Page 53 of Stalk

“Absolutely. Thank you, is there a bathroom I can change in?”

He points to the same hallway we walked down to get to the bar. “Second door on your left.” Anthony glances at the empty drink in my hand, winks, and takes it from me. “I’ll refresh your drink while you’re gone.”

“Uh… thanks. Be back soon!”

I walk away and find myself locked in a large guest bathroom. My back presses against the door once I’m safely locked inside and I breathe in and out slowly. One thing is for sure: I amnotabout to drink that second rum and Coke. The chances of a drug lord spiking my drink seem pretty high to me.

After I take a few more breaths, I strip down and take my holster and gun off my ankle. I unzip my backpack and shove the gun as far down as I can, underneath the fake brochures etc. Then, I move the hidden syringe into the small, front pocket of the backpack for easier access.

The swim trunks look fucking ridiculous on me. They’re a bit loose, but they’ll do. I don’t feel comfortable and I feel exposed, and orange is most definitelynotmy color, but oh well. At least since they’re a little large, they aren’tthatshort on me.

I splash some cold water on my face and take an extra minute to breathe. My reflection in the mirror looks normal. Confidentin a way. On the inside, though—now that I’m here—well, I’m starting to lose thatno fucks givenfeeling I had when I first arrived. I knew it was a bit too good to be true.

Once I’ve stalled long enough, I exit the bathroom and return to Anthony by the bar.

He smirks at me. “Those don’t look half bad on you. Ready?” I nod. “Great. Follow me.”

Anthony slides open the door to the back patio, then picks up our refreshed drinks and goes outside. I cling onto my backpack as I follow.

The backyard is more of an oasis than I’d expected. I guess you have more land out here in Alexandria than in D.C. The patio itself is about five times as big as mine back home, with a nice outdoor couch set up to the left and the hot tub to the right, surrounded by twinkle lights on the side of the house and interwoven between the privacy hedges. In the middle of the patio is a walkway to the rest of the yard. It’s a bit hard to see what’s in the yard with the sun almost fully down now, but I’m sure it’s nice.

“Well, make yourself at home,” Anthony says. He places our drinks on a small table beside the hot tub, then slides in.

“Okay.” I relinquish my backpack, setting it close to the little table for easier access.

“You can leave your bag inside if you want. Sorry, I should’ve offered before.” He laughs as he stretches his arms out behind his head. “I’m not the best host.”

I fake a laugh and brush him off. “No, no. It’s fine here. I’ve got my phone in there and I want to keep it close by in case my dad needs anything.” I don’t know wherethatlie came from. Anthony quirks an eyebrow, so I’m forced to elaborate. “He’s, uh, got cancer. I help him out when I can, and sometimes he needs extra help at night.” I slide into the hot tub besideAnthony. “He should be okay tonight, though. His nurse is with him.”

I don’t know what to expect in response to that, but Anthony’s hand finds mine in the water. I want to rip my hand away from him, but force myself to be still. “I’m sorry to hear that, Leo.”

“Thanks. It’s okay. He’s tough.”

We sit in silence for a minute or two, listening to the jets in the water and the faint song of a bird nearby. Anthony eventually reaches for his drink and motions for me to do the same, so I do.

“Cheers to new acquaintances,” he says.

“Cheers.”

We clink our glasses together, and Anthony takes a hearty sip from his cup. As I bring the drink up to my mouth, I pretend to take a small sip and swallow nothing, hoping he won’t notice the contents in my cup remain the same. He doesn’t notice. He’s too focused on raking his eyes up and down my chest, which makes my skin itch and burn simultaneously.

“You must be in college, right?” he asks.

“Uh, no. I—” I need to lie quickly, but the hot water has increased my heart rate and my tongue suddenly feels heavy inside my mouth. “I got my AA, but that was right after my dad was diagnosed, so I’ve been working and helping him out since then.”

“Well, there’s always time to go back later in life. Then again, some of us aren’t cut out for college.”

I swallow roughly. “You didn’t go to college?”

He shakes his head. “Nah. Well, I tried it out for a semester and pretty much aced all of my classes, but it was just soboring. I felt like my time could be useful elsewhere.”

I nod, as if I understand, even though I really don’t. All I’ve ever wanted is to go back to college.

I absolutely loved my time there. “So, what do you do now?” I ask innocently.

“A bit of everything. Construction, real estate…” Anthony shrugs. “I prefer to have several projects going at once, rather than doing one thing day in and day out.”

His lie is so convincing, if I didn’t already know the truth I’m certain I’d believe him. “That’s awesome,” I say. Then, I motion around us. “Well, you’ve obviously done well for yourself. You’ve got a great place here.”

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