2. Cory
CHAPTER 2
Cory
I told myself I’d stay away from him. We lived in different cities. Hell, we lived on opposite sides of the country. We had no future. And maybe that was the reason I found myself back in LA, back at the bar I’d first found him in. This time, I came prepared and I had more time available than a handful of hours in between flights.
I kept the Rolex on because taking it off would feel like lying. Like I was attempting to admit something about myself that wasn’t true. Instead of my usual business attire, I dressed down, wearing a pair of charcoal trousers and a soft sweater the color of Reese’s eyes. I’m sure that bit was accidental.
Part of me worried that he might have quit his job and moved away or that he wouldn’t be at work when I stopped in, but he was there. After weeks of dreaming of him, seeing him in the flesh nearly took my breath away. I gave myself a minute to look at him before approaching the bar and taking the last vacant stool after someone closed out their tab.
It was even the same stool, but this time Reese was working the other end of the bar. The place was packed, which I hated, but would tolerate to be close to him. Reese was far more intriguing than I’d expected him to be when I laid eyes on him a little more than a month ago.
When I fell into bed at the end of the night, I knew I’d wake up alone. My miscalculation came in believing I’d be okay with that.
I ordered a whiskey and was served the usual sub-par brand reserved for people who lacked taste buds. After I lodged my complaint with Reese’s coworker, I knew it was only a matter of moments before he’d see me. I watched her talk to him, watched the way his body straightened at her words. He turned, his eyes searching the crowd until at last his gaze met mine.
Sometimes, during the weeks since I saw him last, I was able to convince myself that the chemistry I’d felt was all in my head. That I’d been tired and worn down, and suffering from the effects of shitty whiskey. But one look from Reese and I knew that version of me had been a fool to believe myself.
Reese, in person, was electric. Captivating. I watched the way he moved toward me with grace that commanded attention. He looked fucking hot in a faded tee and jeans.
“I didn’t expect to see you again.” Reese grabbed a glass, then a bottle of whiskey from the top shelf. He mixed me the whiskey and soda I’d had last month and set it in front of me. “The whiskey will still be a disappointment, I’m afraid.”
Lifting the glass, I took a sip, licked a stray drop from my lip, and set it back down. “I’m not here for the whiskey, Reese.”
He seemed unaffected. “I didn’t think you were.”
“The whiskey was the only disappointing thing about the other night.”
Reese scoffed at me. “The other night was more than a month ago.”
The bar was slammed and Reese’s attention was quickly demanded elsewhere. but it wasn’t a hardship to watch him work. I loved the way he moved, the way he gave each of his customers his full attention.
Nursing my first drink allowed me to watch him for a long time. Every so often he’d glance over at me and see if I was still there, and then check how my drink was doing. Was he waiting for me to leave, or making sure I hadn’t vanished? I couldn’t decide.
When my drink was done, he returned and offered to pour me another.
“I don’t want your whiskey, Reese.” When he didn’t respond, I arched an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to ask what I want?”
He formed a shield, folding his arms over his chest. “I don’t have to. I know exactly what you want.”
“Good.” I stood from the stool and pulled a bill out of my wallet. I tucked the tip under my empty glass. “I’m in the same room as last time. But I don’t have a flight tomorrow morning.” I’d already scrawled the hotel and room number on a new card since I was a thousand percent sure he didn’t still have the first one and I handed it to him.
Reese took it and slid it into his back pocket.
I wanted to make him a million promises, but this wasn’t the place for that. I wanted to tell him about the toys I brought with me, but this definitely wasn’t the place for that either. The feeling that I’d do anything to talk him back into my bed again was so thick I could barely think straight.
“I’ll be waiting.”
“I haven’t agreed to come.” Reese was still on the defensive. Still all spiky like a hissing kitten, though I doubted he’d appreciate the comparison.
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll be waiting, either way.”
I turned and left, and all the way to the door I felt his eyes on me. At the last second, I turned around and caught his gaze. I held it for a moment, then pulled away first, letting him have that little bit of a win, hoping it would be enough to let him come back to me later.
Back in my hotel room, I forgot about drinking more whiskey, or more period. If Reese showed up, I didn’t want to give him a single reason to say no. In my mind, he had to show up although I wasn’t quite sure what it was I wanted to do to him when he got here. Usually I planned things better, but Reese was harder to judge and predict than the men I was typically with.
There was nothing wrong with the men I usually picked up, but it wasn’t any of them who’d occupied my thoughts and fantasies for the past month. It wasn’t their names I thought of. Their lives I wanted to know about.
Instead of changing into sleep pants, I left my clothes on. I liked the way Reese’s gaze had lingered on me when I arrived wearing a sweater that matched the color of his eyes. He probably didn’t noticed, but it’s why I’d picked it.
I settled down on the couch with my laptop and a bottle of water, and I got to work while I waited.
And waited.