Leo(6)

I take a quick shower, drying my long, dark hair and putting it up into a ponytail and pulling on a pair of worn jeans and an oversized gray sweater. It's my day off and I'm going to do nothing more than putter around, make a trip to the library and spend the rest of the day on my balcony under a blanket, with a good book and a cup of tea. I briefly wonder if this plan might qualify me for early social security benefits. While other 22 year olds are sleeping in so they're well rested for the club later tonight, I'm taking stock of my tea collection. Yup.

Thirty minutes later, after making my bed and doing a quick pick up of my studio, I'm just beginning the walk down the street to the local neighborhood library, when I spot a dark silver BMW parked about a block up the street from my apartment. I don't know anything about cars, but I note the model on the back, M6. I smile slightly to myself. On duty today, I see.

I make it to the library and spend about an hour there, picking out a new stack of books for the upcoming week. I have four novels, a budget friendly cookbook, and a book about The Second World War. I may not have the money right now to go to college, but knowledge is only a library card away and I pick up a new subject each week.

As I make my way back to my apartment, I clock tall, dark-ish and handsome about a block behind me, walking leisurely and pretending to talk on his cell phone.

I make a decision. I pass my own apartment and I pick up my pace a little and as I turn the corner, I break into a run and turn into the small alley in the middle of the block. I run down the alley, hoping to double around and come up behind him.

I'm out of breath as I turn the corner on my own street again and walk very swiftly to the end of the block and peek around the corner. Sure enough, he's standing in the middle of the block, clearly confused and not knowing where I disappeared to. I walk quietly up behind him and say loudly, "It's impolite to stalk strangers!"

He whirls around and jumps back slightly, as he sucks a loud breath in through his slightly parted mouth. His eyes are wide. "Jesus! You scared the shit out of me!"

"I scared you?" I say incredulously, glaring at him, "You're the one following me like a creeper." I cock my head to the side. "By the way, pointer, if you're going to stalk someone, you should be less obvious about it. For instance, standing in the middle of the street gawking at your victim tends to be a giveaway." I narrow my eyes.

He remains silent, staring at me intently, his lips slightly parted. His lips! They're really nice lips! Don't be distracted, Evie! He could still be a serial killer! At the very least, a serious weirdo.

I put my hands on my hips. "Don't despair though. I'm sure with some study, you could get better. There might be an instructional video or something you could pick up… maybe a book on the subject, Creepy Stalker for Dummies?" I raise one eyebrow.

He stands still, continuing to stare at me without saying a word for several seconds, and then he bursts out laughing. "Well, holy hell, you really are something, aren't you?" but there's appreciation in his voice. And his laugh. Wow, his laugh is really nice.

I study him for a minute. Good God, I thought he was good looking before. But up close, this man is devastating, all square jaw, straight nose and deep brown eyes. If there is any imperfection to him at all, it's that he's a little too perfect, if that's possible. He's tall and broad and very masculine with a shadow of stubble on his jaw that looks more purposeful than unkempt. And when he laughs like that, I swear a piece of my soul, the part of me that keeps secrets even from myself, tries to lunge towards him, like his happiness is an invisible pull to my own heart. It's crazy. I don't even know this guy.

"Okay," I say, "Well, the gig is up. Why are you following me?" I narrow my eyes at him again. But truthfully, I'm not nervous. There are absolutely no danger vibes coming off of this guy at all. And I've contended with just about all brands of human fuckery. You could say I'm an expert in human fuckery.

Then he does something to knock me off balance completely. He runs his hand through his thick carmel brown hair, drops his head so he's looking up at me, and raises his eyebrows in a gesture that looks shy and doubtful, yet sexy as hell. And I almost swoon. That, right there. That's his deal sealer. I bet that look has girls all over the city dropping their panties right on the spot.

But then he speaks and I snap out of it. "I've been that obvious, huh?" and he has the grace to look embarrassed. He takes a step towards me. I take a step back. He stops. "I'm not going to hurt you," he says, sounding like my distrust of him is truly hurtful. I mean, really? Need I remind him again that he's a creepy stalker? And truly, I'm not afraid of him, but I don't know him either and a healthy distance from strangers is never a bad idea.