Find Me in Manhattan (Finding #3) (9 page)

“Okay…” She seemed skeptical.

When she closed the door behind her, I felt myself imagining what was behind that door and wishing I could go back there.
Shit.
I knew I was in trouble. Not only was she beautiful, but I wanted to protect her from anyone who could hurt her. I could already feel myself breaking my cardinal rule.
Do not get attached
.

I should have walked right back out her door.

Sarah

For the first time since I left Alabama, I put on my jeans. My designer jeans were soft and fit like a glove, so I chose them. I knew I shouldn’t want the hottie soldier, but something about him was out of the ordinary, and at this point in my life, I needed something to break the pattern. I was tired of trying to hand my heart out to all the wrong guys. Every time I allowed myself a peek at a certain Sergeant, I knew for certain that I was in trouble. Now was positively not the time for me to meet my dream man.

Lana had texted me as I was trying to get a cab saying she was stuck in the lab, so when Michael offered a drink, I felt like it was a sign from God that I should go with him. I might have also wanted to avoid being alone for a little while, but I was sure God was in on it, too. He knew darn well that if I had the chance to think, I would end up reliving my hellacious day. That wouldn’t have been productive for anyone.

Once dressed in jeans, as requested, and a lacy cream top with a jacket thrown over it, I headed back to the living room only to find the hot sergeant taking in the colorful paintings Lana had used to decorate out living area. “Ready?” I asked. “I mean if you still want to get that drink.”

“Yeah. These yours?” He gestured to the brightly colored abstracts that only the strangest people could figure out.

I laughed at the ridiculous notion that the blobs of bright paint would be mine. “Absolutely not. My roommate loves them. I think it’s the only color she allows in her life other than her hair.”

“These are…interesting.”

“They don’t make any sense.”

Now he was laughing with me. “Okay, good. I thought it was just me.”

“I don’t get ‘em, but to be honest, I don’t really understand my roommate, Lana, either.” I pulled out my compact and reapplied my lip-gloss. As expected, he pretended not to watch.

“You want to go for coffee or a drink?” he asked while staring at the painting intently. It seemed he was trying to absorb the painting, but I knew he was trying not to watch me. The painting was not that interesting, not to mention the tension in his jaw and the way his hands were jammed in his pockets were a big clue that his mind was in the gutter.

“I need a drink, and I think you could use one as well.”

“Definitely,” he agreed and looked at his watch. He had seemed fidgety for a moment before he cursed. “Shit. I go to this thing every Thursday. Would you be interested in having that drink at a poker night at my friend’s house?”

I almost felt relieved. I wasn’t going to be stuck drinking alone with him. We’d have his friends to break the tension.

“Only one problem,” he said as I locked the door and led us down the stairs.

“Oh?”

“My bike’s at the VA, and we need it.”

“Your bike? Like a bicycle?”

He laughed. “No. Not a bicycle. Motorcycle. Ducati Diavel Carbon. Killer bike.”

“Killer, huh?”

“Laugh now. Wait ‘til you ride on it.”

“Am I riding on it?”

“If you’re up for it.”

I broke out into a wide smile. This was exactly what I needed. Adventure. “Sure. I’m up for it.”

“Good. Let’s go.” He grabbed my hand and started heading back to the subway.

“We can get a cab if you want,” I suggested. “Even I can wave them down on this side of town.”

“Nah. Subway is easier at this time of day.” I wasn’t sure if that was true, but it didn’t matter to me. I was enjoying having him around, not to mention he was still holding my hand.

Michael

I shot off a quick text to Phil to let him know who was coming with me. He’d had his interview the week before, so I thought he’d appreciate the heads up. He responded with a simple,
cool
, and that was that.

I was both excited and nervous about having Sarah on the back of my bike. She wasn’t the first woman I’d ever allowed, but I couldn’t get the idea of her pressed tightly against my back out of my mind. After this night was over, I’d have that memory to keep me company.

