Trip to V-town
Jordan twisted her hand around Roscoe’s leash as she made her way along the winding path in David Rodger’s park.
Although overcast, it was still relatively warm today and she wanted to bask in the fresh air.
She loved this park. With big trees and open spaces, it reminded her of home.
It was the perfect place for families to have picnics, for a couple to take a long, romantic stroll, or for a slightly confused spinster to take her dog out for a walk.
Slightly confused? That was the understatement of the year.
Tyler was still bouncing back and forth with her.
Usually he freaked out every time they kissed, but that kiss in his office was different.
He didn’t freak out and that was freaking her out because she didn’t know what it meant.
Did he want something more? Did he need more time? What the hell was he thinking?
Just when she thought they’d stabilized into a boss slash accountant slash friends type of relationship, he goes and ruins it.
After Perry’s funeral, she was sure things had fizzled.
Not from her side, but from his. He came to see her often, bringing her dinner and ice-cream, and it was all completely innocent.
He was comforting. He’d let her cry when she needed to.
He’d cheered her up with his weird jokes.
Apart from an occasional quick hug, there was nothing else.
Just two friends sitting on the couch watching a Soap Opera.
It couldn’t get more platonic than that.
And then WHAM! He kissed her. Out of the blue.
No time to prepare. One minute she’s doing a little victory dance and the next minute his hand was on her ass.
And that meant something. She wasn’t sure if she could give him any more time, because when he kissed her like that it took everything in her to not throw herself at him.
More time with Tyler only left her with more mixed messages.
Now looking back at the events of the last month, they actually seemed like a couple.
They talked. They ate dinner together. They watched movies.
Yet not once did he tell her what he was thinking or feeling.
Not once did he confirm or deny that something deeper was happening between them.
In all other aspects, they behaved like a couple… except there was nothing physical.
But now he’d KISSED HER!
What did that mean? Her hormones were all a rage, she was thinking about him all the time, and he still had not said one thing. They’d spent so much time together and she still didn’t know where his head was at.
She groaned her frustration and brought Roscoe to a halt beside her. Reaching into her knapsack, she took out a baguette. She broke off small pieces and tossed it on the ground. It didn’t take long for the birds to crowd around her. “And behave yourself,” she said to Roscoe.
She didn’t need to tell him that. They’d done this together many times before and he’d quickly gotten over the habit of nose-diving into the flock. Now he just watched silently as she fed them with an uninterested yawn every few minutes.
“You guys are hungry today,” she said, tossing the last few morsels of bread.
“I have to admit, I feel a lot like Mary Poppins and I bet you’re wondering what else I have in this knapsack.
Well, I’m gonna tell ya.” She reached into her bag again.
“Oh, my God! It’s another baguette. You don’t have to thank me.
I’m feeling charitable today. It’s like Christmas in September. ”
She heard a familiar chuckle behind her. “What are you doing?” Tyler asked.
“Feeding the ducks,” she responded idly.
He came to stand beside her and she could feel questioning eyes on her. “The ducks?”
“Yeah, the ducks.”
“They’re not…they’re not really…ducks. They’re more like…pigeons.”
“They’re ducks,” she argued.
“Ducks have…webbed feet and…bills. Also ducks quack. These are definitely pigeons.”
She smiled without looking at him. “You know, when I was younger, my dad always used to take my brothers hunting. He took me along once or twice but I hated it. And he wanted to have that same kind of bonding with me, so he used to take me out to the lake to feed the ducks. We’d sit out there for hours, floating on the water in this little boat.
It was so peaceful. This park makes me feel like I’m at home again.
So whenever I feel homesick or whenever I miss my family, I come here and—”
“Feed the ducks,” Tyler filled in softly. “You missing them today?”
“Yeah. And when Gemma and Neil aren’t around, this city feels incredibly lonely.
” She turned to look at him and immediately wanted to shut her eyes.
Not Tyler in running gear. Anything but Tyler in running gear.
Messy, damp hair and a black, sleeveless vest – this man was too sexy for his own damn good.
“Well, I’m here now,” he said with a smile, “so I guess I can be your standby guy.” He took out his cell phone from his pocket and checked the time. “And Our Love, Our Lives is gonna start soon. I think they’re gonna find out who’s the father of Abby’s baby today.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How do you know that?”
