I tried to think back to the group of men I had heard gossiping earlier that day. “Yes, that’s him. Why? Do you know him?”
He slipped his hand under my chin, then tipped it upward. “You’re staring at him.”
I gasped, then saw the way the corner of his lip quirked upward. “No way.”
He then released me and pulled something from his back pocket. When I saw him produce a wallet, a frisson of fear did rush through me. I already knew what he was going to show me before he opened and held it up for me.
“Kristopher Simon,” I murmured as I read the name on his license. “And I’m sorry. This walk has just taken a turn for the worst.”
He was smirking and didn’t seem upset at all, which made me feel a sense of relief. “On the contrary, I think you’re delightful. Well, as much as a dick could think that you are.”
I really wanted the earth to open and swallow me whole, but since it wasn’t going to, I smiled back at him. “In my defense, I haven’t even started there yet so I was simply going off of hearsay.”
“And now that we’ve been introduced, is your opinion changing?”
I let out a small giggle. “Right now, you seem to be quite the gentleman. They say first impressions are everything, and I’m just sorry I haven’t made a better one on you. I—”
“As I’ve just said,” he interrupted, “I find you quite delightful. The clearing you’re looking for is right up ahead so let’s go take a seat. We can talk and get to know one another better. Who knows, you might agree with the others after a few more minutes with me.”