I gave her the rundown on what to do and what not to do then dropped my helmet on her head and buckled it. She had no fear. Sarah climbed on the bike right behind me and scooted as close as she could, so we were both securely on the bike. It felt good to have her arms wrapped tightly around my middle and her legs on either side of mine. I had to remind myself not to run my hand up her thigh and focus on getting us to Phil’s safely.

I pulled up to the blue house on the corner. As I helped Sarah of the bike and with her helmet, she beamed up at me. “I take it you liked the ride?”

“It was killer,” she said, teasing me.

“You have the look.”

“What look?”

“The I-just-had-a hot-bike-between-my-thighs look.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize that was a thing.”

“It’s a thing all right.”

She crossed her arms and thought for a moment. “How do I recognize this look? Do you have it?” She stepped forward, examining me for “the look.” Little miss professional was flirting with me.

I stood a few inches taller than her when I stepped closer to her. We were almost chest-to-chest, so I had to tilt my chin down to hold eye contact. “It looks like you just had the best orgasm of your life, but you’re still fully dressed. Not to mention the bike you were just straddling is a huge hint.”

“Huh.” She seemed to be taking the conversation seriously, but the little twinkle in her eye told me that she was enjoying the banter just as much as I was. “So, you’re telling me that the only thing that causes this glazed-over look with a happy grin is that bike because I have my clothes on? I don’t know who you’ve been with before, but I certainly don’t need to take my clothes off or have a bike between my legs to make that look happen. Besides, I’m pretty sure I was just straddling you as well.”

She patted my chest then started for the front door. I stood by my bike stunned by her once again. If I hadn’t been completely enamored with her before, the sly reference to her orgasm would have done it.

I quickly moved to catch up with her on the sidewalk where she was trying to fix her hair, even though the helmet didn’t seem to do any damage. “You look fine. Come on; let’s go play some poker. You ever play cards?” I took her hand in mind not even thinking twice about it. She wrapped her fingers around mine like it was natural for her as well, so I didn’t recognize my screw up until I made it to the door where Amy was standing there with her arms crossed and resting on her belly.

“Once or twice,” Sarah answered my question while smiling sweetly up at Amy.

I let go of her hand to let her go ahead of me. “Sarah, this is Amy, Phil’s wife. You interviewed Phil last week.”

“Oh, yes. Nice to meet you, Amy.” She held her hand out to my pregnant friend with the friendliest smile. “Your house is beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Amy smiled and gave me a surprised look. “Come on in and meet the guys. I’m going to have to give them all bibs when they see you.”

“Why’s that?” Sarah frowned.

Amy shook her head and held the door. “You’ll see.”

Phil came rolling up with a huge smile on his face. “Well, well, well, look who we have here. Nice to see you again, Miss Grant.”

“You as well, Sergeant,” she flirted back. For some reason, I felt the need to keep my hand on her lower back to remind her that I was there.

“Mikey.” He nodded at me with an amused grin. I flipped him off behind Sarah’s head, and he laughed. “Come meet the guys, Sarah.” He turned his chair around and wheeled further into the house. “Jay! Moretti! Come meet Sarah.”

“Yowzer! Wish I were part of that study now. Maybe I should reconsider college if they have girls like you enrolled,” Moretti said while looking Sarah up and down in that sleazy way of his. He was wearing a t-shirt that said, “Any hole is a goal,” which would normally be funny, but I didn’t want Sarah seeing such crudeness from my friends. She was elegance with a little bit of dirty for dessert. Moretti was trash with a little bit of class on special occasions, if then.

Jay saved the day by slapping Moretti on the back of the head. “Shut up. You’re freaking her out.” He stepped around Tony and held his hand out. “I’m Jay. Feel free to ignore Tony. We do.”

“Nice to meet y’all,” she said with a nervous laugh, and I felt my body respond to that accent and giggle. This was going to be a long night.

