Page 16 of Jimmy

She stared at him and debated what to say. “You’re a nice guy. You’re broken in some places, but not in others. Your past doesn’t bother me, and I like you, too, but it’s too soon to tell if we’ll let each other down. We had one date.”

“We did.”

“It’s not enough to decide if we’re going to fall apart.” She cupped his cheek. “We went out once and met up today. Is that enough to decide that you want to be with me?”

“Yes.”

She sucked in a ragged breath. “You want me?”

“I do.”

He had to be kidding. No one else took her this seriously.

“When I went out with you last night, I felt whole.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I want another date. I want to see you tonight and every other night. I want to try, to see you laugh and hold you when you cry. I don’t want to be the reason you’re upset.”

He said some very powerful things, but she understood why he had to be careful. She had to be, too. She didn’t know him well, but she wanted to be with him. “Let’s try that second date tonight. We can take the time we need to be with each other and experience what this will be like.”

“I like that.” He kissed her. “I’m not easy to love, but I hope you’ll give me a chance.”

“Of course.” She lingered a moment. “Want me to stop by when I get off work?”

“I’d love that,” he said. “But I’ll come get you or will have Kurt get you. I don’t like the idea of you walking here at midnight.”

“Truth be told, it’s not my idea of fun, but it should be closer to ten when I arrive.” She hated the walk home at ten in the evening and the danger of being alone in the dark. “But it’s only a couple blocks from Last Exit to here.”

“I know.”

She rubbed his hand. “But I’ll take a ride, so I appreciate it. I should go. I’ll be late, and Brett can be a jerk when we’re late.”

“Men.” He smiled. “Okay. See you at ten?”

“Ten.” She lingered another moment. “See you.”

“See you.”

She kissed him, then left the shop. Part of her wanted to question him about getting upset. Maybe he was having a bad day and seeing the reminder of his past hurt more. Maybe he had a protective streak a mile wide. What did she know?

His upset didn’t bother her, but it made her wonder what had left him so insecure.

She strode down the block to the bookstore and pushed aside her concerns about Jimmy’s reaction. She had to get to work.

* * **

Jimmy watched her leave and inwardly chided himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. She hadn’t done anything wrong and had complimented him on his work.

“Are you okay?” Kurt asked. “You seem rattled.”

He rolled his eyes, then faced Kurt. “You really just asked that?”

“Yes.” Kurt settled on the stool. “I messed up, didn’t I?”

“Uh, yeah.” He hated being irritated with Kurt, but the guy could be clueless.

“In my defense, I wanted her to see your brilliance,” Kurt said. “But I also wanted her to see that you aren’t perfect. There will be problems. She’s come into this sort of wide-eyed, but also innocent. How old is she?”

He gritted his teeth. Despite his attempts to regain control, Kurt frustrated him all over again. “She’s legal, I know that.” He wasn’t totally sure and should find out, but he hadn’t fucked her. “But it’s not your place to tell her about my past. I should be doing that, and we’ve had exactly one date. I haven’t had a chance to say I’ve got a messy past because my wife cheated on me and left for another guy.”

Kurt paused. “Wow. You never talk about her.”

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