Happiness Unending

Chapter 11: Folkin' Around

We ended up going to Starbucks as per my request. We had pulled up to a now open parking space and I could see Jordan's knuckles were white.

"What's up with you?" I teased.

"I swear if anybody hurts my car I'm going to kill them." He threatened through gritted teeth. I simply laughed and got out of the car. The humidity hit me like a ton of bricks and I sprinted for air conditioning. I didn't even wait for Jordan because I didn't want to start my morning off by sweating like a pig. I sighed in relief when I entered the building and just as quickly groaned. The line was of course super long and it looked like the baristas were all swamped with work. Well I might as well wait now that I'm here. Jordan walked in a few seconds later, looking frazzled. He joined my side reluctantly, glancing behind him every few seconds to check his car.

"Your car will be fine. Calm down." I patted my hand against his bicep and he turned my way slowly. 

"That's all I can think about right now. Ugh I hate parking in the city." Jordan responded in disgust. I shrugged, unsure of how to respond. Oh I just loved the smell of roasting coffee in the morning! It made me perk up when I was feeling down or tired.

"Well at least think for a split second what you want to drink." I finally stated. He was clearly distracted and I doubted he heard me. "Jordan!" I exclaimed. Finally he looked back at me though his eyes were filled with dread. He hated being away from his unprotected car. I guess I didn't blame him. He had every right to be worried. 

"Huh? Oh, I don't want anything thank you." He looked behind him and basically stared down the shiny Mercedes that parked next to him. If there was going to be a showdown here, I didn't want to be involved. 

"Jordan?" I heard from somewhere behind me. Oh god. I was just about to order too after waiting for what felt like forever. That voice sounded familiar. It was freaking Riley! Just end my misery now. I thought after yesterday, that would be the first and last time I would ever see her again. I spoke too soon apparently. I glanced at Jordan and a deeper dread filled his eyes and he started to tap his left foot impatiently. He was getting antsy. 

"Why don't you wait outside by the car? I'm going to wait for my drink." I told him. He seemed to be frozen in place, but the relief was plain on his face. 

"Are you sure? Riley won't leave you alone until she gets what she wants." Jordan warned seriously, but I shrugged. 

"I've dealt with worse. You worry about your car. I'll be fine." Now he looked unsure, as if he was torn between staying here by my side or going to his car. I was expecting him to leave, but he stood there with his arms crossed. 

"It's time we settled this with Riley once and for all. I'm staying." Oh. Wow. It took me by complete surprise, and I smiled. As I ordered, I could feel her eyes on me the entire time and I rolled mine right back. After briefly ordering, I kept my eyes on Jordan. I can't say I've ever seen him on edge like this before. I couldn't convince him to leave now that he was being stubborn as well. We walked briskly to the other side of the counter to wait for my drink and I could see Riley get up from her own seat and make her way towards us. Oh boy here we go. 

"Jordan!" I heard her exclaim. Ugh. I want to die. Normally I wouldn't feel like this I swear, but girls like her just make me want to scream in anger and frustration. 

"Hi." He stated with no emotion whatsoever. The stone like expression on his face was enough for me to feel slightly calm enough to at least not punch her square in the face. She was completely oblivious to the fact he wasn't happy to see her. I won't go into detail about what she considered clothing, but let's just say it wasn't decent. She was begging for attention and people were already staring at us three. 

"We need to talk." Riley stated now finally taking in my existence. "What is she doing here?" Her snide tone was disgusting. 

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Jordan retorted right back, crossing his arms. Don't stare. Don't...stare. 

"HA, same thing as I always do. I always edit my videos here, dummy. Care to explain why she's hanging around?" Oh boy. The urge to punch her was way too strong. 

"I don't have to explain anything. That's none of your business." OH SNAP! Take that Riley! I grabbed my drink slowly, trying to avoid a literal hot mess. An evil grin spread across her too tan skin and I raised an eyebrow. I knew what she was going to try to do. Before she even had a chance to snatch my drink, I whipped around and dodged her swipes. 

"Let's get out of here!" I practically yelled out. I was giggling the entire time though, thinking of how ridiculous this girl was. Jordan followed closely behind me, the most somber expression on his face. I hadn't realized how dark it had gotten. The clouds above were a deep grey now almost black and begged to let loose all of the rain they had collected.  Not a moment too soon and the rain started to fall heavy on the concrete sidewalk. We were hiding out underneath the small awning that hung over the door, afraid to get wet. I glanced at Jordan and he gave me a small nod. I just hoped his car was unlocked. Trying to balance my purse and drink in hand, we ran towards his car and I squealed. "Hurry up!" I yelled. He smiled slightly and finally unlocked his car. I sat down and sighed. 

"Wow. That was uh, unexpected. Sorry you had to deal with Riley again. I swear I can't ever get away from her." We weren't moving, but his hands were on the steering wheel. I couldn't help myself. I was staring again. 

"It's fine. Again I've dealt with way worse, Jordan. You can't apologize for someone else's crazy behavior. It's not your fault." Finally he started up the vehicle and we pulled away from the store. 

"I know but she's obviously out to get you. I'm sorry but I am not okay with her doing that. I need to do something about it. I just don't know what yet." I appreciated his concern, but what did it matter to him? I'm just a lowly fan who just so happened to get really lucky into bumping into someone like him. Well he bumped into me. And it wasn't a bump, it was more of a slam. 

I couldn't even believe that was yesterday. It felt like a lifetime ago. As the rain continued to fall, I kept my eye contact to a minimum and I didn't feel like talking about a crazy person anymore. I took a sip of my coffee and I sighed. You want to talk about happiness? Try coffee! Its literally happiness in a cup. It also just occurred to me that we were heading out of civilization. 

"Where are we going?" I finally asked after about ten minutes of driving in near silence. Jordan said nothing in response and kept on driving. Huh. He's obviously got something in mind...but the real question was what he had in mind? 

***Just thought of finally adding a note at the end of this chapter lol. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING MY STORY AND SHOUT OUT TO THE PERSON WHO COMMENTED AND VOTED ON MY CHAPTERS!!! You know who you are ;) Thanks again and I hope you all are liking it so far!***