I used my new key to unlock the door, holding my breath as I looked around the store, checking for anything out of place. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw everything was as it should be.
A few minutes before ten my new friend Chief Wilson wandered in, once again holding two cups of coffee. Today he was dressed in civilian clothes. Faded jeans hugged his thighs lovingly, and a Carolina Panthers shirt stretched across his impressive chest and arms.
“Macchiato?” he asked, handing me the cup.
“Thank you,” I said grudgingly.
“Any problems last night?” he asked, studying me with those perceptive brown eyes.
“Nope.” I took a sip of the coffee and suppressed a groan. “Why are you dressed like a normal person?”
“I’m off weekends.”
I nodded.
“What time do you close tonight?”
“Five o’clock.” We closed earlier on weekends.
“Can I buy you dinner?” he asked. “I’d like to get to know you better.”
I shook my head. My body was screaming “Go out with him. Climb him like a tree!” but my head was telling me to stay as far away from him as I could. If there was one thing I’d learned over the last few years, it was that I had to listen to my head.
“Look, I’m sure you’re a nice guy...” This was a lie, I assumed all cops were assholes. “But I’m just not...”
My words fell off as he stepped closer, close enough that I could smell something citrusy, maybe his bodywash or his shampoo. Jake took the coffee cup out of my hand and set it on the counter, still giving me that unnerving stare. He reached up and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. I shivered.
“I like your pink strips,” he said, nodding at my hair.
I liked to change my hair color every so often. I’d recently swapped out my purple streaks for pink.
Jake cupped my cheek in one large palm, and it took everything in me not to lean into his touch. He lowered his head until our lips were an inch apart, and I felt myself swaying closer. Our lips touched, just for a few seconds, and it was enough to make my entire body come alive. I gasped, and jumped back, making some space between us.
“What were you saying about not being interested?” he asked cockily.
“Get out!” I pointed towards the door angrily. Jake gave me a smirk that made me tempted to punch him in the throat.
“I’ll check on you tomorrow.”
“Don’t.”
He walked backwards, watching me. “Now that we fixed your break-in problem, you need to know that I intend to date you, even if it takes some time to wear you down. I want you Evie, and I know I’m not the only one feeling this.”
Before I could give him a piece of my mind, he was gone, leaving me gaping after him with an aching feeling in my core that I didn’t want to think about too closely.