Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Summer

God, he smells good! And I can’t help but wonder if he can hear how loud my heart is beating, especially when he leans over and comes so close I could move slightly and end up with our mouths touching. I have to hold my breath before I do something stupid, and then he’s straightening back up and starting the car like that wasn’t just a moment. Maybe it wasn’t for him but for me… I’m going to be thinking about it for days and days.

Say something, stupid. “I hope this is alright. You said something comfortable so…um,” I wave my hand over the romper I have on and hope he doesn’t think I am fishing for compliments or trying to make him look at me like I am desperate for his eyes to be on me… even if it might be true.

“It’s perfect. You look beautiful. I already said that, didn’t I?” He takes his eyes off the road for a second to find mine before giving me a big smile. “Well, it’s true so… I’ll say it again.”

Is he just as nervous as I am? No. That can’t be right. He’s… perfect and I’m… well, the girls did the best they could with what I gave them to work with. “Where exactly are you taking me?”

I need to remind myself this is not an actual date but rather a ‘thank you’…visit. It sounds stupid but that’s exactly what this is. It’s not a date, it’s a way for him to say thank you and not feel like he owes me something. I have to keep that at the forefront of my mind or else I would be freaking out and then no one would want to be around me. I’d turn all sweaty and do something stupid and laugh all the time like a person who should be committed.

“You’ll see.” He reaches for my hand while still driving with his other one. His fingers wrap around mine and my heart picks back up. I can’t help but wonder…if this isn’t a date why is he holding my hand? And why do I feel like my heart is going to pop out of my chest and fly away?

All I can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. We don’t go far before he is pulling in a parking lot and turning the engine off. When I take the place in with lights flashing all around us and music coming out, I can feel myself start grinning. “Are you serious?” I look at him and see him smile. “This is awesome. You took me putt-putting.”

“I thought it would be something fun.”

“I love this. This is awesome. Let’s go. I bet I can beat your butt.”

He laughs and runs around the front of the jeep to meet me and I think I hear him say something about really enjoying that.

For the next couple of hours, we play, grab food, and play some more. I love the carnival atmosphere around us but also the low-key expectation of it all. I don’t have to try to remember what fork to us or if I should buy my own popcorn during a movie because it might say something if he buys it for me. I don’t have to worry about being dressed fancy enough or if I wore the right shoes.

By the time we leave and start back, I can’t stop grinning and it’s not as early as I thought it would be when we end things. In fact, it’s close to nine by the time we make our way into the parking garage over the penthouse I am staying in. I’ve already invited him up to keep this night going. I show him where he can park which happens to be beside my beat-up little Honda.

It doesn’t take me long to spot the damage when the headlights of his jeep pass across my Honda and I am sitting forward. I didn’t want this night to end but it seems I’m not going to be in control of that choice. I sit in the passenger seat utterly numb wondering what I should do next. What’s the protocol for ending the date when you find your car has been vandalized?

“You stay put, okay?” I don’t answer so he tugs on the end of a curl to get my attention. “Stay, angel, alright?”

I give him a nod and try to think about what I should do. Call the insurance company? Call Pearl and tell her? It is her brother’s home after all but then again, she will worry if I tell her so that doesn’t seem like the wisest thing to do.

Roan gets out and goes around his car where his headlights are still shining on the damage. He runs his hands over the scrapped paint and dented door. It looks like someone kicked it… a lot, before scratching the words in the paint - I SAW YOU WITH HIM BITCH!

A chill works its way up my back as I stare at the words. None of this really sinks in and I can’t seem to make sense of what is going on. I don’t realize Roan is back until he touches my hand and causes me to jump. I’m still buckled into the seat where he left me.

“Hey, angel, are you listening to me?”

No! I’m trying to figure out what to do. I’m embarrassed that this is the way the day ended instead of how I had intended it to. And I have a creeping feeling that I didn’t run quite far enough from my problems like I first thought I had.

“Sorry. I…I need to um…call someone.”

“I want you to stay in the car until I go up and check the apartment you’re staying in.”

“What? No! Have you never watched a scary movie before? That’s how the girl always gets killed. Or at the least, almost killed. I don’t want to have to run and fight off a madman in this.” I wave my hand over my outfit which before now seemed so perfect.

“Okay, one, this isn’t a movie sweetheart. And two, what’s wrong with what you have on?”

“If I face a murderer, I would like to have something other than this thin thing on. Something like a… hazmat suit or… overalls.”

“Overalls?”

“Yeah, if he uses his knife to pin me to the ground, I can just wiggle out of them and keep on running.”

“Okay, sweetheart, I don’t think you need to be wiggling out of anything when I’m not around and you are right, it’s not safe for me to leave you here. Come on, angel. Let’s go find out if anything else has been messed with.”

He helps me out of the car, and we walk away from my vandalized vehicle. He takes time to talk to Joe at the front door who promises him to pull all the security feeds from the parking garage and send them to him. He’s not seen anything out of the usual or had any new people other than me and Roan come through in the last two weeks.

“I sure am glad you are here to keep an eye on Miss. Summer.” I try to smile at Joe, but I can’t help being worried about when Roan won’t be here with me. What then?

Roan goes into the penthouse first and I hang back far enough I won’t get in his way if he has to do something fast but close enough I can easily yell for him if I see something… or someone.

“Does anything look out of place?”

I shrug my shoulders, “I'm not sure. I’ve only been here for a few days.”

“We’ll have to call Pearl, and have her and Spade come over so we know for sure nothing has been messed with.”

“Oh, do we have to? I don’t want her to worry, and Joe said he didn’t see…”

He gives me a look that clearly tells me I am going to have to make that call or he is.

“Fine. I’ll call.”

“Thank you.” He pulls me in close to him offering me a warm hug. “While you do that, I’m calling this in.”

“What?!” I try to pull away from him, but he is having none of it. “Why would you…? No. That’s not…why?”

“Because, sweetheart, they need to know.”