Chapter 8
“Let me get this straight,” I say. “What we are doing requires you to run inside the grocery store while I wait in your car?”
JP grins as he releases his seatbelt. “You act like this is strange.”
We’ve left the bowling alley together, and JP has whipped his Maserati into the parking lot of the nearest grocery store we came upon, to my surprise.
“It is strange,” I insist.
“I need to get something before we go back to my place. If you come in with me, what I have planned won’t be a surprise,” he says. “You’ll have to trust me. Can you do that?”
His eyes, which have now taken on a darker hue in the night light, stare sexily back at me.
Wait. He needs to grab a surprise at the grocery story before going back to his place . . .
Shit! Is he planning on having sex tonight? Is this a quick stop to buy condoms?
“You aren’t going in to buy condoms, are you?” I blurt out.
“What?” JP asks, incredulous. “You want me to buy condoms?”
Gah!
Shit, shit, shit.
The stunned look on his face tells me Trojans were not on his shopping list.
“You think I’m planning to take you home and hook up with you?”
“Um, no. I mean, maybe,” I admit, sounding oh-so-grown-up.
Despite my age, I am not an adult. The ability to vote and buy a beer are obviously not indicators of mature adulthood.
“Is that what you want?”
“No!”
“No?”
My face is on fire. I feel blood rushing to my head causing it to throb.
I put my face in my hands and groan. “I’m an ass.”
“Reese, stop.”
I lift my head and look at him, seeing nothing but amusement reflected in his gorgeous eyes.
“I wasn’t going to buy condoms.”
Thank God.
“Oh?” I ask casually.
“Nah. I have those at home,” JP says. “I’ve only used a few since I got back last night.”
Wait, what?
A wicked grin passes over his face. “I’m kidding. I’ve only seen you since I’ve returned to Dallas.”
I exhale loudly. “Right.”
JP is still smiling at me. “I was going to get dessert. I wanted to surprise you.”
Oh.
“I’m an ass.”
“For wanting to have sex with me?”
“I don’t want to have sex with you!” I cry.
JP cocks an eyebrow up, and I realize how that sounds.
Shit, shit, shit.
“I mean, not tonight. I’m not saying never.”
“So, I have a shot in the dark,” JP teases.
“Argh, can I start over?” I ask.
JP rubs his hand across his face. “No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?”
“Here’s what I want to do. I want to go in the store, get some stuff, and take you back to my place. To hang out. Talk. That’s what I want tonight. That’s all I want.”
JP is being literal when he says hang out.
Crap. Is that all JP sees me as?
His hang out buddy?
His best girl friend?
My heart drops straight into my stomach.
Wait. Why does this bother me?
I should be relieved. This makes it fool-proof. Nobody gets hurt, right?
So why do I feel disappointed?
“Okay,” I say, forcing a smile on my face as my brain tries to sort out the chaos going on in my head.
“I’ll be right back.”
JP slips out of the car and opens the rear passenger door. I watch as he retrieves his reusable canvas shopping bags. Then he goes up to the store and enters it, the sliding doors closing behind him.
I put my head in my hands once again. What is it about JP that makes me such a mental mess? I could always take or leave guys in the past. But what is it about JP that makes me want more?
Do I want more?
No. I want casual.
Just like he wants.
I want to know what it’s like to kiss him.
I shake my head, trying to force the thought out.
No. I don’t need to know that.
Of course, I did think “hanging out” could include some physical activity, but maybe JP has rock climbing in mind instead of kissing.
Which is absolutely better than what I thought.
One hundred percent better.
Safer.
Easier.
Not messy.
No drama.
I throw my head back on the headrest and close my eyes.
I’m definitely getting a therapist.
I open my eyes and observe people coming in and out of the store. Before long, I spot JP, carrying his stuff in his environmentally friendly, reusable totes. He opens the door to the back seat, drops the bags inside, and then gets behind the wheel.
“Now we’re ready,” JP says, starting the car.
I use the moment to reset the conversation from the awful one I dragged us through before he went into the store.
“So, my dessert is a surprise?” I ask as he drives.
“A surprise and a test,” JP says, easing into traffic.
“A test? I’m being tested?”
That sexy smile passes over his face again, and my heart, despite knowing the situation, rises from the dead.
