Page 46 of The Handoff

Chapter 23

Lisa

“Right,hereyougo!” I said as I handed her the dress.

“What, this is the one on display? No, what are you doing? I told you I liked it, but it wasn’t a hint or anything.” She shoved the dress back to me.

I lied and told her I was going to the bathroom and she should keep an eye on Dane. We spotted him in Starbucks after we finished eating. It turned out I wasn’t really in the mood for pizza, and neither was she. I didn’t go the bathroom, but back to the store to get the dress. I found her sitting a safe distance from them, keeping her eye on them both.

“This is kinda weird, you stalking your boyfriend.” She sighed as if she was trying to make light of the situation.

“There’s something going on, we both know it. Don’t make it out that I’m crazy for doing it. You would do the same, right?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. I mean, I’ve had boyfriends, but not like you and Dane. I mean, you two are kind of intense.”

I pointed at her as she confirmed what I’d already suspected. Something wasn’t right, and though we didn’t know what the problem was, we were going to find out.

“Exactly. You go and have fun. I promise after I’ve seen what he’s up to, I’ll find out where you are and then we can do exactly what we set out to do today, I promise.”

She agreed, but then changed her mind as she stood up ready to leave, then sat back down on the edge again. “Don’t take too long, okay? I’m going back to the dorm, then you can call me and when you’re ready, we’ll shop and eat. Okay?”

“I thought you were hungry?” Which was me hinting that she should eat. Curiosity snatched my hunger the moment we went to Mama Mia and decided to stalk Dane instead.

She waved her hand as she stood, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, then walked away. “Yeah, but I lost my appetite. I’ll grab a sandwich or something on campus. Just call me when you’re done.” She was worried about me, which was sweet. I must have sat for all of twenty minutes, wondering if I was going crazy, when he came outside Starbucks alone. I couldn’t do my Plan B, which was to confront him and ask what was going on. I was no detective, and I didn’t even have a disguise, so he would easily see me. Instead, I kept my distance until we got outside, then crept, keeping a safe distance, and followed him. I was clumsy and couldn’t keep up with him at first. He crossed the street, and I suspected he was going to take the bus, and I knew I was right as he rushed for the bus which was coming.

I crossed after him but hadn’t quite figured out how I was going to get on the bus without him seeing me. Dane wasn’t even concentrating where he was going, his head was down as if he was walking aimlessly when he got on the bus and slumped in his seat at the front. I swiftly passed him and sat a few rows behind him. He didn’t mind anyone or care about his surroundings; it was seeing him in such a state that only made me want to reach out to him even more and stop being a stalker.

Then, after a few blocks, after wondering if he knew that I was with him, he jumped up. I realized we were downtown, in an area that a guy like Dane would never be caught dead in. But he was, and I knew that he was going to get down and I had to act fast.

I managed to get off, even after the driver accused me of nearly killing everyone by holding the doors. I followed him, making sure I wasn’t too close to him until I saw him knock on the door and a guy open it. I waited to get near to see exactly where he was going, and I saw the guy who opened it gave him a pat on the back. He knew him. He was tall, around the same height as Dane, and his dark eyes lit up as soon as he saw Dane, but then something strange happened as I drew closer.

"Daxon, you're not due in until tonight."

Daxon? I said to myself as they continued their conversation inside, away from me. I was standing on the street corner, so maybe I’d heard wrong. I’d watched one too many episodes of Veronica Mars, and I sure as hell wasn’t good at this at all. I sighed as I walked away, but then came back once the door slammed shut.

There was a notice on the door, it was a jazz club. I looked up to see that it wasn’t opening until later on tonight. I didn’t care if Dane had plans for us tonight. I was coming back here. Since it opened at eight, I would come at nine. And hopefully Tanya would join me.

I don’t get it. Why did that guy call him Daxon?

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