2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Nick

S pending the rest of the tree lighting ceremony in the drunk tank was not how I’d anticipated my night going.

However, we’d been extraordinarily dumb to go streaking in “please give me frostbite” weather, and I was concerned my balls had shriveled off. My fingers and toes must’ve taken permanent damage. I’d have to upgrade to those bionic limbs I’d always dreamed of.

Jordan sat in the seat next to me, looking effortlessly unbothered. His dark hair was windswept, his blue eyes sharp. His full lips always had a curl to them like he smirked, and the devil-may-care attitude had dropped panties from the moment he’d hit puberty. Jordan so much as breathed in a girl’s direction, and he ended up with a new girlfriend.

Meanwhile, my track record with the guys in town had gone so far as getting me banned from the hardware store. There wasn’t even another fucking hardware store for a half-hour drive outside of town. Clearly, I was better off keeping my cock in my pants.

“How fucked do you think we are?” I nudged Jordan’s shoe with mine. At least the sheriff had let us retrieve our clothes. Probably more for his sake than ours .

Sheriff Morgan stepped back into the room. His dispatcher and boyfriend, Ben, leaned against the doorframe. Guilt shot through me. They hadn’t planned to be here. We’d been pulling a dumbass stunt, sure, but we hadn’t meant to inconvenience anyone.

“You two are lucky,” the sheriff said, his brows pulled together in a a menacing as fuck scowl. “Asher doesn’t care to press charges that you were streaking across his ranch. However, you pulled me and Ben from enjoying the town tree lighting ceremony together, and I sure as hell could put you up on charges of public indecency.”

“Is it public if—” Jordan started, and I slapped my hand over his mouth. My god, I was going to smack him.

“We’re listening,” I said.

Ben tried to hide his smirk, but I noticed.

“So I’m letting you off this once with community service,” Sheriff Morgan said. “Pull this shit again, and I’m not liable to be so lenient. Turns out, the committee for the Collier’s Creek Christmas Bash is down a few members this year, so you two will be signing up for every damn shift available.”

I withheld my groan. It wasn’t that I hated Christmas, but the forced cheer of the Bash tended to hit hard. I’d always wanted to spend the holiday with a boyfriend and ended up single instead. Not like I was having a midtwenties crisis. Okay, maybe a little. Because the pickings were slim in Collier’s Creek, and I wasn’t looking for an out-of-towner for a fling.

No, I wanted the real deal.

Which would be more difficult to find as a hardened criminal who got in trouble for…streaking.

“Mrs. Collins is aware I’m not crafty, right?” Jordan sat a little straighter .

“You’re there to pick up heavy shit and move whatever needs moving,” the sheriff said in a no-nonsense tone I wasn’t about to debate.

I flicked Jordan in the side before he could mouth off even more. I’d known the guy since grade school, and if the opportunity arose to challenge authority, he’d always, always take it. Normally, I found that attitude kind of hot, but right now, I wanted him to shut the fuck up and agree.

“We’re good with that. Absolutely.” I nodded to the point I’d all but become a bobblehead.

Ben smirked again, which made me feel like the sheriff’s growly facade was for show, but I sure as fuck wouldn’t be the one testing the theory.

“What am I processing all this goddamn paperwork for?” Dakota Hamarsson stepped into the room, looking just as grumpy as the sheriff.

“These two miscreants got caught streaking.” Ben waggled his brows.

Well, at least someone found this funny. Jordan’s eyes glimmered. Two someones.

“That’s what I’m wasting my night on?” Dakota plunked into the desk and rummaged through the papers.

“Sorry,” Sheriff Morgan said. “Ben and I got interrupted right in the middle of our date.” He fixed us with another stare. “So, where will the two of you be tomorrow?”

“Work,” Jordan said, and I flicked him in the side again. He shot me an annoyed look, but I didn’t give a damn. “And then town hall, for whatever the committee needs me for.” Everyone expected me to be the shit-stirrer—long hair, tattoos, and punk attire that, in my opinion, never went out of fashion. However, Jordan had me beaten in the trouble category, and now he’d dragged me down with him .

