Free Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 1.1 - Sometimes You Just Know by Kate Sherwood Page B

detection and wanting to jump out and chase after Dan. He's not really ready, he doesn't have a plan… but this seems like fate, doesn't it?
    Chris cranes his neck to get a better look. "The guy with the bag?" "No, asshole, the 70 year-old man beside him…"
"Don't get testy with me, son." The light changes, and Chris puts the
car in gear, but he's driving slowly. "What do you want to do? Should we… oh, hey, there you go. He's doing laundry."
    Sure enough, Dan has ducked inside a Laundromat. "Shit, okay, is this stalker territory? If I go try to talk to him while he's doing his laundry?"
    "Dude, have you honestly never picked a guy up before? Stalking is about intimidation, and trying to make somebody afraid… are you trying to make him afraid? Do you have any reason to believe that he will be afraid, even if causing fear isn't your intention?"
    "No. He's pissed off, maybe, but not afraid… this whole thing is making me crazy."
Chris grins. "Yeah, I noticed. It's fun." He pulls into a parking spot, but doesn't turn the engine off. "Okay, your car's close to here, right?" Justin nods, so Chris continues. "So, get your neurotic ass out of my vehicle. You don't want a wingman for the Laundromat, right? So you can decide on your own whether to be a man and go talk to him, or to be a shy little boy and just get in your car and go. But I gotta say, man… this angsty bullshit was fun for a one-hour car ride, but I am not listening to your moaning for a whole damn week. So if the only other time you know to find this guy is next Saturday night, then I strongly recommend the Laundromat approach."
Chris looks thoughtful. "I bet there's a pick-up line in there somewhere—something about how you didn't know you needed to do a wash, but you saw him and suddenly felt all dirty…." He shakes his head. "Well, that's not very good. But you've got about 45 seconds while you're

Sometimes You Just Know | Kate Sherwood
walking back there… maybe you could think of something."
    Justin has a moment of indecision. Things seem to be happening too fast, and he's not ready. But he still wants Dan, and he's not going to let a little stage fright get in the way of fixing whatever went wrong the night before. "Right, okay." He pats his pockets to be sure that his wallet and keys are still with him, then reaches for the door handle. "Yeah, I'm doing it. Yeah." He climbs out and then pokes his head back inside. "Thanks for the ride, man."
    Chris nods. "Call me later, let me know how it turns out." And then Justin shuts the door and Chris pulls back out into traffic, and Justin is alone on the sidewalk. He takes a deep breath and starts walking. He's got the nervous feeling again, like before a big event; he likes the sensation when he's riding, he tells himself, so he should be able to adjust to it in his personal life. It makes him feel really alive, like all of his senses are on high alert—it's exhausting, but not unpleasant.
    He pauses again outside the door to the Laundromat. He can see through the big window in front, and Dan is inside, stuffing clothes into washing machines. He's really jamming them in, getting them too tightly packed, and it's the first time Justin thinks he's seen Dan do something inefficiently. Dan seems angry, really, and Justin isn't sure whether the guy just really hates doing laundry or if something else is bothering him. He shakes his head away from that train of thought, and pulls the door open.
    Dan doesn't even look up, and Justin walks closer and then just stands there, waiting. Trying not to stare at the way the muscles on Dan's forearms twist as he shoves at his clothes. Then Dan looks up and sees Justin, and Justin is able to add another genuine emotion to his catalogue of Dan faces. Surprised. This is what Dan looks like when he's surprised.
"Justin. Hey." And this is what Dan looks like when he's shutting down and putting on his game face.

"Hi." Justin realizes that he really has no plan whatsoever. "I