The Hard Way

by Katie Ashley

  “I am, but I have a Hummer now, too.”

  “What could a single guy possibly need with a vehicle that big?”

  “To pile all my buddies in,” he replied with a grin.

  “I should have known.”

  After putting me in the car, Cade hustled over to his side. Once we were out of The Ark’s parking lot, he made a few turns before pulling in at an Irish pub. The orange and green sign read O’Malley’s. “Ever been here before?” Cade asked as we got out of the car.

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “It’s a cool place. They have a back room filled with big screens. The guys and I come here sometimes to watch the NBA games.”

  “I guess you’re too busy during football season to come down here for the NFL games.”

  “Pretty much. Sometimes we catch a few on the plane or in hotel rooms.”

  I smiled at him. “It must be so cool to get to travel like that.”

  “It is. Even though we don’t get a lot of time while we’re in different cities, I try to soak up some of the culture.”

  “Really? Not just the night life?” I teasingly asked.

  He held the front door open for me. “Ha, ha.”

  Since it was almost one, the bar was pretty packed with the lunchtime crowd. A waiter approached our table. “Hey guys, I’m Blane. What can I start you off with?”

  My gaze snapped to Cade’s at the name Blane. In my mind, I could hear John Cryer’s voice disdainfully saying, “Blane? That's a major appliance, that's not a name!” Of course, the thought of the movie immediately took me back to Pretty in Pink and the night Cade and I made love.

  I ducked my head. “I’ll have a vodka and cranberry as well as a water.”

  “Shot of Crown Royal.”

  She nodded and left to fill our orders. Glancing around, I said sheepishly, “I can’t believe I just ordered alcohol this early. I never drink in the daytime during the week.”

  Cade grinned. “That doesn’t surprise me, Prescott. I just hope that statement means that you do drink in the evening.”

  “Yes. I do.”

  “Good. You need to go wild every once in a while.”

  “I’m not so sure having a glass of wine at night while I’m studying law cases really constitutes as going wild.”

  Cade leaned in on the table with his elbows. “Please tell me that in the last three years, you’ve at least attended one college party.”

  “For your information, I’ve attended several.”

  Tilting his head at me, Cade said, “Parties still aren’t you’re thing, are they?”

  Apparently he remembered how antisocial I could be. “Nope.”

  “I guess some things never change.”

  The waitress returned to deposit our drinks on the table. When I took a hearty gulp of my cranberry and vodka, it burned a trail all the way down to my stomach. After I set the drink down, I eyed Cade curiously. I realized that even though we’d seen each other for a week, we had yet to really catch up. “So what have you been up to besides streaking through alumni dinners?”

  Cade laughed. “Doing my premed thing. Mostly As, a few Bs, and the one C that led to the previously mentioned streaking.”

  “No special lady?” I blurted out, regretting it instantly.

  Cade pinned me with an intense stare. “No one lady and no one special.”

  I shook my head. “I see you haven’t changed in that area.”

  “No. I guess I haven’t. What about you?”

  “Do I have a special lady?”

  Cade grinned. “I’m not going to lie that the idea of you with a chick gets me a little hard, but I meant do you have someone in your life?”

  “Not right now.”

  “So there was someone recently?”

  “Yes, there was.”

  “And?”

  “He was a nice, decent someone that I had for a year.” I traced the rim of my glass with my finger. “But I realized it wasn’t fair to him because I didn’t love him like he loved me.”

  A low whistle came from Cade’s mouth. “Jesus, Prescott, who knew a sweetheart like you would be breaking hearts?”

  “I have to say it’s a hell of a lot easier than having your heart broken.”

  Cade grimaced. “Touché.” He then waved his hand for Blane. “On that note, I think I need another drink. Want something else?”

  “I’ll take another cranberry and vodka.”

  “What about something to eat?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not sure I can.”

  Cade’s brow creased with worry. “You probably need to. Why don’t I order the appetizer platter and you can see if you find something you like?”

  My heart fluttered at his thoughtfulness. Wanting to ignore the surge of emotions in my chest, I jokingly said, “Okay, Mom.”

  Ignoring me, Cade said, “We’ll take another cranberry and vodka for the lady, a Bud for me, and the appetizer platter. In the meantime, can you bring us out some rolls?”

  “Sure thing,” the waitress replied.

  Cade rolled his eyes in exaggerated bliss. “Wait until you try one of their rolls. They are seriously to die for. They kinda remind me of the ones your Nana made at Thanksgiving.”

  I blinked at him in surprise. How was it possible that after all these years, Cade remembered what Nana’s homemade rolls tasted like?

  “Speaking of your Nana, how is she?”

  “Good.” Cade appeared relieved that nothing bad had happened to Nana. “She’s still working on the farm like she was my age. We can’t get her to slow down. She still insists on cooking a big meal every Sunday and having all the family in.”

  “She’s an amazing woman.”

  “She really is.”

  “And your mom? How’s she?”

  “She’s been dating a guy for the last two years. He’s proposed twice, but she still refuses. I’m hoping the third time will be the charm.”

  “You must like him.”

