on his face only riled me up more. Seriously? He was going to act like there was something suspicious about being asked out on a second date? I wanted to wring his neck for always having the ability to make me feel so ugly without even trying.

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