Where You Can Find Me by Fiona Cole
5
After pulling into my driveway,I grabbed my case of wine from the passenger seat and waved to Jack to wait when he began to exit his car. Though I felt strangely safe around him, I wasn’t stupid enough to let him in my house alone until I knew him better. Jameson taught me self-defense, but I tried not to put myself in situations where it might be needed. I mean, other than the time I had sex with a stranger in a bathroom at a club.
Other than those times.
Checking myself in the mirror by the door, I finger-combed my hair and added lip gloss. Thankfully, I had just come from work and wasn’t in my usual yoga pants. I wore a pair of skinny jeans with flat lace-up boots and a baggy cardigan over a loose black and white gingham button up. That was the nice thing about working in a lab; you didn’t have to wear office attire.
Before I left, I sent a quick message to Evie to inform her of my date and asked her to check in with me later to make sure no one had killed me.
I ran out the door and made my way around to the passenger side of the truck. Standing at a whopping five-two, I was silently thankful for the running board to assist me. I made myself comfortable on the leather seat and buckled up, turning to look at him once I settled.
Jack stared at me like he was remembering what I looked like naked. A blush began to warm my cheeks, and I looked away, feeling like an idiot.
“Ready?” he asked with a laugh in his question.
“Yeah.”
A neutral silence settled around us on the drive. I was horribly uncomfortable in quiet situations, and the quieter it got, the louder it felt until I caved and tried to fill the void.
“So …” Do you come here often? Mentally rolling my eyes at my lame idea of a conversation starter, I shut down that train of thought. “How long have you lived in Cincinnati?”
“A few years. I have a buddy that lives here, so I figured I would give it a shot at making it home.” He glanced over at me. “How about you?”
“Most of my life. A couple moves when I was younger, but I’ve been here for about fifteen years.”
“It’s a good place. I can’t say I have any regrets about my move.”
We continued talking about the pros and cons of Cincinnati for the rest of the drive. The conversation flowed easily, and I started to relax. It might have been one of the weirdest situations I had been in, getting ready to go on an impromptu date with someone I’d had random public sex with, but in that moment, I was content with my choices. I decided to go with the flow and see what happened.
We parked and made our way up to Fountain Square. The large fountain flowed in the middle of the square, with an ice-skating rink in front of it, close to the street. The unseasonably warm November temperature made for an even bigger Friday night crowd. Many of them crammed into the rink and took advantage of being able to skate without all the winter garb. Watching the couples and friends fall and laugh, we made our way to the other side of the fountain and headed to Rock Bottom Brewery.
Surprisingly, for a Friday night, there wasn’t a wait, and we were led to our seats. The restaurant was loud but had a relaxing environment, with all the wood wainscoting and low lighting. We were seated in a much quieter spot in the back, behind the glass-enclosed brewing equipment located in the middle of the restaurant. I didn’t know if they used it to actually make beer or it was purely for looks, but it gave me something to look at after I sank down in the soft leather of the booth before picking up my menu. Feeling Jack watch me as I struggled to look at anything except him, I started to feel awkward.
“What? Do I have something wrong with my hair?” I reached up to bring any strands down. “Don’t you need to look at the menu?”
“No, I come here often enough with the guys that I know what I want. I’m kind of a creature of habit; I tend to get the same thing every time I come.” His head tilted to the side while he studied me as if I was something fascinating. “Do you know that you bite your lip when you’re concentrating?”
“Oh. Well… Okay. And, um … no. No one has ever pointed that out to me before.” I licked my lips and tried to do everything I could to not bite them. Once he’d pointed it out, it was all I could think about doing.
“You do. I noticed the other night at the club.”
We stared at each other, both remembering that night. I couldn’t seem to look away, and I wasn’t sure I even wanted to. My face must have shown my remembrance, tinged with a little fear and hesitation. I struggled to accept and comprehend the decisions I had made to get to this point, and it took considerable effort to continue going with the flow.
He, on the other hand, seemed to be having no issue at all with his lifted lips, the fuller bottom one drawing my attention. His mouth opened to speak. “Luella.”
