“Jurnee, why aren’t you opening a coffee shop here in Michigan?” Reaching for my drink, I waited for her to find her words.
“I can’t express enough how much I didn’t think Graham would even meet with me, not to mention agreeing to take me on as an investment.” She took a gulp and placed the glass back on the table. “I needed to get out of my life for a while. I figured a month of exploring in a magical city would be just the ticket.”
I nodded. I understood the need to step back from life. My family was a lot to deal with, but our position in the city made it nearly impossible to step out of my reality. It didn’t happen a lot, but I envied Jurnee and her ability to take a life break.
“So, that’s about it.”
“I think there is probably a little more to the story but–”
Jurnee flew over to me and pushed me back on the sofa. Her body pressing down on mine as she stared at my eyes.
“I’m guessing we’re done with this topic.”
She smiled down at me. Slowly, her lips pressed against mine. Our bodies intertwined as I pushed my rock-hard excitement against her. Her moaning is going to be the death of me too.
A door slammed shut from somewhere in the house, and I jumped to my feet. I watched Jurnee fly through the air and land on her ass against the sofa we had just been making out on. A tall, slender guy entered the room as she shook her head, probably realizing I had unintentionally tossed her off me.
“Wow!” A taller male version of Avery stood in the doorway, scanning me up and down. “You are so much hotter than I imagined. How long are you staying?”
I extended a hand to help Jurnee off the floor. “I’m so sorry.”
“Trying something new?”
“You must be Derrick. I’m Anderson Douglas. You look a lot like Avery.”
“Very nice to meet you. But do I look younger than my sister is the important question.” Derrick took Jurnee in his arms. “Thanks for bringing my girl back for her big game. Rah. Rah. And stuff.”
“You could pretend that you like my Spartans. You freaking work there.”
Derrick chuckled as he caught me staring at Jurnee’s nice round ass that I had in my hands minutes ago. “Nah. It’s much more fun to tell you constantly that I don’t care about your team.” Derrick flopped down on the chair. “Have you taken him to experience the Messers yet?”
“I think we are going to spare Anderson the Messers on his first trip to Lansing.”
Derrick folded his arms across his chest and leaned into the chair, “That tour your dad does is pretty interesting. I’d hate for you to miss it.”
“I can change our departure to the end of the day.” I pulled my phone out and pulled up the app.
“We are not going to move the departure time. Are you kidding me?” Jurnee handed Derrick a beer she brought back from the kitchen. “I can’t even imagine how much money that would be. Jesus, I already used so many miles to get us these last-minute tickets. Let’s not give them any more money.”
Who is this woman? Women didn’t expect me to stick around, but they expected the time spent with me to be as expensive as possible. Jurnee’s lack of expectation was both exhilarating and off-putting. For the first time in a very long time, I found myself wanting to spend all my time and money on a woman. All this before we’ve had sex. I wondered how much more invested I could become.
Hello, we’re practicing.
19
Jurnee
Derrick insisted that Anderson and I join him for dinner as he bragged about achieving drillmaster status with grilling skills. Deep red and golden leaves fell to the ground as small wisps of an autumn breeze swept them around the yard. The lights from the houses along the backside of our block glowed in the neighborhood. The picturesque scene reminded me of an electric Christmas village my great grandmother used to display on a telephone table.
We were enjoying an after-dinner cocktail in the backyard when I heard car doors slam. The unmistakable sound of my mom calling my name forced a glare toward Derrick. He totally called them.
“You all should have come to our house for dinner.” My mom stopped when she saw Anderson. “Well, hello. Aren’t you the most handsome man to visit these parts?”
“Mom. Dad.” Anderson jumped to his feet. I rolled my eyes as my younger sister pushed her way past my mom. “This is my friend, Anderson.”
“I’m Jurnee’s younger and prettier sister, Donna.”
