Chapter 7
Drake couldn’t understand why he was feeling frustrated with the idea of Jinx moving out. He couldn’t believed he’d offered for her to stay with him longer. The words had left his mouth before he thought them through. He barely knew her, but her positive attitude and bright-colored hair brought sunshine into his ordinary life. She made him feel things like protectiveness and joy, not to mention being aroused all the damn time. Man, he really needed to get laid.
He opened the door to the blue hover truck and smiled, seeing her struggle to step up to the high vehicle. Drake had forgotten to lower the vehicle lower to the ground on purpose. Placing his hands on her small waist, he easily lifted her up. Jinx was so light, he worried that she wasn’t eating enough. Besides breakfast, he wasn’t sure if she had eaten anything the rest of the day. “Did you have lunch?”
She paused in buckling up. “What?”
“I was gone during lunch time, so I wasn’t sure if you got anything to eat.”
“Oh, well Isaac picked up a sandwich for me when he went out. I was still in the middle of cleaning.”
Isaac. Of course that prick would be all over her. Drake shut the door a little harder than necessary and walked around to the driver’s side. With ease, he jumped up into the seat and closed the door. Isaac may have gotten her lunch, but she still needed to eat dinner.
“I could stop off at a restaurant on the way home so we can grab dinner.”
Jinx shook her head. “Shy said there was a restaurant connected to the club that we can order from. I figured I would get something once I’m there.”
“Sure sure. They’ve got good food.” Damn it! He was looking forward to taking her out. This was for the better, especially with her moving in with Shy. Drake needed to put some distance between them and get back to his bachelor lifestyle. Thankfully, she hadn’t been there but for one night, not much time to get attached.
Turning the hover truck on, he put it in gear and drove out. He liked the manual driving vehicles better than the automated cars that drove themselves. Drake liked the rev of the engine, the feel of controlling something big and heavy; it fit his personality. He wasn’t high tech or fancy, he was a raw, powerful, and all natural male.
“If you want, I can get a taxi shuttle to the club so you can go out to eat.”
“No, I’ll drive you. When are you planning to move in with Shy?”
“I’m not sure, I’ll have to check with her tonight to see when would be a good time. I should be out of your way soon though.”
He frowned. “I wasn’t complaining. You’re not in my way.”
She snorted. “I’m seriously cramping your bachelor lifestyle. The last thing you need is me hanging around while you romance the ladies.”
“If I want to romance the ladies, I don’t have to bring them back to my apartment.” Even as he said it, he wished he had kept quiet. He didn’t want her thinking of him as a ladies man. For some reason, her opinion of him mattered. Yeah, he needed some distance.
“You know, if you don’t mind taking a taxi shuttle…”
“Done. You go do your thing. Maybe I’ll see you at the bar later.”
“Maybe so.” What had he done? Where were his manners? His grandmother would be horrified. Well, it was done.
*****
Jinx was so confused. One minute, Drake acted like he enjoyed her company, but then he switched it up on her by agreeing that she should take a taxi shuttle to the bar. She knew that she was cramping his bachelor style, which was why she agreed to move in with Shy temporarily. It hurt that he was ready to let her go so easily.
It was for the better. She didn’t want to get attached. Besides, he totally wasn’t her type. She liked really smart guys who used their brains instead of their brawn. Guys who were smooth businessmen or tech savvy, someone more like Isaac. Drake was the type of guy she would get drunk and flirt with, but wouldn’t even try to hook up with because he would be looking for perfection. Jinx was nothing close to perfect.
Their drive to Drake’s apartment was a quiet one. Once inside, Drake said he had some errands to run, and left not long after they got there.
“I’ll see you later maybe,” she called out when he started out the door.
“Yeah, see you later.”
Jinx sighed, feeling very out of place. Drake was nice to let her stay there, but she needed to get the hell out and let the man have his home back. Sitting on the couch she noticed howthe apartment was extremely quiet. It would be a couple of hours before she headed to the club so she might as well finish cleaning to show her appreciation.
*****
Drake spent hours out and away. He had no real plan except to stay out of the apartment for as long as possible. The less personal time he spent with Jinx, the better. He had a rule about not sleeping with coworkers—he could flirt with them but that was about it. It was one of the few rules he had. Jinx, with her big blue eyes and innocent smile, could make him break it if he weren’t careful.
He probably spent more time away than necessary. When Drake returned to his apartment, Jinx was gone but her suitcase was still there. She had left a note on the bar saying that she had a few grocery items in the refrigerator in case he was hungry and that she called for a taxi shuttle and hoped to see him later on. He wasn’t happy that she had left without him, even though he was the one that had stayed away.
