I meant I can video you in. You can watch it with us.
Crap. For a second there, I thought I’d get to see her again.What movie?
Brainless action flick, but the hero is hot. LOL.
I’m in—not for the hot hero, though! What time?
Really?
Sure! Like I said, I’ve never watched a movie this way.
You’re strange.
You’re calling me strange?
Kettle, I get it. I’ll dial you in twenty minutes.
Sweet. Just enough time to get some more candy corn.
* * *
Angelina
“I can’t believe you invited him. That’s freaking awesome, girl.” Lizzie jumped up and down and let out a squeal.
I shook my head in disbelief myself. There was something about him that lured me in, calmed me. I couldn’t help but email him after more than seven days of thinking about doing it. And several pushes from Lizzie.
“I can’t wait to meet him. This is like a date, you know. Like, a double date without a fourth.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. She was like my long-lost sister or something. This was her dating Hunter as much as me.
Not that dating was an option. Not that I could date…anyone. Not after what those monsters had done to me. They’d ruined me for—
Knock. Knock.
I shot out of my computer chair at the sound echoing through my quiet space. My safe, quiet space.
“Who’s there?” Lizzie asked.
I tapped my video feed to the screen and saw Hunter squatting down in front of my door. “It’s him.” Eyeing the closed door, I confirmed all three locks were engaged as were the three chains.
An email popped up on my phone, and I smiled when I read the words.
Candy corn for the movie.
“Oh my gosh, he brought candy corn, didn’t he?” Lizzie squealed again. “He is so sweet. Absolutely, positively sweet. I could seriously swoon. And he’s such a big, tatted-up guy. Doesn’t look the part of a romantic.”
Exactly what scared the crap out of me. Not his sheer size or wicked-strong look, but the idea of him. I must reallybe sick of being alone if I was considering things with him. I’d freaking invited him to a movie knowing full-on that nothing could ever become of us other than email buddies and video chats. Unless...
Unless I really could make it past this agoraphobia. Get outside and back into the real world. Maybe—
“I’m heading back into my place now,” Hunter said through the door. “You can come out and get them.”
I heard Lizzie let out a loud sigh in the background, but it was barely audible above the blood rushing through my mind. If I opened the door right now, I might catch a glimpse of him. What would he think? Would I pass out?
I couldn’t move. I stared down at my phone and watched him walk away. He glanced back twice, and unless it was a wonky glare, I thought I saw a wave of sadness wash over his eyes.
“Go get it, girl,” Lizzie said.