by J. L. Drake
“Okay.” Savannah leaned down and gave Cole a long kiss.
Mark was watching me.
“I’ll leave you three be.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Mark snickered. “Wait.” He opened the door for me and closed it behind him. He had changed into green army pants and a black t-shirt. Jesus, he was solid everywhere.
“Can I take you to dinner tonight?” I paused when I saw Dr. Evans round the corner. “Just so you know, I don’t take rejection well.”
This made me laugh. “That, I can see.”
“So?”
“Mia,” Dr. Evans called out and started walking our way.
“Did he chip you?” Mark asked, annoyed.
“Huh? Um, what time?”
He grinned and thought for a moment. “Six. Here,” he handed me a card, “text me your address, and I’ll pick you up.”
“Okay.”
“Mia!” Dr. Evans shouted my name, and a few of the nurses stopped and stared. “I have been paging you.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t get any…” I checked my pager, and there wasn’t one from him.
Dr. Evans looked at Mark then back at me. “You need to remember, Mia that you work here. It’s not a hangout.”
“Wow,” Mark hissed.
“Sorry, it won’t happen again.” I tried to calm the storm that might touch down here soon. “I should get going.” I turned to Mark and held up his card so he knew I was still in for tonight.
***
My entire closet was piled on my bed while I picked something to wear. Butters watched, unimpressed, while sprawled on top of my pillows. He sensed there wasn’t going to be any shared pizza tonight.
I finally broke down and took out my phone from under the heap of clothes.
Mia: Hi, at the risk of sounding like a chick, what do I wear tonight?
A moment later my phone buzzed.
Mark: We have reservations at The Toasty Ties. My apologies. Savi is now giving me shit for not telling you earlier.
I burst out laughing. Something told me Savannah and I would get along really well.
Mia: Not a problem. (I say that because Savannah is giving you shit, and I don’t have to.) Thanks. :-)
After I Googled the restaurant and tried on three more outfits, I decided on a black wrap-around dress that hit just above the knee. I was going for sexy, but not trying too hard. With my red-bottom heels and my hair long and in waves, I stared at myself in the mirror. His face appeared, and I closed my eyes. I couldn’t go there yet.
I tidied up, gave Butters water, and took a moment to breathe. Wow, I was really nervous. It had been a long time since I’d been on a date-date.
Bzzzzzzz Bzzzzzz. My intercom went off. I hurried over and pushed the little square button.
“Hello?”
“Hey, there, pretty lady.” His voice had a small rasp to it, which made him even sexier.
Shit, it hit me—did I ask him up? Or did I just go down? Shit, shit, shit! I glanced at the clock and saw the reservations where in thirty. I went with my gut.
“I’ll be right down.” I closed my eyes and hoped he was okay with that. I pressed the button to say something when I heard him talking to someone. Screw it. I gave Butters a kiss, ignored his pathetic expression, and hurried to the elevator.
I stopped in the entryway when I caught sight of him. My stomach twisted as my gaze dropped down the length of the man. His dark blue dress shirt was tucked neatly into a black pair of dress pants. His hair was styled a little in the front, and his skin looked flawless. Oh, my God, was I going to be able to do this? Only two scrapes were visible from his encounter with the grenade, right at his hairline.
I almost chickened out when he turned and saw me. That amazing, deep, sexy grin of his spread across his lips, and his hand slapped his chest as if I made his heart jump. He stood straighter as he reached for the handle.
“Hey,” he held the door for me, “you look…amazing.”
“Thank you.”
He led me over to his rental car and opened the door, and I eased myself onto the leather seats, going for graceful. I noticed he had turned on the heated seat for me. Light music flowed from the speakers as he pulled onto the road.
“Pretty neat place you have there.”
“Thanks,” was all I could come up with. Idiot. “How’s Cole?”
He chuckled. “Savannah made him be honest, and now they are for sure keeping him overnight.”
“I like her.”
He eyed me from the side. “Yeah, she’s a pistol, that one.”
I wanted to ask about the safe house, but that would only lead to more questions, so I left that topic alone.
“How was the rest of your shift?”
“Well,” I gave half a grin, “except for another ass-chewing from Dr. Evans, it could have been worse.”
“What his deal, anyway?”
“I don’t know.” And I really couldn’t care less.
Once we were seated out on the restaurant’s patio, I began to relax. We ordered wine and fish tacos. The place was neat, fancy but casual. Conversation flowed even easier after the second glass of wine. I really did enjoy his company; he had a great sense of humor. The way he looked at me made me feel like we were the only ones there.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, and I realized I had been staring at him. He leaned forward. “I can tell when you’re lying.” He winked. “Perks of my job.”
“Well, that’s a bit unfair, don’t you think?”
“Hardly.”
“But I’m at a disadvantage, here.”
He leaned back. “No, you’re really not.”
I stopped and thought about what he was telling me. I cleared my throat. “I haven’t dated a lot. It’s just surprising me how much I’m enjoying your company.”
“Why?”
I shrugged and took a sip of wine. “You’re so easy to be around.”
“No,” he chuckled, “I meant, why haven’t you dated much?”
