since I don’t eat meat … it kinda worked out that way.”
“Makes sense,” he said, resting his elbows on the table and focusing his full attention on me.
For some strange reason, I liked the way he looked at me. As though he wanted to figure me out, and not just what my underwear looked like, though the heat in his gaze was unmistakable. I felt that all the way to my toes.
There was an intense attraction there; neither of us would be able to deny that. But still, the way he looked at me was different than a lot of men. In my line of work, I’d encountered all different types. The ones who looked at me as though I were a leper because of the tattoos and piercings, others who seemed worried that I didn’t know what I was doing because I was a woman. Then of course there were those who thought that, along with a tattoo, they were going to get something else from me.
Jake didn’t seem to have any presumptions, nor did it seem as though he’d formed an opinion of me yet, which intrigued me.
“So, do you live in the city?” he asked, his eyes roaming over my face slowly.
And now the awkwardness was back… Considering we’d already slept together, the getting-to-know-you part should’ve been out of the way, yet it wasn’t.
I frowned. “I … uh…” I was confused. “I live next door to you. I thought you knew that.” I’d specifically told Gavin not to say anything, but I honestly thought Jake had figured it out.
Jake shook his head. “I knew Gavin and Gil did, but didn’t realize you did. Not until Gil mentioned it back at the shop.”
I smiled. Interesting. “Well, I do. And I actually met you before I actually met you.”
A crease marred his forehead.
“The orgy from the other night. You were sitting in my chair.”
“Ah, hell,” he grumbled. “I swear I didn’t touch those women.”
Unable to help myself, I laughed. “I already knew that. Gavin told me.”
“You’ve only been there, what, a couple of weeks?”
“A little over a month now,” I confirmed. “But I’ve lived down here for about three years, right before…” Wow, I hadn’t intended to get so personal so quickly, but I found myself doing just that. “About a year before my father died, actually. I rented an apartment close to the shop, lived with Gavin for a while. Then Gil moved in with us a couple of years ago. I finally decided it was time to grow up, so I bought a condo. They now live with me. You?”
“Grew up north of Austin, lived in an apartment when I first moved out, then rented a house not far from here for several years until a couple of years after I got my first book deal. At that point, I moved to New York.”
“New York? That’s … a long way from here.”
“I was trying to expand my horizons, see different things.”
“So why’d you come back?”
Jake’s eyes dropped to the table and I knew he didn’t want to share the reason.
“It’s personal,” I said for him. “I get it.”
“My family needed me,” he said, but he didn’t explain.
“So, this author gig … pays well then?” I wasn’t digging, just trying to make conversation.
“It can, sure. I’ve been incredibly lucky.” He frowned. “Helps if I can produce something.”
I could feel his pain. “Maybe it’s in the air, a freak particle that’s zapped our focus. Maybe we’re only two of the millions currently wandering around trying to figure it all out.”
He seemed to consider that for a moment. “Or it’s an alien life-force. They’ve beamed down here and sucked all the creativity out.”
I laughed at that. I could tell he was kidding, but still, I liked that his mind had veered off the same as mine. “Or…” I smiled, meeting his gaze. “The CIA has determined a way to monitor imagination and has put a hold on it, for fear we’ll become too powerful.”
“Or…” Jake grinned. “Amazon has found a way to control everything, including our creativity.”
“That does make sense. Amazon is in the process of taking over the world.” I was laughing when the waitress returned with our milkshakes, her eyes wandering back and forth between us before she gave a small smile and disappeared again. “It could simply be the matrix,” I told him, trying to sound serious. “They’ve temporarily unplugged us, leaving us to drift aimlessly around until they’re ready to hook us back up.”