Bella Donna Messer was definitely the prettier of the two of us. If there was a list created of our attributes, Donna would win most of them. A graduate of one of the other Michigan universities, Donna spent most of our shared time together pointing out all the ways she was superior to me.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Please,” Anderson gestured for my mother to take his seat.
“Hey, Jurnee. Those Spartans struggled a bit with their special teams today. Did you notice?” My dad gave Anderson a quick handshake. “Jenison Messer. Nice to meet you.”
“Mr. Messer, nice to meet you as well. Jurnee took me to my first Spartan game today. She says she gets her love of sports from you.”
Jenison shoved his hands in his pockets. “She doesn’t like baseball. I don’t know how I messed that up, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Derrick arrived with a few more chairs. Anderson helped him create a larger circle. Donna sat down in the seat Anderson offered. I just shook my head. Of course she would throw herself at the first guy I brought home. Why would this situation be any different?
“Can I get anyone some wine?” I made my way to my backdoor with everyone’s order.
“I’ll help.” Anderson followed me into the house.
Before I could take the wine glasses out of the cabinet, he turned me around and pushed me against the refrigerator. His lips found mine as he pressed into me. My lips parted to allow his tongue to gently glide over mine. When he sucked on my lower lip and caressed it with his tongue, I pressed my thighs together, craving friction.
“In my humble opinion, you’re the prettier sister.” He pulled away too quickly and smiled down at me. “Drinks?”
“Shit. Yep.” I turned and pulled wine glasses out of the cabinet. “Will you get the white out of the fridge while I make Donna her cocktail?”
He chuckled. “She seems to be–”
“A lot. She’s just a lot.”
Derrick rushed through the backdoor. “What the hell, Jurnee? Give me alcohol. Your mom is already talking about Donna’s latest list of accomplishments.”
“Sorry.” Derrick and I had developed a strategy of never leaving each other alone with my family when at all possible. He learned early in our friendship that Donna was the star while I was the spare. “Just take the bottles!”
Derrick grabbed the wine glasses and walked back outside. Anderson lifted the bottle of white, asking if he could carry anything else out.
“Better grab both bottles. They haven’t seen me for a while. There’s probably a long list of new things to share.”
A questioning expression spread across his face. “You’re close to inking a multi-store deal with Graham Morgan.”
“Ha. That will not make it anywhere near the top of the fold.” I added the twist of lime to Donna’s drink and grabbed another bottle of red for my mom. Pushing the door open with my butt, “Ready?”
“Always,” Anderson whispered, then leaned down and planted a quick kiss on me. “You look so cute in this house. Let’s do this.”
Three bottles of wine later, Dad insisted it was time to head home and take the dogs out. Hugs and handshakes wrapped up with Derrick, Anderson, and I waving as my family climbed in Dad’s car.
Derrick smiled and waved at the car backing out of my driveway, “Jesus, Jurnee. How the fuck did you deal with that growing up?”
“She means well. I mean, I’m proud of Donna too.”
We picked up the empty glasses and wine bottles and headed back into the house. Derrick continued to point
out the many instances where my mom served as my sister’s press secretary. Anderson leaned against the counter, taking it all in.
“You’re quiet. What do you think of the Messer dynamic?” Derrick asked, making me cringe.
Anderson sighed, “I think your mom is very proud of her children. When you aren’t around, there’s a fairly good chance your mom holds you up in front of others. I also think when she understands the magnitude of what you are undertaking, she will sing your praises.”
“Don’t even count on it,” Derrick waved Anderson off as he took me into a big hug. “I’m glad you came home for the weekend. I’ve missed you. Sorry, I let the parents know you were here, but I knew you’d feel guilty by Tuesday if you didn’t see them.”
“Thank you. You’re right.” I stepped back into Anderson, who wrapped his arms around me.
Swear to everything holy and dear, please do not catch feelings for his guy.
“Oh shit. I meant to ask if you had replied to that guy you missed your date with.” Derrick grinned like he had matchmade the two of us, and we were preparing to walk down the aisles.