“Let’s play,” I said and pushed Sarah forward toward the table. “What would you like to drink?”

He big blue eyes met mine, and I had the urge to press my lips to hers. Instead, I stepped toward the kitchen to get some breathing room.

“Whatever you’re having will be fine.”

“Beer?” I asked suspiciously. The truth would come out. How high maintenance would she be? Girls always acted agreeable until you offered them a beer and they actually wanted something fruity.

She picked up the cards and started shuffling then said, “Sounds great.”

Beer it was. The true test would be if she actually drank it.

In the kitchen, Amy smiled knowingly but never said a word as I pulled out two beers. “What?” I said and found myself smiling as well.

“She’s not a date, is she?”

“No,” I admitted regrettably.

“How’d you talk her into coming, then?”

“After the interview, I helped her out. I think she only agreed because she didn’t want to go home after what happened.”

“What happened?” She had her worried mom expression wrinkling her forehead, but the loud laughter from the other room reminded me of where I needed to be.

“Nothing. Come on. Let’s go rescue the Southern belle from Moretti.”

Amy grinned as she carried a tray of nachos out to the table.

I set the beer down in front of Sarah, and she immediately took a sip. I almost groaned at the way her lips wrapped around the bottle. This girl was everything. She looked like a champagne drinker, smiled like she deserved a Shirley Temple, and shuffled cards like she could throw back a whiskey better than most men. Yet, here she was
,
sipping a beer and making me desperately wish I were that bottle. If my life were different, I would have done anything to keep her.

Sarah

“So, you’re going to be a doctor?” Jay asked. He was a handsome guy with gelled hair and a smile that probably put some orthodontist’s kid through college.

“Yes, a Ph.D., not a medical doctor.”

“But we can still call you doctor, right?” Tony, the flirt with the tacky t-shirt asked.

“Only if you’re good.” I winked. His face froze, and I could tell he thought I was serious.
Some people…

“Really?” he asked a little too excitedly.

I leaned closer and set my chin on my hand. He leaned in as well. “No,” I told him and sat back in my seat. The other guys went wild, and a second later, Michael came back in the room with Amy trailing behind him.

“And here I thought they’d give
you
a hard time. You can come back anytime,” Amy told me as she lowered herself into the chair next to her husband.

“Why, thank you.”

The rest of the night was exactly what the doctor ordered. I felt right at home with this crew. It was almost like being back with Maggie, Parker, Max, and Becca. While I found myself missing my friends from Atlanta, I was thankful Michael invited me into his group. Amy was especially great. She and I connected and didn’t stop talking the whole night.

By the time the poker game was over, it was late. I didn’t even realize so much time had passed, and I had thankfully forgotten the events of the day. In fact, not one thought of Jameson crossed my mind until I received a text from Lana right while I was zipping up my jacket.

Don’t come home. Psycho is sitting in front of our building in a town car. Tried to follow me inside.

“What in tarnation?” I muttered to myself forgetting Michael was standing there.

“What’s wrong?”

“My roommate sent me a text. Jameson is waiting at the apartment for me.” I let out a deep breath. “Guess I should get this over with.”

“You’re not going back there so he can hurt you again.” His tone took me by surprise.

“What should I do then? I have to go home sometime. Maybe if I talk to him, he’ll leave me alone. The cops didn’t seem too interested in helping me out.” I knew Jameson wasn’t likely to leave me be, but I didn’t want or need Michael to worry about me.

Michael hesitated for a second then spoke. “Why don’t you come to my place tonight, and I’ll help you figure it out in the morning?”

I understood his hesitation. I was also skeptical of his suggestion. It sounded like a terrible idea considering the last place I should be with a study participant was his friend’s house for poker, let alone in his apartment.

“No thanks. I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

“I would feel better if you stayed at my place, at least until he cools off.”

Jameson apparently didn’t cool off. Then I realized that maybe he wasn’t ready to end our night together considering this would be our only one. “You want me to come home with you?”