Finding Jordie: Things aren't always what they seem. (The Love Lies Bleeding Series Book 1) (8 page)

“So, I told you what my major malfunctions are. What’s your deal? How come you haven’t been with anyone? Should it worry me that it’s been so long for you? I’m not going to discover a bag of toenail clippings and hair in your closet or something, am I?”

He laughed. “No, it’s only because I hadn’t met you yet.” His crooked grin gave me the warm fuzzies all over.

“Holy crap, has that line
ever
worked?” I snorted.

“You tell me. Did it? I’ve never used it before.”

“Cheesy, yet efficient.” I smiled.

Somewhere in our conversation I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up I was in my bed. I struggled to focus on the clock. It was twelve thirty-three in the afternoon. I rolled over into the thin stream of sunlight that peeked through my blackout curtains and heard something crinkle beneath me. I felt around on the bed until I found the source of the noise—a slip of paper.
What did he leave me? A therapy bill?

With a huge smile on my face I sprung out of bed and hit the shower. I couldn’t stop thinking about his smile and how sweet he was. I realized, though, I didn’t know anything about him except his name and that he was visiting from...
from? Oh damn.
I didn’t even know where he was from, if he worked, nothing, nada, zip, zilch... I was too busy talking about myself the entire time. I hated to admit it, but it felt great though. I hadn’t had that kind of connection with anyone, ever. All I knew was that the guy was sexy as hell and made me think the dirtiest of thoughts.

It was right then I realized I didn’t even know how much longer he would be here. My stomach sank.

Just as I finished up straightening my hair I heard the ping of my cell phone downstairs. I rarely got texts, so I knew it had to be Nathan. In a hurry I grabbed my crap and flew downstairs.

“One New Text”

*You up yet sleeping beauty?*

*Yup, I am. I can’t do dinner, because of Emma, but lunch?*

I closed my phone, put it in my purse, and headed out the door for the bar. When I got there I went straight to my office. I lit a cigarette and pulled out last night’s till. Rachel had left me a note on top of it.

A change in the lighting caught my attention, and I heard the door out front open.
What the hell? I didn’t lock it?
Instinctively I reached under the desk for my 9mm.

“We’re closed. We open at five today.” My voice cracked a little. When nobody responded I yanked the gun out of the case stuck to the underside of my desk. The one thing Jason had always insisted on was a firearm for protection while he was away. Old habits die hard, I guess. I kept one in my closet at home as well. Nobody knew it was there, though.

I continued, “And I have a gun. I’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”
What the fuck were you thinking not locking the door, Jordie? I know what you were thinking about.
My guts were twisted.

“All right, Annie Oakley, don’t shoot.” Nathan’s familiar voice put me at ease immediately as he approached my office door.

“Shit, Nathan, don’t do that to me,” I barked at him.

“How about you lock the door, and I won’t be able to do that to you again?” He sounded a little pissy.
Heh, he can throw an attitude, can’t he?
I decided to ignore it though. It wasn’t like he was wrong.

“Where did you come from? I just texted you twenty minutes ago.” I slipped my gun back into its case.

“Lunch?” He completely ignored my question.

I’ll let that slide, too. After all, I did just ignore him.
“Sounds good. Em has cheering practice right after school, so she won’t be home until four forty-five today.” I took my half-burnt cig out of the ashtray and closed up the office.

“So, I was thinking. I don’t know a thing about you except that your name is Nathan, you’re twenty-seven, and you have blue eyes.” I chuckled to hide my embarrassment. “I don’t even know where you live, how much time you have left to your visit here, if you have a job. I mean, you know my entire life’s story.” I locked the door and put on my sunglasses.

You could tell he was amused at the onslaught of questions by the way the corner of his lips tightened. “What do you want to know?” He let loose a bright smile that moved his ears it was so big.

“Uhhh, all of it?” I chortled, with a
well duhh
face.

“I’ll tell you over lunch, all right?” He led me down to the sidewalk and reached around me to put his hand on the small of my back. A quiet gasp escaped my lips when he touched me, and I stepped back a bit.

“You okay?” He looked down at me with those blue eyes.

Holy Moses, if he knew what that did to my insides.

“Yeah, startled me is all. Alone, eight years.”

He put his sunglasses on and his hood up. “Get used to it.” He smirked.

We ended up a block down at a pizzeria. His arm never strayed from my side. When we approached the entrance he held the door for two women walking out. They just stared at him. No, no, they
gawked
at him, mouths wide-open catching flies. Nathan pointed with his chin signaling for me to go in. As the door closed behind him, I heard them giggling like two giddy schoolgirls still staring through the big front window. A pang of annoyance shot through me, and it was as if he could read my mind.

