5 Years Later_a second chance romance novel

by London Casey

  “Hey, I fucked up your after-work drink,” I said. “I’m sorry, Bill. Just get out of here and go find somewhere else to drink.”

  “And you’re going to stay?”

  “Leave it, man.”

  “You can be a real dumb ass sometimes, Aiden. If you get arrested, don’t call me.”

  “Thanks, Bill. But I’m not going to get arrested.”

  “I just wanted a fucking beer.”

  Bill tore open the door of his truck and climbed inside. He slammed the door and started the truck. Being the prick I was, I stepped forward and knocked on the window.

  Slowly, it went down.

  “See you tomorrow, Bill,” I said.

  “Asshole,” he said.

  Bill took off through the parking lot, rolling his window up, the tires squealing as he made a sharp right. I made my way around to the back of the restaurant where there was a squared chain link fence with green plastic woven through it, designed to hide the fact that there was a set of dumpsters hiding. Yeah, maybe I couldn’t see it, but I sure as hell could smell it.

  Beyond the hidden dumpsters were two tables with four chairs each, overflowing ashtrays of cigarette butts, with plenty more on the ground. There was a small canopy over the tables, connecting at the back of the restaurant. Basically, a glorified tarp connected to two metal poles.

  I stood there for a couple of minutes and the back door finally opened.

  Lily stood there.

  Our eyes locked and I saw the faintest of a flicker of a smile on her face.

  Damn, she was as pretty as I could ever remember her.

  I flexed my right hand and looked at my knuckles. They were swollen but not much. Years of turning a wrench and smacking knuckles off metal had a way of toughening them up.

  Lily approached me and I forced myself to keep my hands at my sides.

  She slammed her hands off my chest. “Are you kidding me?”

  “What?”

  She hit me again. And again. She made a fist with her right hand and swung at my shoulder, clocking me. She got me pretty good. It fucking hurt.

  She grabbed her hand.

  “I hate you, Aiden. What the hell are you doing here? And attacking someone? This is my job.”

  “You look great,” I said.

  “What?”

  “You heard me. You look great. Are you happy here?”

  “Am I happy?” She looked flustered. “I was happy. I mean, where did you come from? Do you live around here?”

  I put a hand up. “Do I get a chance to talk?”

  “Oh, excuse me,” Lily said. “Five years I have this lasting image of you taking on police and EMTs outside my apartment. Which, by the way, right after you left? That same day? My boss called me and fired me. So, I lost the only real job I ever had in my entire life. And then you were gone. I…”

  I couldn’t take it any longer.

  I walked right to her and grabbed her by the face. I held her for a quick second and then kissed her.

  A bold move? Yeah. But it was the only way I could think to get her to calm the hell down.

  I let her go a second later and stepped back.

  “Lily,” I said softly. “You look great. I live about an hour away. I work at a shithole garage turning a wrench. My asshole boss had me and my buddy Bill working early morning through the afternoon. Then we had to deliver some fucking parts. He wanted to stop and grab a beer and catch the game.”

  “You hate sports,” Lily said.

  “You remember that, huh?”

  “Shut up, Aiden.”

  I laughed. “I was here for a beer. I didn’t know you worked here. And when I heard that guy…”

  “You’re the only guy in that place not focused on the game,” she said.

  “That’s a lie. The two guys at that table were watching you.”

  “Fuck them.”

  “That happens a lot?”

  “Does it really matter, Aiden?”

  “I’ll go in there and fucking knock out everyone in there. Managers and all.”

  Lily laughed.

  Fuck, that sweet smile of hers was killer.

  “When do you get out of here?”

  “I still have a couple hours,” she said.

  I nodded. I mentally noted her blurted-out comment about having a date.

  “Can we meet up after?”

  “Meet up…”

  “Grab a drink. Something to eat.”

  “Or just come over to my place,” she said. “If you can stay in the area for a couple hours.”

  “I think I can manage that,” I said.

  I stepped toward her again. Her hand shot out and touched my chest.

  “Listen, Aiden. We’re not young. Okay? I mean, I’m not eighteen and naive. I’m not twenty-three and I’m not going to throw it all away for you again. No offense."

  “None taken,” I said. “I just want to hear how things have been. Tell you about my fucked-up life. Most of all, I just want to know if you’re happy or not.”

  “Lily!” a voice yelled. “This isn’t break time!”

  I curled my lip.

  Lily curled her hand around my shirt. “Don’t, Aiden. That’s my manager.” She turned her head. “On my way!”

  Then she looked at me again. “Two hours. Meet me here.”

  “Two hours,” I said with a grin.

