by D. Kelly
“If this is too much, J, you don’t have to tell me. We’ve had a lot of revelations tonight.”
“Nah, it’s cool. This is actually the good part. My parents and Chuy came to an agreement, and I was able to spend some weekends with him and time in the summer when I wanted. We were close, and he was nothing like his brother. He treated my brothers and sisters like his family. We shared holidays at times; my parents are good like that. They didn’t want me to lose him too.”
He runs his fingers through my hair, and I sigh contentedly.
“Chuy closed the bar for a few months after the shooting and bought the industrial building it’s in now. He changed the name to Just an Illusion because that’s how he felt about life and his brother. And then he posted an ad for local street artists to come show off their skills. He paid them to keep it artistic and not paint any kind of gang affiliations into the designs on the outside of the building. Every few years, he’d paint the building white and let people come paint again. I still do that. It keeps us relevant, and it brings a sense of community to the bar.”
“That’s amazing. Local artists must constantly be watching out for the building to go white again.”
Jordan kisses the top of my head, and my heart flutters. I’m going to be in so much trouble with him.
“They do. It’s not due for another change for a while, but I’m already excited for it. Chuy died from cancer seven years ago. He took out loans on the bar to pay for his medical care, and when he died, he left the bar and the debt to me. When I couldn’t get a loan to cover the half-million-dollar price tag, Noah and Sawyer paid off the bar and essentially became my bank.”
“And that’s why you were arguing at the bar.”
“Yes. I know we’re family, but there’s still part of me that will always feel indebted to them for taking me in and making me part of them. It’s stupid, and it’s my hang-up, but it lingers and I can’t get past it.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him. “It’s a little different, but I get it. I left D.C. because I was tired of constantly hearing about my trust fund. My dad has control of it until I’m thirty. Evan was the last straw. The money doesn’t matter to me, and it never has. My sanity was more important, so I got out.”
“You know, I did read your application. You could have a lot better job than being a waitress at a bar and make a hell of a lot more money. Why did you come to us?”
“Because I wanted happiness. Sasha makes me happy, and your bar makes me happy. People go there because they want to have a good time. They want to dance and listen to music, play pool or darts, and eat good food. Sure, maybe they want to drink their sorrows away at times, but the happiness far outweighs the bad. That’s the kind of environment I want to work in, not some uptight office with a bunch of rich people in suits who are all part of the one percent club.”
He yawns and kisses me again. “I’m glad you chose happiness.”
“Me too.”
The following night at work, there’s a definite sexual charge between Jordan and me. He comes up behind me and cages me in between him and the bar as I’m making Rory a drink.
“You’re coming home with me tonight, right?” His lips are against my ear, and my knees are instant jelly.
“I hadn’t thought about it.”
It isn’t exactly the truth, but I’m not going to come off as needy. I can handle a fling, and I have to keep that as my mindset for now. Jordan presses his front to my back and nips my neck with his teeth. His hardness presses against my ass, eliciting a groan from me. Thankfully, the bar is slow right now.
“Thinking about it now?” he murmurs against my skin.
“Yeah, we should do that.”
He slides to the side, keeping his erection hidden, and inclines his head to his sister who is watching us intently. “Better get that to Rory and prepare for the inquisition.”
With a smile plastered on my face, I deliver her drink. She pops a cherry in her mouth from the dish Jordan had given her and cracks a grin. “My brother is so into you it’s not even funny.”
“We’re just … testing the waters.” That’s a good answer, right? After all, it’s what we’re doing.
“More like testing the bed, or would it be the bar?” She laughs as my eyes widen.
Rory’s bold, but with her brothers, she probably has to be, especially since she’s the youngest Weston. “It’s casual, Rory. He’s still figuring out his situation.”
“Jordan doesn’t look at you like it’s casual. He watches you like you’re his prey and he’s going to enjoy devouring every bit of you. I wish someone would look at me like that.”
