THE CODE THAT LINKS US ©

Chapter Fifteen

MADISON

I watch her playing. She climbs up, again and again, the playground at the park with a big smile while she greets me every time she slides down. First, it takes me half an hour to convince her to climb a lade made up of barely four steps and slide down. Now she doesn't seem to remember what used to scare her. Me on the other hand, I am dying of boredom. I swear I could almost rip my eyes off from my face just for fun.

Minutes later, I find myself observing the people around me and what they do. A guy in a grey sweatshirt passes jogging in front of me, listening to music, making me think he might be one of those people that love to live at the rhythm of the music they listen to. Far away I hear the jingle of a little bell, which makes me believe that possibly a little kid is learning how to ride a bike while his father makes the bell ring again and again making sure that his child doesn't take anyone unprepared... The guy passes one more time. This time it alarms me, even though the park isn't that big, it's large enough to be jogged in more than ten minutes given his speed.

I get my attention back to Alison who isn't playing in the slide anymore but now she's burying her feet on the sandbox's sand that surrounds the playground while a sunray hits her right on her profile. The guy passes again.

I begin to feel nervous. It's someone watching us? Did they find us? I stand up decided to take Alison back to the apartment in case of this place not being safe anymore but right when I am about to give the first step. I collide with someone.

I raise my sight from the floor and find a pair of honey eyes that I am pretty sure I have seen before. A drop of sweat runs down the pink cheek of the guy standing in front of me and I unconsciously follow it through his perfectly defined face till it ends up on his chin in which a little beard begins to appear.

"I'm... I am sorry," I say distracted by his thick pink lips noticing just seconds later that he is holding me from my arms. He smiles and I get deeply lost in it.

"I think it's going to become a habit to end up in this situation," he says with a deep voice and finally I look back at his eyes. He lets go.

"Hmm..." I am about to deny knowing him when I realize that he is the same guy I found yesterday before exiting the building. Same hypnotic eyes, so much that I didn't notice he's wearing the same grey sweatshirt that guy jogging a few minutes ago was wearing. "I am sorry."

"Yeah, you've said it before," he says with a short laugh and a charming smile. God, he's perfect. What the...? Did I really get that thought? Madison, are you ok? What the heck is wrong with you?

"So..." he says passing his hand on his sweated hair. Now his curls are fully compacted against his head giving it a kind of straight and darker look.

"Madison! Look!" Alison's voice is the one that brings me back to earth. She's right next to me. "What is this?"

"I am pretty sure it is a snail," the guy replies before I could really process what's going on. Alison looks at him without saying anything and then looks back at me serious. Her cheeks and forehead are red because of the heat. She's sweating and showing me a snail.

"It's a snail," I assure when I realize she's waiting for me to reply. She smiles staring at it way too close for my taste. I move her hands away from her face. "Leave it where you found it," I say and she leaves immediately.

"Seems like you have everything under control," says the guy. Control? Is he part of this? A spy or something like that? That's the reason why he was passing so many times in front of me? He knows where we are staying, it makes sense... "With your sister," he says when I look around searching for anyone that somehow might be communicating with him.

"What?" I ask staring at Alison who is now lying on the sand staring at the snail.

"My sister would have started crying and yelling if it were me who told her to leave it," he says sitting down on the bench I was before. I look at him and he smiles again. I get lost, again. "So... Madison," he pats the bench next to him. I sit down leaving an appropriate distance between us. "You are not from here, are you?" for some reason his attitude reminds me of Sam, except for the fact that he's way more handsome than Samuel Rodgers.

"Aren't I?" I reply and he leaves out a laugh with that smile that is driving me crazy.

"Well, I know everyone who lives in the building and doubt that someone like you could have passed unnoticed," he replies. Can you all see it? Samuel Rodgers 2.0. He raises his eyebrows just when I bite my lip for not being strong enough to stop admiring him. "What number?"

"I barely know you and you expect me to give you details about where I live just like that?" he thinks about it for a moment and smiles again, this time a shy and small smile.

"Dylan," he says offering me his hand. This time it is me who raises an eyebrow. "Papasavvas... born in Chicago on March tenth, surf lover and soon to be a movie director winner of ten Oscars. I have two sisters that are younger than me; Victoria and Christine. In the mornings I work at a boring coffee shop," he says making me smile and keeps talking proudly, probably thinking that I am already in his trap. "I live on the sixth floor, apartment nineteen of the Griffith Tower," he winks an eye at me. "I drive a black Mini and I have run some marathons.. oh and I am twenty-three."

"Am I supposed to be amazed?" I ask nodding when he's done and he laughs once more, biting his lip at the end.

"Something is telling me you are quite hard, Madison."

"What an observer you are..."

"I gave you enough information for you even be able to kidnap me if you want and I barely know that your name is Madison," he says. "The worst part is that I didn't even get it from you, so practically I have nothing."

"I wouldn't like to distract you from your marathonic training or whatever is it that you were doing," I stand up avoiding any kind of attempt to get information about us and quickly walk towards Alison grabbing her from her hand and try to leave the park.

We don't even give twenty steps when he's already next to me. "You know, I had, in fact, the objective of training today but I got distracted by you. I couldn't stop thinking on the perfect moment to make contact by passing in front of you every single time," I stop and turn to look at him. It's like if men actually had a manual to follow: How to Get the Girl Vol. 2. "None of us could stay away from each other apparently." I roll my eyes and keep walking.

"I didn't have any intention of colliding with you, if there's where you are trying to get," I say leaving him behind. He reaches us.

"In fact, I am trying to get your apartment's number but since we seem to be living on the same place, it won't be that hard," we stop on the sidewalk right before crossing the street to get into the building.

"Won't you ever give up?" I ask staring at the traffic light that is still telling us to stop.

"I am not a quitter," he replies winking at me again, crossing right when the light changes to green. When we get to the other side of the street, he holds the building's door and then enters behind us.

"Hello Dylan," a girl with black and really curly hair calls him from the lobby's reception.

"Marlene," he greets her dragging her name like if that would make her melt for him and winks an eye at her just like he did to me less than a minute ago. The girl blushes and I can't fight rolling my eyes again. Now I see why they think it works.

"You know, you remind me of someone from San Francisco," I say and immediately want to punch myself in the face.

"Houston we've got a place," he replies faking the voice of an astronaut while lighting the sensor to call the elevator that arrives immediately. I don't say more and as soon as the elevator arrives I get in with Alison and him behind me. He crosses his arms next to the floors' panel and smiles proudly.

I bend and press his floor's button, six. He looks at it as soon as the doors close. I cross my arms and smile as he did a few seconds ago. "Smart girl," he says when noticing that the floor is his and almost at the same time, the pair of doors open. "This hasn't even started," he threatens me getting out from the elevator and I wave goodbye to finally press our floor's number.