“I don’t want to do it but I will. I’ll take away those treats,” I threaten when she moves further out of reach. “I mean, it’s not like you’ll starve. I won’t let that happen. Hey, no, don’t go—”
A scream bubbles out of me as I begin to spiral backwards. A branch scrapes down my back, hooking into the back of my lounge bottoms. I tense, my eyes closing, stretching my arms out to prepare for the fall, but I come to a halt, dangling mid-air.
“Oh no,” I groan, pushing my T-shirt out of my face.
“Um, do you need some help?” I scream, causing my trousers to tear as I struggle. “I’m sorry. I thought you heard me coming. It’s okay, I’m Landon’s friend.”
I shove my T-shirt back out of my face, blowing out a breath, and tilt my head a little, getting a better look at him.
I remember him.
He’s taller than I remembered and he has a lot more hair. I think. I squint into the darkness, making out tattoos. A lot of tattoos.
Holy hot damn he’s hot.
“Your name is Drew?”
“Yes,” he replies, keeping his distance.
Landon told me he was the one to bring me to Mum and Dad’s. I only remember small parts, and he’s one of them—and it was his smell I remember the most. I have a lot to thank him for.
I give him a small wave. “Hi. I’m Charlotte.”
His lips twitch. “I know.”
I force my top back out of my face, trying to keep myself covered. “It’s my cat, Katnip. She likes to play hide and seek.”
He smiles and it makes the angles of his jaw sharper. “Do you want some help getting down?” he asks, just as another tear happens.
I close my eyes as I whimper. “That would be really helpful.”
He chuckles as he kicks the step ladder aside. He rests the back of my neck on his shoulder before I feel him reach for my leg, getting it out of the mess I got it in. “Turn a little.”
I grip his shoulders for support, and with his help, I manage to turn, facing him. Seconds later, his warm hands are on my hips and he’s lifting me before lowering me to the ground.
With my feet steadily on the floor, I straighten my bottoms, my face flaming when I realise I have my ‘Must be Tuesday’ knickers on and he would have seen them.
I tilt my head up, way up, and say, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he tells me, his gaze going to my T-shirt, his lips twitching.
I glance down and inwardly groan. I have on my ‘Short girls; God only lets things grow until they’re perfect. Some of us didn’t take as long as others’ T-shirt.
It’s funny when you’re short. I guess not so much when you’re seriously tall like him.
“Hey, cutie.”
I jerk, inhaling sharply. “Excuse me?” I blurt out, wondering if I heard him correctly.
Does he think I’m cute?
He’s not looking at me though. He’s no longer even standing in front of me. On his tiptoes, he pulls Katnip out of the tree. My lips part as she begins to purr, rubbing her nose into his hair.
And he has a lot of hair.
And tattoos.
Even his knuckles and fingers have designs on. I bite my lip, wondering if everything is tattooed.
“Cute cat,” he comments, and I blush, looking up from his crotch.
“How did you do that?” I whisper.
He freezes. “Do what?”
“She’s purring.”
“Um…”
I wave him off. “It’s okay, we are still bonding.”
I take her off of him and immediately, her claws dig into my skin. I ignore the pain, and cling onto her. I can’t take her back inside, not while the windows are still open. “You can go and take her inside.”
I bite my lip, not wanting to be rude to him, because he saved me and my cat, but I can’t invite him inside. It’s my space again.
“I’ll wait over there,” he tells me, pointing to my decking furniture.
“Okay, I’ll be a minute,” I whisper, and quickly head in through the backdoor, pulling the window closed in there before heading upstairs and doing the same. I watch from my bedroom window as he pulls something out of his back pocket, placing it on the table before taking a seat.
I catch a flicker of movement in Lily’s garden and my eyes widen when Jaxon jumps over the small gate and lands in mine.
Sugar.
Drew stands, his fists clenching, and I quickly deposit Katnip on my bed before racing down the stairs, grabbing the hoodie off the kitchen side before pushing out the backdoor.
“Who are you?” Jaxon asks.
“It should be me asking you that since you just snuck into the resident’s garden.”
I quickly shove the hoodie on. “Jaxon, hi.”
“Who is this guy?” he demands.
“It’s Drew. He works with Landon. He, um…” My forehead creases as it occurs to me. “I actually don’t know why he’s here.”
Drew smirks as he lifts the fluffy purse off the table. “I came to return this. I found it in my car.”
I smile, but it drops when I realise why it was in there.
“Thank you,” I whisper, taking it from him.
“Are you okay with him? Do you want me to get Landon?”
I shake my head. “I’m fine thank you, Jaxon.”
He nods, giving one last look to Drew before jumping back onto his side of the garden, heading for his house.
“He’s friendly.”
I laugh. “He can be a little scary.”
“Nice hoodie,” he comments.
My eyes widen when I realise it’s his hoodie from that night. “You can have it back. I’m sorry.”
He smiles. “Keep it.”
I sag with relief. Because I was lying. I was willing to bribe him for it. It reaches past my knees if I don’t roll it up. I love it.
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring it sooner,” he tells me, pointing to the purse. “I only found it twenty minutes ago.”
“Thank you. You didn’t need to do that,” I tell him, before glancing around, not knowing what to say. “I, um, I got everything replaced.”
“That’s good.”
I fiddle with sleeve of the hoodie. I’m not sure why he’s still here, but I have a feeling he wants to say something else.
“Did you, um, want a drink or something?”
He smiles. “No, but thank you,” he replies. “There’s, um, there’s actually something I’d like to talk to you about.”
Really? “Talk to me about?”
“Yes,” he answers and sits back down. I pull out a chair and take a seat, facing him. “My little sister, she was attacked a few years ago after walking home from school. She was saved before things escalated, and ever since then I’ve been wanting to build up a self-defence class.”
My palms clam up and I fight back tears. “I’m sorry about your sister,” I whisper. “Is she okay?”
“She has her bad days, but she’s a fighter. She’s actually fighting for the right to express herself in school.”
I smile at that. It reminds me of Hayden. “My cousin Hayden was suspended for a week for trying to express her rights as a woman at school.”