I had spent every morning for the last two weeks in the gym with Connor. We would train, argue about the success rate of my plan, get lunch, go to my house, argue again, rinse and repeat.
My birthday was in a few weeks and Connor was hell-bent on convincing me to wait before planning a party to lure out the killer. He wanted me to "think things through". Which in my opinion, was terrible advice.
Things between Connor and I had been really weird lately and the arguing wasn't helping. Whenever he was around it was like this warmth had entered the room, and it started to get a little hard to concentrate in his presence. Whenever we touch, which was a lot considering we trained together, there was this tingling that made my breath catch and my face heat up.
The arguing turned whatever spark I felt for him into a full-blown house fire and I honestly didn't know what to think. We would begin arguing, then we would start yelling, I would get in his face, and we'd almost kiss before something interrupted. It was getting old.
We had begun training a lot later than usual and finished training for the day much after the sun had set. Connor had his top off and his torso glistened with sweat. He pulled a few punching bags from against the wall and into the storage room of the boxing gym. His muscles rippled and flexed with the effort.
The sight of him right now had my palms sweating and tingles spreading up my spine. I swear it was as if the more I looked at him the more gorgeous he got.
He wasn't blindly handsome, he had this boy next door look to him. Dirty blonde hair with green eyes and a bright smile that showcased a full set of perfect pearly white teeth.
He wasn't bulky, he was lean and had muscles that lined his body from hours of training daily. His hands were large and calloused from fighting every day since he was 16. He wore black sweatpants that hung rather loosely on his waist.
I watched a droplet of sweat fall from the tips of his hair down his torso, I followed its path before it disappeared into the waistline of his pants.
I stood there, staring at him for at least five minutes, his presence seemed to put me in a trance. One I couldn't break out of and one that left me oddly confused when I finally snapped out of it. It was getting to be a lot. My thoughts were clouded with him, and though I knew I had to stay focused I just couldn't shake the idea of him and me out of my head. I knew I had to stop especially because I was so close to avenging Karley.
No matter how long it takes. No matter the cost.
I made a promise and I had to keep it, but Connor was making it a lot harder than it should have been.
"My eyes are up here Ann" I was startled by his voice. He stood in front of me now, sporting a cocky smirk on his lips.
My face heated in embarrassment, I felt like a child who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I turned around before he could see my reaction too clearly and walked back to my gym bag.
"I'm gonna start making the invitations for the party".
I knew that would get him angry since he was so adamant about me not having the party in the first place. Part of me wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his face and make him forget I was staring. Another part, a louder part wanted to see what would happen if I got him riled up.
"No" He was right behind me now, his breath fanned across the back of my neck leaving goosebumps behind.
I turned around and looked up into his eyes. His brows were furrowed and his eyes turned to slits, his lips were pursed into a thin line as he waited for me to contradict him, to argue, to say anything. He was annoyed, but that wasn't good enough. I needed him angry.
"No? I wasn't asking you" I placed my hands on my hips as I spoke and watched his reactions. His jaw ticked in silent anger and his fist closed at his side. I smirked slightly, knowing that I had gotten under his skin. Connor had a short temper, and the thing he hated the most was when people made it seem like his presence added no value. It rarely ever happened, considering he was usually right and his opinion meant the world to me, but he didn't need to know that.
I had him peeved, now all I needed, was to say something to push him over the edge.
"You can't tell me what to do Con-". Before I even had the chance to finish my sentence I was pushed into the wall by his towering frame. He placed one hand on my hip and the other rested beside my head on the wall, locking me in.
Bingo!
I gasped and looked into his eyes as he pushed me into the wall only to find a blazing inferno. He was angry, that much I could tell, but there was also something else in his eyes that I couldn't quite place.
"I think you're trying to start a fight Ann" I swallowed audibly because that was exactly what I was doing. At this point, I should've said something, but he was so close, practically pressed against me and that was hard enough to deal with. His presence and nearness seemed to make my brain turn to mush lately and the fact that he was shirtless had me panting.
He moved his hand from my waist upward, dragging the tips of his fingers over my torso in the process. A violent shiver ran through me as the tips of his fingers passed over my chest and to my throat resting it there. He leaned forward and placed his lips next to the shell of my ear, whispering."I don't understand why you'd do that Ann, you seem smart, smart enough to know that if you get me angry I'll lose control and devour you. Is that what you want?"
I looked up into his eyes as he pulled away to look at me. His eyes resembled fire, he looked almost predatory. I shivered at the heat in his eyes and the need that coursed through me at the thought of him...devouring me.
He didn't miss the way my body reacted, he saw the sweat that coated my neck and how quickly my chest rose and fell. He saw the way my body shook and trembled with need for him. He saw my eyes, and though I wasn't able to see them myself, I knew that my pupils were blown wide and held the same heat that his did.
"Tell me you want this, or I'll walk away right now and forget it ever happened" He pressed into me harder, and I could see the struggle in his eyes. Were we really doing this? Things would change for sure, but would that be so bad?
