Cry Me a River PG-13 Edition by Devyn Dawson Page A

wild.”
    I smile at her and back out of the driveway.  “I like you wild…uh, I mean, well…. I’d like to see your wild side.”
     
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Chapter Six
    So sweet the hour, so calm the time,
I feel it more than half a crime,
    Serenade - Edgar Allan Poe
    RIVER
     
    Waking up in a stranger’s bed, not any stranger, but Caide Palmer, was not what I was expecting.  He was peacefully sleeping in a decorative chair with his arms crossed and his head lopped over to the side.  I stared at him for a couple of minutes before saying his name.  I read somewhere that you can wake most people up with a whisper of their name.  Caide was most people.
    The last thing I remembered was talking to Caide when I came out of the bathroom at the club.  Why would I end up at his house?
    I keep going over how I ended up here.  After waking him up, he offered to make coffee and very little information about what happened last night.  Now I’m in his shorts and a t-shirt with a strapless bra on, watching him proficiently work in his kitchen.  This side of Caide is sweet, and kind.  Emerald Isle isn’t short of rumors about Caide and his escapades with the ladies.  I Googled him last week and read about his relationship with his daughter’s mother, Heather. It said things about her drug addiction and he kicked her out of the house.  There was an article with photos from a party; they had pictures of him making out with three different girls on the same night.  I wonder if he has an open prescription for penicillin.
    “This carrot muffin is amazing.  I know this sounds like a fangirl, but do you have this recipe posted?”  I’m a dork for asking, but it’s so damn good.
    He fidgets with the coffee maker and wipes off the counter.  “No, it isn’t posted.  I recently came up with the recipe and since it has so many steps, I can’t find a way to incorporate it into the show.”  He takes one of the other muffins and takes a big bite.  “I’ll give you the recipe if you’d like.  Leave me your email and I’ll send it to you.”
    We drank coffee and ate muffins for a few minutes as though we were old friends.  Everything was perfect until he pulls out the little box of pills.  My face flushes as I wonder what I did last night to get his attention.  He’s mentioned going to the police again, which is one place I want to avoid. 
    “River, if you’re ready I’ll take you home.”
    “Yeah, thank you, I can call my friend to pick me up.”
    His eyebrows lift up, reminding me of Bert from Sesame Street with the one eyebrow up and the other crooked.  He has a way about him, the way he moves, talks, and walks is confident yet there’s a vulnerability to him.  If he were a callous jerk, he would have left me at the club and not intervened. 
    But he did.
    I can’t help but admire him for standing up for me when I wasn’t in the position to do it myself.  Maybe, Caide Palmer is interested in me.  Doubtful, but it could be a possibility.
     
    On the drive to my house he turns on the radio and we listen to Fall Out Boy.  I notice it isn’t on the radio, but it’s his CD.  Another glimpse into Caide’s life.
    We pull onto my street and my heart starts racing, in a moment, I’ll be alone with my thoughts.  They won’t be filled with Caide Palmer, but the reality I could have been raped last night.
    I could have been raped.
    I’m scared to be alone.
    “Since you don’t have your pocketbook, how are you going to get in?”  Caide asks, relieving me of my thoughts.
    “I have a keypad….would you mind going in with me though?  It will only take a minute to walk around and make sure no one is lurking in the closet.”
    “Did you leave your pocketbook at the club?”  Caide asks concerned.
    I pause for a moment and remember where I left it.  “No, it’s in Gwen’s trunk.  I don’t understand why she left me though.”
    Caide turns the car off and gets out,