“But now she thinks you’re an asshole. Is that really an improvement?”
“An asshole with some dignity left though, right?”
“Great. So you’ll be a lonely, horny, dignified asshole. Sounds like a plan, Mr. Smooth.”
He sighed. “You didn’t happen to get her number, did you?”
“Nope. But I wouldn’t give it to you anyway,” she said, popping the trunk to her car with the key fob, she placed her briefcase inside and slammed the lid closed with unnecessary force.
Jack put his hands on his slim hips and stared at her for a moment. “What the hell? Why the fuck not?” He asked angrily. Used to dealing with men, he wasn’t above using his size to intimidate people to get what he wanted. But his cousin wasn’t a contractor or a plumber and he needed to calm down and try not to be so domineering. He sometimes forgot how to act around polite society. So much of his life was spent barking orders and demanding action. He was sadly out of the habit of being patient and courteous.
Granted, Serena was tall, and feisty as hell, but he knew he could look downright intimidating when thwarted. So he made a conscious effort to relax his angry pose and talk in a moderate tone of voice. “I won’t stalk her or anything. I’ll just call her up, casually, and ask her what she thought about the houses. And then if she seems into it, maybe I’ll ask her to meet for a drink or something. I won’t be creepy, I promise. Scout’s honor.” He held up the wrong hand to do the Cub Scout’s Pledge, but didn’t think Serena would notice.
The truth was that he did, in fact, plan to stalk Lacey a little bit. Not in a twisted or scary 'I’ll be hiding in the bushes when you come home’ sort of way. But hopefully, in a charming, 'What a coincidence. We both drink coffee,’ sort of way.
If he could call Lacey up and make some idle conversation, and in the process maybe find out where she hung out or even worked, then maybe he could arrange a casual meeting without appearing too desperate. A casual meeting where he would be direct and tell her exactly what he wanted. By comparison, calling her up on the phone and asking her out for dinner seemed so tame when he really just wanted to get her naked. Naked and sweaty, and hopefully very, very wet.
Besides, a traditional courtship was frankly beyond him right now. He wanted to spend time with her, yes, and get to know her too. He wasn’t a complete animal. But mostly he just wanted to bury himself in her body and forget about the past. If that was slightly creepy behavior then he was okay with that. Sometimes there’s a fine line between creepy and romantic. And if walking that line gave him another chance at spending some time with her then he swore to himself he would not pussy out this time. Serena was right. That had been a big mistake.
“Don’t get me wrong, Jay. I would love it if you got together with her, or her mother, or the crazy cat lady on Third Avenue, for that matter. You’ve been a bear for months now, and personally, I think that semen retention headache of yours would go away if you got a little action.”
He cringed. “Please don’t ever say the word ’semen’ in my presence again.”
“Semen, Semen. Semen. Semen. Grow up, Jay.”
He rubbed his temples as if he actually did have a headache. “When did you become the sexpert anyway? Geez. You haven’t exactly been dating up a storm lately yourself. Besides, if you want me to get together with her then why wouldn’t you give me her number?”
“Frankly, because you don’t deserve it.”
He felt his temper flaring up again, but kept it firmly under control. If he started yelling at Serena on the street, she would just get in her car and flip him the bird as she drove off. He’d never find out what she was getting at. “Quit playing games, Ess, and tell me what you mean,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Well, Mr. Socially-challenged, tell me something. When you meet new people. Especially attractive people of the opposite gender. What are you supposed to do? I’m positive your mom tried to teach you basic manners so this should come easy to you.”
He looked at her blankly. He really didn’t know.
“You introduce yourself, dummy. Even if she wanted to get hold of you she couldn’t. You are so screwed. And not in the fun way.”
Jackson cursed, loudly and creatively. How could he not have introduced himself? Where was his brain? In his shorts, evidently. The truth was that he hadn’t planned on talking to Lacey and her mother at all. He’d been grilling Serena about prospective buyers for his row-house unit when the pair had walked in. He was about to slip out the patio door before he could get entangled in a time-wasting conversation, but then Lacey had reached out and ran both her hands over that granite countertop in a gesture so sensual he’d felt his mouth go dry and a chuckle escape him before he was even aware of it. That was it. All thoughts of escape had left him. He was intrigued.
But Serena didn’t have that excuse. “Why the hell didn’t you introduce me?” He demanded, running both hands through his longish hair.
“I thought you were planning on fleeing the scene if anyone came in. Why would I introduce you when you’re usually so rude to possible buyers?”
“I am not rude. I’m busy. There’s a difference.”
“You’re just pissed off because you blew it with that girl and now you’re trying to blame it on me. Well, do you want to know what I think?”
“No, I really, really don’t.”
“What I think is that the next time you meet someone you like, you need to man up and say what you want. That whole ’objective opinion’ bullshit you were trying to feed her was weak, and you know it. It’s beneath you, Jay. And so is trying to make this my fault.” Serena poked him in the chest three times for emphasis, and smiled when she saw he was finally speechless. At least for a moment or two.
“Alright, Dr. Phillis. Now what do I do to fix it?”
“I have no idea. But I bet you won’t make the same mistake next time.”
Jack groaned as he watched Serena fold herself into her car and gun the engine. With a wave she pulled away from the curb and he watched yet another woman drive away from him. He seemed to be doing that a lot today.
Like Lacey, Serena couldn’t help glancing in her rear view mirror as she pulled away. Jay wasn’t watching her as he had when the petite brunette had left earlier. Then he’d looked like a dejected little boy. Right now, he looked enraged. All in all, she preferred it when he was spitting nails. It was a vast improvement over the indifference that had plagued him since his wife and unborn son had been in a car accident more than a year and a half ago.
After his initial heartbreaking grief had subsided, his coldness had grown more and more pervasive. It defined him. With the exception of the occasional flashes of rage he exhibited toward any lazy or dishonest workmen unfortunate enough to cross his path, he was positively robotic. No one had seem him exhibit a single bit of humor or humanity in all that time. It was genuinely frightening what loss could do to a person.
Jack had always been hard-working and serious, but after the accident, he became like a man possessed. Whatever playfulness and warmth he’d possessed simply disappeared. He worked constantly. Not 12 hour days, but more like 16 or even 18. Serena was fairly certain that he didn’t even sleep in the gorgeous house he’d built for his wife, Deborah. Most evenings he just showed up at one of his brother’s homes after he couldn’t work anymore and fell asleep on their couch in his clothes. Then, he disappeared like a thief in the night before anyone got up.
He didn’t show up for family gatherings and screened all of his calls. If he did return a voicemail it was always work-related. And forget about email or texting. He could not be bothered. Any attempt at a personal conversation with him resulted in a change in subject or worse, a cold stare followed by an abrupt departure. This Jack was not a fun guy. In fact, he was a bit of a prick.