Page 6 of Shadowing Charlotte

Chapter six

Alexander

I tried not to stiffen as she left the smoothie shop, carrying two cups in her dainty little hands.

It had been so long since I'd been that close to her.

She walked right by me, her cinnamon hair bouncing in her high ponytail.

With a grimace, she wafted away the smoke I exhaled, never turning to look at me.

Perhaps her instincts weren't as sharp as I'd always thought.

Where is she going? Who the fuck is she meeting with two smoothies? When she rounded the corner of the building, I couldn't help but follow, needing answers to my questions.

What I hadn't expected was to turn the corner and come face to face with her. Charlotte Emmerson was glaring up at me with her hands on her hips. Fuck…

"How did you get in?" she demanded hotly, her golden eyes staring up at me with a mixture of anger and expectation.

"What?" Idiot… Charlotte had caught me off guard. My mind went blank as she cocked an eyebrow at me, the same way she had the first time I laid eyes on her.

"Your second mistake was coming this close," she informed me, crossing her arms over her chest, the action pushing her breasts up beneath that scrap she called a top.

"Your first mistake was following me around in the same fucking car you bought from my dad.

" I stared at her, stunned to silence as she reached out and plucked the cigarette from my fingers.

Her pretty pink lips wrapped around the end, and she took a drag, grimacing as she exhaled the smoke and dropped it on the ground, crushing it beneath her foot. It would be a lie to say the image didn't make my heart race .

"You should switch to vapes. They're healthier," she scolded, as if she was simply advising a friend.

"They haven't done enough studies to confirm that..." I replied, the words coming out before I could think them through. She hummed in thought, pursing her lips at me.

"So, what? Do you get off on following me around?" she asked bluntly, appraising me with those honey eyes of hers that made me feel like ice cream melting beneath a hot sun.

"I certainly did yesterday," I blurted without a second thought. Her cheeks turned a cute shade of red, and I smirked. Charlotte let out a small huff of irritation, reaching down to pick up the smoothies she had set at her feet.

"You allergic to anything?" she asked. I shook my head, my eyebrows rising as she held the second cup out in offering.

"It's peach." Charlotte informed me, shaking it slightly, waiting for me to take the smoothie from her.

"Here's the deal. You're going to stop fucking stalking me.

I'm grateful for that night at the quarry, but you and I both know this is wrong.

" I took a sip from the straw, not bothering to reply.

We both knew this little game wasn't coming to an end any time soon; to say otherwise would be kidding ourselves.

"And if I don't?" I countered after a moment of tense silence. Fucking fuck. Where the hell did that come from? Now that she'd seen my face, the situation was dangerous. I was going to find myself in prison if I wasn't careful.

"Then I'll tell my boyfriend," she threatened. I couldn't restrain the feral grin that spread across my face.

"Are you going to tell your "boyfriend" that you let me watch you finger yourself last night?" I asked snidely. Her skin flushed and she glared at me. My words sparked her anger, but she wasn't afraid. The realization hit me like a bolt of lightning, arousal stirring beneath my skin.

"I'll tell my father," she retorted, as if the threat could possibly deter me after all this time.

"Princess, do you have any idea how long I've been watching you?" I found myself asking. I had no control over myself; that's what she did to me. Every word, every reaction, poured out of me instinctively.

"Yes…" she replied tightly, the muscled in her jaw flexing as she clenched her teeth.

"Then you and I both fucking know that you're not telling anyone anything." My smirk widened, victory shining in my eyes.

"You're a fucking psycho," Charlotte sneered. If looks could kill, I might have dropped dead right there on the sidewalk.

"You think I don't know that?" I asked, pulling another smoke from my pack and lighting it.

Charlotte grimaced before turning and storming past me, shaking her head and muttering under her breath.

I watched her cross the street and disappear around the corner toward her house, the smile never falling from my face.