“Do you think he’ll still hang around if he thinks you have a boyfriend? Or would he maybe give up and go away?”
It only took one blink to realize what he was saying. This gorgeous, sweet stranger was offering to play the part of my boyfriend, just to give me a little bit of my summer back.
“You’d do that? Really?”
“Absolutely. I don’t have much of a social life, so playing your fake boyfriend will give me an excuse to get out there,” he chuckled, stroking my hand.
“I wouldn’t want to cause you any trouble,” I said.
“Listen, I don’t mean to be blunt, but am I bigger than he is? In better shape?”
Maybe it was rude to use it as an excuse to stare at his unbelievably sculpted shoulders through that fitted dark gray long sleeve t-shirt. But, wow. “Definitely.”
“Then, with your permission, I’m going to take it upon myself to walk my girlfriend home, and make sure she gets there safely.”
For a second, I froze like a deer in the headlights. How could the perfect answer to my problem just appear out of the blue? Yet my bullshit radar wasn’t going off, and Claudia said he was cool. He was being sweet, but not directly hitting on me. He seemed so genuine. I really wanted to trust him.
“Okay. Thank you.”
He waved for Claudia, and paid both of our bills before I could stop him. She gave me a sly wink when Leif wasn't looking, but I wasn't sure what it meant.
As we walked to the door, Leif tentatively slipped an arm around me, watching for my reaction. “I’m not going to use this as an excuse to touch you too much or steal a kiss, Haley. But if I have an arm around you, or hold your hand, is that all right?”
“Sure.” The warmth of his arm around me felt truly amazing.
As he held the door for me, I could almost feel Craig’s eyes burning into me. Before I had trained myself to avoid looking at his car, I found out that he almost always had the window open, just gawking silently. Sometimes he was even taking photos. But now Leif shielded me so I couldn’t have looked if I tried.
“Lead the way,” he said.
“It’s only a few blocks west,” I said, as we began walking down the street.
I could hear a car engine start, but with Leif’s arm tightly around me, I didn’t feel nervous in the slightest.
Normally, I wasn’t good with strangers, which is why I took an improv class in the first place. Yet for some reason I trusted Leif instantly. His energy felt so open, and there was something extremely direct about his eyes.
“Don’t look back,” Leif said smoothly. “I’m watching him in the reflection in the windows. He’s keeping his distance.”
When we were almost there, I said, “It’s the beige six-plex on the corner.”
I looked up to see Leif frown. “Tell me you’re on the top floor.”
“I am! How did you know?”
He smiled. “I was just hoping. That way it’s harder for him to peek in your windows.”
As we got to the door of my building, we paused, and for one strange, delirious second, I wished that this were a real date so that he would kiss me good night.
“He saw us shake hands and meet,” Leif said, reaching in to tuck my hair back over my ear. “It would possibly make him give up if he knew that I got farther in twenty minutes than he ever had.”
My breath stopped. “What are you saying?”
He turned us so that his back was toward Craig’s car. “Put your arms around my neck for a second, and he’ll think we’re kissing good night.”
I did as he asked, accidentally running my hands along the thick muscles of the backs of the shoulders. He leaned in to give me a kiss on the forehead, then grinned. “Close enough.”
Suddenly Leif didn’t seem nearly as intimidating as he had at the diner. He was so careful not to cross any lines that it actually made him even se xier.
The long-neglected sex drive at the back of my mind was suddenly standing up and waving hello, trying to get my attention. I’d have to find a way to keep that in check, while playing the part of someone newly dating a complete stranger.