“Lucky guess.”
“You’ve been watching!”
“It was driving me crazy, Jordan! I had to know and now it’s three weeks later and they still haven’t found out.”
“It’s Eric.” She tugged Roscoe’s leash and urged him into movement. “So you come running here often? I haven’t seen you here before.”
“I usually run on the other side of the park. Decided to try something new today.”
A smile tugged at her lips and it widened when he leaned down and patted Roscoe on the head.
“Hey, boy.” Tyler never called him by his name for obvious reasons.
Although the little pat still seemed awkward, they were warming up to each other.
The first few times he’d come over, he’d completely avoided both cat and dog.
This was slowly changing over time. Tyler didn’t like kids or animals and now she’d seen him soften up to Roscoe, Princess and her nieces.
It was odd. They weren’t in a relationship.
She couldn’t even put a definitive name to what they were and yet somehow this man had become part of her… life.
* * * * *
Tyler sat down on the sofa and switched on the TV. When he’d picked her up for their first not-a-date in June, he never thought he’d be a regular visitor. Sometimes it felt like he spent more time here than at his own penthouse.
“You hungry?” Jordan called from the kitchen.
“No, thanks. I’m good.”
That seemed awfully couple-like.
She strolled into the small living room. Her skirt wasn’t too short while she was standing up, but when she sat down…
No! Don’t think about it. Just focus on Lorenzo.
He looked at the TV, but every now and then he felt her eyes on him.
It was distracting – very distracting – and he had to force himself to stay focused on the screen.
Sexual tension built in the room. That kiss in his office had changed things.
They’d been going along just fine. They’d learned how to be alone in the same room without rubbing against each other.
Everything was great and…celibate. But just that slight taste of her, that tiny bit of physical contact and he was desperately craving more.
That kiss opened the gates of possibility and right now all he could think about was exploring every one of those possibilities.
She was anxious too, fidgeting, playing with the edges of her skirt.
He let out a loaded breath as the atmosphere became more awkward. His eyes kept moving between the TV and the ceiling, but neither was a good enough diversion. Staring at the freaky porcelain figurines on the cabinet wasn’t helping either.
This. Is. Tense.
There was an elephant in the room and it was crushing them, its heavy weight settling on their shoulders. Both of them were only focused on one thing and it wasn’t Abby’s baby-daddy.
Eventually after twenty minutes, she turned to face him. “Hey, Tyler.”
“Yeah,” he answered, still not looking at her.
“You wanna make out?”
Yes! Yes! Hell, yes!…..No! What are you thinking? You’re alone with her. Bad things are going to happen. “Jordan, Eric is about to—”
“C’mon, I’ll even let you grope a boob.”
Did someone say boob? He was hard already. His brain couldn’t even find the words to respond to that.
“You asked for time,” she said. “And I tried to give it to you, but then you kissed me…” She slowly straddled his hips and his breathing quickened. “I’ve been giving you what you want, so how about you compromise a little and give me what I want?”
“But—”
“It’s not a marriage proposal, Tyler. People do this all the time. And if afterwards, you want to go back to…whatever the hell we have now, I’ll do it…but I just need to get you out of my system.” She stripped off her blouse.
“Oh, God,” he whispered, unable to peel his eyes off her breasts. She had the most incredible body, lean and curving in all the right places.
Keep it together, Tyler. Don’t lose control. Slow and easy.
“If memory serves me correctly, I was on two…so this is three for me.” She lowered her mouth to his and the first feel of her moist inner lip almost pushed him over the edge.
Restraint of that measure was painful. He needed to put some boundaries in place in his mind, give instructions to all body parts to stop this from going overboard. And if she kept kissing him like that, it was bound to go overboard.
Attention! This is unchartered territory and we must proceed with caution.
We will explore this land. We will dine on the sweet taste of Jordan’s lips.
We will experience the bountiful hills of Jordan’s breasts.
We will travel along the smooth, silky terrain of her thighs.
We will learn every curve of this woman.
But no one – I repeat – NO one is allowed to visit V-town.