Sweet Tooth: A Second Chance Romance

by Aria Ford

  “Fuck,” he groaned, releasing his own pleasure seconds later.

  He panted and held onto my legs tightly, his body convulsing. When he could breathe again, he collapsed onto the bed beside me, leaving me lying there sweaty and weak.

  “Fuck,” he said again. “Shit, that was amazing.”

  I nodded and rolled to the side. My body was still shaky from the incredible orgasm, but my brain was finally working again. As I laid there, I couldn’t believe what we just did. Ryan was right, it had been amazing, but how could I let myself go there with him?

  “I should go,” I said weakly, jumping to my feet and frantically searching for my clothes. I got dressed so fast that Ryan barely had time to sit up.

  “What?” he asked with a hurt look spreading across his face. “Why?”

  I didn’t answer. I just grabbed my glasses and hurried out of the room, not stopping until I reached my car.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Ryan

  I woke up Monday morning to the sound of knocking on my door. Hoping it was Jacqueline, I threw my covers off and ran into the living room. I’d been trying to call Jacqueline for two days, ever since she left after we had sex, but she never answered. When I threw open my front door, I expected to see her standing there.

  “Bradley,” I said in shock. “What are you doing here, man?”

  My heart raced. If Bradley was showing up unannounced like this, then something must have been wrong. I studied his face for a second, trying to discern whether he knew about me and his sister.

  “Get dressed,” he ordered. “Meet me outside.”

  With that, he turned and walked toward the parking lot. I let the front door swing shut before moving to my bedroom. I threw on whatever clothes I could find and then brushed my teeth quickly. I still didn’t know why Bradley was here, but I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. If he did know about me and Jacqueline, what would he say? Would this be the end of our friendship?

  As I walked outside, I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans. After all the missions Bradley and I went on together, this one felt the most dangerous.

  “Hey,” I said, stopping in front of Bradley. He was leaning against his car and eying me with concern. “So, what’s up?”

  “You hungry?” he asked. “I think I saw a diner just across the street,”

  I nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

  “Let’s go,” Bradley said, jerking his head to the side.

  Together, we crossed the street and stepped into the diner. I led Bradley to my usual booth in the back corner, and we sat down. It wasn’t long before a waitress appeared to take our drink orders. We ordered and then she walked away, leaving us alone.

  “Are you going to tell me why you’re here or what?” I demanded. Being blunt was always something Bradley and I did well. We never bullshitted each other.

  “You need to come see Mom and Dad,” he said with a determined look on his face.

  “Are you fucking serious?” I groaned, leaning back against the booth. “That’s why you’re here?”

  “Yes,” he said. “And yes, I’m serious. Enough is enough, Ry. It’s time.”

  “Look,” I began, but the waitress appeared by my side. She put our drinks down and then took our food orders. When she left, I turned back to Bradley. “I understand why you’re doing this, okay? I really do, but you’re wasting your time. I’m not going. I won’t see them.”

  “Why?” Bradley demanded. “Give me one good reason and I’ll drop it. I swear.”

  “You know why,” I snapped. “You were there the night they kicked me out, remember? You watched while your dad dismissed me like I was nothing. Brad, they took me in, adopted me, and then threw me to the wolves. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Run back to them on bended knee? You know me better than that.”

  “That was years ago,” Bradley said. “They’re over it, and you should be too.”

  “Well, I’m not,” I said. “Honestly, I don’t think I’m ever going to be over it.”

  “Family is forever,” Bradley argued. “No matter what you do or how long you stay away, we’re still your family. We always will be.”

  “You are my family,” I corrected. “You are the only person who has never turned your back on me. To me? That’s what family means. Your parents? The almighty Keetons? They aren’t my family. Can’t you just accept that and move on? Please. It would make both our lives so much easier.”

  “No,” Bradley said with frustration. “Dammit Ryan, when are you going to grow up? When are you going to realize that not everything is their fault?”

  “I know it isn’t,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “But this is. They were supposed to stand by me, Brad. They were supposed to be my parents, just like you claim they are. But they didn’t. They weren’t. They didn’t act like parents or even family. They acted like assholes, and now? I’m done. Okay? I’m done with them.”

  “Is that true?” Bradley asked. “Or are you just too afraid to face them?”

  I glared at Bradley with anger, but he didn’t back down. He stared right back at me, waiting for the answer I would never give. Finally, our food came and broke the tension between us.

  “Let’s just eat,” I said with a sigh. “This conversation isn’t getting us anywhere.”

  “Fine,” Bradley said, raising his hands in defeat. “For now.”

  I nodded. “Thank you.”

  We dove into our food, demolishing it in seconds. The diner had an amazing breakfast menu, and we both finished our meals in record time. When we were done, I was ready to leave. Seeing Bradley was great, but bringing up the Keetons was not. It wasn’t easy to remember how I felt back then, how broken I was after they made me leave.

