Riley bit her bottom lip, following along with him. She’d assumed even her reclusive neighbor would fall for the Barbie doll looks of Amanda and her friends. “Well, thanks for that. You don’t have to leave because of me,” she said.
“I wasn’t there to socialize, just help you out. According to your rules, that should earn me a question.”
She smiled. “Sure, ask away.”
The street lights flicked on, the music from the party fading as they neared their homes. “You were in foster care since you were twelve. What happened before that?”
“I never told you that.” Her nerves flared up. How could he know that about her?
“If you were busting tables at fourteen to avoid turning tricks, I guarantee you were a foster kid,” he said. “What happened before that?”
This guy might be nosier than she was. Riley owed him an answer, but his question was way more invasive than asking for a simple name. She didn’t like to venture that far into her memories. They were vile, and she wished she could erase them from her head completely.
“Why do you care?”
“I have an inquiring mind. Considering you like to spy on me, I want to know what I’m dealing with.”
She frowned, grating her teeth. Her first reaction was to tell him to “fuck off”. She was good at that, putting up walls and keeping people at bay. But he was right. Riley had been snooping on him because her curious mind drove her crazy if she ignored it. She still refused to admit the truth.
They stopped in front of their driveways. She turned to face him, her hands defensively on her hips. “My childhood isn’t anyone’s business but mine. Besides, it has nothing to do with who I am today.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Then your childhood must have been really fucked up,” she said. Riley immediately regretted her words. She sounded like a bitch, but she was used to protecting herself with words when she felt threatened.
“It was.”
Then he walked up the path to his front door without another word. Riley felt like a royal ass. The guy had saved her from the party, walked her home, and asked a question. What was wrong with her?
Part of her wanted to chase after him and apologize. Again. She had no clue what this guy’s history was, and more than anyone, she knew what it was like to have a miserable childhood.
She watched him enter his house before going home. How had he known she needed saving from the party? Why did he care? A tiny piece of her heart hoped and wondered if he liked her. Relationships didn’t exactly work out for her—ever. She liked sex, liked men, but the long-term thing always fell flat. Riley was convinced she attracted assholes, keeping her dream of a normal happily ever after out of reach. Maybe staying away from Shadow was in her best interest.
For the next week, she barely saw her neighbor. She’d seen him leave the house once, and he put out his trash as usual. He ignored her as he had since she moved in, but it just felt awkward now.
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After closing up late the next Friday night, the parking lot was already full, a mix of cars and motorcycles. The new bar in the plaza was attracting an unsavory crowd. A few of the units had already complained, and they’d only been open for a week. Riley didn’t really care since she was usually closed for the day before they started getting rowdy.
She’d just put her keys in her car lock when Janet rushed her from behind. “Riley!”
“Don’t sneak up on someone like that,” she said, clutching her chest.
“I can’t work like this anymore,” Janet said. “I can’t even get to my car.”
“Why not?”
“It’s over there. I’m scared to go near those creeps.” Janet held her suit jacket shut tight as she glanced over the top of the car to the other end of the lot.
“Do you want me to walk you to your car?” Riley asked.
Janet exhaled. “Would you?”
Riley nodded, putting her keys back in her purse. “No problem.” After the life she’d lived, rough guys and drunks didn’t scare her. “You should park in front of your office next time.”
“I know. I will,” said Janet. “I don’t usually leave this late, but I had a lot of paperwork to finish.”
They walked across the lot together. The loud laughter and cursing mingled with the music from the bar. The door was propped open, and a group of men were outside. Riley smelled pot, and it churned her stomach. She’d moved out to the suburbs to get away from this type of shit.