Finding Orion (11 page)

"So, what are you about anyway?"

He must've
had his phone out in front of him. He replied almost as fast as I hit send.

"??"

"You find me in the bar,
then
you start dropping notes.
Feels very
stalkerish
to me
."
Just without
the sex.

I had two
minutes left until work, and this time,
Jace's
reply
didn't come.
Good going. You scared him
away.
Maybe it was for the best. At least now things were out in the open.
Even so, a part of me was really hoping to meet with him again. He did offer me
dinner after all.

Turning my
phone to vibrate, I put it in my pocket before getting out of the car. Ten
hours.
Eight if I was lucky. But knowing
Farrin
, he'd ask us to work late.
Again.
Time to get this over
with.

****

By the time I
had a spare
minute,
it was almost eleven in the
morning.
Karie
was stuck in the back working on new
labels for mispriced product, so I was pretty much on my own. Luckily, Tuesdays
weren't nearly as hectic as our Mondays were, so having to man the registers on
my own wasn't as bad as it could've been.

Farrin
made a point
to remind me not to take a break until he got back. He never did say where he
was going, but not having him in the store was better than getting an hour
break with him breathing down my neck.

I glanced
down at my phone which was resting in its usual spot. It had buzzed a few times
since I arrived, but it hadn't chirped in over an hour. And as soon as I had a
spare moment, I picked it up.

There was
just one text from
Jace
.

"Could be, but how many stalkers do you
know who offer dinner instead of bondage, leather, and breath play?"

I
snerked
and almost spewed my soda on the register screen.
Oh, God, but how much I wish he would! You
can be my stalker anytime.
Seeing
Jace
with cuffs
in his hand? Yes, please! By now, my cheeks were probably three different
shades of red, but I didn't care.

I furrowed my
brow and read over the text again. Did he know? Was he familiar with BDSM?
Who
isn't these days
?
Or rather, who doesn't think they know everything there is to know about BDSM?
Most of the books I'd read got it all wrong.

After
collecting my thoughts, I texted him back.
"Okay,
you have me there."

"So, about the
restaurant?
Pick you up
at seven?"

Even though
Farrin
hadn't said it, I just knew he was going to keep me
late.
"Make it eight. My boss is
probably going to hold me up, and I'll need a shower."

"I'll be in the bar when you're ready. Start
on neutral ground."

See you then.
I turned off my cell and
let my plans for this evening carry me through the rest of the day. Luckily for
me,
Jace's
invitation was a deterrent for any of the
crap
Farrin
usually threw in my direction. Sure, he
may have griped about some mess or how the registers were running too slow, but
I didn't hear it. I had a date. After months of sleeping in my bed alone, I had
a date.
With a real man.
But he isn't a Dom.

I didn't
care. It was a lot better than having to wake up to Simon and David having sex,
or worse yet, having to face them in the morning when nothing happened on my
end.
Especially because
they're expecting it now.

Chapter Ten

I glanced at
the mirror for what felt like the hundredth time, but my reflection looked exactly
the same. No matter how hard I tried to psyche myself up for my date with
Jace
, I still wore a mask of anxiety.

My stomach
twisted each time I thought of him standing in the bar, just waiting for me to
come down. I could've made him wait. I could've gone down an hour from now, but
at what cost?
You honestly want to stick
him with Simon?
Knowing the guys, they'd bring
Jace
upstairs and either hold him hostage or threaten me with some kind of ransom.

 
And that was something I couldn't do. Preparing
myself for the usual embarrassments of tripping over my own feet or having my
southern accent come out at the most inopportune time, I turned off the
bathroom light and slipped on my shoes.

Seeing as
Jace
always wore a suit whenever I saw him, I settled for a
pale blue button-down blouse and a black skirt that reached down to my knees.
It was conservative, but at the same time, completely outside my usual attire.
Hell, I don't even think Simon had ever seen me in a dress, and he was around before
my ex and I broke up.

Maybe I could tell
Jace
to meet me out back. Then I could avoid—
nope, never mind.
Knowing Simon, he'd be gawking at the stairs leading into the bar, just waiting
for me to show.
And if I didn't?
He'd probably take me
down there himself, kicking and screaming.

Straightening
my blouse, I grabbed my purse and locked my apartment. I drew in a shaky
breath, relieved when David didn't come out of the boys' apartment to send me
off.
He's probably down there with Simon.
Crap.
Nothing like having an audience.
I was
suddenly taken back to my senior prom and how my parents oohed and
ahhed
as I walked down from my room.

The wooden
stairs creaked under my weight, threatening to break with every step.
Okay, now you're just being ridiculous.
The
stairs didn't break. They didn't even complain. But my pounding heart made
itself known just as soon as I reached the bottom of the steps.

It might not
have been the weekend, but tell that to Simon's
usuals
.
A handful of familiar faces sat at the bar, exchanging gossip while they
watched some sport or another on the flickering television screens. The
atmosphere was cloudier than I remembered, filled with the smoke of cigarettes
and cigars.

I wrinkled my
nose at the smell of booze, overly sweet drinks, and hot wings. Yup, it was a
Tuesday.
Wing night.
And the place was packed!

