Until May (Until Her/Him)

“You should step back,” he tells me, the warning clear in his tone, but I’m caught in the heat that has flared to life between us, and I’m not sure that I want to listen. Part of me wants to push him to see what will happen if I don’t heed his warning. When his eyes darken, and I’m sure he’s going to make a move, my cell phone rings with the custom song that is attached to my sister April’s number. And just like that, the spell is broken, and he steps out of my space, clearing his throat.

With my hands balled into fists at my sides, half relieved and half disappointed that the moment between us was interrupted, I spin on my heels. “I’ll be right back,” I call over my shoulder as I take off toward the room I’ve been staying in since I got here.

Finding my cell on the bed, I pick it up and see the missed call from April along with a slew of texts from my other sisters in the group chat we share. Reading through the messages first, I shake my head. One thing that isn’t great about having a big family is the amount of gossip that goes around. No one can keep their mouths closed about anything for very long.

I should have thought about the fact that one of my cousins here on this trip would bring up Aiden to either one or all of my sisters at some point, having no idea what that information would do.

With a defeated sigh, I quickly type up a message confirming that the Aiden here is the one whose pictures were used on the app, but I tell them I will explain everything when I get home. After that, I send a single text to April, letting her know I will call her in a bit because I’m going to pick up dinner. Tossing my phone on the bed, I dig through my suitcase and find one of the dresses I brought with me and strip out of my clothes before putting it on over my head. The simple black maxi dress skims my body before hitting me just above my ankles, and I pair it with a jean jacket and my sandals.

Dressed, I tie my hair up in a ponytail and don’t even bother going to the bathroom and looking in the mirror. I have a feeling I would find a million things wrong with my appearance, and there’s not enough time to fix them all.

When I get back to the kitchen, Aiden is looking at his phone, but his eyes come to me as soon as I clear the doorway. I don’t know what to think of the look he gives me, I do know it makes my stomach flutter.

“Ready?” I ask, and he lifts his chin while tucking his phone away.

“I programed the address in for the restaurant. I just need to run next door and grab my car keys.”

“Sure.” I walk in front of him to the door and let us both out. When we get to the sidewalk, he places his hand against my lower back and leads me to a house just two down from ours. “I can wait out here.” I stop at the bottom of the steps.

“Or you can come wait inside.” He urges me up the stairs, then plugs in the code to get through the door. He pushes it open for me to go in before him, and closes the door behind us. “Be just a second. Make yourself comfortable.”

I nod and watch him wander off but don’t make a move to go farther inside. Really, I’m starting to wonder if I should be going somewhere with him alone. I have no idea who he is besides his name, and I’m pretty sure this is how every unsolved murder mystery starts. “Got it.” He comes around the corner, dangling a set of keys between his fingers.

Feeling my jacket pocket for my cell so I can message my cousins to let them know what I’m doing, I cringe when I don’t feel it. “Darn,” I mutter as we step outside. “I forgot my phone.”

“It’s all right. I have mine, and the place is just down the road, maybe five minutes.”

“Right.” I bite my lip as he opens the passenger door of a simple black car and waits until I’m seated before he closes me inside. I watch him walk around the hood, and as soon as he’s seated inside, his gaze comes to me.

“Ready?”

“Yep.” The word pops while I think about how stupid I’m being right now.

“What are you thinking about?” He looks over at me as he backs out of the driveway with his hand on the back of my seat.

“Just wondering what the title for my murder documentary will be,” I tell him without thinking.

“What?” His brows drag together as he lets out a low chuckle.

“Well, I don’t have my phone, I hardly know you, and now I’m in your car, and no one knows where I am.” I shrug one shoulder. “They’ll probably title my story The Lost Librarian.”

“You’re safe with me.”

“I’m sure that’s exactly what most victims hear before they’re murdered.”

“Do you want me to stop so you can get your phone?” he asks, sounding amused, and I shake my head.

“No, but you should be warned—I’m a gold belt,” I lie, because I have no idea how to fight. Even when I was little, my dad signed me and my sisters up for taekwondo, and I cried the entire time because I didn’t want to hurt anyone.

“A gold belt in what?”

“Don’t worry about that. Just know that if need be, I can kick your ass.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He smiles. “So you’re a librarian?”

“I am.”

“I can see that.” His fingers tap the steering wheel to the beat of the song that is playing softly on the radio.

“Can you?”

“Yep.” He glances over at me. “Do you wear glasses?”

“Not all the time.” He turns into the parking lot for the restaurant as his phone starts to ring with the da-dum, da-dum, da-dum sound from the movie Jaws.

“Are you a Jaws fan?”