Maybe I’m dreaming. Because nothing he’s saying is making any sense.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes and muttered, “I don’t even know which part of that sentence I want you to explain first.” Pausing, I mentally flipped a coin. “What in the hell is a meet-cute?”
“Oh!” The excitement in his voice had my eyes popping open. His near-permanent grin grew wider, if that was even possible, and he bounced on the balls of his feet. “It’s the adorable way people meet in romance books.”
“Never read one,” I admitted with a shrug.
“What?” Those blue eyes bulged. “Well, we can fix that right up. My boy, Braxton’s, girl writes them. I bet I can get her tohand over a few copies. Knowing her, she’d sign them if I told her you were a fan.”
I held up my hand to cut him off. “I’m all set.”
“You sure? Dakota’s super nice. And she’s going to want to meet my woman.”
My brain came screeching to a halt. Did he sayhiswoman?
Letting out a huff, I scanned him, searching for signs that would answer my next question. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask: are you high or something?”
He barked out a laugh. “High on life, Kitten. Nothing else.”
“And what’s with the Kitten thing?”
Fucking hell, why was I engaging with this guy? He was clearly unstable. I should be trying to extract myself from this conversation, not actively prolonging it.
“That’s easy. Because you’re the black cat to my golden retriever.” He ran a hand through that chin-length hair hanging loose. “Big fan of the claws, by the way.”
I scoffed. “Aren’t dogs and cats supposed to hate each other?”
“Nah. They’re both furry piles of love that just wanna cuddle.” He winked at me like we were on the same page, which we most certainly were not.
“Not really helping your case in convincing me you’re not on drugs, buddy.”
He made a crossing gesture over his heart. “I swear it. Plus, I’m subject to no-notice drug testing at work.”
“Hmmm. Okay, well. It’s been nice chatting with you—“ My sentence cut off abruptly when I realized I didn’t know his name.
“Sasha,” he supplied, extending a hand for me to shake.
“Sasha? Isn’t that a girl’s name?”
Yeah, I knew I was being rude, but it was late at night, and this guy had ambushed me at my home. Not sure he deserved my version of polite after what he’d put me through earlier, either.
Nodding, he agreed, “Yeah, sometimes. It’s also a nickname for Aleksander. But no oneevercalls me that, so don’t even think about it, Kitten.”
“Strange,” I muttered.
Sasha flashed those pearly whites that were so dazzling they could be seen easily in the dark.
When he simply continued to stare at me, not uttering another word, I began to squirm. His intense attention was too much, and I didn’t like how it made me feel—like he was cataloging everything about me. He might not be mentally stable himself, but I could only imagine what he thought of the psychotic break I’d had in the DMV today.
Ducking my head, I stepped around him. “Okay. I’m gonna head in.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
I’d already made it up the porch steps, so I spun around. The way he licked his lips as he stared at my mouth told me what he wanted.
Nope. Not happening. Best to let him down gently now.
“If you’re looking for a goodnight kiss, you can forget it. Clearly, you’ve got some little fantasy playing out in your mind about us being together, but let me be the first to tell you it’s not real. This”—I gestured between us—“isn’t a thing.Wearen’t a thing. So, thanks for stopping by in the middle of the night to give me a heart attack, but it’s been a long day, and I’ve reached my limit on the amount of crazy I can handle. Good night, and goodbye.”
