Chapter 21 - Jordan

The sun stung the back of Jordan's neck as he ducked out of the car and entered through the private entrance at Sand Dunes, a popular upscale restaurant with one of best patio dining views in LA. Alex looked stunning and Jordan rolled his eyes as he watched her smooth her hair for the dozenth time.

"You know this is a fake date, right? You don't have to look perfect for him." He said feeling a pang of jealousy. They were in a small sitting room at the back of the restaurant, filled with monitors projecting views from various cameras throughout the restaurant.

"I know." Alex responded. But everyone knows Sand Dunes is paparazzi headquarters, so even if I was meeting up with my grandmother, for lunch, I'd still want to look flawless." Alex stood on her tip toes to give Jordan a quick kiss before waving goodbye and walking out towards the main dining room.

Jordan took a seat next to Vince, who was sitting in front of a monitor broadcasting Damien's four-top patio table. Chuck, Vince's friend and head of security at Sand Dunes gave Jordan a thumbs-up and zoomed in on the image.

He watched as Alex walked into the frame. Damien stood up and gave Alex a hug, which was a touch too long in Jordan's opinion. Although there was no sound, Jordan could see several flashes go off in Alex and Damien's direction from the photographers on the sidewalk just beyond the patio. Jordan scoffed when Damien turned and gave a small wave to the photographers before pulling out one of the seats across from his, for Alex.

A minute or two of conversation passed between them before Alex flipped her hair over her shoulder. This was Jordan's cue to walk out of the back room and join Alex and Damien.

When Jordan reached the patio table, Alex stood up brilliantly smiling at him and giving him an Oscar worthy kiss. Jordan would have given his entire Midnight Sun salary to see the look on Damien's face but figured he'd have a chance later, since hundreds of cameras, both professional and cell phone, were capturing their public display of affection.

"Hey babe," Jordan said, smiling at Alex. Without missing a beat, Jordan then reached out to dap-up Damien and pulled him into a hug. Damien had the grace to accept the greeting with a smile, in the midst of all the cameras. Jordan took a seat next to Alex and waved a server over.

Damien cleared his throat, "Nice to finally meet you, Jordan. I wasn't aware I'd be a third wheel at this lunch." He adjusted himself in his seat, clearly feeling uncomfortable. The server introduced herself and took their drink orders before walking away.

"Don't be foolish Damien, we're all friends, here. I was just telling Jordan, the other day, what a great job you were doing preparing me for my first major media tour and he was just eager to meet you." Alex said, smiling sweetly.

"Yeah, I was really intrigued by some of your techniques. Especially when I showed up to my girl's spot and found out you were dropping by early with flowers and leaving late."

"Look man," Damien said shifting in his seat again, "I didn't mean any disrespect. I thought she was single and had reason to believe she might be interested, so I had to shoot my shot."

"Damien, shooting your shot has caused a lot of problems for my girl. She's out here getting death threats and -"

"Death threats?!" Damien exclaimed. "Whoa, that's not even what I was trying to do." The server reappeared with their cocktails and a complimentary appetizer, for the table.

"Look," Damien continued, "Your mom called me up and told me she wanted your session extended and that you had mentioned you really enjoyed my company." Jordan clenched his jaw as he felt the adrenaline start to course through his veins. So, she doesn't have a problem with Alex dating; she just has a problem with Alex dating me, in particular?! He thought.

"Then she happened to mention your love of white tulips, which is why I showed up with them." Damien shrugged at Jordan, "Like I said, I meant no disrespect." Damien then picked up a coconut butterfly shrimp and bit into it, before having a sip of his cocktail.

Jordan looked over at Alex who maintained a pleasant expression, but seemed stiff and unsettled. He wanted to end the lunch immediately, but the optics had to be right for the plan to go over well.

Jordan laughed and returned the shrug, "No problem, bruh. Sounds like a simple misunderstanding to me, right babe?" He put his arm around Alex and kissed the top of her head. She smiled and nodded quietly, then took a sip of her drink.

After another fifteen minutes of small talk, Jordan offered to pick up the check and the three of them exchanged hugs and farewells for the cameras; Damien walking ahead, while Alex and Jordan trailed behind hand in hand.

By the time Jordan and Alex sat in the car, Twitter was flooded with pictures of Damien, Alex and Jordan laughing under the sun, over drinks. The hashtag 'CocktailsAndCoconutShrimp' was trending with all sorts of memes praising Alex and Jordan's relationship as "goals".

"Looks like Zee's plan is already working," he said trying to lighten Alex's spirits. Jordan was concerned that she had barely said ten words since Damien explained what happened. "Are you ok?"

"No, I'm not." Alex replied, quietly. "Why would my mother lie to Damien about me being interested in him, but then shut you down? It doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't," Jordan agreed, "Maybe she thought he would give you better advice, if he believe you were interested in him?" He suggested.

"Maybe..." Alex turned towards the window and became quiet again. Just then, Jordan received an Instagram direct message notification.

[DM from LBD to TheRealJordanW] I can't believe you took her back! Please, don't let her hurt you again!

"I guess you're not doing good if nobody's hating." Jordan said, shaking his head.

Alex turned to Jordan, "What are you talking about?"

He handed his phone over to Alex for her to see the message. "Some of my fans are super invested. This is one of them. She doesn't DM me regularly. Only once in a blue moon when she's feeling some type of way."

"Wait, LBD?"

"Yeah, I think it's short for little black dress. But don't worry, she's harmless. I can respond and tell her to cool it down."

Alex looked skeptical, "If she's so harmless, why did I receive a death threat on Twitter from the same handle?" She passed the phone back to Jordan.

"LBD sent you a threat? Wow, I'm surprised. I kinda feel like there's a handful of day one fans who are super chill and respectful...I definitely thought she was one of them." Jordan started typing.

[DM from TheRealJordanW to LBD] I'm sorry LBD, but you know I'm all about peace and love. I can't have followers or fans who are sending death threats to anyone. Especially not my love, Alexandra Montgomery.

He then proceeded to block LBD. "There, I blocked her. I hope you blocked her, too."

"Yeah, I already did."

The car pulled up to the front of Alex's apartment, "Do you want to get some things and come home with me?" Jordan asked, hopeful she'd say yes.

"I think I need to be alone, tonight. I've got a lot to think about." Alex said, sliding over to give Jordan a hug.

"Well, I only have a few more days before I'm back on set filming season three of D.C. Under Cover. I want to spend as much time with you as possible before you start traveling and I start filming late nights."

"I'll make time for you, babe" Alex said, still sounding down.

"Alright. I love you."

"I love you too."

When Alex got out of the car, Vince moved from the front passenger seat to the back with Jordan. Once they pulled off, Vince began to speak.

"I have an update on that number you gave me."

Jordan's heart rate increased and he tried to mentally prepare himself for the information. "Alright, what did you find out?"

"The number was encrypted. It was registered to an Anthony Wiggins, former NYPD, who now works on the west coast as a private investigator. He fit the description Doug gave, too."

Jordan rubbed his jaw in astonishment. Why the hell would a PI want pictures of me and Alex? He thought about calling Alex to share the information, but she was already having trouble dealing with the Damien situation. That would just be too much for her to handle right now, he thought to himself.

He decided he wouldn't tell Alex about this until he knew how far the rabbit hole went.

"Can you keep tabs on this guy, for me?" Jordan asked.

Vince nodded. And when Vince nodded, the matter would be handled.