Does she have blinders on? Eli looks at her exactly like that. I’m not sure I want to get in the middle of that one. With a noncommittal shrug, I wipe off the counter in front of her. “Sexual attraction is one thing, but history is another, and someone else has me beat there.”
“Ugh. Tyler, right? Don’t get me wrong, I like him. He’s a nice guy, but he’s not Jordan’s forever and never has been. Tyler is the guy you pass the time with, not the guy you say ‘I do’ to.”
I bite my lip and debate engaging her further, but my curiosity wins. “Why do you think that?”
“Look, J is tight-lipped about everything, but those two are like a broken record. They date, then they date other people. Rinse and repeat. At some point, the redundancy is going to get to him. I hope it’s soon because Jordan has been through a lot and I’d love to see him find his person.”
Rory pauses and looks toward the door, her eyes wide. “Oh snap,” she says. “It’s like we summoned the devil himself.”
I’m trying to keep my cool, but after last night, it’s harder than I thought it would be. Jordan leans across the bar and says something to Ty, and then Ty heads toward Jordan’s office.
“Excuse us for a minute, Rory,” J says and tugs me to the side. He tilts my chin up and looks directly into my eyes. “This doesn’t change anything.”
“It’s fine, Jordan. I knew what I was getting into.”
“Listen, I’m going to talk to him, but that’s all. In five minutes, I want you to take your break and meet me in the back room. Okay?”
“Sure.”
While J is in the office talking to Tyler, I busy myself making drinks for the customers at the bar. By the time I circle back to Rory’s end of the bar, it seems like the longest five minutes ever. I wonder if they’re talking or if Ty is on his knees again.
“You like him,” Rory muses.
Her comment pulls me from my thoughts. “I’m trying really hard not to. I’ll be right back.”
J’s office door is open and he’s sitting behind his desk when I pass. Tyler’s voice echoes into the hall. “Is it serious?”
I pause. I know I shouldn’t, but they are talking about me. “It’s new, Ty. I’m not sure.”
“But you like this person?”
“Yes, enough to want to give it a shot. She’s special, Ty.”
“You’re dating a woman …”
Poor Tyler sounds crushed. I can’t listen to anymore—it isn’t right. I feel like a total jerk already. True to his word, Jordan meets me in the back room a few minutes later.
“Hey, are you okay?” He moves toward me and links his finger through the belt loop on my jeans, pulling me to him.
“I’m fine. Are you? Is Tyler?”
“He’s not happy, but he gets it, and I’m great. This isn’t a hardship for me, Allie. I’ve wanted you since you stepped into the bar. You looked at me like I was the big bad wolf. I wanted to eat you up. The way you bit your lip as you watched me put on my shoes. Fuck, Al, I could practically smell your arousal from where I was sitting, and it was hot as fuck.”
My breathing increases as he tells the story. I’m transported back to that day, and the memory hits me hard. Jordan was everything I didn’t need in my life and suddenly all I wanted.
“What happens next?�
�
“You come over tonight and we pick up where we left off this morning. I want you riding my cock and screaming my name until I’ve wrung the very last orgasm out of your sexy little body. And we’ll talk, keep getting to know each other. That’s the point of this, right?”
“Yeah, sure, but what about Tyler?”
With an arched brow, he moves his arm around my waist before dropping a sweet kiss on my lips. “Nothing has changed. I’m with you right now, and he knows it. We’re still friends, we’ll still talk, but I don’t anticipate he’ll be hanging around the bar anytime soon.”
“Okay.”
“It’s that easy?”
“I’m not your girlfriend, Jordan. Of course, it’s that easy.”
He bends down and kisses me until we both need to come up for air.
“Don’t go,” Jordan says as I put on my shirt. He’s already enticed me into staying longer than I planned, and I had to shower here to avoid being late for work.
“I’m afraid I have to. My boss is a real stickler for punctuality and if I’m late, I’ll pay for it.”
