Page 12 of The Intimacy of Control

I wasn’t really sure what my full plan was. All I knew was that I wanted more time with him. I still didn’t really know why. It wasn’t the sex—although that was a definite plus—but what else could it be?

We made it to closing without any more customers, thankfully. I was able to get Andros to close out the register, and I took all the trash out in record time, promising that I’d come in early tomorrow to do the rest of the cleaning and inventory. That way, Andros wouldn’t have to deal with it. I was supposed to be off tomorrow, but I didn’t mind coming in. Our part-timer, Camila, would be starting her rotations soon, which would give us a break throughout the rest of the week.

Traffic wasn’t too bad on the way to Driftwood, which was great but also awful. It didn’t give me enough time to hype myself up, though if I’d gotten stuck in traffic, I’d have only gotten more worked up. Double-edged sword, or something?

I sat in my car outside the front entrance for far too long. There were quite a few cars in the parking lot this time around, which only made the urgency stronger in my chest. It took a few deep breaths and a whole lot of courage, but I finally made it into the outside air.

When I walked in, I couldn’t immediately see Jack, which was also different from every other time. I glanced over the whole room, taking stock of the few people at tables on either side. They weren’t super busy, but they weren’t as dead as they usually were when I’d come in before.

I walked up to the bar and sat in front of the other guy who worked there. He greeted me with a slight grin. “Hey, what can I get for you?”

“I was actually wondering if I could talk to Jack. If he’s around.”

He looked over my shoulder before nodding. “Yeah, you’re that Forrest guy, aren’t you? You came in the other night, too.”

I huffed a short laugh. “That’s me.”

“Oh, yeah. Jack will be delighted to see you. Let me go get him. He’s out smoking.”

Jack smoked? Huh. I never would’ve guessed that. I hadn’t smelled it on him yet. Well, I’d not really spent enough time around him to, really.

I waited patiently, glancing at the girl who was catering to all the customers every now and then. It didn’t take long before Jack was sliding down the bar, stopping right in front of me.

He raised an eyebrow at me, grinning. “Mav told me the hot young dude was here. Let me go get your shirt real quick.”

“Oh, can you also grab that rain check? I could have our table booked super quick if you let me know where you want to go.”

“Not this again.”

I shrugged. “How could it not be this again? I told you, I want to go to dinner with you. Or, if you don’t like that idea, we could go on a walk. Or even go sit at one of these empty tables when you get a break and talk.”

He sighed, but the sides of his mouth were tugging. He was fighting back a smile. “Talk? What if I don’t want to talk?”

“I guess bedroom talk could count if you want it to.”

“I don’t. Because I don’t do repeats.”

“Okay, then don’t repeat.” I gave him a quick, toothy smile. “Turn us from one-night stand to first date. Let me show you how good a date I can be. No sex. No nothing. Just talking and getting to know each other. You won’t even have to return a piece of my clothing, because none will be shed or borrowed. Unless you get cold and I offer you a jacket.”

He leaned in closer to me. “You’d offer me a jacket if I was cold?”

I could smell the cigarette smoke on him now. “Duh. I may be young, but chivalry is not lost on me. What’s the harm in getting to know more than each other’s bodies? Or getting to know more about our bodies? Hm?”

“Well, let’s see.” He started counting on his fingers. “Commitment, attachment, dating… All things I didn’t exactly try to seek out in the beginning of all this.”

“I’ve learned that unexpected blessings tend to show up when you need them most. So, what kind of blessing did you need, Jack?”

I watched his eyes slowly trail down until he was looking away from me entirely. “I said a lot of prayers for a lot of things growing up. I’ve even said some recently, despite not really believing in the whole God thing anymore. I never asked for a relationship in them. Sorry, Forrest.”

Mamá had raised me Catholic, but she understood when I strayed from the faith. I’d said enough Hail Marys for the rest of my life, I was convinced. “Prayers aren’t always answered in the way we expect them to be.”

“I’m going to go get your shirt. I’ll be back.”

Avoidance. Completely understandable, honestly. Maybe I was going about things a bit strong, but what could I say? I liked him.

The other guy—Mav—slid back down with a smile on his face. “You’re a pest.”

I scoffed, putting a hand over my heart dramatically. “You barely even know me.”