“
You just can’
t help yourself, can you?” she
commented,
rolling
her eyes.
“Not around you by the looks of it. So,
what three jobs are you working now then?” I questioned, trying to change the
subject.
“I work in a restaurant as a waitress at
lunchtimes. I have a cleaning job, and I
’
m a maid in a hotel.” She shrugged turning her nose up.
My ears pricked up at the last one. “Oh
yeah? You have one of those little French maid outfits?” I asked, grinning as I
started to imagine her in one.
She sighed and a smile twitched at the
corner of her mouth. “Those are just for sexual dressing up, Nate, so no, I don
’
t own one of those.”
“
Oh. Well, don
’
t worry then, I
’
ll let you borrow mine,” I joked.
She chuckled. “You
’
re actually quite funny.”
I smiled at the half compliment. “So, how
come we
’
ve never met before? You
definitely weren
’
t at Ashton and
Anna
’
s wedding.” They
’
d gotten married just over four years ago; we
’
d all gone to the Maldives
to see them
get
married on the beach. At the time, it was only close
friends and family invited, but if this was Anna
’
s best friend then surely she would have been asked to be a
bridesmaid or something.
She frowned and shook her head. “No, I
couldn
’
t go to the wedding.”
“How come?” I pressed.
She blew out a big breath and looked down
at the table. “I had a lot going on at the time and it made it impossible for
me to go. I
’
m sorry I missed it,
it looked so beautiful.”
“Yeah, it was a nice place. So, what did
you have going on at the time?”
“My, we are nosy aren
’
t we!
”
Deciding to change the subject because she
clearly wasn
’
t going to tell me, I
leant forward and grinned wickedly. “So, what do you want me to do to embarrass
you in the restaurant?” I teased.
Her smile fell off her face immediately.
“Nothing.”
“How about I get down on one knee and
propose, then pretend I
’
ve lost
the ring?”
I suggested.
She chuckled uncomfortably. “If you do
that, then I
’
m going to say no,
and announce to everyone that I
’
ve
been sleeping with your brother and that he
’
s ten times better in bed than you are.”
I loved her come back. “Okay, two things
wrong with that statement. One, I don
’
t have a brother, and two, no one
’
s better in bed than I am.”
She s
uddenly looked serious
. “Nate, please don
’
t embarrass
me. I hate being the centre of attention.” She looked at me pleadingly, giving
me the most adorably cute puppy dog face I
’
d ever seen.
Holy crap, did I just think that a girl looked cute?
I meant sexy; yeah, sexy is a lot better. Wow, I
’
m turning into some sort of pansy or something.
“Okay, I won
’
t… if you agree that you find me attractive,” I offered.
“You need to bribe girls to get them to
admit that? Wow, I feel a little sorry for you,” she replied, faking sympathy.
“Fine, I
’
ll leave it for now, but I bet you twenty bucks that you
’
ll be coming home with me tonight,” I stated
confidently, crossing my arms over my chest.
She laughed and shook her head. “Save your
money, I don
’
t want it. Just so
this little flirting thing will stop though, I
’
ll tell you now that I already have a man in my life and he
’
s everything I need.”
She smiled happily and her face softened.
Irrational jealousy started to form in my stomach. Rosie was fun, beautiful,
funny and challenging. I would certainly like to see more of her, but she
definitely didn
’
t look like she
was willing to cheat on her man, so I really had no chance with her at all.
“Oh,” I muttered, trying not to show her
how disappointed I was.
“Sorry. I did tell you before dinner that I
wasn
’
t interested.” She looked at
me apologetically.
The fighter in me wasn
’
t ready to give up yet though. “No worries, we can still enjoy
dinner. Maybe I
’
ll make you forget
your man
’
s name by the end of the
meal
.
”
The rest of the night was fun. Both of
us were laughing so hard that, at one point, she almost spat her drink out of
her mouth. I continued to flirt with her but she really wasn’t interested.
Every time she brushed me off I became more and more frustrated, but turned on
by it at the same time. It was a weird sensation; liking it, but hating it at
the same time. Rosie was a great person; I could see why she was such a good
friend to Anna.
I paid for the dinner and she smiled
gratefully as we walked out. “Thanks for that. That was a nice place,” she
said, nodding over her shoulder at the restaurant as we walked down the street
to where I
’
d parked my car.
“Yeah, and don
’
t worry, I
’
ll let you pay
next time,” I joked. When she wrapped her arms around herself, hugging against
the cold, I slipped my leather jacket off and draped it around her shoulders.
She smiled gratefully and pulled it tighter
around her. “
Thanks.
