Page 25 of Somewhere in Seattle

"Okay, oh, okay, you're going to buy for the gentleman," the guy said, sounding surprised.

"Okay, for you we do ten, okay?"

"No, she's not buying. The gentleman is going to buy it for her." JD took out his wallet and gave the guy ten dollars."

"Oh, you want just the one picture?" he said, sounding disappointed. "Two pictures. I want both of those pictures and the flower. You said that was the deal. Two pictures and a flower for ten dollars."

"Okay, okay, you drive a hard bargain… "

The man handed JD the underdeveloped pictures and a rose and just like that he turned and was gone.

JD took a deep breath as he looked at me, and then he held out the pictures and flower like he assumed I would take them from him, which I did. He seemed introspective.

"What?" I said.

"Nothing, I—"

"I'm sorry for doing that. I was just playing along. It's Valentine's Day, and the guy thought we were together, so… I just did it. I'm sorry. But I think ten dollars is a good deal for all this stuff, anyway. The rose alone would be ten at some places." I shrugged. I had a ten-dollar bill handy from a second ago when I dug for it. I handed it to him, smiling.

"Seriously, JD take it." I held up the rose. "I just used it as an excuse to buy myself roses on Valentine's Day." I raised my eyebrows playfully and smiled at him. "I got kissed, too," I added.

"That wasn't a real kiss," he said.

My smile fell. "Thanks JD," I said sarcastically.

"And you can't be going around doing that."

"What? Kissing you? I said I was sorry."

"I was talking about giving that guy money so easily. You can't just give money to every person who asks you for it. And kissing me. You can't go around doing that."

"Thanks a lot for being so romantic, JD. I knew it was fake, and I knew you hated every second of it. It was just a joke, and I said I was sorry."

"I didn't say I hated it, I said it meant nothing to you and you can't be going around doing that to people when it means nothing to you."

He was agitated, staring at me seriously.

"You know what, JD, you sure do know how to talk to a lady."

"What's that mean?"

"It means—nothing." I moved to start to walk away, but he caught me by the arm.

"Tell me what it means. You can't say something like that and then just walk away."

"You're harsh. You basically hurt my feelings when you're trying to just have a normal conversation with me."

"What did I say that hurt your feelings?" he asked, looking confused.

"Look, I'm sorry I kissed you. I'm sorry I told your dad about my apartment. I'm sorry for getting scammed out of my money and for being too friendly to people and for all the other things that really bug you about me. I'm sorry you don't like me. But I am who I am. That's just me. The guy told me to kiss you, so I did it. I was joking around. I thought it would be fun. I'm sorry. I reacted in the moment, and I'm sorry you didn't like it."

Chapter 11

JD Alexander

In those seconds, as Jordan turned and walked off, JD considered yelling out for her. He watched her begin to retreat down the sidewalk, wanting to say something to get her to stop but unable to get any words out.

He almost came clean about everything. He could tell Jordan about Rita's room. He could also tell her that he was her landlord and that there was a perfectly good explanation as to why she was put in touch with a lady named Ruth. He also wanted to tell her that he really, really enjoyed that kiss. His chest felt tight as he tried to think of a way to say any of those things.

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