Page 86 of Dark, Forbidden, & Taboo

My shoulders slump as I put my hand on the railing and begin to descend the steps. I’m sure my miserable aura is becoming thick enough to cause a turbulence shift in the air.

“What’s your name?”

The question stops me on the second-to-last step, my foot hovering half an inch from the pavement below as I turn and glance at him over my shoulder. It takes him taking a step outside his front door for me to realize that he’s actually speaking to me, that it’s not just another wish dying inside my head.

“Uh…” My breath comes out in an unsteady shake as I grip the railing tighter, the world threatening to begin spinning beneath me. I don’t understand why being this close to him is making me as nervous as it is, when it’s the one thing I’ve been craving night after night.

“You have a name, don’t you?” he asks as he sits down and watches me with amusement dancing in those milk chocolate orbs of his.

“Yeah,” I say with a nervous laugh. “It’s George.” The look of immediate confusion, followed by the disbelieving smirk, is something I’m used to at this point in my life. I sigh as I finally place my foot on the pavement and lean against the railing. “Go ahead, laugh—everyone else usually does.”

He shakes his head as he gets takes me in and places the palms of his hands on the porch, then leans back. His legs spread a little wider, and I watch his leg methodically move from side to side. It’s almost hypnotic, and I think he knows it. “There’s nothing to laugh at. I’ve just never met a girl named George before, is all.”

“Oh.”

Stop being so fucking timid, or you’ll bore him.

“What’s your name?” I ask, forcing an interested smile onto my face. It’s an honest question; I never bothered to look at the package I’ve held hostage for two days now.

The only thing I’m truly interested in is what he can do to me behind those doors, but I have to gain his favor first, and that’s going to be the hardest thing of all. I’m not very inclined to speak much to anyone, and here’s my euphoria, talking to me without a care in the world, and the only thing I can do is quiver like a stupid, inexperienced little girl.

It’s probably because that’s exactly what I am.

“Duran,” he replies, a smile slipping over his lips. “Now it’syourturn to laugh.”

“Why would I laugh?” I ask in confusion.

His smile slips slightly as he quirks an eyebrow. “You don’t know the band?”

“No,” I reply softly, tucking my hair behind my ear again.

He lets out his breath in a rush as he shrugs. “Okay, that’s a little strange, but most people are, right?”

I nod, lowering my eyes to the ground.

I hate myself for being such a quiet little mouse right now, but again, I didn’t exactly have a speech prepared.

“I’ll see you around then, George,” Duran finally says.

I glance up at him and notice he’s gazing pointedly toward the side of his house.

The side where the magical window sits that leads into nirvana, and that’s when the realization stabs me in the chest like a murderer’s blade.

He knows.

Chapter

Three

I’ve been home for some time now with my heart in my throat. I stripped my clothes off as soon as I arrived and am sitting in my bathtub as the water progressively turns colder.

I feel like such a dirty girl.

He knows that I’ve been watching him almost night after night, and with his glance at the window where I stand, I take it as an invitation. Had he not wanted me to continue my takingin his work, he would have shooed me off and told me to never come back.

But he didn’t.

He wants me to watch, I think, a small smile creeping across my lips.He wants me to watch because he wants me to know what he likes.

---