Code Name - Rook (Jameson Force Security 6)

Her eyebrows shoot high. “A few times?”

“Five,” I admit. “We’ve gone out five times, and I’ve met her sister.”

I don’t count our first night hookup. Only our first dinner date, the Pitt game, our evening at the incline, and two other nights I took her out to dinner. I also leave out vital information that outside of these actual “dates,” I’ve spent considerably more time with her at her apartment. It might give Anna an apoplexy.

She doesn’t say a word. Just stares at me as if I’ve done something entirely too weird for her to comprehend.

“What? It’s not outside the realm of possibility that I’d date someone.”

“Uh, it is when you so adamantly decry the practice of monogamy and relationships,” she points out.

“What can I say?” I shrug, taking a huge bite of the enchilada. After I chew and swallow, I say, “She’s different.”

“What’s her name?” There’s definite mistrust in her voice. She thinks I’m joking.

“Jaime.” And just her name brings a smile to my lips.

Anna notices this, and her expression softens. “Tell me about her.”

And all of a sudden, everything seems right and comfortable. Anna’s past her shock, and she’s now in the zone where she’s a bit swoony that a woman has caught my attention. I don’t hesitate to lay it all out for her. “She’s great. You’d really like her. I mean, she’s just really down to earth… not pretentious. Even though she has every right to because she’s so gorgeous.”

“How’d you meet?” Anna asks, leaning forward slightly.

“In a bar,” I admit. “But it wasn’t like a cheesy pickup. I had noticed her, but I didn’t make a move. She’d noticed me, approached me, and we started talking.”

Anna sighs dreamily. “Conversation. You two connected with conversation. I love it.”

“Well,” I drawl hesitantly. “There was alcohol involved, and we hooked up that night, but the next morning… I didn’t want to leave.”

I tell Anna how I asked for her number and she was convinced I wouldn’t call, but I did right from the sidewalk and asked her out to dinner.

“Oh my God,” Anna laughs. “Who knew you could be so spontaneous and romantic with a woman? And you actually took her on a date?”

I nod proudly. “A classy restaurant for dinner. Then to a Pitt game. Then an evening with hot cocoa at the top of the incline.”

Anna shakes her head, laughing. “Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?”

“Honestly,” I admit. “I have no clue who in the fuck I am, but I do really like her. She’s sexy, funny, and sweet. And she works as a domestic violence coordinator to help victimized women escape their abusers. I mean, how fucking cool is that? I love that she loves helping people.”

Anna’s smile is warm. “She sounds amazing.”

My stomach drops, my tone morose because I’m an asshole. “She is. But there’s one problem.”

“What’s that?”

“When we first started seeing each other, I told her I was a used-car salesman, and now she thinks that’s what I do for a living.”

Anna’s jaw drops. It remains hanging open for a good long moment until she finally says, “I don’t even know what to say to that. I mean… why would you do that?”

I try to explain my modus operandi as best I can. “I just… set expectations low with women, you know. When I meet someone I want to hook up with, I make up a story about my career. I tell them the dullest, most uninspiring thing I can think of, so they don’t get too interested in me, and I can walk away without them trying to hang on to the image of a badass security expert.”

Anna’s eyes are wide and disbelieving. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Hey,” I exclaim, trying to act offended, but I really can’t be. She’s right, but I still feel the need to defend myself. “It’s worked well for me in the past, except now I really like Jaime and want to keep seeing her, but I’m afraid she’ll dump my ass when she realizes I’ve been lying to her all this time.”

“You need to tell her the truth.” She points an accusing finger at me, her voice sharp. “If she truly likes you back, she’ll forgive you.”

Because this is my first time genuinely liking a woman, I’m filled with doubt and fear. “I don’t know. And besides… this thing’s probably not destined to last anyway, right? I never stick around for the long haul.”

“Except you’ve pointed out in gory detail how much you do like her,” she reminds me.

“Fuck,” I mutter, pushing out of my seat and heading to the fridge. “I need another beer, and maybe you can convince me of the right thing to do.”

Anna ends up hounding me the entire evening. Even after we finish dinner and I work on her dishwasher, lying in a distinctly uncomfortable position on the floor after having removed the door and attempting to remove a leaky seal, she continues to snipe at me for keeping the truth from Jaime.