Ten minutes later, I was camped out on her front porch.
She wasn't home, and neither was anyone else. Part of me whispered that I could slip inside, check out the closets, maybe find some paperwork – bills or something – maybe see who lived there, and who didn't.
But between that and the call, I was edging dangerously close to stalker territory. And just because Icoulddo it, it didn't mean I should do it. In a way it was like the fights. Sure, Icouldbeat someone to death, but someday, I'd have to look in the mirror.
In this case, I'd have to look into Chloe's eyes – if I was lucky – and pretend that I hadn't played dirty to get a chance with her.
I'd been sitting there maybe a half-hour when her car pulled into the driveway. When she opened the car door, I got to my feet.
From somewhere inside the house, I heard barking where there hadn't been any before. Chucky, obviously. Funny, he hadn't made a sound until now. Napping? Probably.
As soon as I saw Chloe's face, the barking and everything else faded into the background. Walking slowly toward me, she looked nervous and maybe a little afraid. Of what? A scene? I swallowed. Me?
What the hell had happened? This time yesterday, I'd have said we were friends if nothing else.
It was time to just ask. I stepped forward. "I need to know something."
"Hi to you too," she muttered.
"Hi?" I said. "Or bye? 'Cause I'm having a hard time figuring it out."
She looked down at her feet. "I don't know."
"I know the feeling."
She let out a long breath. "Look, I'm sorry things got so weird last night. It's just –" She shrugged. "I dunno."
The sight of her, the sound of her, everything about her, it was hard to keep a cool head. I wanted answers. And if I were honest, I wanted more than that, even now.
"Tell me," I said. "What'd I do? 'Cause I keep replaying everything in my head, and I can't figure it out. Was it something I said? Something Ididn'tsay? Something I did, didn't do? What?"
She glanced toward her front door. Behind it, Chucky was still going nuts. "I should let him out," she said, "give him a walk or something to burn off some of that energy."
Yeah, blame the dog. Funny, she'd done that last night, too. And I'd let her. Not this time. If she wanted me to go, I'd go. But I wasn't going to swallow a slick lie and not call her on it.
I crossed my arms. "Is this your way of telling me to leave?"
Again, she glanced at the house. "Well, we can't be hanging around here, that's for sure."
I studied her face. Why couldn't we talk here? Because of the douchebag? Someone else? The neighbors? What?
"Why not here?" I asked. "You expecting someone?"
"No," she said. "Nothing like that."
"If you say so."
"Look," she said, "it's time for Chucky's walk. And I need to get him before he trashes the place."
"Go ahead," I said. "I'll wait."
"You can wait if you want, but we still can't talk here." She glanced around, almost like she was embarrassed to be seen with me.
I made a scoffing sound.Oh dear, what will the neighbors think?
Screw that. Inmyold neighborhood? She wouldn’t be embarrassed. She'd be scared shitless.
In front of me, she lowered her voice. "And it's not what you think. I just don't want to make a spectacle for the neighbors."