Oh, yeah. My cheeks heated to the point of pain. He grinned but didn’t point it out.
“Just haven’t had the time.”
“That’s a cop-out.”
My mouth twisted, and I knew he could see I was lying. “My last relationship was rough. I think he liked my parents more than me.”
“And?” he asked boldly, but there was a sincerity to his question.
“And when I found him in bed with our neighbor, I ended it.”
“Ouch, I’m sorry.”
“Thanks, but in some ways I was almost relieved. I wasn’t happy. He knew that, but didn’t care.”
“Why were you relieved?”
In spite of how personal the questions were, it actually felt good to talk about it. “I wasn’t in love, and I didn’t know how to deal with it all. His cheating did hurt me, but in some ways I understood why it happened. I work a lot, and he was still in school. He worked days, I worked a lot of nights. Square peg in a round hole kinda thing.” I stopped when I realized we really were the only ones left in the restaurant. “I’m sorry, this can’t be very fun for you.”
“But I asked.”
“And I rambled.”
“I liked that.”
“Why?” It was his turn to share.
“Because I like you, Mia.” I smiled at him as he studied me.
Insert big old knot in my throat.
This is a bad move, Mia. Either be honest, or let him go. My internal warning meant nothing, apparently, as I started to speak.
“I like you too, Mark.”
He stood and offered me a hand. Once I was on my feet, he threaded his fingers through mine. I couldn’t help but notice how nice it felt.
“Walk with me?”
“Sure.”
My feet were sore after my busy week, but I pushed past it. We walked down the main road, and as the sun disappeared, so did all its warmth. Mark stopped at the car and wrapped his suit jacket around my shoulders.
“Thank you.�
�
He smiled down at me as he took my hand again. It felt so natural walking next to him. He was still a stranger to me, but I found myself wanting to put myself entirely in his hands.
Music poured out of a small pub, its tin roof amplifying the sound. Mark looked down at me, and I nodded, knowing what he was about to ask. We headed in.
***
Manuel
My nose looked two sizes bigger and bled like a sieve. The ice in my glass made the ring on the table grow as I stared at it. Pain danced around inside my nasal cavity, reminding me of what went down an hour ago. I leaned back, rested the bag of peas over my face, and cleared a space on the table for my feet. My gun sat, loaded, on my thigh in case anyone had followed me.
I flicked my eyes open to make sure the money was still there. Nineteen thousand in five stacks on my living room table. It was dirty money, taken from a pimp in Manhattan. It sat in the locker for three months until I was sure it was documented. I logged into the evidence locker to check a weapon for a case. I knew the rookie cop’s schedule. He was predictable, took a smoke break every two hours on the dot. I waited for him to leave before I stole his key and opened the back cage. It wasn’t the first time I’d been back there, and I knew the risks, but what choice did I have?
I tucked the bag between my chest and vest, but it was really thick and noticeable. I leaned back to see if the coast was clear. Tearing the evidence seal, I dumped the money on the table and started tucking stacks of bills into my dress shirt. The whole time, my ears were tuned for any echo of sound.
As I shoved the last stack of bills in and buttoned my shirt, I realized the stacks were short. The sum of currency was noticeably different than what we actually busted the pimp for.
What the fuck?
The buzz of the rookie’s pass card made my heart pound as I jammed the bag into my pocket. I forced myself to move at a normal pace and closed the door behind me. As I began to turn, I heard him.
“What are you doing?”
I pulled out my pen-sized flashlight as I circled the counter to be where I was supposed to. “Sorry.” I nodded at the flashlight. “Dropped it on my way out, and it rolled back there.”
He gave me a strange look as he nodded and moved behind the desk. The key to the locker burned into my hand. Fuck, I need to return it.
“You playing hoops tonight?” I leaned my body over the counter in a lazy manner.
“Nah, the sergeant has me on a double shift down here. Don’t know what I did to burn his ass.” He checked his phone, but didn’t turn around.
“Shitty deal.” That’s when I saw his bottle of Coke. “Oh, what’s that?” I purposely reached over and knocked his drink with my arm. It tipped and drained onto his paperwork.
“Damn it!” He jumped for a paper towel, and the moment he did, I hooked the key back under the lip of the desk.
“Sorry, man.” I left in a hurry.
Once outside, I texted Noah and got the address for the next game. My hands nearly shook with excitement.
***
Mia
I was positively gloating.
“Oh! Major, you really missed that shot?” I laughed over the music that blared “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.
We had been playing pool for the past hour, and I was kicking his ass.
“You’re a little distracting.” He pointed to my chest.
I purposely leaned over a teeny bit more as I went to take my next shot. “Left pocket.” I tapped the cue ball and gingerly placed my second to last ball in the pocket. I rose and gave him a playful smirk. “You’re up.”
He raised an eyebrow in a way that made my last comment into a dirty one. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
“Quit stalling. It’s your loss.”
“Mmm.” He leaned down, and I mirrored him across the way. “You’re a dirty player.”
“Why, Mark, are you scared I might actually win this game?”
“Why don’t we make this more fun?” He chalked the end of his pool cue. “If you win, I will carry you back to the car.” He pointed to my heels, knowing they were killing me.