  I nodded. “Bryan is a really nice guy. He has sole custody of his two teenage sons.”

  Cade waggled his eyebrows. “Are they hot? The whole stepbrother thing could be some kinky fun.”

  “Um, ew. Jace and Jeremy are thirteen and fifteen.”

  “Hmm, you might want to wait a few years before making your move, you know, when they’re legal.”

  I laughed. “I don’t want to hook up with them, pervert. I like hanging out with them in a brother/sister way. That’s it.”

  “Do you go home much?”

  Yeah, I actually went home Monday because I was so emotionally crippled by seeing you. “Not as much as I’d like. Two weekends a month, maybe three. Sometimes I pick up shifts at the Piedmont women’s shelter on the weekends.”

  Cade smiled at me. “Always trying to make the world a better place.”

  “Since it’s a paying job, I don’t know how noble it is.”

  “It’s noble.”

  “Thank you.”

  The waiter returned with our new drinks and rolls. Before I could protest that I really didn’t think I could eat one, Cade had already started buttering one for me. “Come on. Just a few bites,” he urged.

  “Okay, okay.” The moment I bit into the roll, I moaned. “Wow, these really are good.”

  “See, I told you,” Cade replied as he began buttering a roll of his own.

  “How are your parents?”

  “The same. My dad narrowly got reelected a year ago, so he’s even more hypersensitive about his family’s image than usual. You can imagine how thrilled he was when he got the call about me streaking.”

  I winced. “I’m sure that wasn’t a fun conversation.”

  “Nope, it wasn’t. He did work pretty hard to get me out of working at The Ark.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  Cade grinned as he took another swig of his beer. “I forgot you had firsthand knowledge of my dad’s ability to get me and my friends out of trouble.”

  I couldn
’t help smiling a little at the memory of the day we’d almost gotten arrested for trespassing on Mr. Frost’s farm. “I am grateful he helped out that day.”

  Cade’s brows popped up. “You are?”

  “Of course I am.”

  “See the way I remember it, you told me off that day.”

  “Not because of your dad—for the way you treated that officer,” I argued.

  “Yeah. I was a real jerk to that guy.”

  “I’m glad you can see that. Of course, I would imagine the same could be said for the professor whose dinner you ruined with your streaking.”

  An uncomfortable look came over Cade as he shifted in his seat. “What can I say? I’m just an asshole.”

  “You were.”

  “What?”

  “You were an asshole.” I shook my head. “But not any more.”

  The corners of Cade’s lips quirked. “That’s right. It’s in the past, and I guess it was meant to be; otherwise I wouldn’t have met back up with you.”

  I couldn’t speak for a moment. Instead, all I could think of was how if Cade hadn’t been at The Ark, I could have been shot. I could have been dead. The thought caused a shudder to ripple through me. Those feelings were also compounded by the fact that things would have been so different emotionally if I hadn’t met back up with Cade.

  He sat a little straighter in his seat before clearing his throat a few times. “Listen, there’s something I need to say—something I’ve needed to say for a long, long time.”

  Oh my God. Was this really happening? After all this time was Cade really about to apologize to me? My fingers gripped the edge of the table as I held on for dear life. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure I could cope with any more emotional trauma at that point though. I had nearly been shot just an hour before and I didn’t think I had yet processed that completely, but the way Cade was looking at me was so intense, I didn’t feel I could escape it.

  Cade’s expression turned agonized. “I’m sorry, Avery. I’m really fucking sorry for the way I treated you.”

  The breath I’d been holding whooshed out of me, and I felt like a deflated balloon. I’d waited three long years for an apology from Cade. I’d resigned myself to the fact that I would never get one, especially after how he had treated me the past week.

  When I continued sitting in a stunned stupor, Cade kept on talking. “I wouldn’t blame you for not forgiving me, but believe me when I say that while it might not have seemed like it bothered me, I’ve been haunted about what happened between us.”

  “You have?” I whispered.

  He yanked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I have. When I think about what I said to you that day at school…” He closed his eyes as if he were in pain. “Jesus, Prescott, it was so horrible I don’t even have words.”

  Pinching my eyes shut, I said, “I can’t believe we’re doing this right now. Wasn’t it enough that I was almost shot an hour ago?”

  “I know the timing is fucked, but if I’ve learned anything in the last hour, it’s that you can’t take one minute for granted. You have to make things right—I had to make things right.”

  Regardless of all the reasons not to ask, I couldn’t ignore the question burning inside me. “Why?” Tears stung my eyes, and I fought with everything within me to not start sobbing hysterically in the middle of the bar. “After everything we had been through together, after everything that had happened at Mom’s store, how could you toss me aside like that?”

  Cade downed the rest of his beer. “I guess after all this time, you deserve the truth.”

  “I sure as hell do.”

  “What I did had everything to do with how much I cared for you.”

  “I find that very hard to believe.”

  “Just hear me out, and once you do, you can tell me if you still think that.”

  I eased back against the padded back of the booth. “Okay. I will.”