If it weren't
for the loud music or couples trying to screech at karaoke, I probably would've
been able to hear my heartbeat. Thankfully, the sound pollution was almost as
bad as what most of Simon's customers were breathing into the air.

Simon nodded
to me when I reached the counter, then pointed over to the door leading out to
the font of the bar.

"Your
friend was here," he called over the loud music. "I told him to wait
out front. Avoid all this." He gestured to the crowds. "Have a good
time." His voice already sounded hoarse, and I was sure come morning, he'd
barely have one all.

I spun a
circle in front of him, and after getting a nod of approval, I shuffled past
other patrons to the front of the bar. I inhaled the cleaner air and waited for
my ears to stop ringing before making my way toward
Jace
.

He was
sitting at the same table I'd seen him in when we first met, and like before,
his back was turned toward me.
A new start.
And a new
look!
Now I really felt overdressed.

Instead of
his usual work suit,
Jace
was dressed in a black tee
and dark cargo pants.

I cleared my
throat and set a hand on his shoulder.

His eyes went
wide when he glanced back at me, and I couldn't help smiling at the shocked
look of his face. While he tried to find his footing, I noticed a series of
leather and beaded bracelets around his wrists. His t-shirt was torn in the
front of the neck, supposedly done on purpose to keep it from strangling him.

It was the
same thing my dad did with his shirts, so I was used to seeing it.
But not on
Jace
.
No,
Jace
was an entirely different person tonight.
And what's up with those bracelets?
Surely
Simon had put him up to this.

Jace
stood and
pushed in his chair. "Wow. You look—"

"Normal?"
I shoved my
purse under my arm. "Not like I've been at work for ten hours?"

Jace
shook his
head. "No. You look amazing. I..." He glanced down at his feet. Was
he blushing? "I'm sorry."

"What
about you?" I gestured at him. "Didn't you want to go out tonight? I
thought you had a desk job."

"I do,
and no, I figured you'd want to eat in. Why, is this too much?"

I frowned. "No,
it isn't that..."

"You
just aren't used to seeing me in street clothes."

I nodded. "But
I'm confused. Why did you want to eat in?"

Jace
licked his
lips.
"Because, the other night when I mentioned going
out, you sort of backed away.
So, I'm going to do it your way. Besides,
eating in means we don't have to worry about reservations, long lines, or kids
whining."

I had to give
him that.
Nothing worse than going out to eat and having a
couple with a kid screaming the entire time.
Infants and toddlers I can
kind of understand.
But ten year olds?
No thanks. I'll
take my food with a side of peace and quiet.

At least the
flooring between the bar and my apartment was enough to muffle most of the
noise. We could deal with the light thumping of music without too much
interruption.
Then again, eating in meant time alone.
Time away from crowds.
Simon.
Living
witnesses.
Damned if you do...

Looking at
Jace
now, I was pretty sure he wasn't a stalker. To be
honest, outside of his job, I had no idea what to expect. And again I checked
the bands around his wrists. Some had white and black beads on them while
others were just plain, black or brown leather cords.

Jace
jiggled them
around his wrist,
then
met my gaze when I glanced back
at him. "Well?"

I must've
zoned out because he had the most serious look on his face. "Anything you have
in mind?"

"Chinese?
It's fast, fun, and easy. Not to mention the fortune cookies."

I laughed. "So
you order Chinese just for the fortune cookie?"

"Not
always."

"You do
know you can buy bags of those over the internet."

"Yeah,
but they aren't as much fun. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at
all, I just thought you wanting cookies
was
funny. You
can have mine. I almost never eat them."

He placed a
hand on the small of my back and led me out of the bar. "You should. It
could have something good in it."

"All
right, if you say so."

I followed
his lead as we walked down two blocks to the corner. He stopped in front of
Wok's Simmer and Fry so we could read over the menu taped to the window. I'd
ordered takeout from here before. It was actually pretty good, and my stomach
growled from the smells wafting out into the street from inside the building.

"That
hungry, huh?"
Jace
half smiled as
he read over the menu.

After a few
minutes, we both decided on some Kung
Poa
chicken,
brown rice, and spring rolls before taking our order back to the bar.

The walk back
felt a lot longer than usual. Maybe it was because
Jace
was right next to me, though I didn't doubt my hunger and the wonderful aroma
coming from our takeout bag had something to do with it.

Wincing at my
growling stomach about twenty minutes later, I caught Simon smiling at me as I
bolted for the back door. I was pretty sure he and
Jace
had some silent acknowledgement as well, before I pulled
Jace
into the stairwell.

"Thanks
for this, by the way,"
Jace
said as he followed
me up the steps.

"Why are
you thanking me?" I stopped in front of my door and fished in my purse for
my keys.

"I kind
of have a thing against fancy restaurants."

The lock
clicked, and I turned the knob before ducking inside to turn on the light. "Come
on in. Sit anywhere there's room."

Not that
there was much to be found. My bedroom was probably bigger than my living room,
but it was large enough to fit a couch, a small coffee table, the TV, and a few
odds and ends. I headed into the kitchen and grabbed two sodas from the fridge
before setting them down on the table in front of us.