“Hi, I’m Janie, and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I get you started off with some drinks?”
I blinked and pulled my gaze away, taking a deep breath. I turned and smiled at our waitress and ordered a water. Jack ordered a Yuengling and a water.
“All right, I’ll give you guys a minute to look over the menu and be back with your drinks. Do you want an appetizer to start out with?”
Jack looked to me, and I shook my head no.
“No, thank you.”
Our waitress walked away, and I went back to studying the menu, avoiding eye contact.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
I mentally kicked myself for acting like a scared baby and began spewing words in explanation. “You didn’t. I’m not. I’m just not sure how to proceed from here. I’ve never done anything like this, and I have no idea what I’m doing or what I should be doing. I keep thinking of what you could possibly be thinking and wondering what you are doing. I am running in circles in my head and trying to act normal, but this isn’t normal for me, and … I’m rambling.”
Laugh lines appeared as his face split to a full smile. I felt myself melting, his sex appeal causing me to forget my anxiety. “It’s okay. I’m not sure what I’m doing either. I was very disappointed when you ran out on me, so when we ran into each other, I decided to take the opportunity to get to know you. It’s fine if you do or don’t do things like this; I’m not judging you. I just want to get to know you. I’m not expecting a repeat of last week, not that I would turn it down.” He gave me a cheesy wink letting me know he was mostly joking. “I’m sure it seems a little backward, but … why not? Why not take the opportunity?”
I smiled a little because he had a point, and knowing he didn’t judge me made me feel a little better. It put me at ease that he didn’t expect another repeat. He was right; why not take the opportunity?
“Why don’t we start over? Let’s have dinner and get to know each other a little bit. No pressure. If it goes well, we’ll do it again. If not, then we will walk away knowing we didn’t miss anything important.”
It sounded pretty simple. “Okay. That sounds like a good plan.” I sat up a little straighter and smiled, ready to leave the pressure behind and give it my all. “Hi, I’m Luella King. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hi, Luella. I’m Jack MacCabe, and I have to say, you have an awesome and unique name. Can I ask where it came from?”
“My grandmother’s name was Luella. Apparently, my mom loved it so much she decided it would be mine also. It was pretty rough through grade school, but I’ve grown to love and appreciate the uniqueness in my old age. It also helps that I was mostly called Ella through school.”
“Ah. And how old would your old age be?”
“I’m twenty-seven. And how old would you be, Jack?”
“If you think you’re old at twenty-seven, then you must think I am ancient at thirty-three.”
“What can I say? I go for the older men.” I finished off with an over-exaggerated, cheesy wink and a gun gesture which pulled a laugh from him.
Our waitress returned, and we paused our conversation as we ordered our food. Thankfully, Jack didn’t make any comments about the burger and fries I ordered. Even the cheesy lines of how a guy was impressed with a lady who actually eats were annoying. One point to him.
The wait for our food was filled with more basic getting to know you conversation. He told me he’d grown up in Texas, where his mom, dad, and sister still lived. His sister was ten years younger and just finished college. Laughing, he shared about how they were just now starting to move past the sibling rivalry stage. I told him about my parents and that they died when I was younger. Telling him about my two brothers, Asher and Jameson, and how I had a good relationship with Jameson, but Asher had been my best friend.
I even zoned out in nerd-zone, as Evie called it, when I told him about my work in a medical research lab. Obvious passion for my work flowed out of me and caused me to ramble aimlessly. He was polite enough to nod at the right times with confirming murmurs to let me know he was listening.
“So what is it that you do for a living?” Our plates had been cleared, and we both sat relaxing with a drink. Leaning back comfortably in my seat, I held my wine glass and studied him, leaning forward, elbows on the table and beer bottle in his hands.
The restaurant was still fairly loud but quieter than when we first entered. The small light above our table dimmed, creating a cozy atmosphere with still enough light for me to appreciate his looks. He really was a phenomenal-looking man with his almost black hair just long enough to be pushed back from his face. I remembered how the back was slightly curly when I’d had my hands in it the week before. I knew he was thirty-three, but the lines on his face proved he had lived his life. His scruffy facial hair enhanced his lips. I couldn’t help but recall the feel of the slightly fuller bottom one between my teeth.
