Page 33 of Tops
My feet padded against the warm tile and over to the coffee pot.
“Don’t worry about anyone else wanting coffee,” I muttered as I took the empty pot off the heating coil and over to the sink to fill it. While new coffee was brewing, I would have time to prepare breakfast. No matter what time of day it was, the first meal of the day was breakfast.
I went to work cooking an elaborate meal despite not feeling very hungry. Mostly, I was hoping Tanner would leave before I finished. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. Tanner was still sitting there when I brought my plate and steaming cup of coffee over to the table. The coffee in his cup barely covered the bottom, but he hadn’t left or gotten a refill once the pot was brewed. Instead, he had watched me while I cooked, and now it seemed he planned to watch me eat.
That was not okay by me.
“Seriously, do you need anything?” I snipped before taking a bite of bacon. The delicious salty flavor made me groan for a moment before I remembered I was supposed to be annoyed. Damn delicious bacon.
I had chosen the seat across from Tanner, opting for distance. But now, I was directly in his line of sight. This was worse. I was surprised there weren’t heat waves coming from his eyes with the intensity of his glare. So much fire.
“I met with Fynn last night while you were watching the movie with Nik,” Tanner said, like he knew exactly what happened between Nik and me last night.
It took a minute for my mind to process the more important part of the sentence: Tanner had spoken to the hitman. I raised my eyebrows at Tanner as I motioned for him to continue.
“Fynn did not disclose whether you or Hannah were the target. He did know both of you by name and did not seem to have you simply mistaken for Hannah,” Tanner continued. Apparently, I was getting everything in a formal report style.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, “Right. Like anyone would confuse me with my otherworldly attractive bombshell best friend.” Tanner’s cool expression cracked for a fraction of a moment as his muscles twitched into a frown. “Anything else, or am I just stuck here until he finally manages to kill me?” I said casually as I pushed my plate away. Apparently, discussing my would-be murderer also killed my appetite.
“He wanted to arrange a meeting, and he wants you to be there,” Tanner said it like I had been the one to suggest the get-together.
“Just me? Or does he want to meet with Hannah too?” I asked. I still didn’t have the number for the mental pole vaulter that Hannah had on call, so I could not imagine any reason why a hitman would want to arrange a visit with me. Unless the goal was just to kill me.
“He wants a meeting with me, Colten, Nik, and you.” Tanner ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair. Now that I really looked at him, his dress shirt was wrinkled.
“Did you sleep last night?” I asked as my brain decided its concern for Tanner’s sleeping habits was more important than the hitman situation. Maybe it was more that I didn’t want to start mentally unpacking that.
“I’ve been a bit too busy attending to your protection. Then I chose to wait for you to get up to keep you informed and physically check in with you, per your request. Sleeping will have to come later.” Tanner sounded chastising, but I could also see he was doing this for me.
“When do I meet Fynn then?” I really needed to at least take a shower and get dressed. I did not want to die in day-old clothes.
“You won’t be,” Tanner replied sharply.
“But I thought you said he wanted to meet me?”
“Despite your continuous accusations, my priority is still your protection. Meeting with Fynn without knowing his intentions is not safe.” Tanner said. There was something about the way he talked. He didn’t seem too enthusiastic about keeping me informed, but this was an improvement.
“What is the plan, then?” I asked, softer this time, as I grabbed my plate from the table. I might as well clean up the rest of my mess so I could get back to the safety of my room once Tanner was finished.
“The plan is still the same. You stay here where you can be protected. Nik will accompany you to your classes. Once the threat has passed, you get to return home,” Tanner said as he got up to follow me into the kitchen area. He didn’t step in to help. Rather, he stood almost like a manager, ensuring everything was cleaned to his standards.
Maybe this was how Hannah felt whenever she said I needed to lighten up a bit.
My hands were covered in soapy bubbles from the sponge as I aimed my remaining frustrations on the plate. Whenever I glanced over my shoulder, Tanner stood, silently critiquing my work.
“Was there something else you needed?” I snapped, turning back to face him. A glob of soapy water sailed through the air, hitting Tanner on his chest. I watched in fascination while Tanner looked down at the wet glob. A few of the bubbles sat in a huddled pile.
Laughter bubbled from me as I focused on the suds. Like thunder from the sky, all my anxiety gathered into an outburst of giggles. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at Tanner once my fit turned uncontrollable. After a minute, I could finally wrangle some composure and snuck a look at Tanner. He was smiling. Not a full-blown wide smile; I didn’t think he was capable of those. But this was a look of mild amusement, and I felt he was laughing at me rather than with me.
“It was nice catching up with you, Nessa,” Tanner said with that little smirk. His mood seemed much better than at the table, but I couldn’t figure out why. “I think I will check in with you daily, after all.” That was all he said before turning and disappearing off to wherever.
I finished tidying up the kitchen in a rush. It finally felt like I could breathe again now that he was gone. When I opened the door to my room, I noticed an outfit laid out for me on my freshly made bed. In fact, it looked like the entire place had been cleaned while I was gone. All the empty bottles were missing, and the trash was emptied.
Tanner must have a cleaner come in. I would have to remember to pick up my room every morning before I went down to get breakfast, so it wouldn’t be left in such a mess for them. It could be a once-a-week thing since I hadn’t noticed my bed made for me the other days. Or maybe it was just Tanner when he came to pick out my outfit.
I got closer to what Tanner wanted me to wear for the day, but it wasn’t as elaborate as I had expected. There was a pair of cream-colored leggings with a long blue dress. It wasn’t something I would normally pick out for myself, but at least it wasn’t one of the extra fancy outfits.
The price tags were missing from the clothes, and I guessed that was Tanner’s way of making me wear them despite the cost. I didn’t remember putting this one away, so I had no idea how expensive it was.
