Forged in Stone - Alyssa Rose Ivy Page 0,6
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“Long story, but he’s not my type.”
“And you assumed your friend had planted a man in your bed?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Well, she tricked me into the blind date. It was supposed to be a girls’ night. And it was the only explanation I could come up with that didn’t terrify me when I saw you.” Why was I telling him so much? First I couldn’t talk, and now I couldn’t shut up.
“You mean it was easier to accept than me being a psycho killer waiting to kill you?”
“You’re not, right? You didn’t fake those pictures to put me at ease?” I was mostly joking.
“If I was, would I really admit it?”
“I should have just rented a place.” I leaned on the kitchen table. “It would have been simpler. My mom thought I was crazy for doing this, and I guess she was right.”
“Finding a free place to live is not crazy. Especially not one with views of the water.”
“It was to her. She wanted me to come home.”
“Where is home?” He watched me closely.
“North Carolina. Chapel Hill.” The words slipped out of my mouth on their own accord. I covered my face with my hand.
He laughed. “What? You afraid I will stalk you? If I was going to hurt you, would I simply be sitting here right now? And if you were worried, why not call the authorities? Your phone is right there.” He pointed at where my phone lay on the kitchen table.
“I’d rather not spend the night filling out police reports.”
“Good, then back to our conversation.” He grinned. “I have been to Chapel Hill.”
“Oh yeah? Know someone who went to Carolina or something?” Him knowing my hometown shouldn’t have put me at ease, but for some reason it did. I was getting far too relaxed.
“The Calloway’s son, Kevin, played basketball for them.”
“What?” He’d definitely peaked my interest. “Wait. When?”
“Eight years ago.”
“Kevin Calloway? The name sounds vaguely familiar.” I raked through my extensive knowledge of the Tar Heels.
“Yeah, he only played one year...”
“Was he injured or did he jump to the NBA?” Both were frustrating as a fan of the team.
“He, uh, left school.”
“Oh, ok. Well, hope you enjoyed your visit to Chapel Hill.” There was more to the Calloway son’s story than James was saying. Maybe he’d gotten expelled or something.
He smiled again. His smile was deadly. It made my whole body warm. “I did.”
“You grew up here then? With the Calloways?” I took a seat at the table.
He sat down next to me. “I did some high school here.”
I picked up his t-shirt where it lay on the chair on my other side. “You must be cold.”
“Cold?” He accepted the t-shirt. “Is that the excuse you are going to use?”
“What do you mean?” I crossed my arms again.
“My being without a shirt bothers you.”
“No, why would it?” I could feel blood rushing to my face. Evidently my ogling hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“You are used to sitting around with strange guys who are not wearing shirts?”
“You’re supposed to be convincing me you’re safe. Calling yourself strange doesn’t help your case.”
“Why would I be convincing you I was safe?” He moved to put on the shirt.
I couldn’t help but watch as he pulled down the shirt agonizingly slow. “Because you broke into my house in the middle of the night.”
“It is not really the middle of the night. Besides, this is not your house, and I did not break anything.”
“It is for the time being, and you know exactly what I mean about breaking in.”
“What if I wanted to stay here too?”
“Stay here?” I coughed. “No way.”
“Why not? You are not paying rent.”
Anger started to rise in me. Just because I wasn’t paying didn’t mean it wasn’t my home for the time being. “Because for all I know the Calloways hate you.”
“They do not hate me. Charlotte and I are close friends.”
“You’re not staying here anyway. I’m not interested in a roommate.”
“Maybe I should take my shirt off again. You liked me better that way.” He winked.
Embarrassment mixed with the anger. “Do you want me to kick you out?”
“Were you not about to do that anyway?”
My mouth fell open. “I didn’t necessarily mean tonight.”
“So you do have a soft spot for me.” He arched an eyebrow.
“Tell me why you’re here.”
“I came back into town, drank too much, and I did not want to go all the way home.” He shrugged.
“You drank too much? Lovely. But where’s home?”
“I do not have one locally yet.”
“Then what did you mean by you