Page 32 of Follow Me Down

Chapter Eight

Fallon

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“Where are we?” I askafter we’ve driven several miles and I still don’t recognize any of our surroundings.

“We’re making a pit stop.” Titus throws me a quick sideways glance.

“A pit stop where, exactly?” I shift nervously in my seat.

“You’ll see.” He grins, slowing to a near stop before turning off onto a barely visible dirt road.

“Is this the part where you kill me and dump my body where no one will find it?” I say, only half joking.

“If I were going to kill you, I wouldn’t have taken you shopping and out to eat first. Too many witnesses.”

“Ha. Ha,” I mock. “Seriously though, where are we?” I hold onto the door as the truck rocks back and forth over the bumpy dirt path.

“Look.” He points through the windshield as a large pond comes into view, partially hidden by thick brush and trees.

He pulls the truck off to the side of the path and kills the engine, hopping out before I’ve even attempted to move. He stands in the open doorway and looks back at me.

“You coming?”

I nod, unlatching my seatbelt before climbing out. I join Titus at the front of the truck, noticing the long, wooden dock that stretches out several feet into the pond.

“What are we doing here exactly?” I ask, swatting at an insect that lands on my forearm.

“I was in the mood for a swim.” He grins, grabbing the hem of his shirt before pulling the material over his head. I purposely avoid looking anywhere but at his face.

“Swim?” I look at him like he’s grown an extra head. “In there?”

“Yes, in there.” He chuckles, peeling his faded jeans off before kicking them next to his boots. I catch a glimpse of his fitted boxer briefs before I force my eyes back up, not missing the way heat slides up my cheeks. “You see any other bodies of water laying around?” He gestures around us.

Snagging my hand, he pulls me behind him onto the dock. It creaks and sways under our weight and I’m fairly convinced that it’s only a matter of time before the whole thing collapses into the water. Hopefully not while I’m standing on it.

“I am not getting in there.” I look over the edge of the dock, down at the murky pond water.

“Relax. I come out here all the time.”

“All the time? Because it looks like no one has been here in ages.”

“It’s just a pond.” He seems amused.

“I can only imagine what’s living in there.”

“Fish. Turtles. Probably a few snakes. Nothing that’s going to hurt you.”

“That you know of.” I take a step back, shaking my head.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared.” He crosses his arms in front of himself, momentarily pulling my gaze to the splashes of color that pepper his bare chest.

“I’m not scared,” I insist. “I just don’t like swimming in water I can’t see through.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.”

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