Page 21 of Dart to Me
“Such a gentleman,” she teases, but pulls the jacket tighter around herself.
“Don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my reputation.”
She laughs, the sound light and musical in the quiet street. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
When we reach her front porch, I hesitate. I want nothing more than to follow her inside, to spend the night learning every curve and plane of her body again, but I don’t.
“I had an amazing time tonight,” I tell her.
“Even with the Miles interruption?”
“Even with that.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “He can’t ruin what’s happening between us.”
She smiles up at me, her eyes reflecting the porch light. “And what is happening between us, Julian?”
It’s a fair question. One I’m not sure I have the answer to yet. “Something good,” I finally say. “Something I want to explore, if you do too.”
Instead of answering with words, she rises on her tiptoes and kisses me again, slower this time, more deliberate.
“Good night, Julian.”
“Good night.”
I wait until she’s safely inside before turning to leave. As I walk back to my place, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m balanced on a knife’s edge. On one side is the life I’ve been running from, the mistakes and consequences I’ve been trying to escape. On the other is Ellie, and the possibility of something real and lasting.
The smart move would be to keep my distance, to protect her from my past. But I can’t.
ELLIE
I’m workingin the library when Miles shows up, just like he always does. Why won’t he leave me alone? No matter how many times I tell him to just go, he keeps showing up. This is getting ridiculous.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your date last night,” he says, acting innocent but knowing damn well he’s not.
“Yes, you did,” I say, hoping that he might actually get the hint this time.
“So it was a date?” His eyes narrow like he’s been hunting for this confirmation and finally has it.
“Yes it was.”
His jaw ticks. There’s a long pause, like he’s waiting for me to say something else, something different, something I’m never going to say. “I didn’t realize you were dating now. I thought we were both working on ourselves.”
I can’t help rolling my eyes. “No, you thought you were going to get me back, and I told you it’s never going to happen.” I watch the words sink in, watch the tightening of his fists.
“You say that now, but…”
“No buts,” I say. “We are never getting back together, like ever.”
His face flushes and his fists clench. “Whatever. I just wanted to tell you to be careful around the new guy. It just seems odd that right around the time that Rick gets released there is some guy that’s interested in you and moves in next door.”
I feel the sudden urge to laugh. “Oh, yeah, because god forbid anyone else is interested in me besides you? Don’t think I don’t know about you making sure the whole town knows I’m off limits.”
There’s something else in his voice now. Panic maybe. “New guy obviously didn’t get the hint.”
“He doesn’t seem like the type to scare easy. Doubt he finds you intimidating.”
“You can’t be sure,” Miles says, almost desperate, like this is his last chance to convince me. “You remember what Rick’s like, and what kind of things he’s capable of. Maybe he’s just hiding. Maybe he’s just waiting for the right moment.”
But I’m not buying it. “I’m not scared of Rick anymore.”