“Actually, test might be the wrong word,” JP says thoughtfully. “It’s more research on my part.”
I burst out laughing. “Research?”
“Yes. I need to know some things about you, important things, and by conducting this research experiment, I’ll have the information I need going forward.”
“JP, I’m not going to try to pretend to understand what you are up to.”
“Reese, you will understand as soon as we are back at my place.”
I find myself smiling as he teases me. I love his sense of humor.
I steal a peek at him while he’s driving, studying his profile as the lights of the city illuminate the interior of his car. JP’s only been back in Dallas for about twenty-four hours.
In those twenty-four hours, he’s already turned my world upside down.
And I know he’s only just begun.
We reach the high-rise that JP calls home.
“It’s a beautiful building,” I say, craning my neck to look up at the modern, gleaming glass structure.
“I bought a condo here over the summer,” JP says, entering the parking garage. “I wanted something with a great view. There’s a market on the ground level, which is handy.”
JP parks the car and we head over to the elevator. As it chimes open, we step inside, and JP punches the button for the twenty-seventh floor.
“I bet you have great views from there,” I say.
“I do. My terrace is incredible. I can’t wait to show you.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
“Remember one thing, though, when you come inside,” JP says. “I’ve just come back from Switzerland. I still have my old furniture, and everything is still in boxes. I don’t want you to think I’m messy because I’m not.”
I find myself grinning. Oh, the irony of him worrying about this is so funny.
He has no idea who he is talking to, I muse.
“What?” JP asks.
The elevator chimes open to the twenty-seventh floor.
“JP, there’s something you should know about me.”
JP ushers me down the corridor to a unit on the corner. “This sounds serious.”
“It is.”
JP hesitates at his door. “Um, I hope the answer isn’t you are some kind of black widow and you’re about to slip a drug in my drink and make off with my belongings.”
Now I do laugh. “The way your brain works fascinates me, JP.”
“That’s probably part of my problem with women,” he says. “Nobody gets me.”
I do, I think without hesitation.
“That’s their problem,” I say, gazing up at him with admiration. “Fascinating is good.”
JP doesn’t say anything for a moment.
“I never thought so,” JP says, keeping his eyes on the door. Then he slowly lifts his gaze and his brilliant eyes meet mine. “Until now.”
My stomach flips upside down in excitement.
JP clears his throat. “So, what do I need to know about you that is so serious?” he asks, turning the key in the lock.
“I hope you can handle it.”
JP opens the door and allows me to enter. As soon as he flips on the light, I gasp.
His space is gorgeous.
Floor-to-ceiling windows make up one whole wall, and the Dallas skyline glitters ahead of me. I move into the center of the room, dodging some of the moving boxes stacked in it, and take in all the details, from the pale gray hardwood floors to the completely open floor plan. The kitchen is modern, with light-gray cabinets and white marble countertops, and provides a full view of the city.
“I only have my old couch because I’m getting new furniture,” JP adds, setting the bags down on the kitchen countertop. “Brand-new pieces for the living area and an actual dining table. You know, stuff a grown-up should have.”
I can visualize what he would select for his home: all contemporary furniture and pieces with clean lines. It would suit him, I think.
I move toward the glass and stare out at the city, the sparkling lights glowing against the black sky.
“This place is so you,” I say.
“How so?”
“It’s sophisticated. Minimalistic,” I add, turning around to face him. I long to add the word sexy, but I decide not to.
Even though it’s true.
Instead, I turn back toward the window, gazing out at Dallas. “I can’t imagine having this view every night.”
“Did you notice the terrace that runs alongside?” JP asks.
“Oh! You do have one,” I say, noticing it for the first time. “I was so taken with the city I failed to see it.”
“It will be great when the weather cools down.”
“You’re so Swiss. I could sit out there in ninety-five-degree heat and be happy,” I tease.
“Are you saying I can’t handle the heat like a native Texan can?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
JP laughs. “Are you sure? You were pretty confident about your bowling game, and that ended up costing me a dinner.”
I can’t repress the smile on my face. I like how he doesn’t give an inch on me.
“That was only because my muscles are still recovering from that photo shoot.”
“Right.”
I arch an eyebrow at him. “You don’t believe me? I’ll make you go to the next one. You can see how hard I work.”
