Bad Rep

by A. Meredith Walters

  “So why haven't I heard from you? In my world, wanting space doesn't mean you pretend the other person doesn't exist,” Eli called out just as I was about to open the door. I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead on the glass.

  I turned around and went back to look down at Eli in the courtyard. “Can we not do this now? I mean, this isn't the best place to have this conversation,” I said shortly, kind of annoyed he was putting our personal stuff on display for the neighbors. Looking over I could see old Mrs. Graves sitting on her balcony, pretending to read the newspaper. But I knew that nosy lady was listening to everything we were saying.

  “Well, let me come up so we can talk,” he insisted. Where was this coming from? I seriously thought he would be done with me by now. Hell, I strongly suspected he was hooking up with other girls the whole time we were “dating.” So why the sudden need to hash shit out with me?

  “Now's not a good time, Eli. I'm getting ready to go out,” I said, trying to end the conversation quickly. I figured Jordan would here any minute.

  Eli ran his hands through his hair. “I know you're with that other guy. The dude from the bar. I've seen him coming out of your place. Is that why you needed space?” Eli asked sarcastically. Okay, enough was enough.

  “No you self-involved prick. I needed space away from your sorry ass. Got a little sick of the drunken booty calls and then not hearing from you for days. And let's not forget your attempts to take my clothes off in my place of employment. Oh, and how about going off to parties with girls practically shoving their tongues down your throat? Is that enough of a reason?” I bit off angrily.

  Eli at least had the decency to look ashamed. “I guess I deserved that,” he grimaced. I barked out a laugh.

  “You think?” I scoffed. Eli ran his fingers along the strings of his guitar making them tinkle prettily.

  “I'd really like to talk to you though. I mean, if that's cool with you.” Before I could respond, someone else answered for me.

  “No, she won't be talking to you, slick. Because she's gonna be with her boyfriend.”

  I whirled around and saw Jordan standing in the open doorway looking pissed. Well, he was hot too. He had dressed in a worn pair of jeans that hung perfectly on his hips and a fitted gray t-shirt that made his body look downright edible. But yeah, he was pissed. I saw him click his tongue ring along his teeth and he came up beside me and gripped the railing so tightly his knuckles turned white. He stared down at Eli, looking very intimidating.

  Eli stiffened. “Man, I wasn't talking to you. So just back off,” Eli warned. I saw Jordan's jaw clench.

  “And I'm telling you that you're not gonna talk to Maysie. You got something to say, you say it in front of me, we straight?” I swallowed thickly. Damn, who knew Jordan was so freaking territorial. I glanced over at Mrs. Graves, who had stopped all pretenses of reading the paper and was watching the drama unfold with avid interest.

  “This is not the place to be doing this. Jordan, go inside, I'll be there in a minute,” I told him. Jordan's eyes flashed to mine and his jaw ticked.

  “I am not leaving you out here to talk to that piece of shit. I'm staying.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the railing. I sighed. I did not want to start our date like this so I didn't push him.

  I turned to Eli. “I don't think we have anything more to say to each other, Eli. So I'll see ya around.” Eli's head dropped and I almost felt bad for him. He looked back up and his eyes zeroed in on Jordan and they turned to ice.

  “Well, when you don't have this jack ass speaking for you, maybe we could have that talk. It would be nice to hang out with you again. But until then, I guess I won't bother. Later, Mays.” He swung his guitar around so that it rested on his back and stalked off.

  I turned on Jordan, who was still standing there like a damn bodyguard with his arms folded over his chest. His muscles flexed in a way that made me want to touch them with my mouth. But that would have to be tabled for later because right now I was really mad. “He's gone. Happy?” I asked sharply, going into the apartment.

  Jordan followed me and shut the sliding glass door. “Babe,” he said and reached out to put his hand on my arm. I tensed under his touch.

  “What was with the alpha posturing back there? Don't you think you went a little overboard?” I asked, refusing to look at him. Jordan let out a frustrated breath.

  “Just like you went overboard when you stormed out of my show last weekend?” he reminded me. Damn him. He was right.

  I looked over my shoulder and he wore an infuriating grin. “This isn't funny.” I frowned and tried to hold onto my anger. Jordan shook his head and pulled me into his arms.

  “I'm sorry if I pissed you off. I'm sorry if I acted like a fucker. But I'm not sorry for chasing off that pansy ass that used to have what's mine. Because you're my girl now and I won't have that asshole sniffing around where he doesn't belong.” I didn't know if I should be thrilled or totally insulted by what he just said.

  “Are you serious?” I asked with what I was sure was a stupefied look on my face.

  Jordan sighed and held me tighter. “You and me, Mays, we're a fucking mess.” He buried his face in my hair and I finally wrapped my arms around his back.

  “I'm not sure that's a good thing, Jordan,” I said, not being able to stop myself from pressing my nose into the front of his shirt. I loved his perfect guy smell.

  Jordan pulled back, reaching up to run his fingers through my hair. “No, it's a fucking great thing! But, we've just got to learn to trust each other. And to remember that when it comes to you and me, nothing else, and definitely no one else matters.” I couldn't stop the smile spreading across my face. I smacked him in the chest.

