The Hard Crush 1 (Feelings For You)

TWENTY-ONE

"Where have you been?"

Oh my God, Winifred thought. Why did it have to be him? It could have been any other person, but not just him! He'd done an incredible job avoiding her the past few days. She had to admit it was the first thing he'd done that she even remotely approved of.

"Not too far," she replied flatly.

"You trying to act smart or what?" Roderick asked in a no-nonsense tone. "Where have you been, Winifred?"

Uh-oh, it seemed like someone wasn't in the mood for her crap today. Good, because she wasn't in the mood for his either.

She shrugged. "Jericho's."

He stared at her and she stared back, keeping her expression blank. If he thought she was going to say more than she already had, then he most certainly wasn't thinking right.

Yes, she was living in his house, and yes, he was the adult, but it wasn't as if she was all in with the idea of being here, so if he was thinking of giving her a curfew...she shoved the thought aside. If he didn't want trouble, then he definitely shouldn't go there.

But what the hell was he really thinking? Because the way he was studying her caused her whole body to cringe in an uncomfortable way. She couldn't place his expression. He seemed worried and suspicious at the same time. But what could possibly get him so worked up?

He sighed and then seemed to be at the verge of speaking but held back for some unknown, odd reasons. What a relief it would be if the words that came out of his mouth were, 'I rented an apartment for you because it seems you're uncomfortable staying here.'

Yeah, what are the odds of that?

"Dinner's probably ready by now, so..." He finally said. "You...you hungry?"

"I already had dinner," she said immediately.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really."

And once again those brown eyes raked her from head to toe as though searching for signs that she'd actually kissed Jerry earlier that day. She tried not to blush at the thought of the kiss as she returned Roderick's piercing gaze.

Why was he looking at her like that? Winifred stiffened as goosebumps walked their way up her skin. Did he know something? About her encounter with Jerry? No - no way, that was impossible. Then why was he giving her that look? Or...wait - was he...was he checking her out?

Ew. No! A huge fat NO. That was also impossible. She hoped. Her thoughts were going places they weren't meant to go. Her heart did a loud thump in her chest. Her gaze swivelled anxiously toward the stairs as she contemplated making a fast exit from this very uncomfortable moment.

"You had dinner at Jericho's?" Roderick asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Winifred nodded queasily, her mouth too dry to bring forth words. Yes, she'd stayed for dinner at Jerry's house. His mom had been so kind to ask her to join them for dinner. And she'd taken the opportunity to get to know his siblings. They'd talked freely with her and she'd been so relaxed and had nearly forgotten about the time. She'd also come to learn that she and Jerry shared one thing in common; they both lost their fathers not too long ago. She could clearly remember the haunted look in his eyes when she'd asked him about his dad.

"Um..." Jerry had paused for a second or two before going on. "Well he died a few years ago."

They walked out of the house and Winifred paused at the doorstep. "I'm so sorry. I lost mine not too long ago."

"That sucks." He gave her a weak smile before taking her hand. "Let's get you home before it's too late."

She could very well remember his gleaming grey eyes in the street lights. Thoughts of him brought home memories of the kiss they'd shared earlier that day. It wasn't something she'd wanted to end, but for some reason he'd pulled back but with great reluctance. That moment shared with him was special, so much that she didn't want to ruin the amazing connection they had even though it meant keeping it a secret.