Novel Square
80
Nicole
The humidity finally broke in the city, so I ventured to the coffee shop at the end of my block. It’s my day off and after being up for most of the night trying to figure out my next move, I need a pick me up.
With a large macchiato in my grip, I head back out onto the sunny street. I pluck my sunglasses from the top of my head and slide them up my nose. I’ve never liked the sun much, and it really hates me. No matter what SPF I smear over my skin, I’ll burn to a crisp if I’m in it too long.
“Nicole?” Jakub’s voice stops me as I reach the crosswalk. When I turn around, I see him heading toward me.
He’s not in his suit, but rather a pair of jeans and a dark gray t-shirt tucked into his pants. Noticing his pants makes me notice the thick black belt around his waist. I force my gaze away before my mind starts to drift off to memories of his belt.
“Jakub. What are you doing around here?” I ask, looking behind him. His car isn’t around, at least not the black SUV he sent me home in last night.
He reaches me and looks across the street and then down the sidewalk behind me.
“What are you doing out here?” he asks as though I’m some jailbird who’s out of her cage.
I show him my coffee cup. “Getting coffee. It’s a nice day, well, as nice as it can be in Chicago in the summer. But what are you doing here? I can’t imagine you live around here.”
I don’t live in a shitty area. But it’s not exactly what Jakub is used to. When I met him five years ago and he only ran the one club, he lived in an amazing apartment close to Lakeshore Drive. With him now running three clubs, I can’t imagine he’s downgraded his living situation.
“I was heading your way.”
“Why?” I take a small step back. “And where’s your car?”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
His blond eyebrow arches, peeking over the rim of his designer sunglasses.
“I was at the club; thought I’d take a walk to see you then head back.”
“Well. Here I am, no need to go all the way to my apartment. Did you need something?”
He runs his tongue along the front of his top row of teeth. He does this when he’s agitated and trying to find a delicate way of saying something. He doesn’t want to piss me off because I’ll probably tell him to go to hell, but he’s not one to drop a subject if he’s deemed more information is needed.
“I wanted to be sure you were all right. I tried calling. You didn’t answer.”
I feel my back pocket for my phone and find it empty.
“I must have left my phone at home.” I’m not as attached to it as most of society, and since I’m doing everything I can to remain below the radar of anyone back home, I have no need for it.
His brow shoots up again. “You left it at home?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose.” I shrug. “I only need it for work and since it’s my day off and the club isn’t even open, I didn’t even think of it.”
“No one back in New York might call?” He’s pushing already.
“No one I want to talk to.” That’s not entirely true. I had a small group of friends back there but talking to them now could put them in danger. And I won’t do that.
“Well. Let me walk you home then.” He gestures for me to cross the street as the light turns.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know,” he says, pressing his open hand to the small of my back. “But I want to.”
We cross the street together, and even after we step onto the sidewalk on the side, he doesn’t move his hand.
And I don’t ask him to.
“Do you ever not get what you want?” I ask.
He laughs. “Hasn’t happened yet.”
“You’ve got a good thing here, Jakub. Running three clubs. And from what I’ve seen, they’re all growing.”
He drops his hand from my back. “Yeah. I’m good at running night clubs.”
I get the feeling he’d like to be running other things. His own crew maybe. Something that didn’t require him to stay so close to the line of the law.
“You said your dad passing away is what brought you back here. I assume there’s more to the story?” he asks, quickly brushing away any chance to dive deeper into his own life choices.
I nod. “Dad liked Henry. I wouldn’t have given him a second glance, but Dad said it would have been an insult to not at least give him a chance. So I did, but then it would have been an insult not to accept a second date or a third, next thing I knew we were together.”
“Not something that makes you comfortable, if I remember right,” he says in a low voice. It’s a small dig at my disappearing act five years ago, and he deserves to take a shot at me about that. I was a coward, and we both know it.
“I was going to leave New York once I was done with school, but then Dad died and things got, well, shitty. Henry wouldn’t take no for an answer and it was made clear if I wanted to stay in the good graces of the Kaczmareks I shouldn’t insult him in any way. They helped me bury Dad and pay off his debts. Dad wasn’t the best with his finances, and I was only working part time.”
“You took money from them?” He pulls me to a stop a building before my own.
“I didn’t have a choice. Dad owed people who weren’t going to take ‘sorry, he’s dead’ for an answer,” I insist.
His jaw tightens. “You could have told me about who your dad worked for. It wouldn’t have changed things between us.”
“I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t let my dad know. You’re the second son of the head of the Staszek family, Jakub. I get the feeling you don’t understand the power that comes with that.”
His lips flatten.