“It looks old.”
Kaylee sniffs indifferently. “It probably is. The basement is freaky.”
By freaky I’m going to assume she means There’s no wine cellar down under the house.
As we get ready to step down from the sidewalk to cross the street, she looks over at me. “I bet you’ve been inside tons of mansions, living in England and all.”
Mansions? “We call them estates back home. Or castles. Only the Queen has palaces, except a handful of noblemen.” I give her a brief lesson in our culture, though I’m not sure she’s listening. “Most of the big estates name their houses, such as Clarence House.”
Come to think of it, there are so many words for large stately home—Park. Hall. None of them are mansion.
“So have you been in one?”
“Sure. Loads of my chums from school live in old estates.”
She sighs. “That’s so cool. I wish I had friends who lived in palatial estates.”
I shrug, used to going to homes that have been in families for generations. “Britain is the oldest country in the world.” Not really, but it’s not like she’s going to correct me. “Most of the houses are hundreds of years old, or older.”
A fact I probably take for granted.
Everything in America feels so new, with very little historical significance, having only been a country for a few hundred years.
Pfft.
I scoff at the fact and tip my chin up.
There are no lights on inside Kaylee’s house—nothing in the front room and no lights glowing from any of what must be bedrooms—and it’s not terribly late, so I wonder if anyone is home.
Anyone.
Ha.
Anyone being Eliza.
I wouldn’t hate it if we ran into her.
She’s funny and interesting and we have a few things in common: comics and action figures and…breakfast food.
“I have some scones inside if you want one,” Kaylee says as she punches in the keypad code that’s on the door, smiling over her shoulder, pushing it open. “You are coming in, right?”
The kitchen is dark, and she has to flip the switches on.
“Is anyone home?”
“Doesn’t look like it, does it?” She turns to face me, looking very much like a femme fatale.
I gulp.
I don’t want to get trapped in the house with her, but here I am, in the house with her, no real reason to flee.
No reason other than: I’m not all that interested in being trapped in her web, not even for a quick shag.
Kaylee does not strike me as the type who is a love ’em and leave ’em kind of girl—she strikes me as the type who’s going to slash my truck tires if she doesn’t get her way, sweet smile or not.
I’m not letting it fool me. She’s been putting off too many gold-digger vibes.
I trust her…but I don’t.
Wondering how the hell I’m going to escape now that it’s been determined we’re in the house alone, I do a once-over of the kitchen before allowing myself to step all the way inside. Glance toward the back of the house to the den—or living room, as it were—listening for any trace of another human.
Of Eliza? Or—isn’t there a second roommate prattling about? Where could she be?
It feels like I’m entering a trap, an elaborate web spun by a pretty college girl and one I have no idea how to get out of.
I’m not that crafty or smart.
A better man wouldn’t have come into the house, but the fact is, I was hoping Eliza would be sitting on the far side of the couch when we shuffled inside.
Behind me, the door closes and clicks shut. Part of me waits for the sinister sound of Kaylee locking deadbolts and sliding chains to keep me in, but none of that comes.
Huh.
Okay, fine.
Perhaps I’m being dramatic.
A tad.
“Tell me more about your family,” Kaylee says as she sets down her small purse, unbuckles her shoes.
I glance around curiously, ignoring her question. She’s asked enough about my family—I have zero interest in entertaining her ideas.
“Where do you suppose everyone is?”
She slithers toward me. “Why? Are you afraid someone is going to walk in on us?”
Yes, but not for the reasons she thinks.
I want to joke around with Eliza and maybe have a good laugh tonight as opposed to…whatever this is.
Kaylee is all fine and good, but she’s not all that fun.
“I’m not afraid of anyone,” I boast, not bothering to take off my trainers, though their little house is very clean and tidy, with a row of shoes by the door.
“No, I don’t suppose you would be,” she practically purrs.
“So where did you say everyone is?”
She sighs. “Lilly is at her boyfriend’s house, and I think Eliza went home this weekend. Something about her cousin’s baby shower?”
Her cousin’s baby shower.
“Does she have a large family, then?” I shake my head. “Never mind, who cares.”
This seems to make Kaylee happy and she nods, shucking off the denim jacket she’s had on.