Page 73 of Lightning Angel
Oh, butof coursehe would know everything she liked or loved. He was her stalker.
“You don’t like them?”
She looked up to see his eyebrows furrowed, and righted her facial expression immediately. Goodness, had she been scowling at the food in the bag? “Of course, not. They’re my favorites. I just… I was just thinking that youdidn’t have to buy them for us…”
“Nonsense. I don’t—”
“Youdon’t, butIdo when you spend your money on me,” she interjected. “It’s very thoughtful of you and I appreciate it, really. But…” She trailed off and sighed, not knowing what to say—or rather,howto say it. “Let’s just be… normal friends, at least for now, we’re new.”
Her nervous blabbering made a sweat break out.
“Is everything alright, Alexa?” Concern lined Tristan’s eyes as he searched hers for the answer.
Alexa sighed. There was no point in lying or hiding. Somehow, he realized there was something wrong between them—with her side. “Let’s go to my house. We need to talk.”
Tristan stared at her for a moment, as if trying to unravel her, before he looked away and cast a glance around them.
“There’s a camera here,” Alexa said, and realized they had spoken together.
Their eyes locked, and they both failed to suppress a small smile. “Come on, then.” Tristan gestured her to follow him, not reaching for her free hand like yesterday, which she was grateful for. Yet, she felt illogically disappointed.
Hewasa gentleman. There was no doubt about it. She merely wanted to learn his intentions about her, that’s all.
When they reached the alleyway Tristan found yesterday, he offered her his hand. Alexa accepted it and stepped close to his side tentatively, and he teleported them to the side of her house like yesterday.
They walked to the front porch and Alexa unlockedthe door. She gestured him in and walked to the living room. The tension was thick in the air. Alexa placed the paper bag and the tray on the coffee table and turned to face him, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear nervously.
She hesitated to meet his eyes, feeling the heat of his gaze on her as he dropped her bag on the couch. She looked at anywhere but him, until he spoke, breaking the tense silence.
“So, what do you wanna talk about?” he asked gently, cautiously.
This was it. Alexa feigned boldness and met his gaze. “Were you stalking me?”
Tristan blinked, clearly taken aback by the unexpected question, and opened his mouth—only to shut it. Alexa had a feeling that he was going to askwhat, but instead he said, “No.”
Alexa lifted her chin defiantly—or pretended to be so—and crossed her arms. “I’m not talking about recently. Have you been stalking me before we crossed paths?”
Tristan’s face fell, just before it turned unreadable. “Stalking is not the word I’d use.”
“But it was stillstalking, wasn’t it? Following a person around without the said person being aware of it? There’s no other word in my dictionary that lines up to the description.”
Tristan studied her for a moment before he sighed. “It’s still not the word I prefer to use, but yes, I have been stalking you before we first ran into each other.”
“You mean youmadeus run into each other.” Alexa raised an eyebrow in challenge, daring him to deny it.
Tristan’s eyebrows furrowed. “Alexa, whathappened?”
“What happened?” she parroted. “Youtell me! Why were you stalking me? What did you want with me? What are your intentions? I wantanswers,Tristan!” Her voice rose with each question.
His eyes only softened. “You wouldn’t want to know that.”
She narrowed her eyes. “OfcourseI do.”
“You want us to be just friends, Alexa.”
“And friends are not supposed to be mysterious!”
“You don’t understand. If I tell you, this friendship we’re building… it’s over.”