Page 37 of Jagger
“This entire afternoon has been a royal pain in the butt. It feels like the day after Halloween or something, with the way the kids were all wired. It’s like the Twilight Zone. I have a date with Jagger tonight and I’m so worn out,” I griped, dropping my head onto his shoulder as we walked back down the hall to my classroom.
“Oh Lord, baby doll, you’ll need your energy for that. At least, I can only assume you will since you haven’t bothered to give me any down and dirty details.”
I laughed and shook my finger in his face. “I’m not going to, either. We’re not in high school anymore, remember? I think we’re too old for kiss-and-tell.”
Brad just pouted, which made me laugh at the absurdity of a six-foot-four wall of muscle with a buzz cut trying to give me puppy-dog eyes with his bottom lip stuck out.
“That’s not fair,” he whined as we entered my empty classroom, sounding incredibly like a small child. “I told you all about Drew the first time we had sex.”
“And I’ve never looked at him the same way again, thank you very much. I could have happily gone to my grave without the knowledge that your boyfriend has a Prince Albert piercing and bleaches his butthole!”
Brad threw back his head and laughed before conceding that maybe the bleaching was a little TMI. He helped me straighten up my classroom, and then walked me to my car, reminding me that if I wanted to take a picture or two of Jagger tonight, he wouldn’t be opposed to seeing them. I threatened to tell Drew, which did the trick to shut him up.
The drive home only took minutes, and as I pulled into my parking space in front of my building and turned off my car, I took a deep breath and tried to shake off my bad mood. I wanted to see Cole, but the idea of dressing up and going out to dinner didn’t appeal to me.
I dialed his number as I got out of the car and trudged toward the building entrance.
“Hi Angel,” he answered, and just hearing his low, rumbly voice on the other end of the phone made me feel a little better.
“Hey, um, can we change our plans a little tonight? I’m sorry it’s so last minute, but today has been really exhausting, and I’m not really feeling up to going out. Can we maybe just order in?”
“What’s wrong? Are you sick?” he asked, and I could hear the worry in his voice. I keyed in the code to open the building’s secured entrance and stopped in the lobby to check my mailbox.
“No, it was just one of those days, and I really just want to sip a glass of wine and prop my feet up.” I clutched the mail in my hand as I closed and locked the mailbox, holding my phone to my ear with my shoulder. “I just don’t think I have the energy to go anywhere tonight.”
“OK, so let’s scrap the restaurant then. I’ll pick something up and we can eat at your place.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” I asked, feeling bad about bailing on the restaurant again.
“Nope, besides, this way, I figure I can snuggle with you on the couch for a little while before dessert,” he teased. “Now, what sounds good for dinner? Chinese, a burger…”
“Chinese would be great. Fried rice and an egg roll for me please.”
“Ok, Angel, I’ll be there by seven. Go ahead and get comfortable, and I’ll see you in a bit.”
We hung up and I slipped the phone into my back pocket before unlocking my front door. I disarmed the alarm and dropped the mail and my purse onto the table inside the door, setting my messenger bag down next to it on the floor. I slipped off my sandals and kicked them out of the way, then headed straight for the kitchen to pour a glass of wine.
Forty minutes later, I had taken a bubble bath to relax, before reapplying a little bit of make-up and changing into leggings and a T-shirt. I had just poured another glass of wine when the buzzer rang from downstairs. When I answered, it was Cole, so I hit the button to let him in. I opened my apartment door and watched as he walked up the stairs holding two bags from the Chinese restaurant a block away. I didn’t have much of an appetite, but it smelled delicious.
“Hi Angel,” he greeted me, stopping to drop a soft kiss on my lips as he walked into my apartment. I shut the door and he immediately set the bags down on the entry table and pulled me into his arms, and I buried my face in his neck and hugged him as he held me tight. I felt him kiss the top of my head, then he brushed the hair out of my face to get a good look at me.
He narrowed his eyes as he looked me over. “Better now?” he asked with a smile.
I sighed and nodded slightly. “Yes. I’ll tell you about it over dinner. I just poured another glass of wine. Do you want one? I also have beer, water, and sweet tea.”
“I’m not much of a wine drinker, and I’ll hold off on the beer for now, but a glass of tea would be great.” I nodded and stepped around the small bar that separated the small kitchen from the living room.
“Got it. If you want to bring the bags over to the counter, I’ll grab plates and napkins. We can either eat at the table over there, or on the couch.”
Cole picked up the food bags from the entry table, and I heard a muttered curse. I popped my head back around the corner to see him bending over to pick up the mail that had scattered on the floor.
“Sorry about that, Angel. I knocked your mail off.” He scooped up the envelopes and various sales flyers and started to set them back down when he paused and looked at one of the envelopes in his hand. His eyes shot to my mine, and he looked really confused as he held up the envelope.
“Molly, what is this?”
“What is what?” I asked as I reached for it to see what the heck he was talking about. He held on to it, merely turning it around so that I could see it.
“Why is your cable bill addressed to Brad Dolan?” he asked, the muscle in his jaw ticking as he said Brad’s name.
