Not Your Average Joe (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective Book 2)

by Brooke St. James

  Joe and I started talking about his work after that. I knew he had his hand in several different business ventures, most of them centered around app development, but he told me a lot more about what went into it. Joe was one of those guys who was smart enough to buckle down and become a success at something. It's not like he had a love for software design, though. His mission was to work hard at something he didn't mind doing with the sole purpose of making enough money to retire early. He wanted to travel and buy a nice house, and to not have to worry about college for his future children and grandchildren. He said he was almost at the point where he would stop hustling so much, but for now, he was moving and shaking, and making the most of any business opportunity that lie in his path. He had high hopes for the sports app he'd been talking about with Ethan and Michael, and he told me some about their plans.

  We sat across from each other for what seemed like a few minutes, but was really over an hour. Belle brought us our check, saying she was getting off work, but that we should take our time because Sheila would be over to help us shortly.

  Joe and I were both ready to go, so we settled our tab with her, and went to catch a cab. Joe gave the cab driver my address, which surprised me since we would have pass his place on our way there. I didn't say anything because I wanted him to ride with me all the way home.

  Joe paid the driver when we got to my house, and he got out with me, saying he wanted to walk me up. I obviously didn't argue

  We spoke to the doorman. There had been a change of shift since Joe picked me up, and he introduced himself to Lionel, who was working the night shift. The older man complimented me on my dress, and I told him he should have seen me at the start of the night. We were still smiling about that when the elevator door closed, taking us up to the 12th floor.

  Joe stood against one side while I stood against the other, and we looked at each other in wonderfully awkward silence. In my mind, he was imagining crashing into me in one of those desperate, passionate, elevator kisses you see in movies, but I honestly had no idea what he was really thinking. He could have been thinking of the color of the walls, or meeting the doorman, or anything else.

  "What?" he asked.

  "I was wondering the same thing," I said.

  He gave me a puzzled look, and I said, "What you were thinking."

  He gave me a flirtatious smile and shook his head like he wasn't going to tell me.

  "What?" I asked. "Tell me."

  He continued to shake his head with that irresistible, teasing grin, but just then, the elevator door opened with a ding.

  "Are you coming in?" I asked.

  "If I'm invited."

  I smiled and pulled him out of the elevator by his sleeve. "Cordially."

  Chapter 15

  It was 2pm when I woke up the next day.

  I looked around the living room, putting the pieces together and remembering the night before. Joe and I had stayed up all night, having conversations that led us to really get to know one another better. I knew he was still there because his jacket, shoes, and keys were still sitting near the chair.

  It was 9 o'clock in the morning when Joe finally went to Sarah's room to go to sleep. He had kissed me on the forehead and told me he'd see me in the morning. I smiled at the memory of telling him it was morning, for which he tickled me gently.

  I hadn't expected us to sleep this late, and I peered into the bedroom, trying to see if he was still sleeping. It was no use trying to see in, so I just flopped my head onto the pillow. I needed a second to wake up, so I stayed there, replaying portions of our time together the evening before.

  I couldn’t help but smile. I had been smitten with him since the second I laid eyes on him. That was over five years ago, and it felt so good to finally have him looking at me like I wished he had all this time. We played silly games like would you rather and truth or dare, and we laughed until our faces hurt. We had serious moments, too. We talked about things like our parents and childhood and our faith and philosophy on life in general. We were different, but in a way, I thought we could ultimately balance one another.

  Joe had a little brother through the Big Brothers program, and he told me some of the funny and touching things he'd encountered with the nine-year-old named Josh Flowers. I smiled, remembering how Joe told me Josh always introduced himself with his first and last name like a newscaster. Joe had gotten Knicks tickets where Josh got to meet a couple of the players, and he told me about the boy shaking their hands and introducing himself by first and last name like a little politician.

  Joe had been doing the program for over a year and had been assigned to Josh the whole time, so they had gotten close by now. He saw him every couple of weeks like clockwork. I loved the fact that he had a little brother. I loved how he looked and smelled, and I also loved his kind, generous heart. Every minute I spent with him only served to make me love him more.

