Manhunt

Chapter 7

"Interesting place to meet." Julia spoke out in the silence, her eyebrows nearly touching her hairline. Zane turned and smiled, chuckling at her expression.

"It's really peaceful around this time," he said, a smile spreading across his face before he turned back towards the lake. "I'm surprised you came. I wasn't totally sure when you didn't answer." He scratched the back of his head, almost a bit embarrassed. She stood there for a moment before sitting down next to him, the cool bench touching her bare skin and causing shivers to roll up her spine.

"How did you get my number?" Julia asked, raising an eyebrow at him. She had a suspicious feeling that a particular black-haired girl had given it to him, considering they both messaged her at the same time. She made a note to check Sydney's message once she was done here. A light breeze blew, ruffling her hair as the locks tossed carelessly around her shoulders. She glanced at Zane's hair and found it still as perfect.

"I have connections." He winked, prompting her to roll her eyes before giving him a smile of her own.

"It was Sydney, wasn't it..."

"You're no fun at all," he sucked his teeth, shaking his head at her mockingly. "But then again, maybe you are. Not everyone is willing to go to a park at this time, much less follow instructions from an unknown source." He paused, his eyebrows furrowing in thought before he turned to her. "...Perhaps you shouldn't make a habit of that."

"Says the person who sent the message without introducing himself."

"Makes things mysterious." He smirked, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Honestly, I was expecting you to demand a name. I think the last thing I expected was for you to not only avoid that entirely, but to show up unannounced. A part of me knew that you liked to take a risk."

"What makes you think that?" She questioned casually, curious to understand more about his thought process. Was she more transparent than she thought she was? This was the second person to have made a certain statement about her that ended up being almost too close to home.

"Just a feeling." He shrugged, smiling up at the night sky. The two sat there for a while, enjoying the comfortable silence as the light from the moon and stars illuminated the surface of the lake. At some point, he had turned back to her, his attention on her exposed arms. "Huh, even under the moonlight, your undertone shows pretty clearly." He stated randomly, earning a cocked eyebrow from her. He chuckled at Julia's reaction before pointing at the veins on her wrists and near her inner elbow. "See here? Greenish veins imply warm undertones. You notice it better under natural light, but you can still see it even now." She blinked at him.

"I think it's because I'm seriously pale." She joked, suddenly feeling self-conscious of his observant eyes.

"It's not a bad thing—the moonlight makes your skin glow. It's pretty." He stated gently, looking up at me just as an embarrassed chuckle sounded from his throat. "Sorry, that sounded terribly cliché and I'm getting horror chills from the fact that I said that." A bark of laughter escaped her mouth, his ability to call himself out being unexpected. Having seen her response, he sighed in relief.

"You said it, not me." She raised her hands up in mock surrender.

"You were absolutely thinking it, though...and rightfully so." He grinned, locking eyes with her. She quickly adverted her gaze; she'd always sucked when it came to eye contact, and his bold words just now made it a little hard to look at him without a blush threatening to show. "Then again, I guess most people look beautiful under the moon. I'm sure that's why it's always written in romance novels." He added thoughtfully, throwing a casual shrug after the statement. Amused, she looked back at him, taking in the beam and two pools of molten gold that stared back brightly at her. She found the curve of his lips to be strangely contagious.