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leaned my head
back, noting the soft jazz in the background.
    “ I think you’ll be
surprised by the things you’ll tell me.”
    I glared at him. “You
don’t know the future.”
    He removed his sunglasses
from an overhead compartment. “If I did, I’d know exactly how to
make you let your guard down,” he replied as he put them
on.
    I took a deep breath.
“Why?”
    He pulled the glasses to
the tip of his nose and glanced at me, eyes glittering. “I want you
to love me, not fear me.”
    I tried not to laugh.
“Why?”
    His jaw tensed. “I think
I’ve already fallen in love with you.”
    How could he love me after
a few days? He had to have some kind of agenda.
    I stayed quiet, not sure
how to swallow that lump of information. When Billie Holiday came
over the speakers, I relaxed a little.
    Upon opening my eyes, I
saw a red wall with a chandelier sticking out of it. Not a wall, a
ceiling. I rubbed my eyes and jumped up.
    “ Where are we?”
    Troy smiled and sat on the
red couch, patting the spot beside him.
    “ Answer my
question!”
    “ Sit down. And I will.”
His commanding tone made me sweat.
    “ Fine.” I sat on the
opposite end. Shadows played over the red and black décor as I
stared at him, waiting for an explanation.
    He crossed his ankle over
his knee. “I had to pick up a letter for my mother.”
    “ So where are we?” I asked
with a little more composure.
    He waved his hand. “In my
living room.”
    I shot to my feet. “Your
living room… in your house?”
    He laughed and shook his
head. I heaved a sigh of relief until he pulled me into his arms.
“This is my apartment.”
    “ Why did you bring me in
here?”
    “ I didn’t want you to wake
up alone.” He kept one hand around my waist as he pulled an
envelope from his jacket.
    “ Oh.” I scanned the bare
walls for photos. “Where does your mom live?”
    “ She and my father have a
house in New Orleans.”
    “ So you were born
there?”
    “ Can’t you tell?” he asked
in a thicker accent than usual.
    I laughed as we stepped
into the main hallway. “It’s hard to pay attention when you’re
always so close.”
    Oil paintings of flowers
and landscapes lined the white walls as we made our way to the
elevator.
    “ This place is
impressive.”
    He took my hand and laid a
gold key on my palm. “It is.” His fingers curled around mine. “If
you ever need me, you can come right in.”
    I gaped at him as the
doors slid open. “Is this a key to your apartment? This is too
much.”
    He pulled me into the
lift. “Why not? We’ll be spending a lot of time
together.”
    Hearing those words made
me nervous.
    Somehow, I’d stumbled upon
a very handsome, very determined man, and I had to convince him to
slow down.
    I slipped the key into his
jacket pocket. “You don’t even know me.”
    “ Then we should get to
know each other.”
    “ How old are you?” I asked
when we reached the lobby.
    He held his chin and
struck a debonair pose. “I’ll be twenty in April.”
    “ You
seem older. Are you sure you’re only nineteen?” I rubbed my
forehead. “How old do you think I am?”
    He led me to the Suburban.
“I know how old I am, Jade. I also know you’ll be eighteen on
November 11 th . How old did you
think I was?”
    “ Honestly, I wouldn’t be
surprised if you were twenty four.”
    He laughed and started the
car. “Would you even date someone six years older than
you?”
    I laughed too.
“No.”
    “ I didn’t think so.” His
smile made me wonder if he was lying.
    “ You really are just about
to turn twenty, aren’t you?”
    “ Yes,” he assured before
pulling onto the street.
    The clock on his dashboard
read 4:40.
    “ Are we going to the Post
Office?”
    He nodded and made a left
turn.
    “ Don’t they close at
5?”
    “ Yes, but as you can see,
we’ve made it in time.”
    That’s what I got for
watching him instead of the road, I chastised as he
parked.
    “ Wait here, it will only
take a minute.”
    “ Okay,”