Leading Her from the Darkness

CHAPTER 9

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"You...w-what...how?" I stutter and my eyes grow wide in disbelief at the man standing in front of me.

He gives a sheepish smile and runs his hand over the back of his neck.

"I may have possibly, sort of asked Charlie what business he ran... during a totally casual, non-prying conversation while he was at the gym yesterday." He breathes out a low chuckle as he tries to maintain his innocent look that's plastered to his face.

"You know, I think this is what the authorities define as stalking, Mr. King," I tease. If I am being honest, I'm actually kind of excited to see him. As much as I may hate to admit it. He lights a fire inside of me that I didn't even know existed when he is around.

He turns his head from side to side in an exaggerated motion, looking around the shop, and then glances back down to me with a suggestive expression.

"I don't see you calling the cops... Miss Bennett." A smug smirk dances on his lips as my last name leaves his mouth.

Damn you, Avery!

I roll my eyes and lean over to rest my forearms on the counter. "Of course he told you. He looked too damn happy in class for his own good when I was forced to give our professor my last name."

He tilts his head in confusion. He was apparently not informed on that little piece of information by his sneaky ass friend.

"You two have class together? He told me he heard your friend screaming it at the party Friday night." His eyebrows furrow, and he crosses his arms over his chest, looking a bit annoyed that Avery didn't tell him about our class together.

Little does he know, it's also his brother's class.

Oh, geez. Someone help me.

I really want to test him, but I am deliberating on if I want to know what his reaction will be. I am so used to guys exploding in a jealous rage when they find shit out that they don't like. But after having a small internal debate with myself, I determine to give it a go.

Better to find out sooner rather than later, right?

Here we go. Sorry, Avery. But payback is a bitch.

"Oh, really? Was that before or after we danced? Shit... I can't remember much of that night, to be perfectly honest," I test the waters, tilting my head to the side like I'm trying to remember.

I watch as his eyes instantly grow darker before I continue.

"I only know of the instance in Professor King's Creative Writing class, when he about got me in trouble, because he wouldn't stop talking to me," I snort, rolling my eyes.

Dawson's teeth clench together, sharpening his jaw dramatically, and I see flashes of mixed emotions form on his face as he processes all of this new information. Looking down, I watch as his fists ball up and release a few times by his legs, like he's trying to pull himself back together somehow. He shifts on his feet, visibly uncomfortable as he recrosses his arms.

"Well, fuck... That little shit." He runs both of his hands through his hair, thrown off by the series of new events I have enlightened him on.

Based on his reaction, I conclude to myself that I should probably try to save Avery from Dawson's wrath.

"In Avery's defense, he told me he wasn't trying to end up on the missing persons list by flirting with me, once he figured out who I was. I definitely didn't look like my normal grungy-chic self on Friday... which I'm sure you noticed from the picture that he sent to you," I blurt out everything to him I could think of, hoping it worked.