“Good,” Sheriff Morgan said. “Now, scram. I want to enjoy the rest of my night, not deal with more bullshit.”

“I can drop you off,” Ben offered. He looked at Sheriff Morgan. “You need a few minutes here first?”

“Yeah.” He huffed out a sigh. “By the time you loop around, I’ll be ready to go.”

I took the cue and all but launched myself out of my seat. I didn’t bother to wait for Jordan to mosey on along after me because I knew he’d be joining shortly.

Dakota had picked up the phone, but I only caught scraps of his conversation.

“You’ll never guess the scoop I have right now…”

The moment I stepped outside the station, the icy air reminded me of the one thing I’d appreciated while I was inside the building—fucking warmth. We slipped into Ben’s car, clinging to the blast of heat, but in a few short minutes, we were back in town.

Ben pulled to a stop. “You’ll be able to get home safely from here?”

“Yeah, we can handle it,” I said, embarrassment squeezing my chest. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Thanks, man.” Jordan hopped out first. I followed him, and Ben’s car peeled away. We began to walk down the main sprawl of town, and for the life of me, I wasn’t quite sure what we were doing.

I stopped midstride, and Jordan thumped into me.

“What’s wrong?” He slipped past me and, in one slick maneuver, pivoted around to face me.

“I want somewhere warm, but I’m not ready to go home yet.” Home was empty, and without my sister, Amanda, there, the loneliness had been eating away at me more than ever. I couldn’t escape the reminders either, with all the planning for her upcoming wedding and the fact that I was miserably dateless .

“I’m not ready to go home either,” Jordan muttered, spearing his fingers through his thick, dark strands. “Fucking Hal and Chad hung us out to dry.”

“More booze or food to soak up the booze?” I asked, though I knew where I leaned. My stomach was empty as fuck, and the cozy warmth from the whisky had dissipated from the cold and subsequently getting caught.

“I want pancakes.” Jordan headed down the sidewalk. “Let’s go to Fox’s.”

Thank fuck Fox’s was right down the street from where Ben had dropped us off. Neither of us was in any shape to drive yet, even though my state of drunkenness had drastically decreased, and we weren’t in a great state for a long walk either. At least I wasn’t. The less time I had to spend outside, the better. I was pretty sure my cock still retreated inside my body after our idiotic streaking stint.

“I’m going to kill Hal and Chad when we get home,” Jordan said as we coasted along the sidewalk.

“Come on, you’d have pulled the same shit they did.” I elbowed him in the side.

His scowl tugged down his lips. “I might start a lot of shit, but I see it through.”

He wasn’t wrong. Jordan was well acquainted with all the authority figures in town because he’d been challenging them from an early age. His older brother, Coop, always had his hands full, trying to keep Jordan out of trouble. And typically, he dove in and out of mayhem with the same devil-may-care grin on his face, so his current attitude…Something must’ve irked him.

“You do.” I got the gist of what might be eating at him. “I know you wouldn’t have ditched. It’s why I’ve been getting in trouble beside you for…how many years now? ”

Jordan smirked, the wicked grin back. And damn, that transition was lethal. He was far too fucking attractive with that spark in his eyes. I’d shut off most of those feelings years ago. Jordan was straight as they came, but once in a while, the force of his dynamic personality mixed with those heartbreaker looks lobbed me right in the stomach.

“You act like you’re innocent to it all,” he teased, his voice low and sexy. “When you’re just as much of a troublemaker as me.”

I arched a brow. “We both know no one in this town is more of a troublemaker than you.”

Jordan flipped me the finger and sped up. He opened the door to Fox’s and gestured. “After you.”

I shook my head, warmth spreading in my chest. As I walked in, heat blasted at me, and I almost sagged in relief. The scent of coffee wound my way, along with the rich scents of roasted meat and cheese. The place was well lit, a hearth-like beacon amid the winter weather, and the white walls and wooden rafters kept the place bright. Most of the tables were filled, since anyone who stayed out after the tree lighting would be going to the few restaurants we had scattered through Collier’s Creek.

