Sera yawned and entered the spacious kitchen. It was official. Mocha-Man came from a house of money. How else would a part-time bartender be able to afford such a beautiful apartment? Sera couldn't recall much from last night as she had indulged in a lot of alcohol, but waking up in an extravagant bed with hardwood flooring and lavish curtains was enough to convince her that she could end up dating royalty. Jack did say his brother owned Normally Lit and that they were opening up different locations in Ottawa and Montreal.
"Coffee, coffee," Sera droned hoping to get her brain working again. Sleeping in worked out really well but she was surprised to find Jack also passed out. It was way past lunchtime. Didn't he have to get to his job? Sera had an excuse, she couldn't start her job until Harry had a meeting with his sponsors tonight, was Jack a slacker? Sera told herself not to think about it too much. She didn't sleep with him to date him, it was just a fling, nothing more and nothing else. What he did with his time wasn't her business.
"That's right," Sera took a seat on one of them many stools set around the island counter. If he had a lot of money then she could potentially want to date him seriously.
"Hey," a groggy voice murmured.
Sera turned to find Mocha-Man waddling out of the bedroom. He was a mess, a hot mess, but still. "Morning," she said just as groggy. "Where could I get some coffee?"
Jack worked the kitchen with one eye-open and somehow managed to grind fresh coffee for them. He even offered to turn hers into a latte. Sera graciously refused and said she didn't need to be fancy, just feasible.
"Don't you have a job?" Jack asked, taking a seat on the stool beside her.
Sera scoffed. "I could ask you the same, but I guess I already know the answer to that night-shift-employee."
His mouth curved. "You look really sexy in my shirt by the way," he said taking note of her wardrobe. "Kind of makes me want to replay last night."
Sera rolled her eyes. "Coffee first, shower second and then—"
"A shower with you would be great," Jack cut her off.
His blunt comments weren't startling. Sera had picked him out because of his straightforward personality. He complimented her and she enjoyed the attention, so there was no reason to get upset with him. He was just being himself. Sera had to deal with the situation realistically and let him know where the line was and if he was allowed to cross it.
"As fun as that sounds," she began taking a sip. "I don't particularly enjoy morning sex so I'll pass for now. Thanks."
"It's technically the afternoon," Jack pointed out going up behind her. He wrapped his hands around her neck and took a deep breath. "And you smell so good too."
Sera got up. "I'll smell better once I shower," she told him.
"Alright," Jack backed away. "I can take a hint. You want to shower and wash up, you can go ahead and do that. Meanwhile, I'll make us something to eat. How does that sound?"
Sera was skeptical. "Only if you don't hit on me during, before or after the meal."
Jack's jaw drew to the floor. "Oh, that's cold. Come on, are you saying you're not interested in me at all anymore? Was I that bad last night?"
Sera's cheeks flushed a little. "It's not that you were bad," she told him. "It's that I'm trying to make a classy exit and if you hit on me, it'll just keep me here longer."
"And we wouldn't want that now would we?" He laughed pointing his finger to one of the closets to the far side. "Extra towels are in there if you would like one and in case you want me to join, I suggest you leave the door open."
"Alright there," Sera raised her brow. "Thanks for the towel and letting me use your shower. I'll tell you now that the door will be very much closed."
Jack shrugged indifferently. "Your loss."
Half an hour later, Sera was polished and ready to head back home. If it weren't for the smell of cookie-butter pancakes Jack had prepared for her, she would have been on the road. A part of her hoped Harry wouldn't be home by the time she arrived. She really wasn't in the mood to be grilled by him. Hopefully, he had better things to do on a Tuesday afternoon. Maybe grow a pair and finally go make peace with his little sister.
"Everything smells so good," Sera said, joining Jack on the dinning table. It was such a sunny morning, Sera wasn't really able to embrace the clean air before her shower and first cup of coffee, it was all so refreshing.
"Wouldn't want you to have your walk of shame without any food in your system," Jack said passing her the coffee pot. "I'm assuming you want seconds."
"You assume right," Sera beamed already piling her plate up with pancakes. "Don't expect me to act dainty and polite while I eat these either."
Jack laughed. "The messier the hotter."
Sera shook her head. "I can always count on you to make things sound dirty."
"It's one of my many specialties," Jack informed.
Sera couldn't believe how entertaining her one-night-stand was even after-the-fact. When he wasn't trying to seduce her, he was a really nice host. After their meal, he offered to drive her back home, it wasn't a request she would normally take complete advantage of, but there was no point since her car was still parked at Normally Lit. The restaurant was conveniently located around the block from Jack's place so it would be out of his way to take her.
"I should be good," Sera told him, picking up the empty plates and utensils. To return to his kind gesture she offered to do the dishes.
"Oh no way!" Jack held her back. "You are not doing anything like that. Not unless you're commando with an apron."
Sera laughed. "Oh my god. You're the worst."
By the time Sera got back to Normally Lit, it felt like the afternoon had whipped by. Spending time with Jack was dangerous and fun. Sera wouldn't mind doing it again sometime. It was strange but his dirty comments had her foolishly smiling in public. People on the street caught her contagious grin with no fault of their own. Sera was just happy to know that she could spread her spontaneous joy to others. It was still a nice feeling.
"Hey Lyon," Sera rubbed her black Hyundai Elantra. "Did you miss me? Of course you did. I'm sorry I left you all by yourself in the middle of the night."