  “Have you seen Jacqueline?” Bradley asked suddenly. “She said she’d stop by.”

  “She did,” I said, clearing my throat. “Yeah, we had lunch.”

  “Great,” Bradley said. “How was she?”

  “You would know the answer to that better than me,” I said, grinning. “I barely recognized her when she showed up at my door.”

  Bradley laughed. “Really? Yeah, I guess she’s grown up a lot, huh?”

  “She has,” I agreed, trying not to sound too enthusiastic.

  As we talked about Jacqueline, all I could see was her naked body in my mind’s eye. I watched her perky breasts bounce with the rhythm of my thrusts. It took everything in me to pull my focus back to reality.

  I could always tell Bradley everything. We were brothers, best friends, confidants. But this? I couldn’t imagine what he would say if I fessed up to sleeping with his sister. He was already livid with me about his parents. How would he feel if he found out about Jacqueline?

  “You two gonna hang out again?” Bradley asked.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, man. She’s busy with the vet clinic. I don’t want to bother her.”

  “You won’t,” Bradley promised. “She loves you just as much as I do, Ry. She missed you. You should have seen her at the homecoming party. God, she was pissed.”

  “She was?” I asked. “About what?”

  “Well,” Bradley said, smiling. “Mom didn’t put your name on the cake. She tried to tell Jacqueline that you weren’t even coming, but Ash didn’t care. She got so pissed about it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that upset.”

  “I doubt it was that bad,” I scoffed. “Come on, she barely knows me.”

  “That’s not true,” Bradley said, shaking his head. “Look, you may have disowned all of us, but we haven’t disowned you. Jacqueline still cares about you, man. Why else would she fly off the handle about a damn cake?”

  I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say. The thought of Jacqueline coming to my defense sent a warm feeling shooting through my chest. It took all my strength to keep the smile off my face, in case it gave me away. Still, it brought even more confusion to our situation.

  If Jacqueline still cared about me that much, why did she run out Sa
turday morning? After we had sex, she just bolted without any explanation. She’d been avoiding my calls ever since. I refused to believe it was because she thought of me as a brother. There was no way, after what we did, that her feelings for me were familial. She wanted me. I saw it in her eyes. I heard it in her moans.

  As Bradley and I finished our coffee and paid the bill, my mind stayed focused on Jacqueline. More than anything, I wanted to talk to her, to see her, and to find out exactly what made her run.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Jacqueline

  Thursday flew by quickly. I had a nonstop stream of patients, and by five o’clock, I was more than ready to go home and fall asleep. My body was sore, and my brain was exhausted. I loved my job, but it was hard when I didn’t get a single break throughout the day. Still, I was grateful for the distraction.

  It had been almost a full week since I last saw Ryan. When I left that morning, I wasn’t thinking about anything but getting away. He didn’t deserve what I did, but I couldn’t help it. My entire body forced me out the door.

  I thought about Ryan on and off all week. When I wasn’t busy, I relived that morning. I could still smell the sweat and old alcohol on his skin. Normally, that scent would have been enough to make me gag. With Ryan, though, it only served to ignite my desire.

  His muscular body and strategically placed tattoos stayed burned in my mine, taunting me through the week. By the time Thursday arrived, I was more confused than ever.

  In so many ways, Ryan was like family. My parents legally adopted him when we were just kids, but we didn’t grow up together. Not for long. When they kicked him out, he left without argument and never returned. I wanted to think of him as a brother, but it was impossible.

  When I pictured his face, butterflies erupted in my stomach. Just the sight of his eyes locked on mine was enough to send chills cascading down my back. I couldn’t deny that I wanted him. Physically and emotionally, I wanted him. But what did that mean? How could I let myself feel such things for him?

  As the clinic closed, I walked to the front desk to take my messages from Heidi. She was closing down her computer when I stepped around the corner.

  “Hey, boss,” she said. “Messages are on your desk, but someone just called requesting a house call.”

  “Really?” I groaned. “Okay, I’ll leave now. Can you lock up on your way out?”

  Heidi nodded. “Of course.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Just text me the address.”

  “Will do!” Heidi called as I walked out the front door.

  House calls never bothered me. I felt that it was an important part of my job. Animals weren’t always well enough to travel, and it wasn’t right to move them simply for my convenience. Still, I’d been looking forward to a little sleep tonight.

  I climbed behind my steering wheel just as Heidi texted me the address. I plugged it into my car’s navigation system without thinking and pulled out of the parking lot. As I drove through town, I realized how familiar these streets looked. When I turned into Ryan’s apartment complex, I let out a disbelieving groan. If only I had checked the address before, I would have realized it was Ryan’s apartment.

  I parked and hurried to Ryan’s door, wondering what was wrong with Bob. Deep down, I worried Ryan only called to get me over here, but I refused to believe that. Despite the number of ignored phone calls over the last five days, I didn’t think Ryan would resort to something so drastic just to talk to me. There must have been something really wrong with Bob.

