Chasing Sapphire

23. FOLLOWER

SAPPHIRE

The aroma of maple syrup pulled me to the kitchen early morning. My mouth watered in advance as I entered the kitchen and my eyes met with the stack of pancakes in the plate. Connor was making blueberry sauce to pour over the pancakes, not aware of my presence yet. I walked behind him and cleared my throat to gain his attention.

"Somebody woke up early." he said and I shrugged. He was wearing a plain vest with jogger pants and I couldn't figure out which sight was better; the pancakes or him.

"Yeah, I thought I should make my days productive." I replied.

Seeing him reminded me of our kiss last night and I couldn't help but wonder what he felt about that kiss. Was it a mistake or he was really interested in me? Or was it just harmless flirting?

"Great," he whispered as he shifted on his feet, his face assessing mine carefully.

"Yeah," I whispered nervously and pushed my hair behind my ears, all the while feeling his gaze on me.

"So how would you make your day productive?" he asked, his voice deeper than usual.

"Well," I gulped. "I thought I'd go to the mall and then to the library."

"And?" he scooted closer to me.

"Um..." I took a step back and cleared my throat. Our eyes met and I felt shy all of sudden.

He chuckled at my action and took a step away from me. "You are cute."

"Cute? That's just a fancy word for immature." I replied sarcastically.

His smile widened at this and he said, "So what else would you prefer?" He knew he was making me nervous and he was enjoying this. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"Nothing," I huffed and turned around to leave.

"Listen," he moved past me in a dangerous speed and crossed my path, stopping me in my tracks. I raised my head to look at him as he towered over me. Instead of saying anything, he leaned down and placed a small peck on my lips, lingering his mouth there for a moment.

"Get a room you two," I heard Bella's voice and immediately stepped away from Connor. She had her luggage bag in one hand and her car keys in the other.

"Are you leaving?" I asked, forgetting about the small kiss. I tried to act casual, as if we weren't just caught.

"Yep. I'm going to New Jersey for some work." she lied because Connor was also here and explaining her plan to him would be hard.

"Take care," I said.

"I will," she smiled and then left, leaving me worried for her.

"You look worried." Connor said to me, probably noticing the frowns on my forehead.

"It's just... Um..." I took a pause to figure the appropriate response. "It's nothing."

"If you say so." he mumbled and then set the table for breakfast.

°°°°°

It was a weird day overall. The whole time I was sitting in the library, I kept feeling paranoid, as if someone was keeping eyes on me. It wasn't that impossible, considering everything that was going around me. But everytime I looked around, I couldn't find anything unusual in the library, except the pin-dropping silence.

Keeping everything back in my bag, I made my way out of the library. My stomach was growling because of not having lunch so I stepped towards the small burger place near the parking lot. Once I got inside, I looked for a corner booth and ordered for a cheeseburger.