“No, I really am fine, Miles,” I interrupted him with a reassuring smile. “This is my friend, Ben.”

But Miles shook his head, unable to resist looking sceptical. “Yeah, well, you let me know if you need anything, alright?”

I nodded. “Alright.”            

“You’re welcome to join the party too, if you’d like. I can wait for you –”

“She won’t be joining your party,” Ben said harshly, turning his body completely to him. “She’ll be talking to me. So how about you turn around and go back to getting sloshed instead of interrupting us again?”

Miles looked stunned, and his breathing picked up as his anger set in. But the way Ben was staring at him would have been lethal if looks truly did kill. It didn’t help Ben was much bigger than him too. He looked between the two of us and then turned around, stumbling back in the direction of his house.

“I’m sorry for being hard on him,” Ben said in a voice that was far from apologetic. “I don’t like to be interrupted, especially by drunks.”

I stifled a laugh. Miles might have stuck around for eons if Ben hadn’t said what he did. I ran a hand through my hair and kicked the door open all the way.

“You can come in,” I told Ben. I didn’t want to attract any more attention, or – God forbid – interruptions.

I turned away from him and walked into the house. I heard him enter and shut the door. When I felt his presence behind me, the nerves rebounded. I turned to look at him and my face landed straight into his chest. The scent of him was all around me. Startled, I took a step back. His grey eyes met mine a split second later, and those lips went up again as he let me put distance between us.

“Was it your friend I snapped at?” he then asked.

I paused and then shook my head. “Neighbour.”

“A very concerned one, it seemed.”

I shrugged. “Just a neighbour,” I stressed. The last thing I wanted was for him to be getting ideas – wrong ones.

He gave me a nod. “Alright.”

Cue another brutal silence.

One that consisted solely of us staring at each other.

When his focus lingered on my mouth, for a second every part of me believed he was going to cut the distance and kiss me. He looked like he was about to. Like there was nothing holding him back. I envisioned it. I remembered how soft his lips were, and how much I wanted to slip my tongue in between the seam of his mouth and taste him.

I waited with bated breath, but it didn’t come. He remained standing in his place, waiting on me. I was a little disheartened, and then annoyed I wouldn’t have objected if he did.

I was quickly becoming those too stupid to live girls.

“You can have a seat,” I finally managed out, breaking whatever it was between us.

I motioned to the entrance lounge. The house was modestly sized and open concept. The lounge backed onto a large granite countered kitchen that Mom had remodelled a couple years ago. The house itself was old, but it was well maintained. It was lightly decorated, and the warm colours throughout made the atmosphere very homey.

Still. It was unnerving seeing him inside. He seemed to invade everything it stood for. Like he was somehow too good for it and belonged in some penthouse somewhere.

I knew I was judging him based on the high-end clothes he was wearing, and because I knew deep down he was a man that enjoyed the finer things in life. His attitude and demeanour screamed it.

He walked past me, getting close enough to brush his side lightly against my bare arm. It may have seemed like such an insignificant move, but it made my body buzz with warmth. He sat down on the three seater beige couch, his body positioned in my direction. He relaxed back into the cushions, like he’d been here ten million times before. Meanwhile, I just stood there, in the centre of the lounge, not understanding any bit of this.

“What do you want from me?” I asked him quietly, staring down at the hardwood floor.

“You left your wallet in my pocket,” he replied. “Clearly you want something from me.”

I shook my head slowly. “That was a year ago.”

“Has that changed then? You don’t want what you did before?”

I pursed my lips and frowned. “I don’t even know what I wanted before.”

“You wanted me to find you.”

I didn’t respond to that. He was right.

“You were attracted to me on that train,” he went on smoothly. There was no hesitation in this man. “You liked the way I made you feel.”

I continued to stare down at the fascinating hardwood floor, idly counting the light scratches in the wood. I could feel the awkwardness in me grow.

“Is that why you kissed me?”

I froze and my cheeks flushed at the memory. God, I was so bold back then. Who was that girl? She’d have kicked ass in this moment and danced circles around him in that seductive way she’d mastered so well.

“No,” I whispered. “That’s not why I kissed you.”

“Will you tell me the reason?”

“No.”

I looked up when he went silent. He was looking at me like I was a code he was trying to crack. Oh, baby, crack away.

“Come sit down next to me,” he then told me, motioning to the seat beside him.

Holy hell. This was my house and he was trying to make me feel comfortable! I was reluctant to at first, finding comfort in standing a safe distance away from him. But my body obeyed him before my mind could come to grips with his words. I sat down, grateful that the good side of my face was in his direct line of view. I pulled my dress down and brought my legs together, feeling very conscious of the way I looked.

“So what now?” I found myself asking, staring into my lap.

“Now you can look at me,” he replied.

I turned my head slightly in his direction and my eyes jumped to his.

“Why did you decide now to reach out?” I wondered aloud.

“Several reasons,” he answered. He leaned forward, until my body was acutely aware of his, and his fingers touched my hair. I stifled a shiver as he pulled back my hair and tucked it behind my ear. Christ, it was almost intimate.

This was very odd.

“What are they?” I let out.

He broke into a lopsided smile. “First tell me why you kissed me.”