10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Nick

I should be dreading community service, since it was supposed to be a punishment. Instead, I was looking forward to it. Not only did it offer the chance to see Jordan again, but it also reminded me that we were in this together the whole way through.

I stepped into the town hall, a hum of discussion weaving through the air. A few town regulars were here—Lucian and Arlo, Bibi, Gramps again with Mrs. Hendricks, JoBeth, and some of the other older folks. Big Rubbermaid containers were out and filled with what looked like tinsel, glittery balls, and any other type of Christmas decor you could think of.

A hand clapped down on my shoulder. “We’re decorating inside and outside town hall tonight.”

I didn’t need to glance back to know who it was. Jordan’s low, silken tone washed over me, and my adrenaline kicked up on reflex. “Let me guess. Us degenerates are on outdoor duty?”

Jordan snorted and let go of my shoulder to stand beside me. “How’d you know? ”

“Gramps is pretty much banned from ladders after his Beauty and the Beast sail across the book stacks, and we’re the young, strapping lads.”

Jordan’s gaze skimmed over me, the heat in his gaze so intense my body ignited. “Mmm, you’re definitely strapping.”

I licked my lips because after a once-over that hot, I was parched. Jordan’s eyes traced that too, and for a moment, I thought he was about to lean in and kiss me. My pulse sped up. Except we weren’t doing anything but hooking up in private.

Right. Bucket of ice water there.

I shouldn’t be entertaining anything more, but after the other night at the lake…yeah, my heart betrayed my logical plans.

“What are you doing after this?” Jordan asked.

I crooked an eyebrow. “Subtlety was never your forte.”

“Look, all I’m saying is my roommates are out tonight, and if we’re decorating outside, we’ll need to get warm afterward.”

“Oh, clearly logic operating here.”

Jordan’s eyes twinkled. “Maybe we can cross something else off the list…”

Ngh, damn. I was such a sucker for this man. And if he referred to penetration, I was dying to get dicked down tonight. “I could be persuaded.”

His grin widened, and oh damn, I was screwed. Something about the way his tousled dark hair always had a freshly fucked appearance, how his sharper canine poked out of his grin—the man was a grenade of attractiveness.

And what was worse? I fucking liked his personality too. The way Jordan livened every room he was in, how his humor lifted people up effortlessly, even if they didn’t realize it .

“Pretty sure you two should be out there decorating town hall, not sitting around chatting.” JoBeth lugged a Rubbermaid tote toward us.

I hustled forward to take it off her hands, embarrassment flushing through me. Right, this was a punishment, not a meetup spot. “We’ll get it decorated. Don’t worry.”

“I trust you more than that one.” She pointed at Jordan, even though a grin lingered on her features.

Defensiveness bristled inside me. After he’d admitted the townsfolks’ perception of him bothered him, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. “If anything, he’ll be keeping me in line.” With that, I clutched the Rubbermaid tote and headed toward the door. A tangle of cords and lights lay inside, which would work for decorating some of the smaller conifers and bushes around the building. The town hall had gotten strung with lights at the start of the season.

“Thank you,” Jordan said, his breath hot against my ear. A shiver ran down my spine. These slips of vulnerability from the man who rarely shared any with anyone were addicting, and I craved more time with him in any capacity I could get.

We stepped outside, and the brisk air stole my breath. Winters in Collier’s Creek were fierce, but we adjusted to them. Didn’t stop us from complaining though. Clouds blocked the stars tonight, but the streetlamps in front of the town hall offered plenty of light.

“Hand over the cords,” Jordan said. “I’ll get started on the untangling. You scope out the shrubbery we’re supposed to decorate.”

“You sure?” I asked. “That’s the worst job.”

Jordan waggled his brows. “Not for me. Working with my hands is where I excel.”

“Be still my cock.” I clutched my chest.

Jordan snorted and grabbed the first tangled coil from the box. I offered a lazy salute and went to the nearest bush to scope out where would look best with lights. We worked so well together and with such ease I’d rarely found with anyone else. The more time we spent like this, the more my errant fantasies went wild.

Because I wanted a plus-one so damn badly, and not just for my sister’s wedding but in life.

My house was achingly empty, but the problem was more than a roommate would fix. I longed for this . This easy camaraderie and comfort and the explosive sex that brought me to my knees. I sucked in a sharp breath and cast a glance at Jordan, who unspooled the lights with ease. Watching the way his gloved hands moved sent a shiver down my spine.

Yeah, I couldn’t fucking wait for tonight.

I was pretty sure my dick was frozen.

By the time everyone else was leaving, Jordan and I had managed to get the entire exterior of the town hall decked out in multicolored lights, but I was chilled to the bone. We’d only been inside for a few breaks, and we hadn’t even talked much, spreading the work evenly. If I was heading home right after this, I might’ve been disappointed, but instead, I’d be going to Jordan’s house with a hell of a lot of promise waiting for me.

Running into Chad and Hal would be awkward as fuck, but Jordan had said they were both out drinking. The two of them wouldn’t be back until the bars closed, and that was if they didn’t find hookups to spend the night with. One could hope.

“Meet at my place?” Jordan asked. We stood in front of the town hall, admiring our handiwork. Most of the volunteers had cleared out, but we had to work our full shifts .

“Only if you promise your heater’s cranked,” I said. My heart thrummed. He stood so close our hands almost brushed, and part of me longed to reach out and take his hand in mine. Except I sure as fuck didn’t know where we stood, so I wouldn’t make that move.

“So high our bill’s outrageous,” Jordan said. “See you there.”

Then he leaned in and brushed a kiss on my temple.