”
I couldn
’
t help but smile back at her. She had a beautiful smile; her bottom
lip was slightly fuller than her top one making them look so kissable that I
could barely stop myself from grabbing her, shoving her against the nearest
building, and crashing my mouth to hers.
“Sure. What time
’
s your train? Want to go get a drink now or something?” I asked
hopefully.
“I need to get back.” She looked a little
torn, as if she wanted to go for a drink with me – or maybe that was just
wishful thinking because she was crushing my ego.
“Okay, come on then I
’
ll drive you to the station,” I said reluctantly.
When we got to my car, I strutted around to
the driver
’
s side and climbed in,
and then immediately cursed myself for not thinking to open her door for her. I
was terrible with this, clearly. I had no practice with this type of thing at
all, because usually the girl would be falling all over me by now so it wouldn
’
t matter if I
’
d opened her door or not. I had no idea how to be a ‘gentleman
’
.
The ride to the train station was quiet.
When we pulled up, she shrugged off my jacket and held it out to me. Before
taking it, I frowned out of the windshield, not liking the thought of just
dropping her off and leaving her without knowing that she got on her train
safely. It was pitch black outside. I pushed the jacket back towards her.
“I
’
ll walk you inside.” I didn
’
t wait for an answer as I climbed out of the car and started to walk
around to her side. She smiled gratefully as she climbed ou
t
. While we walked to the right platform, she slipped my jacket back
around her shoulders. Luckily, her train was about to leave so she wouldn
’
t have to wait long.
At the door of the train, she slipped my
jacket off and held it out to me, smiling. “Thanks for dinner, Nate, it was
fun.”
“Yeah, it was,” I agreed. I cleared my
throat, just needing to try one more time. “So, do I really not get your
number?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Sorry.”
“Okay, never mind, but you don
’
t know what you
’
re missing out on,” I teased.
“Oh, I can imagine. I
’
m pretty sure I
’
m
missing out on incredible sex, and heartbreak,” she replied, shrugging.
“Anyway, thanks for tonight. I guess I
’
ll see you at Cameron
’
s
c
hristening.
”
She stepped into the train and waved before
walking off inside to go and find a seat. A long groan slipped out of my mouth
when she was out of sight. I
’
d
never failed at anything in my life other than winning over this girl. As a
beep sounded, signalling the doors were about to close, my body reacted
instinctively. I thrust out my arm, stopping it from closing and then pushed it
back open. Without even thinking it through, I jumped onto the train and let
the doors slide closed behind me.
My eyes widened in shock as I looked back
at the door.
Shit, what the hell did I do that for? She
’
s just a girl for fuck
’
s sake!
I sighed
deeply as the train began to pull out of the station. It was too late to get
off now. It appeared I was in for a sleepless night due to my stupid and
impromptu move. She
’
d told me that
she lived a couple of hours away, so that meant I would be on the train for a
four
-
hour round trip.
Next time think things through
before jumping on a train to get a girl
’
s attention, asshole!
I sighed deeply.
At least I now got to make sure she got home safely anyway. And, on a brighter
note, I now had another two hours to convince her to sleep with me.
I glanced down the carriage. Rosie was
sitting about half way down; her head was resting back on the seat, her eyes
were closed. I grinned and walked up to her, stopping at her side.
“Fuck me if I
’
m wrong, but isn
’
t your
name Claire?” I asked.
Her eyes snapped open, and she looked at
me, clearly shocked, as I sat down in the empty seat next to hers. “What the
hell are you doing?” she asked, looking at me like I was crazy.
I shrugged.
No idea actually
.
“Wouldn
’
t be much of a stalker if
I didn
’
t find out where you lived,
would I?”
We chatted easily the whole trip. She
told me about the school she was going to be working at. How she had graduated
college, but wasn’t able to find a teaching job in her home town, so she had to
come to LA instead. Apparently, she didn’t like LA very much and was going to
miss her mom who she would be leaving in Barstow. She was, however, excited to
have her dream job and be closer to Anna and her younger sister.
We talked a little about my job and where I
lived. I continued to flirt, and she continued to reject me. Rosie was
incredibly funny and smart, and I couldn
’
t help but admire her putdowns. During the whole two
-
hour trip, there wasn
’
t
a single awkward silence. Usually I ran out of things to say to a girl after a
little while – which wouldn
’
t be a
problem because I
’
d just shove my
tongue down her throat – but Rosie just seemed to capture my attention.