JP stares straight at me. “Promise?”
I feel as though the wind has been knocked out of me. He’s not kidding now. JP is one hundred percent serious about wanting to see how I work on a shoot.
To my surprise, my normal instinct to blow that comment off, laugh, or change the topic to keep guys out of my personal life hasn’t surfaced.
“Yes,” I say simply. “You can.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Ooh!
“I’ll have to set a date then,” I say, my heart beating out of my chest.
“You will,” JP says, “and I’ll be there.”
I know you will.
“Okay. I’ve got to set up your surprise, so you need to turn around and close your eyes. I know you can see my reflection in the glass.”
I dutifully turn around and close my eyes. I can hear him rustling in the bags as I wait.
“You never told me what I need to know about you,” JP asks.
I hear him open a cabinet and the sound of plates being taken out.
“Put the plates down first,” I instruct. “You might drop them in horror.”
I hear the plates being set on the countertop. “Plates are down. I’m prepared.”
“I’m messy.”
“Messy? How do you define messy?”
I hear him open another cabinet and then what sounds like glasses being put on his island.
“Messy, as in I leave plates on the coffee table. My mail is in a heap. My bed is never made. If I need to make a video for my Connectivity followers, I have to clean a spot first. I operate in full-on mess mode. Not dirty. Don’t confuse the two. But messy.”
JP is silent.
“It’s too much for you to bear, isn’t it?” I ask.
“If you ever ask me over, just be sure to shovel a path so I can find my way to the sofa. Oh, and remove all your fitness magazines and workout clothing so I can have a place to sit. Then I’m good.”
Another smile spreads across my face.
“You obviously like to embrace danger.”
“You have no idea,” JP deadpans. “All right. I’m ready. I’m going to come over and lead you to the kitchen because I don’t want you to open your eyes until I’m ready for you.”
“Okay.”
I turn around, keeping my eyes closed. I hear JP approach me, and then I feel him move around behind me. His hand gently covers my eyes, and every nerve I have jumps from the sensation of his touch.
He lowers his head toward my ear, and his wonderfully spicy cologne envelopes me.
“Insurance that you won’t peek,” he murmurs sexily in my ear.
My pulse skyrockets the instant I feel his warm breath against my ear.
Oh, my.
JP guides me through the living room. My heart is racing. Those butterflies are dancing.
And I don’t want to fight them.
“You’re in front of the island,” JP says, bringing me to a stop. “On three you can look. One . . . two . . . three!”
JP lifts his hand from my eyes, and I blink.
I gasp in complete surprise. In front of me are packages of Oreos, in all different flavors. I see the classic Oreo, Golden Oreo, Birthday Cake Oreo, Peanut Butter Oreo, and Mint Oreo. Then I spot individual cartons of all types of milk: dairy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, and soy milk.
JP did all of this.
Just for me.
I turn around to face him, absolutely delighted by the thought he put into my treat tonight.
“JP, this is amazing! All the Oreos!” I cry excitedly.
“Not all of them, but every flavor they had in stock.”
“This is the best surprise ever.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” I say happily. “I love this. Thank you.”
“You’re thrilled with Oreos and milk?” JP asks as if he doesn’t believe me.
“Who wouldn’t be?” I ask.
JP is studying me with that thoughtful expression again.
“You appreciate the small things.”
“Of course, I do. I appreciate the thought put into them, too,” I say softly. “Thank you for that.”
“What if I told you there was a motive?”
“Well, it’s not to get me into your bed, so go ahead,” I tease.
JP remains serious.
“I want to know your favorites,” he says. “What Oreos you like best. If you drink milk with them, and if you do, what kind of milk you drink. I need to know.”
I swear my heart is about to jump out of my chest.
“Why?” I ask quietly.
“It matters,” he answers, “because you matter. As far as you’re concerned, I want to get things right. Down to the Oreo.”
I can’t breathe as I look up at him and see his eyes shining back at me with nothing but complete sincerity.
JP is different. He’s not like any other man I’ve ever met. JP is worldly. Intelligent. Sophisticated. He pays attention to things that matter to him.
I’m one of those things, I realize, staring up at his gorgeous face.
And to my surprise, I find I like the idea.