“And if you win?”
He moved in front of me. “You let me kiss you goodnight.”
Deal.
“I don’t know, Mark.” I grinned playfully and held my composure together somehow. “Can you kiss as well as you play? ’Cause if that’s any indication—”
He leaned off to the side and sank two balls into two different pockets. He continued to sink every single ball in a matter of minutes. When he went for the eight ball, he stared right into my eyes and sank it without hesitation.
I felt an invisible tug in his direction. I had never wanted to rip my clothes off and take someone in public more than I did right then and there.
He strolled in my direction until we were chest to chest. I couldn’t help but press into him a little more.
“I win.” His eyes flashed something else that nearly left me speechless.
“Shame.”
His smile returned as he removed the pool cue from my hand. “I think we should go.”
I couldn’t agree more.
He slipped his jacket off the chair, took my hand, and hurried us to the front of the bar.
It was pouring rain when we stepped outside. Mark covered me with his jacket and rushed us down the walkway. We hopped, skipped, and jumped around puddles. When we waited for the light, a truck came by and soaked us.
I threw my head back and laughed into the rain. Mark looked at me like I was nuts, but then joined in. There was no use; we were soaked head to foot. We might as well embrace it.
We crossed the street and hurried under a small bistro awning for a break.
Mark’s shirt clung to his solid body, which made it hard to focus.
“Cold?” he asked as he came closer. He moved my damp hair off my face. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m all right.”
He leaned down and scooped me up.
“What are you doing?”
“Carrying you.”
“I can see that, but why?”
The rain beat down on us as he made it to his car. “You have been on your feet all day.”
“Really, Mark, I’m fine.”
“Maybe I wanted to hold you.”
That shut me up. He could be so bold and sweet at the same time. I pressed my cold cheek to his warm shoulder and let his heat warm my face.
I felt like ice on the way home. Mark turned up the heat, but it was no use. His hand held mine, but when I rested it on my thigh, he almost jumped at how cold I was. He shook his hand and placed it on my bare skin.
“Jesus, Mia.” He moved his hand back and forth, trying to make friction.
Sweet mother of lust, he felt amazing. My southern regions were begging me to do the same to him.
He pulled up in front of my building in record time. Thank God, because I was a mess.
Once inside the elevator, the sexual vibe heightened. My hands shook as I tried to unlock my door. It was a lovely mix of lust and cold.
“Wow,” Mark said as he stepped into my apartment. “The view is amazing.” He moved to look over the city as the rain beat the windows, sending a drum sound throughout my place.
“Can I offer you a drink?” I opened my fridge. Thankfully, my neighbor had dropped off some groceries like he normally did.
“No, not a drink,” he said from behind me. His front pushed into my back. He closed the fridge and spun me around, and his hands cupped my face as he stared into my eyes.
“I want to kiss you.” I nodded as he took his time to lower his mouth to mine. As soon as our lips made contact, I was lost.
His body pressed against me, making the containers on top of the fridge rattle together. He lifted me off the ground and gently placed me on top of the counter. Staring into my eyes, he pushed my wet dress up and moved between my bare legs.
He pulled away with a pant. “Sorry, I can’t
seem to control myself around you.”
I pulled at the tie and opened my dress. “Seems we’re both on the same page.”
“I don’t have sex on the first date, Mia.” His words were strained. “I don’t do one night stands either.”
My arm hooked around his neck, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Me either, but it’s either you or my vibrator.” Yeah, that was blunt.
“Damn.” His breath flowed across my face. “I knew kissing you would be a dangerous slope.”
I was sure he meant that as a compliment, but I felt like I was begging, and that was gross. I released his waist and covered myself up.
“Maybe you should go.”
What the hell am I doing?
He pulled me off the counter, walked me across the room, and placed me in front of the window. The night made the city sparkle below us.
“Look at yourself.” He stood behind me, his arms wrapped around my middle. “You’re soaking wet, your dress is clinging to your skin, and your hair smells like vanilla.” He leaned down and softly kissed my neck. “You’re beautiful, Mia.” His fingers ran down my jaw. “Not just here,” he pointed to our reflection, “but here.” His strong hand covered my heart. “If I slept with you tonight and then left, how would that make you feel?”
My stomach sank. He was right. It wouldn’t feel right, not with him.
“Don’t you think we deserve better than that? Better than a one night stand?” His teeth nipped at my ear. “When we make love, I want to wake up with you in my arms, and kiss you right here.” His lips dragged down the slope of my neck and stopped where it joined the shoulder then pressed with more pressure.
I swallowed hard and fought the urge to moan.
“I like that,” he whispered.
Everything was jumbled. “What?”
“That I can make that look appear in your eyes.” I glanced in the window. “Like hunger mixed with heat.” He sucked a spot on my shoulder and drew my skin inward. “I like you.”
I started to speak, but his finger hooked my chin and urged me to look at him.
“I like you, Mia. That’s the third time I’ve said it tonight. I’m old school. Abigail raised me right, and I don’t want to ruin the great thing we have here.” His eyes narrowed in on mine. “But don’t be mistaken. I want this as much as you do, if not more.”