“I own a security and investigation firm with a friend of mine. We’re kind of the Jacks-of-all-trades, providing security for people or installing surveillance. We also do some private investigation, but less often.” A self-deprecating grin stretched across his face, and it only served to make him more attractive to me. “We always said that we didn’t want to be known for just investigating philandering spouses.”
“That sounds pretty awesome. How did you get into that?”
“Well, I met my buddy, Grayson, when we were in the Army.”
My body froze, my heart stuttering in my chest. The ringing in my ears was so loud, I started to feel myself zoning out. But then, a voice louder than the ringing came through.
Not your story. Completely different thing. Stay present.
Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile and nodded.
“We crossed paths quite a few times, but we really became friends when we decided to go to special ops together and train as snipers. We bonded in the worst of times and figured if we could make it through that, then we could make it through being business partners. We got out about five years ago, and I moved here, and the rest is history.” He took a sip of his beer. “Hey, you okay?”
Another deep breath. “Yeah.” I kept smiling and nodding my head, hoping I convinced him without looking like a crazed bobblehead. I even managed to choke out a response with only a minor croak in my voice. “So, being in the military must have been difficult. What made you get out?”
“It was time. My family was constantly worried, and I wanted to start thinking of a future that didn’t only include me. Also, Grayson wanted out, so I kind of just followed him. We had already talked about plans for the business.”
“That’s great. It’s always nice when it works out that you do what you love.”
An easy silence settled around us as we finished our drinks, and my minor anxiety attack faded. I set my wine glass on the table, “Well, Jack, I’m glad I almost ran you down in the liquor store and thankful you talked me off of my ledge. I had an amazing dinner tonight.”
“Me too, Luella.” Warmth spread through my entire body with the way he stared at me. Not necessarily turning me on, but more of an easy happiness. He made me want more of this joyous feeling. He made me want more of all the feelings he gave me: the power, the comfort, the happiness.
It had been a while since I had opened myself up to anything. When I was twenty-one, I fell into a dark hole, and after climbing out, I mostly threw myself into work. I hadn’t opened myself up to anyone other than Evie, and she managed that by sticking with me through thick and thin. But being open with Evie and the possibility of being open with Jack were two completely different things.
It scared me, but at the same time, excited me. Like the rush of getting ready to jump out of a plane. Like getting ready to take on something huge. I felt the excitement of acceptance flow through my body. It expanded from my chest, and I couldn’t help the returning smile that stretched my full lips.
Jack paid the bill, and I didn’t even bat an eyelash when he took my hand as we exited the restaurant. A tingling spread through me from the point we connected. As his callouses scraped against my palm, I remembered them running over my body. I’d spent the whole evening trying not to think about our night the week before, but in that moment, it was all I could remember. It was all I wanted to remember.
We reached the truck, and Jack opened the door for me. As I climbed in, his phone rang.
“Excuse me.” He closed the door and answered the phone as he made his way around to his side. From the look on his face, it seemed like a serious conversation. Once the conversation finished, he climbed into the driver’s seat without saying anything.
“Everything okay?” I didn’t want to pry, but the curiosity was killing me.
“Yeah. That was just a friend of mine who is a detective for the local police. We met on a case we both had a part in when I first started here. We help each other out from time to time if we can.” He started the car and paused, staring out the front windshield as if contemplating a decision. Turning toward me, he said, “He wants to meet up with me, and it’s pretty close to here. Would you mind coming along? It shouldn’t take long.”
“Of course not. I don’t have any plans this evening.” I decided to go for honesty and let him know how I felt rather than play coy and make him guess. “Besides, I’m enjoying my time with you. I’m happy to let it be extended a little bit longer.”
“Me too,” he said simply and reached across the seat to give my hand a squeeze. “There you go again, biting that lip.”
I laughed and looked down to hide the evidence. Bringing attention to my lips didn’t cause a rush of panic like before but made me more excited about the possibilities of what it could mean.