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I
worried about you, out there all alone in the dark. I didn’t want to disturb
you, so I would sit and wait until you were done and then make sure you made it
home safely.”
    “So you spied on me and followed me?”
    “I didn’t want anything to happen to you.” He was
embarrassed about being caught after so much time, but he wasn’t defensive in
the least, wasn’t apologetic about what he had done. “Even in a town like
Cranston, it isn’t smart for a teenaged girl to wander around in the dark by
herself. Especially if she goes to the same place every time. You should know
that, a woman living alone in the city.” He eyed his grilled cheese, sighed,
then took a huge bite.
    She couldn’t argue with his logic, but still wasn’t sure
what to make of the fact that Jake had watched her most secret moments, had
shared something she’d always thought was private. She didn’t feel violated but
she did feel wary, vulnerable to attack in a way she wasn’t used to.
    For several minutes they ate in silence, which could have
been uncomfortable but somehow wasn’t. Tess finished first, leaving half her
meal on her plate and pushing it away with a decisive gesture.
    “Well. Thanks, I guess. For lunch, and for the protective
stalking.”
    “You should try going out there again some time. It seemed
to help.”
    Tess considered that. “It did in a way. It was so quiet, and
I was all alone. Or thought I was, at least. I could zone out, not have to
think about anything or worry about what I was going to say. Just be .”
    “Zen stone-skipping.”
    “Exactly. But you can’t go back. I’ve never been able to
reproduce that.”
    Jake chuckled. “You don’t really have a Zen vibe going on
now, that’s for sure. And do you worry about what you’re going to say? Because
it seems more like you just—”
    “Come right out and say it? I know, and it’s hard
considering my foot is stuffed in my mouth so much of the time. You’d think
that might keep me from saying more stupid stuff I’ll regret, but apparently
not.” She shrugged, embarrassed to admit it but oddly relieved to confess. Jake
munched the last bite of his sandwich, friendly and interested in what she had
to say. He’d always been insidiously easy for Tess to talk to. “Afterward I
always realize what I should have said, and wish I’d said that, but it’s too
late. Then I obsess about it and beat myself over the head. Sometimes I wish I
could stop talking altogether. Duct tape my mouth. Let people infer their own
meaning.”
    “So stop for a while.” He looked at her expectantly. “Why
not?”
    “Because talking is how people communicate.” And she wasn’t
quite ready to give up on trying, to stay home and go the full Boo Radley. It
seemed too extreme a solution.
    Jake frowned thoughtfully. “That’s one small part of
communication. Why not try letting that part go since it’s getting you into
trouble? See how you do without it for a bit. As an experiment. It might be
good for you. Help you notice new things. It could even inform your writing
voice.”
    “You’re always so interested in me doing things for my own
good. Why is that, Mr. Hogan?” Her tone was joking but her question was
serious. She felt as if she were at the edge of discovering a secret, something
about Jake that she needed to know and couldn’t quite put her finger on.
    His eyes narrowed, and Tess’ stomach did a backflip. Dream-Jake .
    “Clearly somebody needs to pay attention to what’s
good for you. Right now, you’re running rampant.” Young lady.
    “I love it when you talk like a duke in a bodice-ripper.”
That was actually true, she realized.
    Jake snickered but his gaze stayed on her, dagger-sharp. The
air between them had grown charged. “My secret is revealed. You may call me My
Lord from now on. But seriously, you should try the not-talking thing. As a
friend, I’d be happy to help you out.”
    Dangerous, dangerous . Tess felt entirely out of her
league,