Read Online Enchanter by Kristy Centeno - Free Book Online

trouble keeping from moving forward to test what a
kiss from Brandon Morris felt like.
    However, Brandon was not one to take what had not been
offered. So, instead of doing what any other guy under the same circumstance would
have done, he backed off and awarded me with some breathing space, which by
then I desperately needed.
    “I have to go,” was all he said before he marched up the
stairs, without even glancing back at me.
    In total disbelief and downright scared of myself for the
thoughts my mind conjured up while he was standing in front of me, I shook my
head and walked toward the staircase, sat on the first step, and held my
cellphone in both hands while I tried to come up with a logical explanation for
how I had reacted to Brandon.
    I’m really losing it. I mean, that explains my behavior,
because only if I was going crazy, or had already lost my marbles, would I
actually consider kissing him.
    “Are you okay?” The sound of Sonya’s voice brought me out of
my stupor. I looked up to see her standing near the entrance of the stairwell.
    “He just gets under my skin,” I muttered.
    “I think he gets under everybody’s skin.”
    “Yeah, I guess so.” I smiled and gestured for her to take a
seat next to me. “What made you run out here?”
    “When I saw you run out after him I thought I would never
see you again,” she said, half-joking.
    “He’s not the type of guy who would hurt a woman.” At least
I hoped that was true. I was good at making him angry, so I did not want to
assume he would not run me over one night while I walked home from work.
    “I think you’re right.” Her response surprised me and she must
have noticed it, because she shrugged before taking a seat next to me. “But I
still think you should stay away from him, Leah.”
    “Why?” I asked.
    “He’s… I... just don’t know how to explain it.”
    “You need to be a little more open-minded.”
    “Why? Because I don’t trust easily?”
    “Correction, you don’t trust Brandon.”
    “Okay, maybe I don’t, but that’s because he’s a little
spooky.”
    In order to avoid another hour-long discussion on Brandon
and how much she feared him, I stood and reached for my purse.
    “He’s harmless, so don’t worry so much about me.”
    “Okay.” She obviously did not want to talk about him either,
because she did not say another word in reference to Mr. Morris the rest of the
day.
     
    ****
     
    At the end of a six-hour shift at the restaurant where I
worked as a waitress, I hurried out the front doors and started my normal
commute to my apartment complex a few blocks down the same road. Fridays and
Saturdays were my usual days off, but my boss had called late that afternoon to
ask me to fill in for another waitress who had car trouble. Not having anything
else going on in my predictable life, I put on my uniform and headed out to
work for a few hours. Besides, the extra money would come in handy.
    Having completed my shift, I walked out of the restaurant
feeling tired and extremely uneasy. For some reason, the feeling that something
was wrong assailed me almost as soon as I set foot outside. Usually, the walk
back home took about seven minutes, the majority of which was relatively quiet
and uneventful.
    The fact that there were several houses and commerce
buildings in between the restaurant and my home was beneficial for me because there
were plenty of places that could provide potential witnesses should anything
happen to me. Walking anywhere alone at night was scary enough, and having to
do it in a completely isolated place could be not only unnerving, but
potentially dangerous as well.
    The street a few feet away was usually filled with cars, so
I was in plain view most times. Except when I came across the small, dark alleyway
two blocks from my house. In all the years I had shared an apartment with Matt,
there had never been any incidents involving said ally, but I still carried a
bottle of pepper spray in my hand in case