Page 11 of Fake Love

3

Maddox

If the sun was shining, I bet that her light brown eyes would look almost translucent. They did when she was under the florescent lights of the coffee shop.

Her eyes are what drew me to her, what had me captivated by her and what ultimately made me want to be near her. So I stay at the coffee shop when I didn’t need to. For longer than I needed to.

Did I lie when I told her I didn’t want to go back to an empty hotel room? No, that was the truth, but I still wanted to find what was so damn intriguing about this woman.

Staring at her for close to an hour without saying a word, didn’t help with answering any questions and when she told me my time inside the shop was up, I felt defeated almost.

Why? I have no idea. Never and I mean never, have I felt that way about my proximity to a woman.

So, I got up and left, but the second I stepped through the door, I finally put together what she said.

She was going to be walking home, by herself.

The hairs on my arms instantly stood up. This may not be Chicago, but you still hear of some bad shit happening on the streets of San Francisco.

That was my reasoning for staying behind and waiting for her. I was going to order her an Uber and make sure she got home safely but no. Here I am offering to walk this strange woman home.

Who the actual fuck am I?

“You want to walk me home?” She asks, looking at me questionably.

I honestly would look at myself the same way.

“I do. You shouldn't be walking by yourself, especially in a big city.”

For all I knew this was a bad neighborhood and someone might be waiting at the next corner to get her alone. Half the store fronts on this street have metal bars covering their doors and windows for crying out loud.

“But you don’t even know my name. For all you know I can be a barista but still a serial killer. I can be the zodiac killer’s daughter.”

Jesus. This girl watches way too many crime shows. Is she always like this?

“Are you related to the zodiac killer?”

She shrugs, the bag she has on her shoulder moving in the process. “No, but I could be. You don’t know.”

“I know your name is Jennifer.”

It took me by surprise that a girl that has the lightest brown eyes that I have ever seen and looks as if she belongs on the cover of a fashion magazine, has such a simple name.

I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m attracted to her, because other than her name, there is a simplicity to her. A simplicity that I didn’t have in my life for a great while.

What with drugs, baseball, and rehab and all that.

Jennifer takes a step back as if I were a stalker and she was scared. I’m a strange man that knows her name, she rightfully should feel that way.

“You have a name tag on.” I say, pointing to the plastic rectangle attached to her shirt.

She looks down at the name tag like she completely forgot that she was even wearing it.

“Fine but I don’t know your name.” She throws out, her lips ending up in a pout that I want to kiss.

Seriously, what is wrong with me?

“My name is Maddox.” I say.

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