Page 43 of Lawton

It was true. Lately, she was all I thought about. But scaring her wasn't part of my plan, so I looked into those amazing eyes, and said, "I dunno. I just can't."

The corners of her mouth lifted. "You just don't want to."

"Probably."

At this, she turned and started walking again. I fell in beside her, letting her little dog lead the way.

"Look," I said, "I know what you were thinking, me showing up so early, but that wasn't it."

"Oh."

When she said nothing else, I went on. I stuck to the basics. I told her how I found the tag and knew she'd want it back as soon as possible. Ididn'ttell her that I was looking for an excuse, any excuse to see her again. If I played my cards right, from now on, I might not need an excuse.

Remembering my plans to keep it low-key, I changed the subject, bringing up some comedy that I'd seen a couple weeks earlier. For whatever reason, that seemed to break the ice.

Walking with her, I felt myself smile. When I moved out here a few weeks earlier, I didn't give a rat's ass about fitting in. Back then, all I wanted was to be left alone. Now, I wanted something else, her, the girl who belonged here.

Before I knew it, we'd circled around to her place.

She reached out to take Chucky's leash. "Thanks for the walk."

I couldn’t help but tease her, at least a little. Grinning, I held the leash just out of reach. "You sure you can handle him?"

"Oh please," she said with that same playful eye-roll.

I couldn't resist. I lowered my voice. "Please what?"

Her lips parted, and her breath caught. I stood, frozen, half wondering if she'd invite me inside.

She didn't.

Instead, she reached up and snatched the leash from my outstretched hand. Tossing a quick goodbye over her shoulder, she bounded down her long driveway, with the dog leading the way. I watched her go, feeling an obscene amount of satisfaction when she stopped at her front door and turned back to look.

Across the distance, I saw her smile. The smile mademesmile, too. But I wasn't going anywhere, not yet.

I waited, watching as Chloe unlocked the front door, pushed it open, and disappeared inside. Then, and only then, did I turn back toward my own house, just like any regular Joe might do.

Yeah, I could do this – fit in, blend, whatever. It'd be easy. Or at least, that's what I thought until late that night, when I opened my front door to a girl whowasn'tChloe, and never would be, no matter how hard she tried.

It was Brittney. And the way it looked, she was drunk off her ass.

Chapter 21

From inside the open doorway, I stared down at her. She stood on my front porch, looking glazed and unsteady, in a tight red dress and matching stiletto heels. She blinked up at me and slurred, "Can I come in?"

I crossed my arms. "Where's Amber?"

Brittney stumbled sideways, grabbing the porch-rail just in time. "I dunno."

It was nearly midnight. I'd spent the last ten hours making up for the work I'd missed earlier. I didn't have the time – or the inclination – for whatever it was that Brittney had in mind.

I glanced past her, toward the front gate. It was open. The last time I looked, it had been closed. It had been closed for reason.

"How'd you get the code?" I asked.

She let go of the rail and stood, tottering on her heels. "Huh?"

"The gate-code. How'd you get it?"