“Calm down,” he said as put his hands on my shoulders guiding me to the back of the place.

“Jesus Christ, I haven’t been out of the game that long, have I? Like, it’s still not okay to act like that, right?” I furrowed my eyebrows as we sat down.

“I didn’t notice, Jordie. I was too busy enjoying my view.” He moved his eyebrows up and down.

“Shut up.” I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks, amongst other places.
How does he do that?
I was grateful that our waiter was a man, although he was eyeing Nathan as well. His demeanor was enthusiastic and overly polite when he took our order, far too chipper for a server. Then again, what did I know? I was no cheerleader behind the bar.

“So, what do you want to know about me?” His question dragged me out of my thoughts.

“How much longer will you be here in New York?”

“Eleven more days. I flew in on Friday.”

“Where are you staying?” I immediately shot the next question at him.

“At the Mercer in SoHo.” He cracked his knuckles and rested back in his seat.

Whoa... the Mercer.
“Your musician friend must be more popular than you let on if you guys are shacked up at the Mercer.” I gave him a suspicious look.

The waiter came to the table and set our drinks in front of us.

“Thank you,” Nathan said to him and shifted his attention back to me. “Tyler has a following, a loyal following.”

I paused for a moment collecting my thoughts. I found myself getting lost in his lips and his eyes, sometimes even his hands when he spoke.

“What’s his name?”

“Tyler Duncan,” he answered as the waiter returned, bringing our pizza.

“You guys need anything else?” the waiter asked, still pushing hard for that big tip.

Nathan answered no and thanked him, and the guy practically skipped away from our table.

“Next,” Nathan said, slapping his hand on the table.

“Where are you from?”

“Sacramento, California,” he answered, chewing his pizza.

I picked mine up and took a bite.

“Damn, this is good.” He stretched a piece of cheese from the pizza to his mouth like a child.

“Do you work?” I continued my questioning.

“I do.” He answered dryly, quirking his lip up.

“What do you do?”

He reached out to his cup and rolled the straw between his thumb and forefinger. I had no idea what he was thinking. “I do lots of different things.” He smirked and quickly diverted my attention to other topics of conversation. Which I didn’t think twice about because well, let’s face it, I have the attention span of a squirrel.

“Shit. It’s four already? Seriously, Nathan, you’re a bad influence, I lose all track of... well
everything
when I’m around you,” I admitted sheepishly.

My guess was the waiter was eavesdropping because he was at the table in a flash, holding the check.

“Have a great day.” He nodded politely and kept standing there.

“Thank you,” I said.

Nathan scooped the check off the table and as he said, “You, too,” he made eye contact with him. It was like there was something else he was thanking him for. “Hang on a sec,” Nathan said as we slid out of the booth. He reached in his back pocket for his wallet.

“I got this!” I reached over, trying to grab the check from him playfully.

“That’s not going to happen.” He shook his head. He pulled out two twenties and handed them to the waiter. “Keep the change.” He smiled and took my hand. The bill was $21.50.

“That’s what I like to see, appreciating a server. Remember that when you’re at my bar.” I teased him.

I wanted a smoke, but I wasn’t letting his hand go as we leisurely walked back to my place.

“Hey, your friend—you said his name is Tyler Duncan, right? Isn’t he playing at the bar next Wednesday night?”

“Nothing gets by you, does it?” He smirked.

I bumped into him, lightly causing him to step off balance a bit, and we both laughed. Once we approached my building my stomach began its ritual flip-flopping.

“You work tonight?” He pulled me close to him with one arm and I placed my hands on his chest. Good thing he was holding me because my head was spinning.

“What are you doing to me?” I breathed, finally meeting his eyes that were already on me with a purpose. He put his other arm around me, locked his hands behind my back, and leaned forward to kiss me. I moved my hands up his chest to his shoulders, wrapping them behind his neck as our lips met. That kiss was the kind that made your knees buckle and insides quiver, the kind of kiss that made you want—no,
need
more.

Swoon.

I pulled back after too short a time, but if it had gone on any longer the expression “get a room” would’ve been appropriate. We stood there, still locked in one another’s hold, chatting quietly. I could hear voices coming up the sidewalk, which wasn’t out of the ordinary, except they were trying to whisper. It was the two women from the pizzeria, and they were about to walk past my building. Nathan followed my stare—my death stare at the moment—and when he looked their way one of the women snapped a picture with her cell phone. He immediately buried his head into my shoulder as she took another.