Alarm

I glanced over my shoulder at Mo and Aiden as Lo led me across the patio and onto the sand. They were leaning forward with their heads close together and talking seriously. My curiosity was on high, but Aiden obviously didn’t want to share the conversation with me.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lo said. “They just have some shit to go over.”

Well, obviously Lo was in the know.

“I’m not worried,” I said. It wasn’t especially truthful, but I didn’t want him to know that. I was becoming increasingly confused by Aiden’s behavior, or lack of expected behavior, but I wasn’t about to share that with Lo.

“So how did you meet Hunter?” he asked as we reached the shoreline. I slipped off my sandals and held them in my hand as the water washed over my feet.

“Um…at a bar,” I admitted. “He drove me when I’d had a bit too much to drink.”

I didn’t tell him just where Aiden had driven me or how I had woken up in his bed.

“How long have you known each other?”

“Well…actually, we just met Friday night.”

“Ha! Ha! Ha!” Lo laughed. “And he convinced you to come all the way down here with him? Damn, he’s good!”

My face heated up, and it had nothing to do with the Florida sun. I bit down on my lip and stared at the sand. Lo obviously assumed that Aiden had brought me here for a particular reason, but I wasn’t so sure any more.

Hadn’t he said as much yesterday? No pressure, he said, and he definitely hadn’t put any on. If anything, he’d done the exact opposite. Was he waiting for me to make a move? That didn’t seem right either.

Maybe he’d just changed his mind.

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Lo said in a much softer voice. “I’m really just a bit surprised. Hunter’s been alone a long time, and it’s not like him to jump into things so quick. It’s good to see him with someone. You seem like a nice girl. He needs that.”

“Well…thank you,” I said. I stared at the sand as it squished between my toes and contemplated for a moment longer before I looked up again. “How long have you known him?”

“We’ve known each other for years,” Lo said. “Um…six or seven, maybe? Met through Redeye at one of his parties. We went through all that shit with him.”

“All what shit?” I asked.

“Ah…well…” Lo stammered a bit. “You know—just life and shit. We were there when his last girlfriend dumped him and all. Just life.”

I was positive there was more to it than that, but Lo was apparently not going to elaborate. His backpedaling was obvious, but I was also sure he wasn’t going to tell me whatever it was.

“Who was she?” I asked just to keep the conversation going. Maybe he

’d let something slip that would give me a clue.

“Her name was Megan,” Lo said. “Great chick. He was really into her.”

“What happened to them?”

“Just one of those things. They weren’t in the same place and couldn’t get along when shit got real. He wasn’t making enough money to give her what she wanted, so she found someone else.”

“He seems to do pretty well,” I said as I glanced back toward the luxurious house.

“Well now, yeah.” Lo laughed again. “He does great now.”

“How long ago was this?” I asked.

“Three years since they broke up, I guess.” He thought for a minute before nodding. “Yeah, about three years ago.”

“And he hasn’t seen anyone since?”

“Nothing serious,” Lo said. “Hunter’s always been picky about women he dates. He’s been too busy with everything else to bother.”