“Deal’s off. Now tell me what you want?” There’s an air of authority in his voice, which I surprisingly like. It has my skin tingling, and other parts of me.
Beth, seemingly unaffected by him, says, “Fine. I’m not gonna argue with you. Saves me a few dollars. I’ll have a whiskey and soda – make it a Fireball.”
“Mia … what do you want?” he speaks in my ear, his voice deep and breathy. It makes my toes curl.
I feel like he’s not asking me about choice of drinks right now. And I know exactly what I want – him.
I turn my head, only to find my mouth now dangerously close to his. And by dangerously, I mean dangerous because of my insistent need to kiss him right now. If that’s going to happen tonight, then here at the bar is most definitely not the place.
My eyes meet his, just in time to see them darken. He feels it too … wants this … me.
My body goes into overdrive.
Quickly gathering myself, I say, “Beer. Bottled. Please.” And I face forward.
Casting a sideways glance, I see Beth smiling happily at us. I’m kind of getting the feeling she likes me with Jordan.
Jordan’s hands come from around me. He moves to the side and leans up against the bar to get served. I feel a tap my shoulder, and turn to a smiling Beth. She moves back a little away from Jordan, so I follow.
“How are you finding Durango?” she asks.
I smile, thinking of Jordan—the one thing that I really like about this town. “I like it.”
“Yeah, it’s not so bad. But when you’ve lived here your whole life, like I have, it becomes a bit boring.”
I get that, knowing how it felt to be trapped in Boston my whole life.
“You’ve never been anyway else?” I ask.
“Sure, I’ve been away on vacation, but nowhere exciting. I’d love to go to traveling.”
“You should.”
“Jordan’s been traveling.”
“Yeah, he told me. South East Asia, right?”
Beth looks a little surprised at my knowing this, which quickly morphs into a smile.
Before I get a chance to consider her reaction, a high-pitched female voice grabs my attention. Mainly, because she’s screeching Jordan’s name.
I turn to see a very pretty bartender with long dark hair and legs even longer. She seemingly knows Jordan very well if the look on her face is anything to go by as she leans over the bar and throws her arms around his neck.
My stomach tightens into a knot of jealous ire. Stupid, I know, but still there nonetheless.
He awkwardly pats her back, then quickly pulls her arms from around him. She grabs hold of his forearm, keeping him with her, but I watch him remove her hand. She leans in and says something. He shakes his head, which she clearly doesn’t like if the pissed off look on her face is any indication.
She stares at him for a long moment, then without another word turns away and starts making our drinks.
Jordan turns in our direction. I quickly look away so he doesn’t see I’m watching.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Beth says close to my ear. “All women behave like that around him.”
“Yeah, but more so the ones he’s already slept with.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. I clamp my mouth shut.
I can’t believe I just said that.
Beth will, without doubt, be aware of Jordan’s past when it comes to women, but it’s not my place to pass comment.
She lifts her eyebrow. “He has been talking to you. I’m glad, but surprised he told you that stuff. Still, I’ll take it as a good sign considering you’re here on a date with him. You must really like him.” Then she smiles wide. “And he must really like you.”
I can’t say her words don’t affect me because they do. I want Jordan to like me.
“What makes you think that?” I ask.
“Because he’s never been that honest with a girl before. Hell, he’s never been on an actual date before. And if he’s telling you all his shit up front, then you must really mean something to him. He must think a lot of you. He wants you to know the truth, and that’s a big step for him.”
I honestly don’t know what to say, so I say nothing.
“Look, I don’t know how long you’re here for, Mia, and I know Jordan might come off as being a bad ass, but he’s not. Not really. When he cares about someone, he cares about them with everything. And he takes, losing someone he cares about, badly.”
“His mom?”
“Holy crap! He told you about his mom? Shit, he does like you.” She grins and wraps an arm around my waist. The contact surprises me and locks every muscle in my body. It does every time a new person touches me. “Just don’t break his heart now that he’s finally got it working, please.” She laughs lightly.
My insides coil. “I don’t think I have the power to do that.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” she says, lowering her voice.
I lift my eyes to see a smiling, but curious Jordan walking toward us, hands laden with our drinks.
He hands me my beer.
“Thanks.” I smile. His eyes hold mine for a moment before moving to Beth.
“You wanna go see Toni now?” He hands Beth her drink.
“You know what?” Her eyes dart to me, then back to Jordan, a smile creeping across her face. “I’m good. I got this with Toni.”
Jordan’s brow creases in confusion. “You sure?”