I killed a while like that before I saw Ren sitting in a chair, watching me with a little smile.
“Fuck,” I said, swimming to the far side opposite him. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry,” he said. “Just making sure you were okay.”
I glared at him. “How long were you sitting there, you creep?”
“A minute,” he said. “I was going to say something, but you looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to ruin it.”
“And yet here you are.”
He laughed and didn’t answer.
I climbed out of the water, intensely away of his eyes on my body. He was a good-looking guy, muscular but trim, with light eyes and dark hair slicked back. His pouty lips would’ve made a younger version of myself swoon, but I was over all that, over and done with it. I felt self-conscious, though, and realized that some of my scars were visible— the two on my leg, and the one on my shoulder. I quickly walked to my towel and grabbed it, wrapping it around myself, but too late. I caught him looking with a thoughtful frown.
“We should set up some ground rules, if we’re going to do this for real.”
He looked at me and shrugged. “All right. You played along with me, so I’ll play along with you. Give and take, the bedrock of any healthy relationship.”
I doubted he’d ever been in a healthy relationship, but I didn’t say that out loud. “When I’m swimming, you can’t sit there and watch me.”
“Fair enough.”
“And you can’t follow me around all the time.”
“That’d make me a shitty bodyguard.”
“I have to be able to go for a walk on my own. Hell, I might want to go for a run.”
“I usually do a few miles every day.”
I grunted, annoyed. “Come on.”
He held up a hand. “All right, look. You can run alone, I’ll grant you that, but you can’t go walking alone. It’s too dangerous and you’ll be an easy target.”
I clenched my jaw but nodded. Give and take. “Fine.”
“And when you run, you have to be nearby. Stay within a few blocks. Do loops if you have to.”
I nodded and gestured impatiently. “Fine. Anything else?”
“You’re the one driving this ship, darling.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Okay then. See, look, I can give things up, too.” He grinned at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Just keep your distance, okay? We’re going to get through this and nothing more.”
“Understood.” His eyes moved down to my legs again, and I knew he was thinking about the scars. I could practically see the question in his eyes, desperate to break free, and I really didn’t want to talk about it. They were too fresh, and a cold ache throbbed in my shoulder, an ache that would likely be there for the rest of my life.
I wasn’t ready to talk about them, especially not with him, and especially not when I was dripping wet.
I interrupted him before he could bring it up. “What’s with your name, by the way?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Ren. It’s kind of weird.”
“You know it’s rude to say that, right?”
I shrugged. I knew it was rude, but I’d rather be rude than have him ask me about the scars. I felt like an asshole, though. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. My full name’s Renato.”
“Oh,” I said. “That’s a cool name.”
“It’s fine. My family’s South Philly Italians, so I’m more or less a cliché.”
“Are you close with them? Your family?”
“Not anymore.” His eyes were intense and I felt the urge to step away. “Ma died a while back. Dad’s either dead or on a bender, I’m not sure which. Doesn’t matter either way.”
“Sorry to hear it.”
He waved a hand. “Everyone’s got sob story. I bet you’ve got one too.”
I grimaced and knew he was about to ask again. I was tempted to dive headfirst into the shallow end, just to get out of this conversation.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to. An older woman appeared in the doorway, frowning at the two of us. She held a wireless phone in her hand, the sort of phone that would’ve been hooked up to a landline.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry, but there’s a call on the house phone for Amber.” She held the phone toward me. “That’s you, right?”
I nodded. “That’s me.”
“I’m Janine,” she said, and held the phone to me. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” I took the phone as she turned and walked back inside.
I was still dripping and didn’t want to follow, but didn’t want to take a call in front of Ren. I had a feeling I knew who it was already and wasn’t looking forward to this conversation.
“Do you mind?” I asked him.
He grinned at me and shook his head. “Not at all.”
“Ren.”
He laughed and slipped past me, moving closer than I would’ve liked, before disappearing back inside.
I let out an annoyed breath then held the phone to my ear. “Hello?”