Starting With You

5. You owe it to the rusty lady bits.

Teddy

"YOU HAVE A FAN CLUB."

The voice startles me, and I screech and jump, clutching my chest. "Jesus, Jackson. You scared the shit out of me."

Chuckling, he points at the animal trailing behind me. "Your fan club."

"Cleo!" I groan and throw up my hands when I spot the pink pig. "That pig is too freaking smart. He keeps figuring out how to open the gate, even when I'm sure I've pig-proofed it. I don't know how he's doing it."

"Pig-proofed it?" Jackson scrubs a hand over his face to hide the smile. He is a quick study and he learned fast that I don't enjoy being the butt of a joke, yet he can't seem to contain his amusement over my current predicament.

"Yeah, pig-proofed. You know, like childproof, but for pigs. Except that pig is 300 times smarter than any toddler, I swear. I need to set up a camera to see how he's doing it." I usher Cleo back to his pen, securing him back inside.

"No camera needed. It's obvious how he's doing it. He uses his snout to unlatch the gate." Jackson demonstrates his theory. "Plus, I watched him do it as I walked over here, so I can confirm this is a fact."

"Dammit. Ok, I'll add that to my list of things to fix." I pull out my phone and type in the task on my running To Do list.

"Where on that list does is say to get a coffee with Jackson? I seem to remember mentioning that a while ago and you haven't taken me up on it yet."

Surprised, I look up from my phone at him. So Jensen was right; he had been asking me out. Shit. Do I want to go out with him? He's a nice enough guy, easy to talk to, definitely not bad to look at. It's been a while since I've dated. It's probably time to put myself out there again, but it usually ends up not being worth the effort. Plus, we work together. That's always a recipe for disaster if things don't work out.

"I see things spinning in here." He taps the side of my head and grins at me. "It's just coffee, Teddy. I'm not asking for your hand in marriage. But it's cool if you don't want to. Or if maybe you're not available...?" His voice trails off at the end like he isn't sure how to finish the sentence.

"Available? I'm not seeing anyone if that's what you mean." I fidget with my braid, twirling the end of it around my fingers. Why is this conversation making me so nervous? A coffee date is innocent enough, right?

"So, you and Jensen...?" He looks at me sheepishly, the question lingering between us.

"Oh god, no! Jensen is. Uh. No. He's just my friend. Best friend. Nothing more." I mentally slap myself for that ungraceful word vomit.

Jackson must sense my discomfort because he shows me mercy. "Ok, well, the offer stands. For coffee, I mean. Or a drink some night after work even. Whatever you're comfortable with. Or not."

Before I have a chance to answer, Jensen rounds the corner and stops abruptly when he sees us. "Oh. You." His eyes hop from Jackson to me and then back to Jackson. "I was looking for you, Teddy. I wanted to run something by you." He's talking to me but keeps his eyes on Jackson.

"Uh. Ok." Jackson takes a few steps back. He nods at me. "Let me know, Teddy." Then he spins around and walks away.

"What was that about? Let you know what?" Jensen is now standing directly in front of me, his eyes piercing mine. The blue of his irises is a deep color, the sun creating little twinkles in them.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. What did you want to run by me?" I try to steer the conversation in a different direction to distract him, but I should know better. Jensen is like a damn dog with a bone.