I thought over my options and he let go. I think he took my hesitation as a no because he removed his hand from the wall and began turning away. The cool breeze that hit me from the absence of his body heat was a cold reminder of what I was about to do, but I had already made up my mind.
At this point, I threw caution to the wind and decided to be selfish and take something I wanted for a change. I grabbed his arm and yanked him toward me, he looked surprised at first and then smirked with a look of triumph on his face.
"I need to hear you say it". His body was close to mine once more, his hands grabbed my waist, and he pressed his body flat against mine, I gasped as something pressed into my lower stomach through our clothing. Is that..?
I looked up into his eyes once more. "I want you". The words came out in a small whisper, and in a second I was being lifted. He grabbed under my thighs and lifted me against the wall, my legs wrapped around his waist as I held onto his shoulders for support.
He pressed his body firmly into mine once more, and I gasped at the contact of him pressed against my heat through his pants. He took that moment to slam his lips into mine and everything exploded.
I closed my eyes as the kiss seared my lips. I swear I saw fireworks under my eyes and sighed at the intensity of it all. Our lips moved with fever as his tongue entered my mouth. His lips left mine for a moment as they trailed down my neck to my collarbone causing me to release a throaty moan.
He groaned before pushing his body into mine even more which caused another gasp to leave my lips. It was all so much, my nerves were all firing at once, and the sensations I felt seemed to drown me in pleasure. It was perfect, nothing could ruin this moment.
All of a sudden the lights throughout the gym shut off cloaking us in darkness. (Ok, ill admit, I probably jinxed myself on that one.)
He pulled away and placed me on my feet lightly.
I was still somewhat in a haze from the kiss, it was only when he started speaking in rushed whispers that I realized what had happened. The power in the gym was shut off, even the once ongoing thrum of the AC had stopped, cloaking us in darkness and silence.
After a few seconds, the red backup lights turned on and lit a few corners of the gym, and led to the exits. The flashing red lights made it a little hard to see. Considering that the colour made you essentially colourblind while the flashing left you in complete darkness for a few moments before the lights shone again.
It was dead quiet throughout the gym other than the laboured breaths that Connor and I seemed to be taking.
"Do you hear that?" my voice came out in a hushed whisper.
I didn't wait for a response. I moved away from Connor and began walking towards the unusual sound. It began as a rattle and then a slight hissing noise followed. As I walked towards the sound, the rattling and hissing grew in volume. I followed the noise to a hallway that led to the women's lockers and the fountains. At the end of the hallway were the double doors that led outside, but those doors were always locked.
The blinking red lights made it hard to see where I was going. I blindly followed the noise through the gym and down the hallway.
Connor was following closely behind me, I couldn't see him, but I knew he was there, I was somehow able to sense his presence. The noise stopped for a moment before a loud bang rang out and the women's locker room door flew open. I jumped back at the sudden noise and into Connor's chest as a dark figure bolted from the locker room and ran out of the exit.
I stood still for a moment shocked before moving to go after them. I rushed through the exit and down the alley, pumping my legs faster and faster as I went. I could see the figure approaching the alley's entrance far ahead of me and I willed my legs to move as fast as they could. I had a feeling if I didn't catch them now, they'd get away. I ran out of the alley and into the parking lot, swinging my head frantically looking for the shadow. The lot was empty except for Connor's car.
I raked my hand through my hair and placed my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath. I had lost them.
"Annie, what the hell is wrong with you?" Connor's voice rang out into the parking lot as he ran down the alley and stopped next to me.
"I almost had him" I breathed. Connor grabbed my arm and straightened me up as he brought me toward him.
"Don't you ever do something like that again, you could have gotten seriously injured!" The shock was slowly wearing off at his tone and once the shock left, anger, confusion, and frustration were left in its wake.
"The killer was here! I could've stopped them!" I was getting more and more frustrated as time passed, this was all becoming too much, the stalking, the messages, now this?
"Annie wake the hell up! You have no clue who that was."
"What are you talking about-"
"That could've been anyone! A robber, or a teenage kid who was messing around. Heck, it could've been a member of the gym who forgot something in the locker room."
"You can't seriously believe that?"
Was he serious? Was I the only one who saw and heard everything? I swear I was going crazy at that moment. It was all too much, and for the first time since I decided to hunt down Karley's killer, I began to wonder if maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew. I was being harassed and followed by my sister's murderer, and I just made out with her best friend. My body was sore from training every day so that I could bring him down by force if I had to. My parents were falling apart and to be honest, so was I.
What if I just gave up? She would understand, wouldn't she? Karley would understand that I had to move on? That I had to live my life?
What about Karley? Shouldn't she have gotten to live her life too?
She did, she deserved more, she deserved better. Though I couldn't bring her back, I wasn't going to let her murder go unsolved, never.
No matter how long it takes. No matter the cost. I promised.
"Annie, are you even listening?" I focused back on Connor and our conversation filled my mind once more. He was acting like this wasn't a big deal.
"The power in the gym shut off! There was this noise too, it was coming from the locker room!"
His face changed from angry to worried to pitiful in about three seconds. His face turned hard and his features set into a frown.
"Annie, what sound?"