Sidewalk Rule (Patreon)

Continuing flashback...

She slowed to cross behind Roth to toss her empty cup in a trash can. She sighed and glanced up at the crescent moon and the smattering of wispy clouds. She tended to ramble whenever she saw him, but once she got that out of her system, she was left feeling this quiet contentment. It was moments like this that she cherished most. She didn’t feel pressured to entertain or fill the silence like how she did at parties or with her family. These moments of companionable silence while they rode in his car or walked filled her with joy. He made the most simple and mundane things pleasurable.

She jolted when Roth gripped her waist and guided her in front of him and to the side until she was on his right.

“Why do you do that?” she asked.

She noted his preference for walking closer to the street, but now she realized it wasn’t just a coincidence that she was always walking alongside the buildings.

“It’s a precaution.” When he saw her puzzled look, he gestured to the street. “I could act as a buffer in case a car came up on the curb or there was an assault.”

She stared at him. “Has that ever happened?”

“No, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.”

“That’s sweet,” she said, touched that such a possibility would even cross his mind. On the heels of that thought was whether Ford allowed her to walk closest to the street.

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Sins. Please do not share or distribute.