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One delicious chicken burger later - and some playful foot rubbing under the table – and the knots in my stomach are finally starting to loosen. With Marcus here, I feel safe, grounded, happy.
I grin as I watch him sip his lemonade. There’s something endearing about seeing a grown man drink through a straw that makes me giggle.
“What are you laughing at?” he asks, a playful smirk on his face that makes my cheeks warm.
“Nothing,” I reply, shaking my head but still smiling.
He slurps the last of his drink with an obnoxious gurgle through the ice, and I can’t help it – I burst into laughter, his smile warming my heart.
As the laughter fades, a soft silence falls between us.
“Thank you for coming when I called,” I say quietly.
“You don’t need to thank me.”
His eyes find mine with a steadiness that makes my breath catch.
“Listen, after everything… I’m here, alright? Any time you need me, just call, and I’m there. Day or night. I mean that.” His gaze is locked on mine, intent and unwavering, his eyes insisting that his words are a promise.
I nod, my throat tightening. “I know. Thank you.”
“Come stay at mine tonight,” he says, the words instantly sending a sharp thrill through my entire body.
I hesitate for half a second as he rests his hand gently on top of mine.
“I didn’t want you to leave last night, but I didn’t want to pressure you. I shouldn’t have let you go.”
Heat blooms in my chest, spreading outward like a lit match in dry grass. I can already picture the night ahead – his strong arms wrapped around me, tangled in his sheets, the taste of his lips on mine.
“I’d love that,” I say.
His face lights up, his eyes literally glowing, even in the dim light.
“Me too,” he says, and my heart soars.
“I’ll just need to stop back at my flat and pick up a couple of things, if that’s okay?”
“Yea, of course.” He wipes the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “You ready?”
I nod, and as we walk back down the street, hand in hand, the fear from earlier has almost vanished, fading into the background.
It’ll be fine. I don’t need to go to the police. They’ll find him. And tonight… I’ll be safe. With Marcus.
The lift doors slide shut, and Marcus’s fingers tighten around my hand. He turns, pressing my back against the wall as his mouth finds mine – hungry and certain - stealing the breath straight from my lungs. I clutch the railing behind me to stay upright, my knees threatening to give out from under me, becauseholy fuck.
The doors open way too soon and the sudden loss of his lips leaves my skin tingling like a spark cut short.
Hand in hand, grinning like a giddy schoolgirl, I step into the corridor – only to freeze dead in my tracks.
The door to my flat is hanging open.
We stand, silent, still, listening for any signs of sound, but there’s nothing.
“Go back to the lift,” Marcus whispers, not taking his eyes off the door. “Take it to another floor. If you don’t hear from me in five minutes, call the police.”
I nod and turn back in to the lift, jamming the button with trembling fingers. The doors close around me and I press the button for the sixth floor.
Terror grips every muscle in my body, my breath short and sharp, my pulse drumming in my ears. I grip my phone like it’s the only solid thing left in the world, thumb hovering over the nine.