Killing Me Softly: A Thriller Romance Novel

Chapter 8

"Holy shit. Delilah? Delilah Morrison? That really you?" He asked, wide-eyed with the biggest grin on his face.

Jamie was much more handsome now that he was older and thinner than he used to be. He no longer had the baby face he used to have in high school and a little after. His jawline was sharp now, like something out of a magazine. The way he looked at me sort of gave me butterflies, something he never did before. He looked sharp in his black police uniform, glistening badge, and a Glock at his hip.

"Jamie?" I instantly found myself thrilled to see him. I wasn't able to stop smiling.

"Oh my god! It's been so long! You get out of that car right now, young lady, and give me a big, ole hug," said Jamie, stepping back from my door.

Afraid Theo would come out at any minute and see me there hugging Jamie, I quickly stepped out into the scorching heat and hugged him. I expected Jamie to give me a brief hug, but no. It was a long, tight hug, the kind of squeeze that said, "It's been so long!"

"What are you doing back here? I thought you lived in Austin," said Jamie, all grins and giggles once he released me.

I couldn't believe I could see Jamie's cheekbones. He still had the same dimple on his left cheek like he used to.

"I do live in Austin. I'm only here visiting Janice," I said and stepped back from him.

He only stood a few feet taller than me. He was never a very tall man, but he was still as cute, if not cuter than he was in high school. The more I looked at him, the more I became attracted to him, something I had not expected in seeing him again.

"What? I saw Janice last night. She didn't tell me you were in town!" Jamie said, laughed, and pushed a hand into his slick dark hair against his pale skin. I remembered when he used to have spiky black hair—I used to dye it black for him—because he was one of the "emo kids" like I was back then. We were the freaks of the school—no doubt about it.

"Really? Well, I'm only here for a couple of days. You know, on a weekend visit. What the hell are you doing back in Yoakum?" I asked, my voice much more high-pitched than I intended, probably from the frog in my throat.

"I moved back with my momma. I hate saying it out loud, but she's sick. Real sick...with cancer. So, I moved back and transferred from Dallas County PD so I could take good care of her."

"Oh my god, Jamie. That's terrible. I am sorry to hear that," I said, placing a hand on his left arm.

It was much leaner and firmer than it ever used to be.

He looked at my hand on his arm, and I quickly retracted it, unsure whether touching him was such a good idea, though we used to be very close back in high school. We used to always sit next to each other, and Jamie was never shy about touching me or anyone else back then. He always was a very touchy-feely guy back then. So much that it used to get him in trouble.

He'd probably seen and touched me more than any other boy in our school. It wasn't sexual back then in any way; it was endearing. With Jamie being homosexual, we girls weren't afraid to change clothes before him. Jamie was safe because he was off-limits.

Though Amelia had crushed him and forced him out of the closet, he was out once he was out. Men were the only ones on his radar, or "gaydar," as we used to call it and joked about it together. A hot guy would walk by, and we would all look to Jamie to tell us if the hot guy was "gay" or not. Whether his "gaydar" worked or not, we had no clue. We put all our faith into Jamie being Jamie, and that was all there was to it.

"Wow, you look great! I can't believe it," Jamie said, eyeing me up and down like he used to. "You haven't changed a bit."

I laughed. "Oh, whatever. I've gained, like, forty pounds since high school, and I have gray hair now." I pointed to the few grays at the sides of my head.