Page 142 of Poison Aches

“Ivy?” he starts, and I recognize his voice immediately.

“Jackson?”

“I knew it was you as soon as my eyes landed on the most stunning girl in the city.”

“In the city?” I laugh. “That’s a bit much.”

“I speak the truth.”

He makes a move to hug me but I sidestep so it’s a side hug.

“Hello!” I say, clearing my throat. “We finally meet face to face.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day,” he says as he pulls the stool next to mine and takes a seat.

“I really thought after I beat your high score you’d come after me with a pitchfork or something.”

“Well, I’m still a bit butthurt about that but let’s save the gore for another day,” he says with a chuckle. “Welcome to the Big Apple! How are you finding it so far?”

“It’s only been a few hours but I feel overwhelmed.”

“That’ll happen more and more,” he says with a smile as he subtly checks me out.

Actually, he’s been checking me out from the moment I turned around to look at him.

“Have you ordered yet?”

“No, but I also don’t have time for a drink. I actually just wanted to meet you and say thank you so much.”

“The place is probably horrible but you cleaned it up really well.”

I pause. “Huh? How did you know that I cleaned up?”

He smiles almost smoothly. “Don’t you remember the times you’d rage clean to calm yourself down before taking an exam this last year of college?”

At that, I laugh. “Yeah, that was a crazy time.”

“Yeah, but you made it!”

“Well, not quite. There’s still a long way to go,” I say, looking away. I really don’t want to talk about school right now because it’ll only remind me of the felon I’ve become.

“Yeah, but you got this!” he says, nudging me slightly. “Have a drink with me.”

“Uh, I really have to run.”

He pouts adorably, which makes me laugh. “You’re really just going to meet me and dip?”

“Well, the good news is I’m here for a while, so we can meet a lot.”

“I was actually planning to do more than meet you. I have plans.”

Mt stomach starts knotting with nerves. “Plans?”

“Yes,” he says in a low voice. “Plans.”

“Well,” I clear my throat. “There’ll be time for that later. For tonight, I’ll take a rain check.”

“Because you’re going to meet your father for the first time?”

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