  “It is impossible to stay mad at you!” I huffed out.

  Jordan grinned again. “That's part of my charm, sweetheart.” He pulled me forward and kissed my mouth hard. I nibbled at his bottom lip and he moaned. “No, you can't start that. I have plans for you,” he said as I tried to rub myself up against him.

  “Screw the plans. Right now, I just want to screw you,” I said crudely. Jordan laughed in surprise.

  “Damn. My Maysie has developed a dirty, dirty mouth,” he said, his voice getting husky as he kissed me again.

  It was my turn to moan as his tongue teased mine. Then he tore away and set me away from him. “We are leaving right now. There will be time later for, how did you put it? Oh, yeah. Screwing.” I flushed red, totally embarrassed by the tart that showed her naughty head moments earlier. Jordan wrapped his arm around my middle and pulled me toward the door. He kissed the side of my neck as I locked up after us.

  “There will be lots and lots of screwing. I promise you that,” he whispered into my ear as I tucked my keys into my purse. I shivered as I felt his lips touch my skin again. I loved when he talked like that. It was like an on switch to my groin.

  Jordan took my hand in his and walked me out to his car. We stopped when we got to his truck and he held me out at arm's length. “You look absolutely gorgeous, baby. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner,” he apologized, his eyes raking over my body. I couldn't stop the self-satisfied smile that lit up my face. He had a way of making me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

  “Thanks. You clean up pretty nicely yourself,” I said coyly, smiling at him as he opened my door for me so I could get into the vehicle.

  “Only for you, Mays,” he said. And I definitely liked the sound of that.

  Chapter Twenty

  Jordan didn't drop my hand as he maneuvered the truck out onto the road. “So, where are we going?” I asked, arching my eyebrow at him. He looked over at me.

  “You'll see in about five minutes,” he promised. Five minutes? Where in the world was he taking me that was only five minutes away? I was totally stumped.

  And more than a little baffled when Jordan pulled into the parking lot at Barton's. He stopped the truck and unbuckled his seat belt. I hadn't moved, looking up at the sign in f
ront of me. He unbuckled me and then smirked. “Well, aren't you gonna get out?” he asked. I peered out of the windshield.

  “You're taking me to Barton's?” I asked, needing clarification.

  Jordan opened his door and got out. “Yep,” he replied, coming around to open my door for me. I was trying not to be disappointed.

  “This is just so you can get your employee discount isn't it?” I joked as Jordan wrapped his hand around mine. Jordan snorted.

  “Wow, you think a lot of me huh?” he teased, squeezing my hand.

  He held open the door to the restaurant and let me go in first. I hadn't been there since I had quit. I still felt bad about leaving so abruptly. Because I had really liked working there. But with all the Jordan drama that had gone down, I had chickened out and shirked on my responsibility. Even now that Jordan and I were a couple, I knew working together wouldn't be very good for either of us.

  “Maysie!” I heard a screech as we went inside. The place was packed, not surprising. Though it was just Wednesday. I watched Jaz come hurrying toward me. She launched at me and gave me a hug.

  “Girl, where have you been? I feel like it's been years since I've seen you!” she said, giving me a full lipped pout. I laughed.

  “It's only been a few weeks, Jaz. I see you've survived though.” She looked kick ass gorgeous as always.

  She looked over at Jordan and gave him a flirty smile. “Lookin' good hot stuff.” And she left it at that. Which shocked the hell out of me, considering she typically took every opportunity to plaster herself all over him. I must have been looking at her funny because she nudged me with her shoulder. “Honey, he's with you now, I'll back off.” She winked, tossing her hair. And with a waggling of fingers in our direction, she went back to work.

  Jordan leaned down close to my ear. “Huh, if I had known being with you would keep her at bay, I would have hounded your ass a lot sooner.” I elbowed him playfully in the stomach.

  “You know you love the adoration of your gazillion female fans,” I replied dryly. Jordan kissed just below my ear and squeezed my waist with his hand.

  “I only care about the adoration of one particular female,” he murmured. Gah! He was almost too much sometimes.

  Riley picked that particular moment to show up at the hostess station. “Hey guys! Jordan, the section is all yours.” She motioned for us to follow her and I looked questioningly at Jordan. He shrugged and gave me a toothy grin, putting his hand at the small of my back as we made our way toward the back of the restaurant.

  Riley stopped at a booth. “Here ya go, I'll be back in a few with your drinks.” I looked around and saw that Riley's entire section was empty but for us. We were in the very back of the restaurant so despite the crowd, it was actually pretty intimate. Then I realized where she had led us. I looked up at Jordan and felt my stomach go all gooey. His eyes were soft as he watched me work it out.

  “Have a seat, baby,” he said softly, waiting for me to slide into the booth. This was the booth where Riley and I had sat during our very first shift at Barton's. The first day I met Jordan. The first time I realized how crazy I was about him.

  I looked over and saw a large vase of irises sitting on the table. I reached out to finger the petals. “These are my favorites,” I said, my heart close to bursting. Jordan smiled.

  “I know. You always have some in a vase in your room.” I met his eyes and his literally sparkled back at me. Did this guy miss anything?