  I stayed on the couch for what must have been ten minutes before my thoughts turned to the time of day. I picked up my phone and stared at it again, noticing the little calendar notification. Oh, snap, I had to walk a dog today. Ben's dog. Ben was a friend and co-worker at the coffee shop slash gelato bar where I worked part-time. He specifically asked me to take his dog for a walk at 3pm today, and I had agreed to that exact time.

  I knew it would take me at least twenty minutes to get to Ben's apartment, so I pried myself off of the couch and shuffled quietly into the bedroom. At about 2am, Joe and I had the bright idea to take a cab to his apartment to get some comfortable clothes for him to change into. Looking back on it, I don't know why I didn't just sleep on the couch at his apartment once we were there, but we just didn't think of it at the time—I blame the fact that it was the middle of the night.

  We had the cab driver stop for a pita sandwich on our way back to Sarah's place, which was 3am. We also had a little cup of coffee at that time. We were up until 9am, and now it was the middle of the afternoon, and I had to get to Ben's house so his dog didn't have an accident.

  I entered the bedroom quietly, and there he was—sprawled out on his sister's bed, looking like a big slice of wonderful. He had on a T-shirt and some sweatpants, and one leg was kicked out of the covers. His arm was positioned above his head, and I stared at him, wishing I had some paper and a pencil at this very moment.

  His chest and arms were on full display, and his face was just as artistically inspiring when he was asleep as it was when he was awake. I had my phone in my hand, and I stood there, contemplating whether or not it would be weird of me to take a picture of him like this so I could draw it later. I decided it would be quite weird, so I obviously didn't do it. I smiled, deciding it was a good idea to keep it to myself that I even thought about it.

  I walked over there to wake him up. Joe heard the floor creek beneath my feet and he stirred and blinked, shifting so that he was on his side, facing the edge of the bed. He smiled sleepily at me, barely opening his eyes when I sat on the edge of the bed next to him. His hand came out of the covers and made contact with my thigh, which sent chills up my spine. I reached out and put my hand on his even though I was still a little apprehensive around him.

  "I have to get dressed and get out of here pretty soon, and I didn't want to take off before talking to you," I said.

  He picked his head up, regarding the bedside clock. "Where you going?" he asked sleepily, tugging on my pants.

  I stared down at him, unable to fully appreciate the night we had together and my feelings about him. Nothing had happened between us aside from a swift but sweet kiss at the end of the night (or that morning, whatever you want to call it). But I knew I had it bad. It was really bad.

  "I have to walk a dog."

  He squinted out of one eye.

  "What dog?"

  "My friend, Ben, from work. I told him I'd do it at three, and it's after two already. I have to get going."

  "What kind of dog?"

  "Boxer."

  "What are you supposed to do?"
r />   "He's got a certain walk he takes," I said. "I've done it before. He's got other people who do it most of the time, but I do it once or twice a month." I reached out and touched the place on the side of his face where the hair met his temple. "Did you sleep good?" I asked.

  He nodded. "You?"

  "Too good. I almost slept through the walk."

  "This bed's comfortable," he said, shifting. "You should have taken it and let me sleep on the couch."

  "The couch is where I always sleep," I said. "That is my bed."

  "Not for long," he said.

  "Nope. Not for long."

  "Because you're gonna move into the bedroom once Sarah gets her stuff out of here."

  I giggled and shook my head, rolling my eyes at him a little for being a clown.

  "I'm serious," he said. "You're moving in here once Sarah leaves."

  I got lost in the way his whiskers grew on his jawline, and I was staring at that spot when he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me in place. I knew from things Joe said to me the night before that he was serious about me staying here until August, and since I didn’t want to leave and go crash on Drake's couch, anyway, I decided not to continue protesting. Besides, Joe seemed pretty adamant about it.