  There was a slight hesitation and at the last possible second Lily jumped forward, stood on her toes, and planted a kiss on my cheek. I watched her walk away, watching that perfect ass of hers. Yes, I’d just got done knocking some stranger out for doing the same thing. The difference? I knew Lily was smirking, knowing I was staring at her ass. And she was my Lily, my flower.

  And while forever seemed like a distant war for us that never resolved itself, I knew the truth.

  We would always have every now and again.

  Chapter 22

  (What About Your Date?)

  FIVE YEARS AGO

  (LILY)

  I couldn’t focus. All I wanted to do was pace. I sat in the small office that smelled like old rotted wood. Dale had a torn-up binder open and was flipping through pages. Sweat was collecting on his forehead, and he was jittery, as if he had too much coffee.

  “You’re in shock,” he said.

  “What?”

  “I’m asking you questions and you’re not listening. Dammit. If I have to call the police, I will. Whatever you need me to do here, Lily. Preferably, corporate would want this to be contained in-house…”

  “Corporate?” I asked. “You mean Steve and Beth?”

  “Hey. They own five restaurants and have a General Manager. They’re corporate.”

  “Right. Sorry.”

  Dale threw his pen to the desk. “No. I’m sorry. Look at me, getting frustrated at you. You were attacked. You witnessed a fight.” He shook his head. “I hate to do this, Lily, but I need to make a formal record of this. In case anything happens.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The guy who got beat up. In case he tries to come after us. I need to have this on record. And a copy of the video, so if something happens, police can pursue the attacker.”

  “Attacker? That guy? He saved me.”

  “He hit someone. Repeatedly.”

  “I was going to hit the guy who made comments at me.”

  “You would have been fired.”

  I clenched my jaw shut. Arguing with Dale was useless.

  I sat there, my legs bouncing, and I recounted the entire story. Beginning to end. I did, however, omit the parts that I knew the attacker and then met the attacker out back and planned on meeting the attacker again after work.

  It was a risk to have Aiden back at the restaurant again, but I had no way of contacting him. He had a new cell number, and I didn’t have it yet.

  Once the report was done, Dale told me to head out. My shift was done.

  I nodded and went to the employee room to get a change of clothes. That’s where
one of the waitresses—Willow—was waiting for me.

  “Hey,” she said. “Fucked-up day, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Football,” she said. “I don’t get it. These guys are straight, yet they get all horny watching dudes slam their bodies in one another. That confuses me.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  “Listen, I took care of your tables,” she said. “Told everyone you weren’t feeling well.”

  “I appreciate that, Willow.”

  Willow dug into her apron. “These are the tips.”

  “Willow, you keep them.”

  “No. They were your tables. You did most of the work.”

  I looked at the cash. Sadly, every little bit counted for me. But that didn’t mean I was going to take advantage of people. Even some like Willow who had a lawyer boyfriend who made deep into the six figures and bought her a brand-new car and spoiled the hell out of her. I actually really respected Willow for wanting to work, wanting her own money, and wanting to go to school and become a nurse.

  So, I took half the money.

  “We split,” I said. “Final decision.”

  “Judge and jury, huh?” she asked.

  “That’s right. Thanks again.”

  “Sorry that happened to you. People can really be assholes sometimes.”

  “Yes they can.”

  Willow left, and I got changed. I counted my tips and mentally tried to figure out something that resembled a budget. But my mind wasn’t having it. Instead, it was all about Aiden. I went out back and headed to my car. Before I could even try to worry about where Aiden was or how to contact him, I looked forward and saw a truck facing the back of the restaurant. Behind the wheel? Aiden.

  I gave a wave with my hand.

  He did the same.

  I took the moment in for a second, realizing what I was about to do.

  Let Aiden back into my heart…and probably my bed.

  We made record time, at least in my book. We got to my apartment, gave him the tour (not that there was much of a tour to give), and got us each a drink. I recounted everything that had happened and filled him in on the details about Dale and the stupid paperwork. I warned Aiden about what Dale said when it came to the guy he attacked wanting to press charges, and the restaurant would then need to provide the video footage. Not a thing seemed to bother Aiden, though. His eyes were locked onto mine. I could tell he was listening to me but not paying attention.

  The way he drank from the beer bottle bothered me. In a good way.

  I caught myself droning on, trying to force a one-sided conversation.

  I looked at the clock on the wall and realized we had been in my apartment for almost thirty minutes.

  I mentioned record time…and for good reason.

  I had a vision of opening the door to my apartment and jumping into Aiden’s arms.

  That was the record.