  I knocked on his door and stood back, waiting for it to swing open. When it did, Ryan was grinning at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

  “Seriously?” I snapped. “He’s not even sick?”

  “Come inside,” Ryan said, turning to let me by.

  “Where is he?” I demanded.

  I looked around the room until my eyes fell on the grey blob that was Bob. He was curled up on Ryan’s couch with his eyes squeezed tightly closed. From where I stood by the front door, I could see that his breathing was normal and steady. I whirled around to face Ryan, anger bubbling inside me.

  “You hungry?” Ryan asked, feigning innocence. “I made spaghetti.”

  “Is this a joke to you?” I asked with exasperation. “This is my job, Ryan.”

  “Which is how I knew you would come,” he said seriously. “You wouldn’t answer my phone calls, Jacqueline. I had to get you over here somehow.”

  “No!” I said. “You didn’t. You could have respected the fact that I didn’t want to talk.”

  “Come on,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes. “Just eat dinner with me. Please.”

  My “no” was poised on the tip of my tongue, ready to fly out with venom. As I looked at Ryan’s pleading face, I couldn’t bring myself to say it. He seemed so sincere, standing in front of me with a vulnerable expression. It took a lot for him to trick me into coming over. He was showing just how much he cared, which wasn’t at all like him. I sighed and shrugged.

  “Fine,” I said. “But only because I’m hungry and spaghetti sounds amazing.”

  “Sit down,” Ryan said with a grin. “I’ll get you a plate.”

  Looking across the room, I saw a small kitchen table was set up. I smiled to myself and walked over, sitting down slowly and eying the flowers in the center of the table.

  “When did you buy this?” I asked, tapping the table with my nails.

  “Monday,” Ryan said. “Bradley came by and insisted I do some shopping. He dragged me all over town. He even made me buy curtains.”

  I laughed and looked at the windows. Sure enough, there were navy-blue curtains hanging from brand-new curtain rods.

  “Bradley’s good like that,” I said as Ryan laid a plate of spaghetti in front of me.

  He handed me a fork and then pulled up his own chair.

  “He’s annoying,” Ryan said with a small laugh. “He can be such a girl sometimes.”

  “Having good taste does not make him a girl,” I said sternly. “You’re just jealous that he has a better eye for home décor than you do.”

  “Oh yeah,” Ryan said, laughing. “That’s right. My secret desire is to become a metrosexual just like your brother.”

  I laughed. “Stop it.” I took a bite of the spaghetti. It wasn’t bad.

  “He’s been bugging me about your parents,” Ryan admitted softly. When I looked at him, he didn’t meet my gaze. His eyes were focused on his plate, but he wasn’t eating.

  “What about them?” I asked.

  “He wants me to see them,” Ryan said. “He thinks I should go by the house. Just drop by like it’s nothing.”

  His laugh was dark and brought an uneasy feeling to my stomach. As I watched him, he ate his spaghetti and fell silent. I knew how hard it was for him to talk about my parents. They hadn’t been fair to him, but I could tell he missed them. It was written all over his face.

  “Maybe it’s not such a bad idea,” I said, keeping my voice soft, so as not to upset him. “Bradley’s right. It might be good for you.”

  “How?” he said, finally looking at me. “Don’t you remember what happened that night? They’ll never forgive me for—”

  “They will,” I interrupted quickly. I didn’t think I could handle reliving that horrible night all over again. “I’m pretty sure they already have. They’ll never admit that to me, but it’s true.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Ryan said. His voice was firm, but there was hope in his eyes. “Besides, it’s too late. It’s been too long.”

  “It’s never too late when it comes to family,” I said.

  “Now you sound like Bradley,” Ryan said, laughing.

  I shrugged. “Well, he is my brother.”

  “And me?” Ryan asked, his eyes locked on mine. “What am I?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, sighing. “Ryan, this is all just too complicated.”

  He nodded. “I know. Is that why you left so fast?”

  “I had to,” I said. “I’
m sorry. I should’ve explained myself, but I just freaked out.”

  “I understand,” he said. “But you don’t have to be. We can keep things strictly platonic. If that’s what you want.”

  “I don’t know what I want,” I admitted, my eyes flickering down to my plate and then back up to his face.

  We stared at each other for a few seconds, both remembering what it felt like to be together. Our bodies fit so perfectly together. I’d never had such a connection during a sexual experience before. If I was honest, I knew I wanted him. I wanted to feel that way again, but I couldn’t admit that. Not now. Not yet.

  “Stay the night,” Ryan said, his voice low and rough. “We can just sleep.”

  “I can’t,” I said. “Ryan, I just can’t.”

  “Okay.” He nodded, accepting my answer. The fact that he didn’t argue made my resolve weaken. Ryan so often argued, pushing me further than anyone else could. To see him just blindly accept my rejection was heart-wrenching and told me just how much he truly cared for me.