"Why don't you just sit on my lap?"

At my words, Torryn shot me a dirty look but shifted upwards so I, too, could see what was going on in front of us. Crouching behind one of the big moving trucks to spy on what shady thing Jason Queen was up to, was not earning me a good rep with my back and my legs. On top of that, Torryn was leaning in a way that blocked more of my already limited view.

"Boss, I-you-we're almost done," Tyler declared, standing in what looked like a painfully rigid stance.

My subconscious scrunched her nose at the man, Poor asshole.

For once, I agreed with her. I knew how much Tyler's legs were going to pain after this.

"It was a bigger shipment this time, so it took time," Tyler nodded rapidly, looking like he was searching for another excuse to add. "And we had to lose the feds on our tail," he said with pride before noticing his boss's expression and hurried to explain. "The feds have been dealt with, boss."

"For your sake, Tyler, let that be true," Jason shot him a haughty look, reminding me very much of a certain relative of his.

Silently tapping Torryn on the shoulder, I whispered, "Are you filming this?"

"I thought you were," he murmured back. I frowned. How did his murmur sound lower than my whisper?

Shaking my head at my thoughts, I whispered again,"No, I forgot my phone in your car."

Swiftly, Torryn pulled out his phone, only for Jason and Tyler to move away from their original position. "Shit," he swore under his breath.

Searching for a better hiding spot near the two shady men turned out to be futile; they were standing near a small, dingy boat away from others. So, Torryn took a couple of pictures, even though said pictures weren't terribly incriminating, what with the most important things being shut inside those stupid crates.

What if they're still just clothes?

Sure, my subconscious snorted, and Torryn Cole is an uggo.

Sometimes, I really didn't like her. Looking at Torryn's side profile, anyone would disagree with a person calling him ugly. Like, who allowed him to be so damn handsome?

Now, I might be wrong, but I would like to think his parents did, my subconscious muttered wih enough sarcasm to make the boy being discussed proud.

I huffed to myself and Torryn turned around to face me with an inquiring eyebrow. "It's nothing," I murmured and we both turned around at the sound of a door closing shut. Since we were obviously fortunate people, it was the door of the truck Torryn and I were hiding behind.

Shit! Wide forest-green eyes met mine.

I looked around for a convenient escape route or any escape route, for that matter, but the truck was about to leave any second now. Just as I was seriously considering climbing onto the side of the truck, like they did in the movies, Torryn's hands clamped around my waist as he practically dragged me into a dark alley behind us.

'Woah, at least buy me dinner first!' was what I wanted to say but since he'd already done that, I kept quiet. Also, there was the slight matter about certain people hearing me if opened my mouth.

"We need to leave or else we'll be noticed and then...." Torryn trailed off as we watched Jason get in his car and leave as the other men got back to their respective work. "Then," I continued, sliding one finger across my throat with a serious expression.

"Yes, Miller," he smiled in amusement, clutching my hand in his as we walked away from the pier and it's weirdness with no choice but to retreat. For now.

"I gotta give it to you, Cole, this date is amazing," I grinned at him as we quickly crossed as much distance as we could through the narrow alley.

"Of course, you're saying that," Torryn shook his head with a fond smile that had my heartbeat speeding up. "Thanks, anyways, sweetheart."

I gave a little nod before turning my head away in order to hide my flaming cheeks that always had a hard time being normal around a certain Pigeon.

"That was some shady shit back there," Torryn mumbled as we reached the end of the alley. The sound of a door opening, (doors weren't being kind to us today, were they?), had Torryn turning around and pinning me to the nearest wall.

"Woa-" Torryn covered my mouth with his hand. My eyes were about ready to bulge out of their sockets; what was up with him? He raised a finger to his lips and pointed the same to the sound. I nodded, getting the memo-that didn't mean that my heart did too. Torryn Cole doing something he only did in my dreams had my heart beating away at a pace that I'd read was not supposed to be good for a healthy person.

As if you're anywhere near healthy, my subconscious snorted, sounding dangerously similar to Rhea and my mom. All the junk you've consumed is enough to kill you alone. Why didn't you attend those yoga classes you signed up for?

I looked up into Torryn's intense forest-green eyes and gulped. Whatever Gods are listening, please let my heart survive this and I'll definitely attend those yoga classes!

"What happened, man?" One squeaky voice asked.

"Thought I saw something down there," another voice answered.

It was a good thing Torryn was wearing a black leather jacket that helped camouflage us better. What wasn't a good thing was a freaking cat jumping around our alley, attracting more attention to us.

Begone, demon!

"Hey, you, there, what are you doing?" The guy asked, pointing a torch at Torryn's back. He probably hadn't spotted me yet.

"None of your business," Torryn snapped and I almost handed him a detention for wrong answer.

The sound of footsteps nearing us became louder. Shit, shit, shit, shit. Do something!

"Unless you want to join in," I let out a loud giggle, some part of which was not fake, since Torryn was still trying to pick his jaw off the ground. What, I mouthed at him. He just shook his head in disbelief as the footsteps tracked back to, what I assumed to be, a car as the man muttered to his companion about it being nothing other than some imbecile kids getting lucky.

We stayed where we were for a beat after the car was gone before separating. Weirdly enough, I found myself missing the warmth that Torryn's body had been providing for the last few minutes.

Walking out of the alley, we moved fast in the direction of the diner, where Torryn's car was parked, in silence, (we were too busy blushing to engage in normal conversation). No one really leaped out from behind dumpsters to kill us, as I had expected to. In fact, we didn't really encounter anyone in our way, other than a homeless gentleman who was trying his hardest to light a cigarette. If I were him, I would try to set fire to all the loose waste papers that were lying around him to generate more warmth, but you do you, right?

We were almost to the car, when Torryn asked me, "What if he had joined us?"

"Huh?" I frowned at him in confusion; my mind was too busy thinking about how those questions I'd asked myself all those months ago weren't different puzzles, but pieces to one big, dangerous puzzle.

"What if the man with that torch had decided to join, like you asked him?" He raised a dry eyebrow at me.

"What if the man, who could've potentially belonged to the lovely group of men at the pier, had joined us in eating cake?" I raised my own eyebrow at him.

He halted in his steps. "Cake?"

"Yes. Whatever else would he join us for, Cole?" I blinked, looking as innocent as an arsonist standing in front of their burning house with four big cans of gasoline.

Torryn stared at me for a moment-probably soaking in my otherworldly beauty-before shaking his head. And out of nowhere, he wrapped an arm around my waist before we resumed walking. And suddenly, my cheeks were once again red.

This really was a pretty good date, my subconscious sighed.

Agreed, I smiled, nestling into Torryn's arms as we walked to the car in comfortable silence as if we hadn't just witnessed something life-changing.

Hey, guys!!!
How are y'all doing?

Sowwy I haven't been updating regularly. A housewarming party that ate away my head and a cousin's wedding that ate away my will to live are slightly responsible for this :))

Anyways, I know it wasn't a very big chapter but I think it was fun. Lemme know if you had fun reading it, too!

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Pengy: How many of you had bets on Jason Queen being a shady character? Do you think it's time to collect your metaphorical winnings yet?

Oh, and the credits for the cool ass chapter banner go to @CoffeeGirl_10!!