I finished his cut, ran some product through his hair, and dusted off his neck line.
“All good to go now,” I said. “You can check out at the front.”
I began to walk away, but he stood up quickly and grabbed me by the wrist. It was gentle, but it was still a grab nonetheless.
“Wait,” he said.
I spun around and saw his pleading eyes.
“I came all this way because I wanted to talk to you,” he said. In that moment, he almost seemed sweet and endearing.
“How the hell did you find out my name?” I asked. “Or that I worked here?”
I still didn’t want him knowing he’d found my correct home address, so I didn’t mention that.
“In this day and age, you can find anything about anyone,” he said. “It’s not hard. Besides, I’ve done some bounty hunting with my dad before. Trust me, I know how to find people.”
It was starting to make sense and seem a tiny bit less creepy, but it was still creepy.
“Look, I know this is really weird to you and maybe even scary,” he said. “Some random guy you hooked up with in Tulsa drives to you town to find you. I’d be weirded out too. But trust me, I’m just a nice guy who wants to get to know you better. You never gave me your number. And I wanted to see you in person.”
I had to admit, he was giving me a pretty compelling argument and making the situation seem a heck of a lot less crazy that I thought it was.
“Let me take you out for one drink tonight,” he said as he clasped my hand in his softly. “One drink. We can talk, and if you never want to see me again, I’ll let you go. You can go on your merry way, and you’ll never see me again.”
It was tempting. I looked down at the ground as I thought about it for a bit. It seemed insane to go anywhere with him, but on the other hand, I truly believed he was being genuine.
“Go pay,” I said as I nodded towards the front desk. “We can go to the Brass Monkey bar. I’ll drive separate and meet you there.”
Blaze’s face lit up and he flashed his megawatt, perfect smile. With his fresh haircut and charming face, he reminded me of the man I first met the weekend before. The man I was wildly attracted to. The man who touched me like no one had touched me before and who fucked my brains out.
CHAPTER 7
I slipped out the back of the shop, making sure the parking lot was still well lit, and headed for my car. In my head, I knew meeting up with him was crazy, but given his unpredictable nature, I knew I had no other choice. If I didn’t do what he wanted, he probably would’ve showed back up at my townhouse later that night. I knew he wasn’t leaving until he got what he wanted.
Growing up the daughter of a clinical psychologist mother, I learned very quickly how to figure people out. I learned how to read people, how to tell if they were dangerous, and how to read between the lines. I was still figuring Blaze out, but any man who could figure out who I was and where I lived in a matter of 24 hours was someone to watch out for.
My mother would kill me if she knew I was meeting up with him, but I had to trust my own instincts. I knew that if I showed him even an ounce of fear that he’d prey on that. People like him loved to scare people. It made them feel more in charge and in control. I didn’t want him to know I was afraid of him. I didn’t want him to know that I was wary of his motives. I hoped that if I treated him like I’d treat any other guy, he might see that I’m just a plain, old boring girl and lose interest.
I had a feeling Blaze was all about the chase. He was the epitome of a cat-and-mouse guy. If I gave him no chase, he’d hopefully move on.
I started my car and immediately locked the doors, checking my peripherals. I pulled out of the alley parking lot and proceeded down to the Brass Monkey bar. It was actually a nice little place despite its God-awful name. It was well lit and far from the seedy bar where I’d first met Blaze. It was in a good, safe part of town that I knew like the back of my hand, and I almost always saw people I knew there.
I figured if Blaze tried to pull anything funny that night, at least some acquaintances or even the bar tender would have a description on him. I sighed as I thought about how easily things could go wrong, but I didn’t want to think about it too much. I had to prove my point. I had to prove I wasn’t scared of him so he’d leave me the fuck alone and move on.
I parked my car in front of the bar, tucked my blonde hair behind my ears, and headed in. I honestly didn’t care that I probably looked like shit. I’d been on my feet since that morning with hardly a break between clients. If I were meeting any other guy, I’d have gotten all gussied up and at least slicked on a coat of red lipstick, but not for Blaze. He wasn’t getting any sort of special treatment.