Page 51 of Crossing Paths
“Saturn Canyon by McCann.” Norah mentally filed away the name and location. That could be another opportunity to possibly catch up to Leifsen. Even though it looked less and less likely that Chloe willingly spent any time with him, he did turn up at her last gig. There was a good chance he’d come to this one too. “I’ll see if I can make it. Sorry if coming in here just to talk to you was too stalkery of me.”
Chloe laughed so hard she almost fell off the counter. When she’d recovered enough to speak, she reached over and gave Norah a slap on her upper arm. “Don’t worry about it, but you could’ve just texted me.”
Norah tried very hard not to grimace at the huge hole in her excuse. Shecould’vejust texted, but this way, she could possibly spot Leifsen if he was lurking around Chloe again.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s good to see your face. If I wasgoing to be stalked by anyone, I’d definitely choose you.” Leaning back on her hands, Chloe looked so open and carefree and comfortable in her skin that Norah felt a pang of envy. She knew people weren’t always as confident as they projected on the surface, but Chloe seemed authentically solid.
Norah was trying to figure out how to respond to that, but another woman approached the register. Hopping off the counter, Chloe gave a small wave.
“Work calls, but it was great to talk to you, Norah.” She headed for the register, calling over her shoulder, “See you Saturday!”
Norah returned the wave, although she was pretty sure hers looked stiff and strange compared to Chloe’s. She squashed that little tendril of envy again. “Bye. Thanks. Okay, bye.”
Chloe laughed in response, but it wasn’t mocking like Laken’s. It was warm and appreciative, as if Norah’s babbling was meant to be a joke just between the two of them.
As Norah walked outside on autopilot, she headed toward where Cara waited in the car a half block away, startled to realize she was now in on not only one buttwoinside jokes. The most incredible part was that she hadn’t had to magically become a different person to accomplish that. As a kid and then a teenager, she’d imagined she’d have to go through a rom-com makeover montage, but for her personality rather than her appearance, in order to have any kind of social life. Now though, she was still the same severely introverted, extraordinarily awkward, seriously weird Norah Pax—only now she was the Norah Pax with two very interesting potential friends.
Twelve
For the second time that day, Norah was eyeing a door as if it were about to fall over and smoosh her. It was four minutes after ten, and the alley had developed the eerie shadows and pockets of stalker-hiding darkness that it’d lacked during daylight. Still, her anxiety took precedence over her worry about her personal safety at the moment. Normally, she just walked in, but that was when the gym was officially open. She wasn’t sure whether she should knock, since this was Dash’s home, and she wouldn’t just walk into someone’s house without knocking.
And for the second time that day, the decision was taken away from her when the door jerked open. Dash started to charge through but stopped abruptly before running her over.
“Norah.”
What was the response to that? She went with, “Yes.”
“You’re here.”
“Yes.”
“You look nice.” His voice sounded gruffer than usual, and she glanced down at herself. She’d showered away the sweaty day and agonized over what to wear until she’d finally asked Molly to pick out something for her, swearing she’d wear whatever her sister chose. Molly had raided Felicity’s closet, deciding on a pretty blue dress and flats. Although it felt strange to wear a dress since her usual uniform was jeans and hoodies, the cut wasn’t revealing enough to make Norah uncomfortable, and she liked how the skirt felt when it flared and swung as she moved.
A little belatedly, she said, “Thank you.”
“Why didn’t you come in?” Stepping back, he waved her inside.
“I was about to knock.”
“Knock?” He gave her a sidelong look. “You don’t need to knock. Just come in next time.”
“But this is your home—upstairs at least. It seemed rude.” She glanced around as he locked the door behind them. The gym looked dim and shadowy with the lights turned off, but it smelled the same as it always did—like sweat and vinyl. There must be something wrong with her, since she was starting to kind of like the stink. It reminded her of her sessions with Dash. “Did you need something outside?”
“What?”
“You were going outside just now, but I blocked your way.”
His usual half shrug looked the tiniest bit sheepish. It always struck her how incongruous any type of hesitation or insecurity looked on him when he was so large and confident. “Just going to check if you were there.”
“It’s only four minutes after ten.”Probably five now, her mind corrected, but she ignored that pedantic voice.
“I know.” He scowled harder, but she was pretty sure it was just to cover that tiny fissure of insecurity in his hard outer crust. “Come upstairs.”
She almost smiled. It was good to know she wasn’t the only one who changed the subject when answers got uncomfortable. Curious to see his home, she followed him through a door and up some stairs. He held open another door at the top, filling the space in the doorway with his large frame so she had to brush against him as she slipped by. Her skin buzzed from the contact, and she mentally shook her head at her reaction. She was so giddy around him. It was ridiculous, really.
She stepped into his living room and immediately approved. The space was lofted but still felt cozy somehow. For some reason, she’d thought it would just be a continuation of the gym, with weight machines and mats as the only furniture, but now she realized how silly that mental picture was. His floors were a pale wood, mostly covered by an area rug. Tall windows with white sills were covered by closed blinds, but she imagined how the place looked during the day when it was filled with sunlight. The overstuffed couch and chairs were a soft-looking dark brown fabric that could only be described as plush. The flat-screen TV mounted on the wall was a completely reasonable size and framed by two packed bookshelves that reached the ceiling.
The kitchen, set on the other side of the open space, was also surprising. The white cabinets reminded her of somethingshe would see in a farmhouse, although the granite island and countertops fit her idea of what a loft would have.