  "If it would seriously make you feel better, then I'll stay, but if it's about me, then I don’t want you to feel like you need to do that. I don’t mind staying at Drak—"

  "It would make me feel better." He cuddled up to me even tighter. "Let's just call it settled," he added.

  I leaned into him, resting my back against his chest and shoulder.

  "I didn't know you had to go walk a dog," he said.

  "Me neither. I forgot all about it until like three minutes ago. Thank goodness I woke up when I did. I can't believe we slept till the middle of the afternoon."

  "Well, we did stay up till the middle of the morning."

  "We ate pitas at 3am," I said.

  "We sure did."

  "I walked all around the city in sequins and hi-heels."

  "Yes, you did," he said. "Then we ate pie."

  I smiled. "I wish I had some of that pie right now."

  "Let's stop and get some coffee and something to eat on the way to walk that dog."

  I leaned in, placing my hand on the side of his face and regarding him with a big grin. "Are you coming with me?" I asked.

  He nodded sleepily. "If you want."

  "I want," I said.

  Joe stretched and flexed before sitting up and swiveling to sit next to me on the edge of the bed, and I put a chaste kiss on his cheek before going out to the living room to get dressed.

  I didn't have a lot of personal possessions because I tried to stay out of Sarah's way as much as possible. Sarah had been kind enough to let me take over the coat closet for my things. It was a nice-sized closet, but small considering the fact that I tried to keep all of my personal belongings contained inside of it. My bathroom things were in a small piece of luggage that I carted to and from the bathroom when I needed to use them. Even if it were only for a few months, it would be a crazy, amazing experience having an apartment like this to myself. I imagined myself being extremely inspired and making piece after piece of great art.

  Just as I was daydreaming about all the great art I'd create in this place, a concept hit me. I saw a vision of something I'd draw as soon as I had time to sit down with my charcoal. It was a piece I'd make as a gift, and I grinned at the thought of it. I could picture it exactly in my mind—I knew how to execute it precisely. I almost told Joe about my idea, but I kept it to myself just in case I decided not to do it.

  Both of us got dressed and headed to Ben's house. It was a nice day, so we decided to take Rascal on a long walk. He enjoyed it, but he was old, so he was delighted to get back. He collapsed onto the cold tile floor in the kitchen the second we came inside.

  "That's a little ridiculous," Joe said, staring down at him.

  "Dramatic if you ask me," I said, teasing the dog.

  Ben's apartment was cramped—nothing at all like Sarah or Joe's. Joe was on one side of the kitchen, I was on the other, and our feet were almost touching in the middle. Joe was dressed casually in the clothes we had gotten from his apartment the night before. His hair was windblown and had fallen over one side of his forehead.

  "I find that I like having you at arm's length," he said. "Right where I can reach out and touch you." He leaned forward, reaching out to poke my arm, which made me smile.

  I wanted to say something inspiring about what a pleasure and honor it was to be at his arm's length, but instead, I said, "I like your arm." I truly said that sentence and then just smiled at him like I stood behind it and thought it made sense.

  Joe gave a quick flex to his bicep. "Thank you," he said in a funny deep voice that made him sound a bit like a radio DJ.

  I laughed and held my arms out, almost reaching him even though we were on opposite sides of the kitchen. I wiggled my fingertips. "I like this too," I said.

  "What do you like?"

  I smiled. "You."

  He grinned back at me. "I knew you did," he said.

  "Oh yeah, how?"

  "Because you weren't as scared of that splinter as you let on. I know you well enough to know you're not the type who has to squirm and hide her eyes."

  He knew I knew he knew the truth, so there was no use in me denying it.

  "I might not have been so squeamish if it were Grant who sat there with me and not you."

  "Why's it have to be Grant?" he asked. "Why couldn't you have said Rebecca for example?"

  "Because I thought I might get a little rise out of you if I said Grant."

  "Wish granted."

  "You're jealous?" I said, smiling excitedly.

  He gave me an easy grin. "Super jealous."

