Upside Down(57)

“Are you kidding?” I asked, opening the gate to my townhouse. “Your friends are great.”

We got inside and I flipped the lights on, shut the door behind us, and pulled him into my arms. “I had a great night. Your friends are funny as hell. I can see why you like Angus.”

“He’s one of a kind, that’s for sure.”

“Can I get you a drink or take your coat?”

He shook his head. “No. You could kiss me though.”

I laughed and cupped his face before bringing our lips together. It was soft and warm and tender, and it made my knees weak. Eventually I pulled away, smiling at the dazed look on his face. “We could move to the couch? I have a lot of Deep Space Nine episodes to catch up on. Maybe we could make out some more? Hold hands? Cuddle?”

He nodded, so I took his hand and led him to the couch. One episode later, we were lying down—me on my side, Jordan at my front—but he seemed distracted. “You okay?” I asked.

He nodded but scooted up so our faces were close, and this time he kissed me. I let him lead and set the pace, but we pressed together and it was suddenly very intimate. He deepened the kiss, and as soon as our lips met, there was a hint of tongue, and he pulled me closer against him, tangling his tongue with mine and moaning into my mouth.

His reaction surprised me. It wasn’t entirely unwelcome. We both liked to kiss, that much had been established, but I think his reaction surprised him even more. He pulled back and there was fear in his eyes. He put his hand to his lips. “Oh God, I’m sorry.” He swallowed hard and scrambled off the couch to get to his feet. He looked around the room, scared as hell, before taking a step back. “Um, I don’t know where that came from.”

He looked about two seconds from bolting out the door. “Jordan,” I said softly, sitting up. “Don’t apologise for kissing me like that. You can kiss me like that any time you like.”

He squinted his eyes shut before scrubbing his hand over his face. “Maybe I should go,” he said. “I… I need to go.”

I stood up, confused by his reaction, but before I could reply, my phone buzzed in my pocket with an incoming call. I ignored it. “Why? Did I do something wrong?” I asked him. I wanted to reach out and touch his arm but didn’t want to startle him even more.

“No, no,” he answered quickly. “It’s just, I um…”

“You weren’t prepared for your own reaction to kissing me like that?” I prompted.

He barked out a laugh and shifted his weight on his feet, a little panicky. “Something like that.”

My phone rang again and I groaned as I took it out of my pocket. It was Michael. Knowing it was more than likely work-related—if it was conversational, he’d text me first—I really should have answered his call, but Jordan was right there in front of me and kind of freaking out, so I let it go to voicemail.

“Please don’t go,” I said. “Can we talk about what’s wrong? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He licked his lips and he was about to say something when my phone rang again. I considered throwing it across the room, but three calls back-to-back from Michael meant it was something important.

“I’m sorry, I have to take this,” I said, hitting Answer.

Jordan nodded. But the way he bit his lip and shoved his hands in the back pocket of his jeans told me he was on edge. He stopped closer to the door.

“Hennessy,” Michael said in my ear.

“Michael, what’s up?” I said, not taking my eyes from Jordan. “Please don’t go,” I whispered to him.

“Everything okay?”

“Um, now’s not a good time.”

“Oh, man, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Michael continued. “But it’s Rob. He just got home to find his place ransacked. They took his laptops.”

My heart sank and I sighed. “Fuck. You at the office?”

“On my way as we speak.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen,” I said and disconnected the call. Jordan had got the gist of the phone call, but I needed to explain. “That account I was hoping to wrap up this week? Well, there’s just been a massive security breach. I have to go.”

He nodded quickly. “Yeah, that’s fine. It’s probably for the best. I really should be going anyway. I can see myself out.”

He had to step around me to get to the door, so I grabbed his arm. “Jordan.” He looked at me and there was a look of resignation on his face. “What just happened? What did I do wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then talk to me.”

“I had a great night. The best, really. But I think I need some time… And I don’t think I can be what you need, or something. I don’t even know.”

“What does that mean?”

He shook his head, pulled his arm away, and took a step to the door. “I should let you go. You have to go anyway.”

“I’ll have the taxi drop you off. On my way to the city,” I tried, thinking it would give us time to talk in the car.

“My place isn’t on the way. It’s the opposite direction,” he said. “It’s fine, I can get home. No big deal.”

“Jordan…” I shook my head, not knowing how to fix this.