Page 26 of King of Hollywood

Then I promptly forgot about it—

Because Winnie called me, and I had to spend the next half hour defending myself because I’d dared to try to wheedle a compliment out of her. I would not make that mistake again. She kept poking fun about Felix and our date—and by the time I hung up, I was a mess in more than one way. Covered in grass bits and sweat, I abandoned Felix’s lawn for the rest of the day and headed home to properly clean up.

It wasn’t till Wednesday that I remembered the package I’d taken.

And by that point…well…

It was too late.

Only two days remained until our date. I was practically buzzing with anticipation. I could feel it itching beneath my skin as I planned out my outfit—then replanned it—then planned it again. I didn’t know what Felix would wear. I’d seen him in practically every shade of the rainbow, and as we were staying in, there was no way to anticipate his choice.

I’d just tried on my favorite indigo-sweater-vest-white-shirt-combo, when I spotted yet another unfamiliar car pulling into Felix’s driveway.

Which…reminded me of the package I’d accidentally stolen three days ago.

Oops.

Without thinking, or changing clothing, I bolted downstairs to my garage to retrieve the box. I’d drop it off—as Felix was likely to be up now. If I knocked on the door, he wouldn’t even know I’d taken it. And I could possibly—maybe interrogate his guest a bit too. Find out why the hell they were bothering Felix this late, and perhaps scare them off—never to return again.

It was a perfect, fool-proof plan.

Because I knew the box was heavy, I opened the garage door before grabbing the package. As it rose with a creak, I couldn’t resist a curious peek across the street to Felix’s home. The stranger’s car was still there, and a man was climbing out of it with a sunny grin and—

Flowers.

Flowers?

Why in the hell does he have flowers?

Package forgotten, I stared as the man made his way across the sidewalk I’d just fucking trimmed, and up the steps to Felix’s home. Was this…a date? Why in the world was he at Felix’s house?

My eyes narrowed as I watched the stranger knock on the front door.

For a split second, I imagined crossing the street—quiet and slow—stalking in close, and snapping his neck before Felix had even known he’d visited at all. But…that daydream quickly faded as reality snuck back in.

I couldn’t just cross the street and kill the man for daring to buy Felix flowers.

I’d get caught.

Therefore I had no choice but to will my hurt away.

The crushing weight of rejection was obnoxious. I had better things to do than wallow—even though I felt half-tempted to do just that.

Perhaps it was…sex?

Somehow that thought didn’t soothe me, even though I knew sex was not on the table for us—even on our Friday date.

Christ, what was wrong with me? It wasn’t like Felix had promised me his undying fidelity. We hadn’t even gone on a single date yet. And besides! I had a code, dammit. An innocent man with flowers did not meet it.

Still though, that didn’t stop me from imagining it again.

And again.

And again.

Is he innocent if he’s talking to what’s ours? It was difficult to ignore the beast inside me, especially when he had a valid point. No matter how hard I tried to rationalize that there was nothing untoward going on—especially after the stranger was let into Felix’s home—I couldn’t stop the burning heat of anger that simmered beneath the surface of my skin.

Especially as the night grew darker and darker—the stars came out—and the man’s car had not. Left. Felix’s. Driveway.