How does this always happen to me? I wasn't on a job, there are no current FTAs and no new psychos are on the radar. I was just taking a rare day off at the boardwalk with Mary Lou.
It was nice to reconnect with Mary Lou, without her kids causing havoc. We'd spent the day getting our tan on and exploring the stalls. She had been in the middle of dissecting my current break up with Morelli when my phone rang out.
"Hello," I said laughing and waving off my friend. There was no answer, just quiet breathing. "Hi?… ok then." I hung up with a shrug but my spidey senses tingled and I cast a quick look around. Nothing stood out to me but the feeling didn't go away. "Hey Mary Lou, I think we should head back."
We packed up our things and walked through the crowds to her car. I noticed the envelope under the passenger wiper and cringed. Chances were that was there for me, not Mary Lou, despite it being her vehicle. Yep that was my name scrawled on the front. I quickly peeked in and saw a pile of photos, the first was of myself on the pier. Well fuck. I didn't want to worry my best friend so I casually tossed it in my bag before she saw it and did another quick scan. It was a sunny weekend day and the parking lot was packed. I brushed my hand across my pepper spray in my purse and cast a glance in the car to make sure it was empty before climbing in. I kept an eye in the mirrors as we headed home, but couldn't see anything and the sensation of being watched had decreased so by the time we drove into the burg I was laughing at Mary Lou's latest child disaster story. Thank god I only had Rex.
I unlocked my apartment and did a quick scan of the premise before settling on the couch with a beer. I drank half before pulling out the envelope and flicking through the photos. Me, me, me, me, a male bicep and oh goody, a dick pic. The photos of me were taken from a distance and looked to range over the last week in various locations. I hated this, and the fact that I managed to get yet another stalker. I finished off my beer and went to grab a second as my brain went over my next steps.
Me and Joe had called it quits a couple weeks before. I was pretty sure it was for real this time. We actually sat and had a serious discussion with no interruptions and agreed that we wanted different things in life. He wanted a family and a routine. I want to live a spontaneous life with adventure and I knew that kids weren't going to be a part of it. I also knew that he deserved a woman who loved him with her whole heart, and an increasing part of mine was yearning for someone else. He was one of my best friends and we swore that we would stay close but it was best for us to take some time apart and accept the changes we made. I couldn't reach out to him now, and drag him back into my mess because he would do it without hesitating.
My other choice was Ranger but I wasn't ready for that either. The night after I broke up with Morelli, Ranger had slipped into my apartment. He'd started kissing me and it was great but I'd stopped him when he started moving under my shirt. "I can't do this right now Ranger."
"Babe." I could hear the confusion in the word as he pulled back to look me in the face.
"I want you Ranger. More than I should but I need to be left alone to figure out what I'm doing right now. I can't just go from dating Morelli to sleeping with you." I'd accepted the fact that Ranger couldn't give me more than what we already had but right now my heart was raw and vulnerable and I needed time to build up my walls and keep my heart from falling more in love with him.
He had given me one more gentle kiss before leaving, telling me to let him know when I was ready. I hadn't seen him since. I spent the last few weeks hanging with my friends, dragging in FTAs and remembering who I was without anyone else's opinions, including my mothers.
If I told him about the photos, Ranger would take over. I'd have men tailing me, trackers in my belongings, and he would be back in my space.
No I decided, for now I would just take more precaution and see how it went. After all this was pretty tame compared to my usual stalkers so far.