Anderson tensed, which released me from his hold. “What are you talking about?”
“Clearly, you are not open to rescheduling, but I think you should at least tell him you’re…” Derrick waved from me to Anderson and back. “I don’t know what this is, but he has been hitting you up to reschedule.”
“Both dates stood me up.” I grabbed Derrick’s phone to open the dating app and scanned the messages. “What the hell? I didn’t cancel anything. He’s insane.”
“What are you doing?” Derrick pointed to his phone.
“I’m telling him that he is insane, and I wouldn’t go out with him now for anything. No second chances after being stood up. Send!”
I looked over at Anderson as I returned the phone to Derrick. His arms were closed, and his expression was one I hadn’t seen before. My imagination played with the notion that I could affect this smart, insanely attractive, cocky guy by dating someone else. Interesting.
Derrick’s grin shifted to his putting-the-puzzle-pieces-together expression that he used when it was time to grade papers.
“What?”
My words fell away when I saw Derrick looking at Anderson. He flinched when I looked at him, whereas a confident, relaxed Anderson stood with his hands protectively across his body.
“What?”
“It’s getting late, and I have two yards to rake tomorrow.” Derrick pulled me into a hug, and I squeezed him like it was our last hug. “There’s going to be unimaginable highs and some really bumpy moments in this next chapter of your life. I’m going to be there through it all.”
Nodding into his shoulders, I fought to keep the tears from escaping. Derrick released me and kissed my cheek. How was I going to survive in New York City without my best friend? Do I want to?
Anderson followed Derrick out the backdoor. As I cleaned the glasses and wiped down the counters, my thoughts were not on how my new life in New York would turn out. Instead, my heart was processing leaving my home and everything that made me who I was.
“I deleted the message.” Anderson announced as he burst through the door. “The Russian Tea Room guy. It was wrong. I wanted to spend time with you, and I did a really fucked up thing.”
“What?” The words made little sense as they replayed in my head.
“I’m a complete and total asshole. Derrick was–”
“Wait! Why?” That night’s events flashed through my mind like the Viewmaster I had as a kid.
“Jurnee–”
The feelings of being stood up washed over me. “What’s wrong with you? Why would you do that to someone?”
He rubbed his hands over his face and linked his fingers together behind his head. “I messed up. When the message popped up, the only thought I had was: ‘I don’t want to share her attention’ and, almost without thinking, I deleted it.”
“Anderson, that is so far over the line that I can’t even process it.”
“I know.”
I left Anderson standing in the kitchen while I gathered the bedding I kept at the ready in my office’s closet. My normal practice of transforming the foldout couch into a soft sleeping oasis was replaced with the tossing of the blankets, sheets, and pillows onto the couch. At least he had the good sense to not push me into talking.
The mix of emotions wrestled through me as I laid alone in my bed. Nothing about this six-week adventure was going like I had planned. I hadn’t checked out any of the must-see attractions in the Big City. The exciting dates Derrick built up had been a bust. And a cocky shithead of a guy I was starting to fall for just told me he manipulated a situation that hurt my feelings for his benefit.
His declaration of wanting to spend time with me fought with my sense of what was right. I squeezed my eyes closed.
Startled, I sat up again. Derrick knew.
20
Jurnee
“I’ll drive.”
Anderson had the audacity to stand with his hand outstretched for the car keys. Those two words were the fourth and fifth words spoken since last night’s revelation that Anderson was manipulative, and my best friend was complicit. Without a word, I walked past him to the driver’s side of the rental.
“Or you can drive. You’re going to have to talk to me, eventually.”
I tossed my bag in the backseat, slammed the door, and climbed in behind the wheel.
“Can we go?” He made me break my silence.
Finally in the car, Anderson pulled the seatbelt across his body as I peeled out of the driveway. No part of me was ready to speak to Derrick about the text he sent me after I stormed to my bedroom. I only hoped to get on the road well before he would expect us to depart for the airport.
