Page 74 of #Starstruck

When I got to the front door, Chase was shaking hands with a man dressed all in black carrying a massive gun. A buzz-cut, thick-neck kind of guy who looked like he could snap me in half without blinking.

Chase thanked the man and closed the door. “They didn’t find anyone. They’re going to review the security footage and let me know if there’s anything on it. Why are you down here and not up in bed waiting for me?”

The heat rushed to my skin at his words, making me want to turn around and go back upstairs. “I have to go.”

He pulled me against his chest, rendering me weak-kneed and powerless. “I can’t convince you to stay?”

“You probably could, but I have class, and you have a flight to catch.”

“Stupid real-life responsibilities,” he said and then lavished more soft and all-too-brief kisses on me.

“I really do have to go.” It was getting late, and my nerves felt a little shot from the scary siren and the kiss in his room.

Chase walked me to my car. “I’ll call you and text you whenever I get the chance.”

“Have fun in Europe. I’ll miss you.” I wished I had the courage to tell him I loved him, but I hoped the opportunity would present itself soon. Like, after he said it to me first.

And with one last lip-searing, soul-shattering kiss, I was finally on my way. I passed the guard station and realized I was in dire need of gas. My phone’s GPS guided me to a gas station about four blocks away.

I got out, started the pump, and then decided to wash my windshield. In the middle of doing that, I felt someone come up behind me. I turned to see an older balding man with a bit of a paunch and a nose that had been broken more than once. He wore a red, white, and blue denim jacket that looked like the Fourth of July had thrown up on it.

“I’m sorry, but do you know how to get to the 405 from here?” He held up his phone, smiling. “Mine died. I forgot my charger, and I’m a little lost.”

Although he appeared friendly and nonthreatening, something about him gave me the creeps, and I was glad we were in a public place. I gave him the quickest directions possible, put the squeegee back in the cleaning solution, and took the nozzle out of my car.

“Thanks,” the man said, and I nodded to him, wanting to get away.

I was just about to get in when I heard him say, “Hey, by the way, haven’t I seen you before? Are you dating someone famous?”

It was such a bizarre (and truth-based) question that at first I didn’t know how to respond. I blurted out, “You have me mistaken for someone else.” Hoping I’d misled him, I got in my car and drove off, going fifteen miles per hour over the speed limit. I kept checking my rearview mirror to make sure he hadn’t followed me.

Despite my paranoia, I wasn’t being tailed. I thought about calling Chase to tell him what had happened, but I had probably overreacted. He was most likely some lost tourist who thought everybody in Los Angeles was either famous or dating someone famous. I was just jumpy because of the alarm earlier.

When I got home, I found Lexi sitting on the couch, watching TV. Her eyes went big when she saw me, and she used the remote to turn the TV off.

“Out all night! Did you let him scale the walls of the Fortress? I am looking for vivid, electrifying details here.”

She knew I wasn’t the kiss-and-tell type, but she kept hope alive. “Still no wall breaches,” I told her. I headed to our room to quickly change before class. She followed me. I set the shopping bag on the bed. “Although I kind of wanted to throw him a grappling hook, because he is the most amazing kisser ever.”

“You don’t have to provide any climbing instruments. Only Superman can get into the Fortress of Solitude. And it sounds like you’ve found him.”

“He is kind of perfect. But I think we may have overused this metaphor.” I kicked off my jeans and looked in my drawers for a clean pair. I realized I was running out of clothes. I desperately needed to do laundry.

“What’s in the bag?” Before I could stop her, she’d pulled out the nightgown. “Did he buy you this? Because if this is his idea of lingerie, I can see why nothing’s happening.”

I grabbed a shirt off a hanger and put it on. “He didn’t want me to be too alluring so he could resist my womanly charms,” I said in a joking tone.

Lexi stayed deadly serious. “Well, this would make sure he had no problem resisting. It’s like man repellent. We should burn this. It’s an affront to nightwear everywhere.”

“No!” I grabbed it out of her hands. This was something I’d always keep, even if Chase and I broke up. I folded it and put it on the top shelf of my closet. “I think he kind of liked it.”

“So what you’re saying is he’s a hopeless romantic. Because he obviously has no hope of being romantic if he actually bought you this. Although, if he didn’t run off screaming when you wore it, I guess that’s good.”

“Sometimes I worry he will. Run away screaming. Because of my celibacy.”

“I’d wager that if you haven’t lost him by now because of it, the odds are pretty good that you won’t.” Lexi lay down on her bed and did something on her phone. “Hey, random question, but do you think Gavin has good abs?”

She flashed her phone at me, but I wasn’t interested in checking out her boyfriend’s chest. “I’ve never seen them and don’t really want to now.”

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