"No, I think I am not." She denied the part about being intoxicated, but she did feel the boost on her system, making her bold this time. "But I think I know you."
She might not have seen his entire face, but she knew that it was him. His height, body, and stance were more or less identical to what she remembered.
She firmly believed that he was her savior. The one she forgot to thank before for saving her life. He was gone by the time she realized that she did not even get his name.
"You do?" He was now alert, very curious if they were thinking of the same incident. "How?" He did not want to be the first to reveal his identity.
He could hear her breathing faster. From the sudden quickening of her heartbeat, she might be excited about something. But he doubted that fear was part of it.
He figured she might be thinking of something else. She might have mistaken him for another person she might have met before. He decided he would wait until she told him what she knew.
"You saved me." She eventually told him. "I'm sorry. You must think I am crazy. But..." Then, she realized what she had done. She suddenly realized how insane her thoughts were. Voicing it out had just confirmed it.
"I think you are right. I am probably drunk." She immediately retracted her statement, making excuses, hoping he did not take her seriously.
She suddenly felt embarrassed by her actions, pulling the man back to her side because of a dream. Had she gone insane? She thought as she tried to rationalize her behavior.
"You are not crazy." He finally admitted to her, confirming that she was the girl that night.
She had certainly changed a lot compared to the girl he saw more than two years ago. She was not sporting a brace on her teeth, and her hair had grown longer, but it was the same color.
Her face had certainly matured a bit compared to the young, scared girl he helped that night. She also had grown to be a beautiful woman. He had to admit that.
"Then, it is you. The one who helped me that night." She noticed it now in his eyes, the familiarity.
She also heard it in his voice, the same voice that talked to her in her sleep, saying sweet nothings to her. But of course, it did not happen. But in her dreams, she thought it was all true.
He might not have fought those men. But his mere presence might have scared them off. Physically, his athletic build looked like he was ready for battle.
"What do you still remember that night?" He knew it was just a couple of years ago. The memories of that night were still crystal clear in his mind.
Still, she might have a different experience from him. Some people had to suppress memories that might seem traumatic to them. She might be one of them.
He did not want to trigger a memory that she chose to forget. He was not a mind reader, and he could never control her mind, but he could sense her calmness despite remembering him that night.
"Everything, I guess." She admitted, still recalling the three men who almost attacked her. But somehow, his presence had negated the fear she felt.
Her dreams would usually start with the three running after her, almost catching her, but he would suddenly show up and save the day. The three monsters would eventually run away.
She felt her heart pumping hard as blood rushed through her entire body, conjuring images of them entwined in a passionate embrace, lips locked and exploring their desire.
"Are you alright?" He asked, suddenly concerned about her unusual reaction.
He could sense the change in her body. But if his instinct was correct, it had nothing to do with fear. She did not look like she was traumatized by the experience.
However, he did notice something else in her aura. Something that he wished he did not recognize because, at this point, he was not interested in a young woman like her, not in that way.
"What?" She suddenly snapped out of her trance, realizing what had just happened.
She quickly turned away from him, hiding her hot cheeks, feeling her face burning from embarrassment. She could not believe she had just fantasized about a man sitting inches away from her.
"I was saying that I hope you were not traumatized by that experience." He quickly changed the topic, referring to her three attackers.
He did not want her to feel awkward in his presence. But he just realized that she must have overcome her fear and might have developed a little crush on him. Well, at least, the man she had seen before.
"Well, I still think of them at times, but I think I had gotten over the fear." She confided in him, feeling a sense of relief, realizing that he was the only person she was able to talk to about that traumatic incident since it happened.
She was afraid if she had shared it with someone else, her parents, or Jaxson. They might look at her differently and start smothering her again. She was slightly tired of being treated like a child back then.
"I am glad to hear that." He felt comforted by the thought that she did not suffer a long time debilitating experience from his kind. It appeared that she only saw them in their human form.
He remembered catching only one of them. The two were still out there, at large. But nobody had caught the scent of them or seen them. They remained in hiding, but he hoped to catch them before they caused more trouble.
The one he held in captivity still did not talk after undergoing excruciating interrogating techniques. He died keeping his secrets with him.
"Thanks. I am glad that I was able to talk to someone who understood what happened that night. Sometimes, I thought it was just a dream, and it never happened." She confessed to him her doubts of that night.
"It did happen, but I think it is just an isolated case. You should not worry about it anymore." He assured her. "Anyway, I think I have consumed most of your time. It was nice to meet you, Gav." He subtlely pulled his card away from her, putting it back in his pocket.
After this night, he had no intention of seeing her again, knowing now what their connection was. It was not something he wished to explore anymore.
There was no point in complicating things for this seemingly innocent girl by entangling himself in her life.