  “Wow, you pay a lot of attention to the little stuff, huh?” I was sort of in shock. Jordan grabbed my hand across the table and laced our fingers together.

  “I pay attention to absolutely everything about you, Mays.” I felt all tingly. This was turning into the best first date ever.

  Riley came back a few minutes later with our drinks, even though I hadn't ordered anything. She put a Sam Adams in front of me and a Sierra Nevada IPA in front of Jordan. “Damn, I love this beer.” I said, immediately taking a long drink.

  “I know,” was all Jordan said. Of course he did. Nothing got passed him.

  I took another drink and looked over at Riley who was arranging salt and pepper shakers on her empty tables. “You must be taking a hit on tips in order to give us our own section,” I commented. Riley's eyes flicked over to Jordan and she gave a small smile.

  “Eh, it's been taken care of.” I looked at Jordan and my eyes widened. He looked pleased with himself.

  “I wanted my girl to have a special night. And I wanted you all to myself. So I took care of Riley in order to get that for you.” He said it like it was nothing. But I knew Riley could easily pull down $100 in tips during a busy dinner rush. I was sure Jordan made sure she was compensated for holding her other tables open. I didn't know what to say.

  “Wow, who knew Jordan Levitt was such a romantic?” I teased, my hands a little shaky as I picked up my beer again.

  Riley shot me a look that said “I-told-you-so,” she wiped her tables down and then turned to us. “I'll be back with your appetizers.”

  Jordan and I drank our beers in silence for a few minutes. “Thanks, Jordan. I wasn't sure what to expect when you pulled up at Barton's. But this is seriously cool,” I admitted. Jordan shrugged.

  “I wanted tonight to be special. And when I was racking my brain trying to think of somewhere to take you, I kept coming back to here. Because this is where it started for us. I couldn't think of a better place to take you. Back to where it all began.”

  “Jeez, Jordan. You're killing me here,” I groaned, finishing my beer.

  “You ain't seen nothin' yet, babe.” He smirked. God, was that Stairway to Heaven playing over the sound system? I sat remembering when he tried to teach me to play it. Shit, it totally was. Then Riley brought out the appetizers, which consisted of Barton's bread sticks and chicken wings. Both were my staples when I worked there. I had them almost every night after a shift, Jordan often joining me. He had seriously thought of everything.

  I picked up a bread stick and bit off a portion. “Maybe the bread sticks weren't such a good idea.” Jordan's voice dropped low and his eyes were focused on my mouth as I put the bread stick in my mouth. He was practically smoldering so I made a show of sliding the long piece of bread between my lips. Who knew eating could be so dirty?

  Jordan growled in the back of his throat. “Keep that up and we won't be having dinner. We'll skip straight to dessert.” I laughed as I chewed. Moving onto safer topics, I asked him about Generation Rejects' next gig. “We're taking a few weeks off so I can focus on my mid-terms. And then Mitch lined us some gigs up until the holidays. I've got to do some thinking. You know about after graduation,” he said, looking a little uncomfortable.

  “What do you mean? Come on, tell me,” I urged. Jordan rubbed his chin and looked deep in thought. I hadn't really thought about what would happen after Jordan graduated in the spring. He had seemed so unsure every time it was mentioned that I hadn't bothered him much about it.

  Jordan picked up a chicken wing and held it between his fingers. He stared at the table top. “Well, the guys really want me to stick around after May. They want to try and take the band on tour for the summer. Mitch has a cousin who's a club promoter in Washington D.C and thinks he can get us some gigs up north,” he told me hesitantly.

  Wow. That sounded amazing. “Jordan, that's great! You should do it!” I encouraged. Jordan smiled then, looking a little relieved.

  “Yeah? That would mean I'd be gone a lot,” he hedged and my stomach dropped a bit. I hadn't thought about that. Jordan on the road. Playing music. With girls throwing themselves at him. Ugh! I would not think about that!

  “Don't worry about me. This is your dream. You've got to do it for you,” I insisted, even if I didn't feel entirely sure. Jordan picked up my hand and kissed the soft skin on the underside of my wrist. Butterflies instantly fluttered their wings in my stomach.

  “If only my parents could be as cool about it as you are,” he said, his face darkening.
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br />   I squeezed his fingers. “They'll come around. Or they won't. But, Jordan, you can't live your life worrying about what they think,” I said. Huh, if only I could take my own advice. It was so easy to say when it wasn't directed at me.

  “Here you go guys.” Riley appeared at our side and dropped two plates on the table. A bacon cheeseburger, fully loaded in front of Jordan and Tequila chicken in front of me.

  “How the hell did you know that I love tequila chicken?” I asked, more than a little in awe of how thorough he had been this evening. Jordan's lips curled up in an easy smile.

  “I have my sources,” he teased. Riley coughed.

  “He means me,” she interjected dryly.

  Jordan frowned at my best friend. “Way to ruin the mystique, Riley,” he muttered. I chuckled and started eating my dinner. Riley rolled her eyes (her favorite expression) and left us alone. Before Jordan picked up his burger he looked at me intensely. I held a forkful of pasta poised at my mouth.