However, our bullshit escapades and subsequent time with the sheriff had meant we’d missed the family rush, so finding a seat was easy. And thank fuck too. My stomach growled. The whisky on top of eating rice cakes and habanero pepper jam on top of stress made me hungry as hell.

“Heard the sheriff’s right pissed at you,” Fiona said, approaching with her menus.

“Word’s spread that fast?” I groaned and scrubbed my hands over my face. “We just left there.”

“He was here when he got the call.” Fiona shook her head, but her eyes twinkled. “Cursed up a storm, all while Ben was cackling. ”

“Glad I could provide some entertainment for the night,” Jordan said, his tone switching to smooth and flirty, even though Fiona was about thirty years older than him and married to Mae, the owner and head cook.

“You’re lucky to still be in one piece,” Fiona said, shaking her head. “Come on. Let’s get the two of you fed.”

“Pancakes,” Jordan said. “I need a stack.”

She sat us at one of the open booths along the sides of the restaurant while four-seater round tables decorated the middle. “Want menus, or do you know your order?”

“Breakfast platter for me,” I said, not bothering with the menu. “And coffee for both of us.”

Fiona nodded and clutched the menus as she walked over to the kitchen. The layout was partially open, so a glimpse over there showed Mae hard at work.

Someone in the booth over started belting out George Michael’s “Freedom,” and I glanced over. Colton and Will were singing, both of them with shit-eating grins on their faces.

I lifted my middle finger. “Lesson learned. I’ll be lucky if my balls ever recover.”

“Welcome to being the talk of the town.” Jordan leaned back. “I’m surprised you haven’t gotten into more trouble before now.”

I shook my head. As much as I looked like the sort of guy who did, Jordan was the one who thought of these hare-brained ideas I couldn’t help but go along with. I got bored easily though, and he was by far the most interesting person in this town. People could say what they wanted about Jordan, but time spent with him was always fun, which could be a rarity in a quiet place like this.

“I don’t need more notoriety,” I said. “I’m still banned from the hardware store. ”

“That’s because dating around here is the pits.” Jordan let out a groan. “Ever since Leah and I split, I’ve been in a Sahara drought.”

I cocked my brow. “Oh, boohoo, poor straight guy with too many options. Try being gay and hitting the apps around here.”

Jordan snorted. “Dunno, seems to me Collier’s Creek’s like a queer oasis in Wyoming.”

“Yeah, want to compare droughts?”

Jordan snorted. “No. You’re probably getting dicked down left and right. Long hair for tugging and all that ink? It’s like gay boy crack.”

A sharp laugh escaped me. “Dammit, J. You’re straight. What do you know about what gay boys want?”

He shrugged. “Hot is hot.”

I blinked and then blinked again. Those words couldn’t possibly have come out of Jordan Ellis’s mouth. Heat traveled through my body, settling on my cheeks. My skin danced with electricity like I neared a live wire.

Jordan had just called me hot. Was I still drunk?

I’d tamped down the attraction over the years because it was pointless, but now everything came roaring to the forefront with a dizzying force. He’d said it in such a cavalier way, like it was fact, not a complete blindside he called me hot.

“Okay, you can’t tell me that when I haven’t gotten laid in a year ,” I said, trying to save face. My heart thumped in double time, and all the heady adrenaline swirled through my veins.

He blinked. “A fucking year? That’s a crime. Can’t you hop on an app and get blown?”

I huffed out a breath. “While we have some visitors coming through, it’s not the same as if I were in a big city or some shit. Anyway, can’t you?”

“Fuck, if only. I’d kill for that right now. I’m so pent up I could scream.” His gorgeous blue eyes were a little more intense tonight, and I couldn’t stop looking at him. My mouth went dry, and I could only blame the direction of my libido on the fact that he’d kicked open the door by calling me hot.

“Want me to take care of that for you?” I teased. Oh, shit. My stomach dropped. The words had flown out of my mouth before I could yank them back, but hopefully, Jordan would shrug it off, the same way he did most things.

His gaze met mine.

“Okay.”