Taking a seat opposite me on the white leather bench seat, he leans back and rests his arm on the top of the seat, lifting his leg to rest his ankle on his knee. I shake my head, earning a grin.
“What?” he asks with a smirk.
“You know what.”
“Yeah, I do. I can’t help it. It’s what I do, Mac.”
“And you do it so damn well. No wonder you get paid to flirt.”
I notice his smile fade and his body tense up. Shit! What did I say wrong?
“There’s more to me than just a pretty face and a fit body. You of all people should know that,” he says curtly.
“Of course, Zan. Hey, where’s this coming from?” I ask, shocked by his overreaction.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
“No, don’t dismiss me. What’s going on?” I’m not letting this one slide. Zander is one of the most down to earth guys you could ever meet. He has never felt the need to defend his profession to anyone, especially me.
He takes a long swig of his bottle of Corona, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m thinking about a change of scenery, work wise.” He looks over the table at me intently, gauging my reaction.
“Wow, Zan, that is awesome. I know you’ve wanted to branch out for a while now. So what do you wanna do then?”
“I’ve just been accepted into the Chicago Police Department’s basic recruit training,” he says cautiously, watching me closely for a reaction.
“Zander, that is f**king fantastic news. Holy crap, you’re gonna be a cop!” I shriek ecstatically as I jump up and move around the table to hug the life out of him.
He wraps his free arm around me, returning my hug with equal enthusiasm while sighing with relief.
“Hey,” I say, standing up and moving back a step to look at him. “Why the hell were you holding your breath? I’m not that scary.”
“No, but honestly, you’re the first person I’ve told. I only found out today,” he says sheepishly.
I whack his arm with the back of my hand before moving back to my seat. “Dude, you’re gonna be a cop. That is awesome! Now that deserves a toast!” I clink my glass against his beer bottle and go to take a sip, but the smell of the lemon drop makes me cringe before it’s even hit my lips.
Zander sees me put my glass down on the table without drinking from it and looks over at me with a puzzled expression. “What’s wrong?”
“I dunno. Just don’t feel like it for some reason.”
“You okay, Mac? You said you wanted to talk to me?”
“Ah, yeah,” I say, shifting in my seat, my earlier bravado dissipating.
“Everything okay?” he asks, concern covering his face.
“Yeah, I mean no, but… oh!” I brush back my hair from my face, trying to summon up the courage to say the words I mean to say. “I can’t have sex with you anymore,” I spit out, covering my eyes with my hands, bracing myself.
“I know.”
My eyes snap open, and I look over at him. “You know?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, Mac. I got that impression when you froze up a few weeks ago when I kissed you, and how you couldn’t get home quick enough. When I dropped Kate home later that night and you weren’t home, I figured something was up.”
“Oh.” I should have known he’d pick up on my awkwardness.
“So, I’m guessing you’ve met someone, or you’re not feeling it with me anymore. Either way, I’m okay with it, babe. We’re friends first, the mind blowing sex was just an added bonus,” he adds with a wink.
I can’t help but grin. “Wow, this is a lot easier than I thought.” I’m actually relieved. I should have known that Zander would be the easiest to talk to. He always has been. Maybe it’s that we’re close in age, or simply that it’s always been casual between us. No schedule, no planning, always spur of the moment kind of thing.
“So, which is it?” he asks, snapping me back into reality.
“Ah, a guy. He’s kind of thrown me for a loop.”
“Thought so,” he muses, smiling as he lifts his beer bottle. “About damn time.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, floored by what he just said.
“You’ve been rather quiet for the past few months, and you turned me down a few weeks ago. The Mac I know wouldn’t do that if she wasn’t being turned inside out by a man. And you deserve that, babe. You’re a catch, a hot little pocket rocket of awesome that deserves to be loved.” The smile on his face when he says that is indescribable. He looks happy for me, truly happy.
“I hope so,” I say forlornly.
“Hey now, why the long face? You should be glowing. Maybe a little bit girly, giggly even?”
I quirk an eyebrow at him questioningly. “Girly and giggly, Zan? Me?”
“If he makes you happy, then yeah, girly and giggly. That’s how my sisters act when they’re mooning over a boy.”
“I’m not a teenager Zan.”
“You know what I mean.”
“He does make me happy. Well, he did, but then I ran away. Twice. The last thing he said was not to come back until I know what and who I want.”
“Dude! What did you do?”
“Freaked out when he told me he loved me.”
“That’ll do it,” he mutters.
“Anyway, enough about me. What is going on between you and Kate?”
He chokes on his beer. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, why does she change the subject when I mention your name. You didn’t f**k her, did you? Cause that would be kinda gross in a ‘stirring the pot’ kind of way.”
“No, I didn’t sleep with her, and thanks for the visual, by the way. There was a situation at the bar, we dealt with it, and I dropped her home. End of.”
“End of? What happened? She won’t talk about it, or you.”
His face drops. “She doesn’t want to talk about me?”
“She just changes the subject back to me. Did you come on to her, and she rejected you?”
“Hell no!” he says vehemently. “Kate is a knock out. A real firecracker. I’d be a fool not to see that but no I didn’t, and she didn’t. Just leave it Mac, I’m sure she’s fine. She was really drunk, and she’s probably just embarrassed.”
“Okay, if you say so,” I retort skeptically.