I Know You

Ch.11 - Hadley

 "So what's he like? Spill!" My sister was overly enthusiastic. I laughed, shaking my head even though she couldn't see it over the phone.

"He who?"

"He, you know the hell who, Hadley! You know I always know when you've got someone new in your life."

"I don't have someone new in my life." Not yet.

"Lance said there was someone new hanging out with you the other night. Spill."

I sighed, making a mental note to have Lance check with me before telling my sister anything. "Lance saw me with someone, yes."

"A male someone?"

"Yes, a male someone. I met him at the gym and he's not from around here so I offered to show him a nice place to get coffee and unwind because the fight he'd been scheduled for didn't go well and he ended up getting attacked later because he caught the opponent he was supposed to fight cheating before the cheat worked on him."

"Oh... Well, that's not gossip worthy. Lance made it sound like there was something happening. Something gossip worthy." She was obviously disappointed. Karen loved good gossip.

"That's because you haven't seen him." I grinned, closing my eyes and thinking about that night for the hundredth time in two days.

I really should send him a message. I wonder if he wants me to make contact first. What if he's waiting for that three day thing? Does that count in a situation like this? We're not really going out and the coffee doesn't really count as a date, does it?

"Details now or I'll be at your doorstep in five minutes."

"You will not. Leave my poor door alone, Karen." I smiled, hearing her laugh on the other end. "He's... Scrawny? I don't know. He's got muscle or he wouldn't be at the fights. And he's different. Not bad different, just different."

"What's he look like?"

I walked into the next room, thinking of how to describe him. Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "He's a few inches shorter than I am. Hair a little shaggier than mine, but not actually shaggy. Scrawny, but he has muscle under that. Nervous around other people, but he has a mouth when he feels threatened. I think it takes him a while to really get comfortable. No glasses, but I'm not sure if he wears contacts. I was wearing my contacts that day because of training. He... Oh Karen it's been two days and I can't get him out of my mind. What's wrong with me?"

"You liiike him." She teased.

I rolled my eyes. "I've liked others before and it wasn't like this."

"This new guy, you've left unnamed and don't think I haven't noticed, hasn't shown interest in you, right? He's probably withheld about who he is or his orientation or he's not the one chasing after you, right?"

"Right."

"That's it. You're the one who feels like chasing this time. You're usually the one being chased and having to chase people off which is why you tend to tell me about anyone you hang out with so Lance was shocked that you had been hanging out with someone new and I didn't know."

"How did he know you didn't know?"

"Because he told me about this new guy and I told him I didn't know him?"

"Oh... Yeah, that makes sense." I rubbed the back of my head, opening my eyes.

"My little brother... Sometimes you're very dense. Kind of worries me..."

I sighed. "You don't have to worry. I'll let you know if anything changes. I do have some stuff to get done now though."

"Like masturbating." She teased.

"Remind me to smack you the next time you're at my door, Karen." I grumbled, hanging up. She sent a text immediately.

I didn't reply, but did open my pictures and looked at the one of Flint. "Karen, I absolutely hate you. Now I've got the mental image of him shirtless and I need to clear my head before I can do anything." I grumbled to myself as I checked that my blinds were all shut and doors were locked before heading to my workout room and unfolding the treadmill. I plugged my phone in the charger, connected it to Bluetooth for my speaker and brought up my music, blasting it as I changed into my running shorts.

An hour later I'd finished a good run, taken a shower, and was still grumbling because I couldn't get Flint out of my mind. "I need to text you, but I don't want to be that person. I mean, what if you don't like me like that? What if you never like me like that and it becomes awkward because I want to be more and you never do? We're not even really friends at this point and I'm a mess here. Is it like Karen said and it's because I'm the one technically chasing instead of being chased this time?"

I flopped face down on my bed and without looking I grabbed the stress toy that remained on my nightstand. The trashcan beside the table had seen many a stress toy in its lifetime. "I'll give it an hour. If I haven't heard from you by then I'll start texting you. I'll try to get a small nap in that time." I set an alarm and tried to rest.

I spent the whole hour tossing, turning, and staring at my phone. Just like I had for the last two days.