“You’re such an Aries,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Change is a good thing, Jordan. Don’t you ever forget it.”
Adam
“Fuck this blues dump,” Thelma scoffed, staring at the empty glass in front of her. “It’s too early to leave. The night is young, am I right?”
“Actually, it’s late,” I said, wrapping her jacket around her. “People who work here need to rest, too. Come on, let’s go. I’ll give you a ride home.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Thelma grumbled. “I don’t need your pity. I’m not that old or that drunk. I’ll take an Uber.”
“Should I call it for you?” I said, following her to the door.
“I called it, sweetie, but thanks.”
We stepped onto the street just as her Uber arrived, and Thelma hugged me. “See you tomorrow? Same city, same time zone?”
I grinned. “You better believe it.”
After she left and the car disappeared from my sight, I lit a cigarette, only to hear a familiar voice behind me.
“I didn’t know you smoked.”
I smiled despite every inch of my body waking up after it had been clinically dead.
“I recently gave in to all my vices,” I said, taking a puff. “Smokes, booze, bad women, and equally bad men. This time next week, I’ll probably be on crack.”
“Men?”
I could hear both disbelief and frustration in the voice. Desperation, too.
“Incidentally, I was wondering when you would find me,” I said, turning around. I’d been bracing myself for this moment, but nothing could prepare me for the golden heat in those amber eyes.
“Am I too early or too late?” Jordan said, stepping toward me. I took a step back to a safe distance as if he could hurt me physically, which he couldn’t. The only damage he could cause was to a certain organ in my chest that was already shattered.
“I guess it depends,” I replied. “Are you talking on behalf of Internal Affairs or the LD?”
Jordan shrugged. “Does it matter? You’ll blame me either way.”
“Probably,” I agreed, looking toward the spot where I parked my car. “This subject is riveting, but if you’ll excuse me, I have a plane to catch.”
“Here’s your key,” Jordan said, extending his hand. “You don’t have to be homeless to avoid talking to me.”
Careful not to touch him, I took the key. It was mine, after all.
“I’m not homeless,” I said, slipping the key into my pocket.
“Where do you live?”
“In a motel. Look—”
“Can we talk?” Jordan interrupted me.
That just pissed me off, but I let it slide. After all, I was having fun. “Sure. Talk.”
He walked up to me, looking both desperate and enraged at the same time.
“I’m sure the concept of undercover work is not foreign to you,” he said through his teeth. “I lied to you because I had to lie. I kept things from you because it was the job. I hope you can understand that.”
“Oh, I get that,” I deadpanned. “But did you spend two years trying to get close to me under pretenses or not? Did you make me think you liked me or not? Did you let me shove my dick into your ass, making me feel as if you, in fact, wanted this—”