A lazy smile spreads across his face as he tosses the sheet to the side. Jordan brings his hand to his cock and begins slowly stroking it. “I’m pretty sure your boss would make an exception today. I have it on good authority he missed you yesterday.”
Yesterday was Fourth of July, and Sasha and I worked so he could spend it with his family. His brothers are in town, and we know his time with them is precious. As soon as he got home last night, he called me over. The two of us haven’t spent more than a day or two apart in the last three weeks.
“Is that so?” I make my way closer to him and sit on the edge of his bed, never taking my eyes off his hand.
“Come on, Allie, take off your clothes. You’re already refusing to come back here tonight since Sawyer is spending the night. Let’s make up for the time we’re going to lose.”
“Doesn’t absence make the heart grow fonder?”
He groans. “No, it makes the blue balls last longer.”
I laugh and lean down to kiss him. “I’m really into watching you right now.”
“You do have a voyeuristic side, don’t you? We should test that out. Lie down and I’ll let you watch.”
He doesn’t have to ask me twice. I lie down, and he crawls between my legs and gets on his knees. Our eyes meet as he strokes himself. He swipes his finger through his wetness and moves closer, bringing it to my lips.
“Suck.” His husky tone washes over me, and I swirl my tongue around his finger before sucking it into my mouth.
Moaning his pleasure, he leans back and works himself faster. “Fuck, Allie, I wish we could just stay in bed all day. Maybe we can sneak into my office later.”
We both know that won’t happen. We’ve managed not to have sex at the bar so far, although he does keep tempting me with a good time over the bar one night when everyone is gone. I prop myself up on my elbow and lean forward, and Jordan moves in close enough for me to deep throat him.
He continues to work his cock as I eagerly take him. Sliding his free hand into my hair, he pulls me forward. “Baby, that mouth of yours … Fuck … I’m going to come.”
Gripping his ass, I pull him deeper, and he cries out as he comes. As I swallow his release, he shakes in my arms. Pulling back, he drops on top of me and devours my mouth with his. I love the way he kisses me, but with each passing day, I realize there isn’t much about Jordan Weston I don’t love. I’m in for a serious heartbreak when this ends.
“Want me to drive you to work?” he asks sweetly.
“No, I want you to sleep for a few more hours since you’re going to close and be up most of the night with Sawyer. Let me brush my teeth again and I’ll get out of here. You might want to write me a note excusing my tardiness though.”
He laughs. “If Sasha gives you shit, have her call me.”
The bar is already hopping when I arrive about twenty minutes later.
“Thank God you’re here. This place got crazy all of a sudden and Carrie called in sick. Chris is on his way, but it’s going to be about an hour.”
“Shit, Sasha, you should have called. Let me go put my stuff away and I’ll be right back.”
“Are you kidding? You’ve got that morning after glow. I didn’t want to interrupt that for you or J. He’s in a much better mood now that he’s been hanging out with you.”
After tossing my things in my locker, I get to work. The early evening flies by, and it’s not until I take a restroom break and I’m passing Jordan’s office that I even realize he’s here already. He’s waiting in the doorway of his office when I come out of the restroom and tugs me inside, closing the door behind us.
With my back against the wall, he presses against me. He’s hard as a rock as he lowers his mouth to mine. “I can’t stop thinking about this morning.”
“Is that so?”
Dipping his tongue into my mouth, he steals a kiss. “Mm, it is. Have I mentioned how perfect your mouth is?”
I kiss him before answering. “You have, and I’m beginning to think you have a fetish.”
“I’ve got a fetish for anything having to do with you.”
There’s a knock on the door. “Sorry, guys, but we’re slammed out here,” Sasha says through the door.
J backs away from me, and when I open the door, Sasha frowns.
“I’m disappointed in the two of you. I was hoping you’d at least be half naked.”
Jordan tosses his keys into his desk. “Sasha, you’ve had more sex in this office than I ever have. How can you possibly be disappointed? You should know better.”
