10
“Clouds are just Mother Nature’s way of reminding you that shade can be passive aggressive.”
—It’s science
Hector
I had to take Sarge for a walk. Not because he needed to go out, but because I needed to get away from Iris before I did something stupid, like kiss her or fuck her senseless.
When she said she was drawn to larger men like me because she wouldn’t feel self-conscious being on top during sex, I instantly felt all the blood in my body rush to my dick.
Listening to her talk about her career and all her nerdy facts was damn adorable—all I wanted to do was kiss that super-smart mouth of hers.
If I dreamed up my perfect woman, Iris would be it. Yes, because she had the most amazingly sexy curves, but also because she was smart, kind, and loyal. She was everything you would ever want in a partner.
As much as I would love to be the man at her side, I couldn’t be. She deserved so much better than what I could give her.
After giving myself fifteen minutes to level my thoughts—especially the inappropriate ones—Sarge and I went back inside. I found Iris sitting on my couch with a bag next to her, some kind of fabric circle thing in her lap, and a bunch of string.
“I’m sorry if I made things uncomfortable,” she said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear and avoiding any eye contact with me, indicating she was nervous.
I didn’t want her to feel bad, and even more than that, I did not want to discuss this topic further or risk getting another hard-on.
“Don’t apologize,” I told her. “I’m gonna go grab him a snack. Do you mind if I watch the game?”
“Oh sure,” she said, starting to grab the items in her lap. “I can move all my needlepointing stuff over so you can sit here on the couch.”
“I’ll take the recliner. Don’t worry about it,” I told her, needing to keep my distance from her.
I had no idea what needlepointing was, but I guess I was about to find out.
As soon as Sarge got his treat, he bolted into the living room and jumped up on the couch to sit next to her.
“Watch out, buddy. I don’t want to stab you,” she said to Sarge, moving some items around on her lap.
I was just about to sit down in the chair and relax when I heard a car door slam shut outside. Sarge barkedand hopped off the couch, heading for the tall, narrow window by the front door. I followed him there since I wasn’t expecting any company.
I got there just in time to see Jennings and Diden walk up to my front door. I opened it since I knew they wouldn’t come here without a good reason.
“Hey,” I greeted them, opening the door.
“Hey, Chief. You mind if we come in?” Jennings asked.
Yes, I minded, because if they came in, it would take longer to get rid of them. Nevertheless, I opened the door wider and signaled for them to come in.
“Hey, Sarge,” Jennings said, leaning down to pet him, and then he turned the corner.
“Oh, sorry, man. I didn’t know you had company,” he said to me, looking half shocked that I had someone in my house, and even more shocked that it was a female.
“You two remember Iris O’Hara,” I said and then turned to Iris.
“Uh, yeah. I’m Jordan Jennings, but most people just call me Jennings,” he said to her, the shocked look still on his face.
“Good to see you again,” Iris said to him politely.
“I didn’t know you guys knew each other that well,” he said, and I heard the unspoken part about how weird he found this since I was one of the people originally assigned to the case.
Technically, it was pretty much fully handed over tothe ISB now, but the optics were strange, and I knew it, and so did he.
