nothing on my mind to keep me at bay, I'd waited for her to leave work, frowning when I saw her looking both tired and frazzled. I should have just let her walk to the subway, eventually disappearing from my sight, but something had compelled me to go after her.
So I had. Like some sort of obsessed stalker, I'd followed her until she'd disappeared into a quaint little apartment complex in a decent, but certainly not elite, part of the city. It was exactly the sort of place I would've pictured her living.
And I stayed, watched like I had some purpose for being there. I knew a very small part of me wanted to march right up to her door and announce myself like some Crusader returning after years of battle. Thankfully, my sense of self-preservation didn’t let me do that. The chance that she knew I was here was slim, but I shouldn't be taking any chances.
However, fortune seemed to favor the bold, or at least the stupid, and a short while later, Karis was leaving again, wrapped in a winter coat and wearing a pair of heels that made her even closer to my own height.
I'd followed her again, of course, taking in those gorgeously toned legs as we went. It'd grown more difficult to keep my distance, but I'd managed, and now found myself sitting and watching as she talked to the dark-haired guy.
“What happened to you, Karis?” I murmured to myself.
Although she'd slid to the back of my mind for the past few years, I now found myself realizing just how long we'd been apart. For all I knew, she could be engaged. Or a lesbian. Or both. She could've been married, divorced, and now a single mother.
In truth, we'd been separated for almost as long as we'd known each other, and the thought was particularly devastating.
Perhaps devastating wasn’t the right word either. Discomforting? Nausea-inducing? Unpleasant?
I couldn’t really put my finger on what exactly I was feeling. All I knew for certain was that I felt a hollow sort of ache accompanied by a familiar rush of adolescent awe every time I saw her.
Shit. I needed to pull myself together, or this was going to end badly for me.
I was about to get up and leave, disgusted at both my pining and my willingness to risk incarceration by watching my childhood crush get her flirt on when I saw sleaze guy wrap an arm around Karis’ waist and whisper in her ear.
Son of a bitch.
I barely refrained from growling.
She'd see right through him, I had no doubt. She'd put him in his place and then she'd–
She was leaving with him?
I shot to my feet before realizing what I was doing, and then slowly lowered myself back down. Karis was a grown woman, and she could take anyone home that she wanted.
Even if it was some sleazy moron who probably had an IQ in the single digits.
I bit my tongue, trying to stop my temper from flaring up. She didn’t owe me anything. We hadn't even been high school sweethearts. All we'd ever been was friends. And we hadn't seen each other in years. Just because I'd seen her and now couldn't stop thinking about her didn't mean she couldn't date whoever she wanted to date. She was a consenting adult, and I had no claim on her. We weren't anything to each other.
So why did I feel betrayed?
I finished my drink, my mind running in circles.
What if that asshole was her boyfriend and she'd planned to meet him here after he got off work? What if they were happy and healthy together like some fucking fairy tale?
I didn’t have any right to her. I knew that mentally, but my emotions didn’t seem to care. It was like I'd suddenly become that awkward teenager who wanted to fight anyone who tried to come between me and the girl I'd loved forever.
Dammit!
I waited the appropriate amount of time for Karis to put some distance between us, then left the club without looking twice at any of the women who'd been watching me. I knew I was brooding. Actually no, I was full on pouting. All my years of growing and conning the elite, and one day of watching Karis had