  He was being so casual with the way he said it that I honestly couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. Was it wrong if I hoped he wasn't?

  "I like you justice."

  "What's that?" he said, cupping his hand to his ear. "I couldn’t hear what you said just now. You like my justice?"

  I had almost said I liked him jealous, but I changed my mind in mid-stream. I giggled as I leaned forward pulling at his shirt, which only made him reach out and tug me into his arms.

  "Never mind," I said.

  Chapter 16

  The following week flew by. I had to work a few doubles at the coffee shop to make up for the shifts I had covered for my trip to Ireland. Plus, Sarah and Collin came home, and we helped Sarah pack and move into his place.

  She was happy that I would be keeping the apartment, but it came as a huge shock to her that it was all her brother's idea. She teased him, saying that by the time August came around, he'd have me talked out of moving into S&S altogether. I definitely didn't admit I wished that would actually happen, I just laughed when she said that since it had been a joke.

  I had spent a lot of time with Joe during the past week, and I found that I cared for him very much. I cared for him in the type of way that extended far past physical attraction. The physical attraction part didn't hurt, though. And I was reaping the benefits of that aspect at this very moment.

  From my vantage point on the wooden bleachers that lined the gymnasium, I had a clear view of Joe, who was busy basketballing in all his athletic, masculine glory. Joe had roped Collin into playing this time, so Sarah was there as well, sitting next to me in the stands.

  "That's Joe's little brother," she said, nudging me.

  I glanced at her to find that she was staring in the direction of the exit. I had seen photos of Josh, so I recognized him right away. He had on jeans with a T-shirt and a navy blue hooded jacket. He began walking toward us, but it didn't look like he saw us or even knew to look for us.

  "I was supposed to meet him last Tuesday, but he was sick," I said. "That's why Joe asked him to come here today. I think we might take him to eat pizza after this."

  Josh wasn't looking at Sarah and me as he appr
oached, so I stopped speaking to Sarah for a moment so that I could get his attention. "Josh!" I called.

  The boy looked up at me, and I smiled and waved. It was comical watching his face go from thinking I was someone he knew to realizing I was not.

  "We know Joe," I explained.

  "You know me, Joshua!" Sarah said.

  He looked at Sarah for the first time, and he smiled when he recognized her. He climbed up and took a spot one row below us.

  "When'd you start coming to Joe's basketball games?" he asked Sarah, since he only recognized her from other places.

  Sarah gestured onto the basketball court. "My husband is playing with him today." Josh gave Sarah a sideways grin. "I didn't know you were married."

  Her eyes widened. "I wasn't until the other day."

  "Really? You just got married the other day?"

  She smiled and nodded, and Josh just stared at her dazedly. I thought he might say something to congratulate her, but instead his head whipped around to the basketball court and he said, "Which one is he?"

  "Guess," Sarah said.

  "The one with the grey and green AirMax," Josh said with no hesitation. "He's the only new guy on the team. They're missing the one with the poufy orange hair and the headband."

  "Who's she?" Joe said, with a thumb aimed at me.

  "My friend, Lu."

  He smiled, and I extended my hand for him to shake. "I'm Josh Flowers. What kind of name is Lu for a girl?"

  "A weird one," I said. I smiled. "Maybe not as weird as Theodore or Eugene, though."

  Josh let out a hardy laugh at that. "I got a girl at my school named Michael."

  "Michael's not that weird for a girl," Sarah said.

  "The-o-dore," Josh said, laughing.

  "Lu's a nickname," I said.

  "What's your real name?"

  "Lulie."

  Josh laughed at that and Sarah nudged him with her foot. "What? It's not as funny as some names. I got a girl in my class named Shondra-Lilianna, and we have to say the whole thing every time because she don't want to go by Shon, or anything. She gets mad if you don't say her whole name. I think it's nice of you to make your nickname Lu since nobody ever heard of Lulan or whatever you said your real name was. Josh is my nickname, too, for Joshua. Josh Flowers."