Adrenaline coursed through me, and I touched the spot he’d kissed. Had that happened? Jordan hightailed it toward his truck, so I couldn’t ask him if that had been a delusion. But the way my skin stamped the feel of those lips to memory told me everything I needed to know.

He’d kissed me out in public. Just casual affection as if we shared this every day.

I swooned.

Goddamnit, Jordan made it harder by the second not to go all in. I wasn’t used to holding back with the guys I dated, and maybe that was what scared them away. But at any moment, these feelings would come gushing out of me, and he would bolt.

I forced myself to move and walked toward my car, my mind spinning.

It didn’t stop the entire drive to Jordan’s.

This was how I blew up my spot in town. I avoided the hardware store, watched for what bartenders were working at Jake’s and a few other guys I’d slept with kept appearing at any big social town event, which caused more awkwardness.

However, if this thing between Jordan and me went sour? It’d be different.

The fallout wouldn’t just be an irritation. It’d be devastation.

There wasn’t a part of Collier’s Creek we hadn’t run through as friends, and the footprints we made as fuck buddies were leaving even more marks on my memory. I couldn’t lose him as a friend, but I also couldn’t stop the train of feels barreling forward.

Jordan had always been the unexpected.

I clutched the steering wheel as I coursed down the familiar streets leading to his place. He was a thrill I hadn’t been able to quit, even on a friendship level, because he was also…safe.

The combination was so rare I’d clung on with all my might. But I’d never expected him to look my way. Hell, I’d smothered any errant hopes early on.

And now we weren’t just hooking up. No, he was whisking me away for a midnight rendezvous to…be together. He had kissed me on the cheek before he left.

Jordan was already a more attentive boyfriend than most of mine had been, and we weren’t even dating. When he eventually grew bored with the exploration and hightailed it to the next foxy chick who strolled into town—yeah, I’d be wrecked.

But I also couldn’t quit him now that we’d started.

I pulled up in front of Jordan’s house, which he rented with Hal and Chad. For years, it had been the three of them, the perpetual town bachelors, as half the town declared. And the declaration was founded on the fact that all of them were just chasing tail. None of the guys had been looking to settle down, and I’d figured I’d be coming to this house for parties until I was old and gray.

I turned off the ignition and sat for a moment. The light was on in the house, a cozy, beckoning glow through the windows. Except I needed a little longer to pick my sense of self-preservation off the floor. I should be focusing on finding a plus-one for my sister’s wedding, not fucking around in secret with Jordan Ellis.

However, I’d been chasing plus-ones for years, and that had been going nowhere .

This thing with Jordan was a firework, fast, furious, and guaranteed to detonate.

I needed to hold tight to this rare chance while I still had it.

I stepped out of my car, the cold smacking me in the face. Ugh, I needed heat something fierce. The stint in my car had only melted the surface layers, which were freezing all over again.

Fucking in my house was one thing, but going to Jordan’s… felt a little more real in a way nothing else had. Because this wasn’t just his place. He shared it with two other guys who could appear at any moment.

Why was I fucking around with a baby bi who wasn’t out?

Right, my dick had taken the wheel.

I didn’t bother knocking but opened the door. “Hey, J. Do you have anything warm to drink?” Bustling came from the kitchen. “And if you say cum, I’m going to kick you in the balls.”

When I stepped into the kitchen, the sight stopped me still. Their kitchen was messier than mine, the sink full and the counters cluttered, two mugs out, an open bottle of whisky, and the coffeemaker percolating. Yet, it was Jordan puttering around that held me captive. His shoulders were so broad, and he’d stripped off his shoes and socks. His bare feet against the hardwood looked more intimate than I could explain. His tee clung to his muscular torso, and his Levis were the sturdy sort he wore when he wasn’t in his mechanic jumpsuit.

Mmph, fuck, like I needed that image planted in my head.

He could bend me over any day in that.

“Irish coffees.” He snagged the half-and-half from his fridge, sniffed it, and wrinkled his nose. “Fuck that shit. Okay, coffee and whisky.”

A laugh slipped from me, and I unzipped my jacket and peeled off my gloves. The heat was cranked enough to melt my cheeks with the fierce burn that would soon subside. Coffee and whisky would be the perfect thing to warm me the rest of the way.

This was a side of Jordan I’d never anticipated, not with his impulsivity and how he seemed to change plans at the drop of a pin. Except this consideration was him. For as impulsive as he seemed, he still showed up for every family and friend birthday. He was reliable in ways people often forgot, the ones that mattered.

I walked up to him and pressed a kiss to his nape. Was that too intimate? Right now, I didn’t give a damn.

He turned around, wrapped his arms around my waist, and drew me in for a kiss. He tasted like whisky, which sparked my senses to life, and I drank it in. The soft press of his lips, the scrape of his stubble, how my insides exploded into butterflies from the simple kiss—he’d imprinted himself on my memory with zero effort.

Jordan nipped at my lower lip and then pulled back. “Okay, coffee to warm up, and then we’ll check the list.”

Right. My chest sank at the reminder. We were checking items off a list, which dwindled down by the day. I hadn’t asked Jordan what it would mean for us when it was done, mostly because I wanted to bury my head in the sand a little longer. Just live in this fantasy world, where I was coming home to a partner who’d fix me coffee and whisky to warm me, who’d offer the casual affection I craved.

Jordan passed me my coffee, and I took a sip. The heat exploded on my tongue, and as I drank it, the tingle of whisky melted me through. “So, what’s the next item you want to cross off?”

“I want to tap your pretty hole tonight,” Jordan said.

Holy fuck.

Lust incinerated me on the spot. “Yeah, we can make that happen.”

His wicked smile made his eyes twinkle, and damn, I’d follow that man anywhere.

“I’m going to have you screaming my name.”

I was in so much trouble.