Cleaning a bit of speck on her back window, Sera told her precious vehicle that she wasn't ready to wash him yet. The whole drive-through and self-clean process was terrifying. Sera already hated cramped spaces, she didn't need to cruise through a dark tunnel and watch giant mechanisms wipe and scrub her car. It was a scene from a horror movie. One of these days, god forbid, Sera expected the machines to break through the exterior and kill her. That would be the tale of her tragic death.
"So stay spotless, kay?" Sera beeped her car door to open. As she went around to get inside, she accidentally bumped into a stranger. Sera inhaled the scent of timber as the sunlight hit her irises.
"Sorry," the man said getting a hold of both her arms.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Sera closed her eyes and tried to make out the man's face. He was dark skinned. That was all she could tell before he moved past her and kept walking. Sera turned to watch his back, he was tall, had broad shoulders and was rocking an auburn leather jacket. Her eyes fell to his rear. Okay, he had a cute butt. Damn, that was all any girl could ask for.
Of course Sera ran into a tall, dark and handsome stranger on the same night she had a one night stand. It was good to keep her options open, she couldn't settle for one human being. As long men like Jack and Mr. Timber existed, Sera was open to almost anything.
-
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Harry was never really good at reading people or their need for personal space. His parental persona had him keep tabs on everyone and everything. It was something Sera had gotten used to in Ottawa, but wouldn't stand for in Toronto. The Six was a whole new ball game, finding dates and one night stands was a lot more challenging, no way she was going to let Harry get in the way of her fun. As expected, he was lulling the afternoon away on his computer when Sera returned home.
"Oh buzz off," she grumbled. "I'm not twelve. I can take care of myself."
Harry glared daggers. "You sure about that? Because need I remind you what happened the last time you carelessly slept with a guy?"
Sera rolled her eyes. "Which time are you talking about? Seriously, Harry, I don't need you to lecture me about life choices. I'm a big girl."
Harry threw his hands in the air. "Why are all the women in my life complete and total nut jobs? I'm just trying to be a good brother, a good friend and you can't even--"
"Whoa!" Sera gasped. "Back up! Good brother? Does that mean you went to see Rhea?"
Harry went quiet.
"Ou, that is a step up," Sera grinned. "Alright, so what happened? She yell at you or did you guys decide to stop being childish?"
"I--it doesn't matter," Harry frowned watching his roommate take off her boots and coat. "I don't think Rhea and I are going to make up anytime soon."
"What happened?" Sera probed pushing him out of the way. Harry followed her into the master bedroom that she had demanded before moving in. "You have to tell me or I'll just text her and talk shit about you."
Harry groaned. "Don't be that girl--"
"I've embodied that girl," Sera interrupted. "You know this."
Defeated, Harry took a seat on the queen mattress. "I know it's stupid to ask but did you know about this new guy she's dating?"
"You met Warren?" Sera squealed. "He's hot isn't he? I was like, 'damn girl', when I first saw him."
Harry seemed annoyed. "It wasn't the ideal introduction. I may have said some things without knowing who he was, but you know what? I'm glad I did. That guy is the kingpin of douchebags. Wearing suits and everything, like who the hell does he think he is?"
"Red Jensen's music producer," Sera informed.
Harry stared at her, dumbfounded. "What?" he snorted. "Are you joking right now? Because that's not funny."
Sera raised her brow up and down. "Something else to talk about when you see her again," she said. "I'm also still trying to wrap my head around it all. I mean what are the odds of her running into the international pop star in his city?"
"Are you telling me she's been in touch with that Red Johnson guy?" Harry glared.
"Jensen," Sera corrected.
"Whatever!" Harry scoffed. "Did she get roped back into his pathetic life?"
"Well it's definitely not pathetic," Sera supplied. "Do you know how much he makes? Do we even need to talk about it, hold on, what did you say again? When was she roped into his life the first time? Why am I only hearing about this now?"
"You don't know about it?" Harry was surprised. "They were childhood friends."
Sera recalled Rhea mentioning something similar to that, but she took it as a joke. "So it's really true? Rhea was friends with Red Jensen when they were kids?"
"How do you not know this?" Harry asked. "You're one of her best friends."
Sera shrugged. "Rhea said she knew Red Jensen growing up but no one actually took her seriously. I think we may have discouraged her from talking about it. I mean she was obsessed with him...it was on a disturbing level. Guess it makes more sense if she did know him as a kid. How though? What happened? This had to be before high school, before I met her, was it middle school or elementary?"
"Elementary," Harry replied. "It was gross how close they were. He dragged her everywhere and she just followed like a lovesick puppy. It tore her apart when his parents got divorced and moved him away."
"Shit," Sera began feeling a little guilty. "I may have laughed at her when she told me this exact story. What happened though? I thought I read somewhere that Red was really close with his folks. Why did they split up?"
"He may be close with them, but that doesn't mean their family is fixed by any means," Harry explained. "His extremely religious mother found out that her husband of ten years was cheating on her with a man."
Sera's eyed widened. "No."
"It was a shit-show," Harry continued. "The whole neighbourhood was talking about it. Rhea was the only one that stood by Red's side but even she wasn't enough to help him recover."
"But they're okay now," Sera thought aloud. "Rhea is dating his producer for crying out. They have to be okay. I'm sure they patched things up. I'm sure it's nothing we should concern ourselves with."
Harry sighed.
"I'm serious!" Sera caught his eyes. "Keep your mouth shut and don't intervene. I feel dirty finding out from you instead of her. Let Rhea live her life the way she wants to."