I also noticed little things about her that
made me smile, like how she used her hands when she spoke of something she was
passionate about, or how she bit her bottom lip when she was concentrating. How
she kept brushing the tendrils of hair back that had escaped around her face,
but they were slightly too short to go behind her ear so they would just fall
back again immediately. How her brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the dull train
lighting above our heads.
When we pulled in at her station, she
smiled and stood up. “Thanks for making sure I got here.”
I stood up too. What I really wanted to do
was walk her to her front door and make sure she got home safely. It was well
after midnight now, and she shouldn
’
t be walking the streets alone.
“I
’
ll just find out what time the next train is back to LA,” I
muttered, following her off the train to the little board that showed the
times.
After a quick scan, I noted that there was
a train leaving in five minutes, and then another in an hour.
“How far away do you live?” I asked,
looking over the empty train station.
Rosie smiled and shouldered her purse. “It
’
s only about ten minutes
’
walk. Thanks for dinner and the company.”
“No worries.” I took my jacket off and
slipped it around her shoulders, discreetly leaving my arm there too as I
started leading her towards the main entrance.
She stopped and frowned up at me. “Nate,
seriously, go get a seat before the train goes without you.”
“I
’
ll get the next one and walk you home.” I shrugged easily,
tightening my arm around her shoulders as I guided her to start walking again.
“You sure? I mean, I
’
ll be fine from here
.
”
“I
’m sure. I’
ll walk you.”
She didn
’
t shrug my arm off, so I smiled and left it there. Rosie
’
s
petite
form fitted
under my arm perfectly.
“Okay, thank you.” She pulled my jacket
tighter around her and smiled gratefully as the wind whipped around us. “So,
what time do you have to start work tomorrow?” she asked, making conversation
as we started to walk down a dark and not-very-well-lit street.
“Five,” I replied,
grimacing
.
She gasped. “Five in the morning? You won
’
t get time to sleep! You should go get that
earlier train. At least then you might be able to catch a couple of hours sleep
before work,” she protested, stopping and frowning.
I fought a smile at her stern expression
and the concern that was clear across her face. “Rosie, will you keep walking?
It
’
s late at night, and it
’
s dark, there could be all sorts of weirdos
lingering down these dark streets, just waiting to take advantage of a handsome
thing like me,” I joked, looking around with mock horror.
She laughed and shook her head. “Don
’
t worry, baby, I
’
ll protect you
.
”
“
Thanks.
” I grinned as we started walking again.
The walk to her apartment was short, like
she
’
d said. When we arrived at her
building, I followed her up to the third floor and stopped outside her door.
She looked up at me, fiddling with her keys in her hand and shifting on her
feet uncomfortably.
“I can
’
t invite you in, I
’
m
sorry.”
I smiled and shook my head; I hadn
’
t expected her to.
“It
’
s fine. So, maybe when you move to LA we could catch up or something?”
I suggested, trying desperately not to lean in and press my lips against hers.
Her bottom lip looked so incredibly inviting, especially when she chewed on it
like she was doing at the moment. My body longed to press against her, to pin
her against the wall, to rip her clothes off and run my tongue across every
inch of her. But instead of doing any of that, I ran my hand through my hair
and tried not to let my desire show on my face.
“
I don’
t think so, Nate,” she answered almost apologetically.
“Because you already have a man?” I
inquired, letting my eyes wander her face, checking for any signs of
indecision.
Maybe if I just kiss her, she
’
ll kiss me back… Or maybe she
’
ll slap my face.
I decided against it.
Clearly she wasn
’
t interested in
me, and I couldn
’
t stop the
jealousy from building up inside me because of that knowledge. During the last
couple of hours, I
’
d realised how
great she was. Her boyfriend was a lucky guy; I hoped he knew it.
“Yeah,” she whispered, nodding.
“Okay, well it was nice to meet you and
stalk you for a few hours. Thanks for keeping me entertained. Your first piece
of stalker mail should arrive within the next couple of days,” I joked, grinning
at her and trying to cover up
my
disappointment.
She chuckled, handing me back my jacket. “I
’
ll look forward to it.”
I slipped it on, immediately feeling the
warmth of the material from her body. I took one last look at her before I
turned and headed back to the station to wait for my train. As I sat there,
sipping bad coffee from a paper cup, I couldn
’
t help but wonder if this girl was my Anna
; my
perfect match. Technically, it didn
’
t even matter because she wasn
’
t interested.
By the time I was back in LA, I was
exhausted. My eyes stung and it was almost four in the morning. I had just over
an hour before I was due to start work. I headed back to my apartment and had a
nice hot shower, trying to wake up my muscles a little. After pulling on a
fresh uniform, I headed to my department a little earlier than I needed to,
deciding to read through my briefing pack with all the details of
the
day
’
s operation.
