Page 45 of Hello, Listener
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me after work.” His deep voice startles me through the cloud of silence between us. His words sound like we just had an office meeting, not something just shy of a date.
“Thank you for inviting me.” I look up with the most innocent smile I can muster up. The charming smile he gives me in return could melt off the black jeans I’m wearing. He grips his fingers around the leather steering wheel until I hear the small sound of skin up against the rubber texture.Is he just as nervous as I am?I reach for the plastic handle in an attempt to leave his car.
“Well,” I say, interrupting the few seconds of quiet, “it’s late and I probably should be getting inside. I’m sure you have to work early in the morning.”
“At least let me walk you to your door.” He removes his key from the ignition, turning the car off completely. With the same bright look, I nod in his direction.What choice do I have at this point?
He presses his heavy hand on my thigh as a signal to wait for his chivalrous attempt to open my door. My hand freezes at my side, and I watch him make his way around to my side of the car. The loud noise of the heavy door closing reverberates off the empty streets.
“Lead the way,” he insists with the enthusiastic grin he still wears on his face.
We both walk up to the metal door on the side of the building. It opens to the stairs that would eventually lead to a hall of many apartments. This door is supposed to be locked, but none of the residents ever lock it when they leave. Alan follows closely behind while we walk up the white-tiled stairs. His dress shoes tap along the hard, cold surface.I wonder what his place looks like. Is it anything like Lee’s place? I bet Alan lives in a large mansion in the middle of a gated community. I bet he has maids and cooks that cater to his every whim.
What would Lee think if he knew Alan was walking me home? Would he be upset if he knew someone else was walking with me up to my apartment, or would he be happy knowing that I’m being safe?
The memory of the other night in his car muddies my vision.Did he really tell me that I am “his?” What does that mean for us? Am I his? Or is that just something he tells every woman he’s with? Are we together, or am I just reading too much into what he said? Honestly, with my history, it’s probably the second one.What does that mean for me and Alan?
When I look at him and he looks back at me, it’s just different. It’s like I’m being sucked into a fucking trance, and I can’t do anything but stare back. His jade eyes are the true cause of my hypnosis.
We stop when we come to the long hallway of brown metal doors. With Alan trailing close behind, the doors look like they will go on forever.
“You’re apartment 6C, right?” He inquires while looking over my shoulder.
“What?”How the fuck does he know that?I turn my head to look at him behind me. I wonder if he notices the red creeping into my cheeks.
“I can see your key.”
Of course.The6Cis engraved in the middle of the square-shaped silver key I’m holding in my hand.Nothing weird about that. Calm down, Thalia.
The once-charming beam he has worn is now replaced with that sexy smirk he does. Either way, my jeans are fucked.
“Right.” I continue to lead him straight to the direction of my door. My mind floods with nervous thoughts, ones that come a littletoolate.I am taking someone I barely know to where I live;I am showing Alan Jones where my apartment is. The host of my favorite podcast, a man that I think about when I’m alone, is going to know where I live.
My keys jingle in my hand with every step I take.Five more doors, four more doors… two more doors… here it is. Fuck, what should I do?
“Well,” I ramble nervously, “here we are.” I lean my back against the door, and hesitantly, my eyes lay on his.
“Here we are.” His emerald orbs shoot into my core. Alan’s large body is so close to mine, the heat of him undeniable.
“Thank you for walking me home.”Fuck, did my voice just crack? He just smiled. Yep, it definitely cracked.
“Anytime. I would gladly do it again.” He places his large hand on my door frame next to my head. His casual dominance has my knees weakening.
“What if I called you, and I was standing on the stairs all alone at one in the morning?”What the fuck am I doing? Is this another attempt at flirting? I am acting like a smitten teenager.Alan looks down at his watch.
“Well, right now it’s getting close to five A.M. and here I am. If it were any other night and you told me you needed me, I would drive as fast as I could from wherever the hell I was, just so I knew you would get home safe.”
There is something in the way he leans in closer, and the way the pitch changes in his voice tells me he isn’t kidding. Alarms are screaming in my head. I should be scared right now.This isn’t some rom-com movie; this is real life. Tell him to leave, Thalia. You’ve only met this guy, like what, twice? Use what you learned from his fucking show and don’t be an idiot.
“It’s good to know I’ll always be safe.” I swallow a deep knot in my throat, putting on the most confident mask that I can muster.
“You’llalwaysbe safe around me.” The volume of his voice is barely above a whisper. I nod and turn to face the door, Alan’s warm breath brushing the back of my neck as he watches me slide the key in the lock. Time seems to freeze as my brain weighs the outcomes of our interaction, of all the questions still swirling in my mind.
I turn the knob and use my hip to push open the door, wondering if he’ll follow me in.Or would he be a gentleman as always andwait for an invitation?He leans his tall figure against the frame of the entryway with his arms across his chest. “Have a good night, Thalia.”
He smiles broadly from ear to ear and turns to walk in the opposite direction.
Three. Two. One. Just what I thought…“Hey, Alan...” I hear the quiver in her voice as she calls out to me.Yes, my Listener.Stopping, I turn around in the empty hallway of doors, attempting nonchalance. If I’m not careful, I might look too desperate.