  CADE

  As I came out of a deep sleep, I blinked my eyes a few times. Gazing around at the unfamiliar surroundings, I had the usual oh shit moment people tend to have when they wake up somewhere other than their bed. It was then that my mind quickly processed that my surroundings weren’t actually unfamiliar. I knew exactly where I was—I was sprawled out on a red velvet couch in Rose’s Garden.

  I was naked.

  And I wasn’t alone.

  As I dipped my gaze, I took in Avery’s exposed curves. Her beautiful face was hidden by her long dark hair and her cheek was pressed into my chest. Her labored breaths tickled across my skin, causing goose bumps to rise on my arms.

  I got a swift kick in the junk at the sight of her nakedness. Somehow during the night, she had slid out from the quilt that covered us. As my morning wood bucked against Avery’s thigh, I silently cursed it. I’d never been with a virgin before, but I was pretty sure Avery wouldn’t be feeling like another round this morning. The last thing I wanted was for her to think I was some sex fiend, although she probably already did.

  At the thought of us having sex, regret thundered through my chest. While I had enjoyed every single second of us being together, I hated myself for letting things go too far. I should have told her no and made her wait. Hell, we really hadn’t even had an actual date before. I might’ve been an asshole to women before, but I was a special kind of unimaginable bastard for fucking her—taking her virginity—without taking her out first. Isn’t that what guys in relationships do? Fuck, it was no different than how I normally got laid.

  There was also the fact that I hadn’t told her I loved her. Wait, did I love Avery? The idea of love was such a foreign concept to me that I had to really consider it. It wasn’t like I was Avery, who went around freely saying the words to her mother and grandmother, and her clan of relatives. The words had rarely come from my lips, and they’d only been directed at my grandfather and my nanny. I might’ve said them to my parents when I was young and didn’t understand the weight of the words. I’d sure as hell never told a girl I loved her, not even to get one in bed.

  Maybe I did love Avery. Maybe the feeling of warmth I got in my chest whenever I was around Avery was love. The way the world seemed a little brighter with her around. The way I missed her when she wasn’t around. The way I wanted to be a better man for her. The way I wanted to make her life better. If that was love, I wanted that.

  While it was great that I was having this epiphany about my feelings, it still didn’t erase the shadiness of what had happened. What if Avery woke up and regretted giving her virginity to me? What if that regret turned to hatred, and she told me she never wanted to see me again because I was a heartless bastard?

  Lying there staring up at the ceiling, the walls began to close in on me. I had to fight to catch my breath. Anxiety like I had never experienced before pricked its way over my skin like tiny needles.

  “Hey,” Avery whispered.

  I flicked my gaze from the ceiling to her. “Hey.”

  Her brows creased in worry. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” I forced a smile to my lips. “I think I should be one the asking you that.”

  She pulled the quilt around her before easing up into a sitting position. “It was the expression on your face that worried me.” She once again played with the flowers on the quilt. “Like you were regretting being here with me.”

  “I was.” At Avery’s gasp of horror, I quickly pulled her against me and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

  Jerking her chin up defiantly, she countered, “Oh really? You just said you regretted being here with me.”

  “But not how you’re thinking.”

  “Then how?” she demanded.

  I sighed. “If I looked regretful, it was because I was feeling like a bastard for taking your virginity.”

  Avery shook her head. “You didn’t take my virginity, Cade. I gave it to you willingly.”

  “While that might be true, I could have turned you down, asked you to wait. I me
an, Jesus, Aves, I didn’t even buy you dinner last night. We’ve never even been out together.” I groaned and rubbed my hand over my eyes. “I’m a fucking hack.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Yeah, I am.”

  “Would it make you feel better if I made you pay for the sandwiches, popcorn, and Cokes we had last night?” Avery asked with a teasing smile.

  I chuckled. “Maybe.”

  “I’d be happy to do it if it would make you stop beating yourself up.”

  Peering curiously at her, I asked, “You don’t have any regrets about last night?”

  She shook her head. “It was everything I hoped it would be.”

  “On a junky piece of furniture in your mother’s store?”

  “No, because it was with someone I loved. Sure, I had romantic fantasies of having sex in front of a fire or on the beach.” She cupped my face in her hands. “But this was just as beautiful as anything I had ever imagined.”

  “It certainly beat my first time,” I quipped.

  Avery wrinkled her nose. “I would say so.”

  Realizing she needed something remotely romantic from me, I said, “It was pretty amazing for me, Prescott.”

  Her brows shot up into her hairline. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. You shouldn’t be surprised by your sex appeal.”

  Her cheeks flushed. “I just didn’t think I knew the right things to do.”

  “Trust me. You did everything right.”

  “Except a blow job,” she teased.

  The air wheezed out of my lungs as I quickly shot down any ideas my dick had about volunteering as tribute. “There’s always next time.”

  A shy smile curved on Avery’s lips. “Sooner than later, right?”

  I laughed. “Don’t tell me having sex one time has turned you into a nympho?”

  She giggled. “No. I just want to be with you again.”

  For the first time in my life, I felt the same. I wanted to be with Avery. I wanted her back in my arms, my body wrapped around hers, our souls and bodies making love.

  “And you will.” I hope to fuck it was going to be soon. Now that I had had Avery, there was no way I could not have her again.