My team of ten was going to a building
downtown, where they had been tracking a drug dealer. Apparently, there was a
cop undercover with the group; he
’
d
fed us information that there was a big deal going down this morning at seven.
I was to lead the snipers – four of us in total – and we would take vantage
points across the street. The other six agents in my team would move into the
building and secure the targets after the deal had gone down. A tech team had
already set up the building with cameras and motion detectors in preparation,
so we would be able to watch the deal before moving in. It all sounded fairly
standard to me, not unlike a normal raid
,
except we
needed to be careful of the undercover cop. I flicked to his picture so I would
know who he was during the raid.
When I was done reading, I rested my head
on my arms and waited for everyone else to arrive. I must have fallen asleep
because I jolted upright when someone smacked me on the back of my head.
Russell, one of my teammates, laughed
wickedly
, obviously proud of himself.
“Asshole,” I grunted tiredly as he
dropped
in
to
the seat next to mine.
“Another girl keep you up all night?” he
asked, shaking his head. Russell was a married man and always disapproved of
the tales I told of girls I
’
d been
with.
I smiled. He was right, but not in the way
he was thinking. “Yep, I had no sleep at all. It was fun though,” I answered
honestly.
He rolled his eyes. “When are you going to
grow up and stop sleeping around?”
I sat back in my chair, rubbing a hand over
face, trying to wake up a little more. “When my dick shrivels up and falls
off,” I joked.
Before he could answer, the captain walked
in the room and everyone went quiet, listening to last minute instructions
before we all piled into two vans and headed to the location.
Two hours later I was lying flat on my
stomach, looking through the eyepiece of my rifle. In the building opposite, I
could see five guys fussing around a briefcase. One of them was the undercover
cop. Apparently, there were another four guys spread around the building,
keeping watch while the deal went down. I didn’t need to worry about those four
though, the ground team would take them out before they moved in.
My comms unit crackled to life. “We
’
re moving in. Radio silence.” This meant that
we could hear what was going on with them, but they couldn
’
t hear us unless we buzzed to get their attention. That way we didn
’
t give away their positions.
I glanced at Russell, who was about twenty
feet away, mirroring my position and aiming at the building too. “I
’
ll cover the two on the right,” I said,
signalling with my hand.
“Yeah okay, I
’
ll go left then.” He nodded, looking back into his eyepiece.
My comms unit crackled again. “I
’
m going in,” Kurt, one of my more reckless
team members, hissed.
“Kurt, just wait. We
’
re not ready, just wait for the signal,” Neil replied.
“I can hear someone coming, I need to move
in
.
”
“No. Just hold off. Take out who you need
to, and wait for the signal. We have an undercover in there,” Neil ordered
sternly.
I frowned, grinding my teeth as I listened
to their exchange. Kurt was always like this; the fucking asshole couldn
’
t take orders.
Through my eyepiece, I watched the room as
the
sound of
shouting and gunfire came through my earpiece.
Against orders, Kurt had burst into the room on his own. I tensed, lining up my
shot for the guy closest to Kurt, ready to take him down if I needed to. Three
of the guys immediately looked around, shocked; they were suits, they had
others to do the shooting for them so they just stood there with their hands up
innocently. The undercover cop moved to the side, but held his hands up too,
playing along until he was arrested like he was supposed to in case the raid
went wrong and he needed to stay under. The fifth guy moved quickly, slamming
Kurt into the wall making his gun drop from his hand.
“Nate?” Russell shouted, waiting for me to
make the call of whether we should take him out.
“Hold,” I called, lining up my sight as I
frantically searched for a shot that wouldn
’
t hit Kurt. They were scuffling around on the
floor
rolling over and moving too much. There was no shot.
The three suits ran from the room, grabbing
the briefcase, with the undercover hot on their heels. I heard Neil ordering
a
change of positions so the ground team could pick them up.
So
mehow the
guy
grappling with Kurt
got the upper hand and grabbed the gun from the floor, standing at
the same time as Kurt
and
poin
ting
the gun at him. I could hear their conversation through my earpiece. The way
they were positioned Kurt had his back to me and was blocking my shot to the
guy with the gun.
“Motherfucker,” the guy spat.
“Just calm down. There are agents all over
the building, if you shoot me then you won
’
t make it out of here alive,” Kurt stated, holding his hands up in
surrender. The guy’s eyes flicked around the room quickly, obviously looking
for a way out.