Falling For The Playboy

I folded my arms across my chest, “Look, I came in here because I’m hiding from someone, as in I don’t want to get caught. So, I really shouldn’t be doing anything that would make that happen. ”

He stared at me blankly, as if waiting for the pin to drop, “What you’re trying to say is…. ”

“What I’m trying to say is, I need you to stop taking to me. ” I snapped. And wow that was harsh. Also, incredibly stupid of me. Yelling when I was trying to be as invisible as possible, I mean.

He blinked, rearing his head back, “Only thing I picked from that statement was I need you, but okay. ”

I wanted to strangle him. And that train of thought surprised me because I wasn’t a violent person. Trust me, you wouldn’t meet a more anti-violent person.

When he didn’t say anything, and instead, started taking off his tie, I took that to mean that he had, indeed, stopped talking to me.

All traces of playfulness seemed to have left him. His now serious brown eyes, watched his deeply tanned hands as they meticulously undid the knot on his tie.

He looked down fully and I couldn’t see his face anymore, but I could see his arrogantly slashed brows and the dark, long, lashes underneath them. I liked him like this -unaware of my curious eyes.

His lean legs were planted wide in his seated position. The picture he created screamed powerful, rich and … teenage male. Okay, fine, he was sexy. The very definition of the word even. But I wasn’t supposed to notice that!

I chided myself. Simping over a guy, Eva? PATHETIC.

My reaction to him doing such a basic thing as loosening his tie irritated me. I’d seen numerous guys loosen their tie -and girls too, not that this had anything to do with it- so what was so captivating about his?

I shook my head, turning around and gripping the door knob, ready to leave. Dexter had probably given up on looking for me anyway. Hopefully.

He appeared next to me, leaning on the wall beside the door. “What’s your name, Rainbow? ”

“Why-” I hesitated, “Why do you call me Rainbow? ”

“Your eyes. You have the rainbow in them. ” he stared at said eyes.

He had said the same thing at the boutique, and what a beautiful thing to say, it was. Was that how he actually saw them?

“You don’t think they’re freaky? ” I slanted my head, a small smile playing at my lips.

“Well, they are freaky. ” he stated matter-of-factly and I laughed at his blunt honesty. “But they’re also beautiful. And new. ”

And of course boys liked new. If there was one thing I knew about guys, it was that they had a never ending love for new things. It intrigued them. Fascinated them. They loved the chase and when it was eventually over -because it definitely would, they lost interest.

“Your name, ” he pressed, “Please. ”

And that was when I realized he was standing too close to me. What was it with him and being in people’s personal space even? Mine anyway?

“You have to stop that. ” I snapped. I definitely hadn’t intended for it to come out like that but there was no taking back the words now.

“Stop what? ”

“Crowding me. ” I said, “I don’t like it. ”

He exhaled, taking several steps back, “I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize I was. ” he paused, as if just now remembering something, “Wait. Why do you always bring up stuff when I ask for your name? ”

But before he could even finish his sentence, I was out the door, and just like last time, he didn’t follow.

I took the stairs two at a time, taking extra care to be as soundless as possible incase the madman was still looking for me. Luck was apparently on my side because I didn’t run into him on my way downstairs.

As I made my way down the stone-path that led to the sitting area, complete with a shed that prevented the sun from burning students to ashes and and enough chairs to fill a whole classroom, I caught sight of Abi in the car park, waving me over.

I changed my course, walking straight towards her. She had just one strap of her bag over her shoulder, her prefect’s badge stamped on the left side of her shirt and I noticed she was munching on something.

Had Zoe told her already? Would she believe her? Of course, she would. She was her twin and I, a mere stranger.

I guess what hurt me most about the whole incident was that Zoe believed that I had been eavesdropping on her so that I could give information to her parents. That she believed I could do something as malicious as that, hurt. But I supposed I couldn’t blame her. She’d known me less than a week.

“I’ve been waiting for you. ” Abi said when I was within hearing distance.

I doubled my steps. “Sorry. I got caught up with something. ”

If they had been waiting for a while now, then Zoe had definitely told her everything. Shit.

I saw the sleek Lexus -the same one that we’d come to school in this morning- parked behind her and I wished I could see through the dark windows.

I remained unmoving, staring at the car warily. The driver was probably getting tired and she was no doubt wondering what my problem was. They didn’t know I dreaded getting into the vehicle.

“So, ” Abi smiled, “Ready to go? ”

I gauged her smile, weighing and dissecting to see if it was real or not. Sheer confusion was probably written on my face and I guess she considered it funny because her smile widened. How odd. Her smile was genuine.

Zoe hadn’t told her anything.

And she wasn’t in the car.