Page 77 of Crimson Promises
I was strong. I wouldn’t fall for this so easily, right? Wrong. My heart honed in on the wordneed. The anger slithered into something else, something more. Being this close to him affected my frontal lobe.
“Fine, but let me up. You aren’t getting off the hook that easy.”
He sighed dejectedly. “Alright, just let me get my stuff together, and I’ll walk out with you.”
Within seconds, I had turned towards the door and Ben was already behind me. The guy moved like the wind.
We walked through the library’s main hall together. Without thinking, I started to head in the direction of my haven when Ben stopped to look at me.
“Where are you going?” he asked and pointed in the opposite direction. “Exit’s that way.”
I shook my head. “Silly me. Didn’t even realize I was going.” I looked longingly in the direction of my abandoned spot. The Tiffany lamp and wing-backed chair called to me. Maybe I’d come back later this evening and get some work done.
Once outside, Ben asked, “Are you heading home now?”
“Yeah, I’m exhausted from work. Plus, I haven’t been getting the best sleep lately. A nap is calling my name. What are you up to now?” I asked, sliding my hands into my pockets. I crossed my fingers in each of them.
“Going to head home. Do you want to come? We can resume where we left off last night?” he said, grinning.
“Okay.”
“Really?” He arched his eyebrows.
“Nah. I intended to be well rested if you’re lucky enough to get me to your place.”
“You wound me deeply.” He clutched his chest with both hands as if I had mortally wounded him.
I shook my head.
We headed in the same direction towards both of our places. About a block away, I stood off to the side close to a Walgreens. “I’ll see you later. I need to pick up some stuff.”
“Want company?”
“I got to grab some feminine stuff.”
He stuck his tongue out. “Gross, gross. Say no more. Text me when you want to proceed with the project, friend.”
The guy didn't even know what he wanted. One minute, he’s making overtly sexual comments, and the next, he’s calling me 'friend.' Men.
“See you around, friend.”
I walked in through the automatic sliding doors at Walgreens and hid behind the row of magazines. Everything was going according to plan. I pumped my fist into the air. Ben had been distracted by my mood swings. It wasn’t that I wasn’t offended about some of the things he said, but I might have exaggerated a teeny bit to throw him off. Ben was observant. If I wanted to discover the real reason why he knew all those things about me, he had to think that he had smoothed over any issues between the two of us.
Once I was sure Ben had passed me, I slipped back out of the store, sure to keep more than a few steps behind him. Lucky for me, his height and overall broody demeanor made him easy to spot in the crowd. At a red light, he bowed his head over his phone as he jabbed at it.
Ben held up a fob to a scanner outside his building, and promptly, a heavy steel door opened for him. I waited a few seconds to make sure Ben had walked through and tentatively made my approach. Fortunately, the door was as slow as molasses, and I could sneak through without anyone thinking I didn’t belong.
Ben’s building was much simpler than mine. With its industrial accents and sparse decor, it felt remote and functional instead of airy. Two oversized wrought iron hexagons suspended over four leather chairs surrounding a black marble coffee table.
I peered around the corner. Ben waited by the elevator alongside a gentleman with a gray handlebar mustache. My gaze drew to the tiny circles above the elevator which lit up depending on which floor it passed.Well, that will make figuring out where he lives pretty simple.
Once the elevator doors slid closed, I watched and waited. Not long after, the light stayed lit on the eighteenth floor before climbing back down. When the empty cabin reached me, I quickly stepped inside and jabbed eighteen, keeping my finger on the button. I wasn’t sure if it was true, but I had overheard someone in the dorms my first year mentioning that firefighters used that as a trick in larger cities to reach apartments quicker without stopping on varying floors. I crossed all my limbs, hoping that this opened to only a narrow hallway.
The elevator zoomed straight to the eighteenth floor. I poked my head out cautiously, glancing right and left before exiting. The hallway split in two directions; the elevator seemingly sat at the bottom of a ‘U.’ I took a moment to search for that odd bond I had with Ben, and it pulled me to the right. Going in the opposite direction would help me avoid him, I prayed. The last thing I wanted was to face his questions or whatever other interrogation I’d endure if he found out I had followed him into his building. Ordinarily, I didn’t resort to stalker tendencies, but he had left me no other choice.
A big bang caught my attention down the hall. Ben was heading out the door, the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder.
“It would have been nice if you gave me notice,” he grumbled into the phone. “I’m on my way now. Text me the address.” He threw his phone onto the ground with more force than I expected he was capable of. The plush carpet softened the phone’s landing, sparing it from breaking into several pieces.