She flips him off. “Allie is supposed to be a bad influence on you.”
“Ha! He’s the bad influence on me,” I point out.
Jordan shakes his head. “She couldn’t be a bad influence if she tried.”
Sasha snorts. “That’s what you think.”
We all head back out to the bar, and as I make my way over to check on my customers, Sawyer and Mac arrive. Even from way over here I can see Sasha lick her lips. At least she and Sawyer are under no illusions they’ll ever be anything more than fuck buddies.
There are two men seated at my current table. The one looking up at me now has been overly friendly all night. “Hey, sexy! How about you settle a bet for my friend and me?”
Here we go. Why do customers always hit on their waitresses? “If I can help I will.” I give them a fake smile, but it turns into a full-on smile when I catch Jordan eyeing me up from across the room.
“My friend says you must be dating someone, but we come here often and I’ve never seen you with anyone.”
Lame, and easy to squash with my standard answer. “Your friend is right. Can I get you guys something else?”
“Nah, we’re good. Thanks for answering though. Your man is a lucky guy.”
“Who says it’s a guy?” I give them a teasing wink and pick up their empty glasses.
Their mouths drop simultaneously, and as I’m heading back toward the bar, Tyler walks in and my good mood disappears. He hasn’t been in since J told him he was seeing someone, and J hasn’t mentioned talking to him at all, but then again, I haven’t asked.
My gaze bounces between the two of them, and I don’t know what to do. Now in full freak out mode, I do the only thing I can: go to the restroom so I can regroup.
I brace my hands against the sink and take a deep breath. Sasha storms into the room a second later.
“Are you okay?”
“Totally.”
“Liar.”
My hands tremble against the sink. “Sasha, what do I do? I can’t go out there and watch them together, and I don’t even know if Tyler knows it’s me Jordan is seeing. He’s a nice guy, but …”
“What, Al? I can’t help if I don’t know what you’re thinking.”
The desperation on my face is evident in my reflection in the mirror. “How
am I supposed to be nice to the man who loves the man I love?”
Sasha pulls me into her arms. “Shit, Allie, does he know?”
“God no! It’s way too soon, Sasha. He’ll think I’m crazy.”
“Oh, honey, you’re not crazy. Jordan is really easy to love once he lets you into his world.”
On a deep exhale, I try to steel my resolve. “I’m going to go in the back room and grab some cherries or something so everyone doesn’t think I was losing my shit back here.”
“Okay, I’ll see you back out there.”
Sasha leaves the restroom, and I quickly wash my hands before going back to work. On my way to the back room, I see her in the hall talking to Mac. Once I’m in the room, I realize it’s been rearranged a bit. If I can just move these metal trays out of the way I can get to the cherries without the stupid stepladder. My sleeve gets caught on the corner of a tray, sending them crashing to the ground.
“Shit!”
It only takes a minute before Jordan enters the room and closes the door behind him. “Are you all right?”
I try to play it off, but I’ve never had a good poker face. “Yeah, I’m just clumsy. I was trying to get to the cherries and knocked the trays to the ground.”
He reaches for my hand and pulls me to a standing position. “Allie, we don’t need cherries right now. Why are you really back here?”
“I’m going to need some alcohol to explain that one,” I mumble.
He grins. “How about you just tell me? I’ll try to keep it painless for you.”
Might as well just spit it out. “Does Tyler know it’s me you’re dating?”
“No, but I can tell him if you’d like. Is that why you’re flustered?”
I lean back against the shelf. “We haven’t talked about him at all, Jordan. And I know we’re keeping this casual, but we’ve also been spending a lot of time together. Your eyes lit up the second Tyler walked in tonight. It was obvious he was excited to see you too. I’m guessing the two of you are still talking.”
He blows out a breath. “We’ve been friends for ten years, Allie. I’m not sure there will ever be a time when we don’t talk.” He steps closer and brushes my hair out of my face. “That doesn’t mean I’m going back to him.”