With the click of the buckle, Anderson turned his body to look at me. “I’m sorry. It was shitty of me to touch your personal property and cancel a date. Jurnee, I messed up.”
He stopped talking. I glanced over at him. He appeared to be looking through me like his thoughts had captured him, and he was deep in thought. We drove to the highway in silence.
Stopped at a red light, I tapped the screen to wake up my phone—no missed calls, no voicemails, no texts. I opened my best friend’s text from the night before.
Derrick - Make sure you know who you’re mad at and why.
“It’s green,” Anderson warned as the car behind me laid on their horn.
Pressing the accelerator to the floor, the car jerked forward and sailed onto the on-ramp. “Why?”
“Uh, I assume you’re not asking why the light turned green.”
Merging into the far-left lane, I set the cruise to eighty-seven but didn’t dare look at my passenger. “Why did you do it?”
Anderson rubbed his hands over his face and moaned. “I have been asking that question since it happened.”
“And?”
“I don’t know. I saw the message, and I just didn’t want you to go.”
“It was a shitty thing to do.” The anger inside me bubbled close to the surface. “You, who has to turn his phone off for an hour every day, because that’s when all your perspective hook-ups line up for you to select your flavor of the moment.”
“I have not gone out with anyone since I met you.” His words came out like a sword pulled from its sheath. “I’m literally here with you, right now. Not with anyone who might text.”
“I’m not sure who is here with me right now. Did you sabotage the first date too?” Shit.
I knew that question was irrational, and he pounced on it. “No, Jurnee, you were actually stood up that day.”
The lane opening to my right was a gift from above that I couldn’t leave unopened. Tapping the button to cancel cruise control, I darted into the next lane and onto the last bit of the exit’s on-ramp.
I need air. I can’t freaking breathe.
As I parked the car in the Starbucks parking lot, I noticed Anderson’s hand around th
e Oh Jesus handle. That dose of pride hit me as I stepped out of the car and headed into the coffee shop. Thankfully, Anderson stayed in the car.
Standing in the bathroom with the water running, I placed my Starbucks order on the app. Funny, there was no hesitation for me to order Anderson a coffee. As I looked in the mirror, a ping ran through my body. Why aren’t you furious? I’m so mad at you, Derrick. Who am I supposed to talk to now?
A cold, damp paper towel to my face and a promise of a yummy treat got me out of the bathroom. This crowded coffee shop had been a regular stop as it was a little over the half-way point to Detroit. I was moving to NYC, so this could be one of the last times I stopped at this, my new favorite, Starbucks.
Get a freaking grip! Good God, you’re insane. Brighton Starbucks wasn’t going anywhere, and I knew I would be back for a coffee and a pee in no time. A sticker on a woman’s laptop caught my attention: Are you sure it isn’t your fault?
The crisp air gave me a shiver, so I held the warm coffee cups tighter in my hands. Standing outside the passenger window, Anderson jumped when I tapped on the window.
Surprise seemed to spread on his face as I extended the small coffee I’d purchase for him. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”
“It’s only coffee,” I mumbled as I walked around to the driver’s side.
Continuing on our way to the airport, the silence between us gave me time to think. Unfortunately, thinking was not what I needed. I needed space. Space away from the man who had me so far out of my comfort zone that I couldn’t remember where my comfort zone began or ended.
Then it hit me. The reason I was so angry wasn’t because Anderson had deleted the message. It wasn’t that he allowed me to believe I had been stood up. I was angry at myself for not being angry. Had a friend told me that a man she just met deleted a text message from another guy, I would have told her to get as far away from him as possible.
What does it say about me that I can forgive or, worse, be flattered that this man violated my privacy? Jesus, J. You like him. Like, like him. Like him.
Mister Manhattan: A Hero Club Novel Page 10