  I ran out of things to say just as Aiden put his now-empty beer bottle on the counter. He wasted no time as he walked right to me and grabbed me by my waist.

  Without a word, he walked me back until I hit a wall. He held me there as I stared up at him.

  Shit.

  He had that look in his eyes. I had that feeling in my heart—and between my thighs.

  He kissed me once, and that’s when I jumped up into his arms. He was then holding me, our bodies locked tight. My hands started to claw down his back, tugging at his shirt, wanting him badly.

  There was no denying our connection. Lust, love, whatever you wanted to call it, it was real, and it was addicting.

  Aiden carried me to my bedroom, and there we took turns taking a piece of clothing off at a time.

  When I took his shirt off, I put my hands to his shoulders. Gripping those huge muscles, knowing I’d always be protected when I was with him. I put my lips to his chest and kissed a horizontal line across to the other side of his chest. Then I decided to go down.

  Kiss after kiss, tasting all that hard muscle. My tongue flicking against the bitter taste of his dried sweat. Manly sweat, though. Sweat that was earned through hard work.

  At the top of his pants, I let my tongue flirt a little. I scratched slowly down his chest until my hands grabbed the top of his jeans. I pulled, exposing all I could, tasting all I could, wanting so much more.

  That’s when Aiden grabbed my arms and pulled me back to my feet. He was so fucking strong. He held me there, and then, with one hand, he reached down opened his own jeans. He shoved them down until his beautiful cock sprang free. He was already mostly hard, his thickness bouncing with the pulse of his heart.

  When I tried to touch him, he swatted my hand out of the way.

  He opened my pants with one hand and slithered his strong fingers into the front of my panties. His callused fingertip slid against my smooth skin, curling around, quickly finding my sensitive clit. I jumped and groaned as he twisted his finger, unlocking all the secrets he already knew about my body and my pleasure.

  His lips brushed against my ear. “You feel as beautiful as you look, sweetheart.”

  I let out a sigh as the tips of two of his fingers entered me. He was gentle for a second, sliding back and forth, but then he made a quick move. His free hand slid around to my bare ass and gripped tight, pulling at the exact same second he thrust his two fingers inside me.

  The sudden and intense pressure made me cry out until I lost my voice. My head fell back. Aiden inside me. His heavy fingers pushing and pulling, sending shockwaves of pleasure everywhere. His lips kissing my ear and then inching down to my neck. He kissed all the way to the other side and bit at my ear.

  “Shirt. Off. Now.”

  I moved as fast as my position let me.

  My shirt went up and over my head. Without him asking, I reached back and unsnapped my bra. My breasts felt so heavy and achy around Aiden. He did things to me that no man could ever come close to doing.

  He then reached between his legs and took a firm grip of his cock and pulled it up. He placed it between us, the bottom of his throbbing shaft pressing against my stomach. His hands then slid around to my back, fingers spreading wide. Slowly, Aiden rocked his hips, making his cock move between us.

  My hands reached for his ass, feeling him flexing each time he pumped forward ever so gently.

  “Holy shit,” I managed to whisper.

  He grinned.

  His right hand climbed up my back, finding my hair. His fingers dug into the back of my head, positioning me where he wanted me. That’s when he kissed me again. This wasn’t like any kiss I could remember. This was something deeper and wilder than we had ever experienced together before.

  And he just stood there, kissing me. Making out with me. His cock so thick and full between us. My toes curled into the carpet on the floor. It was a warm tingling that ran from my toes up to the insides of my legs to my sex. My breasts pressed tight against his chest, my nipples aching to be touched, kissed, teased.

  Slowly, Aiden moved his hands down my back. He didn’t stop until he was at my ass. Down and around, he pulled and lifted me up again. He took two steps and had me on the bed. His hands kept going, grabbing the back of my pants and my panties, tearing at them. He moved with lightning speed and with a thundering storm raging in his eyes.

  He let out a little growl as he came forward. My hands instantly went for the back of his shoulders, and I pulled myself up, my lips kissing the front of his left shoulder. I braced myself for the impact, but in reality, there was no way of bracing for Aiden.

  As he plunged deep into my core, I let out a shuddering whimper and bit his shoulder. I shut my eyes and was taken back to the first time he touched me. We thought we were all grown up, but we weren’t. Shit, even right then at twenty-eight and thirty, who knew if we were actually grown up?

  But that didn’t matter.

  What mattered was that we were right back where we left off. The one place where nothing ever went wrong.

  “Fuck,” Aiden groaned as he thrust i
nside me again.

  I let out a cry and fell back to the bed, arching my back.

  His mouth kissed above my chest and quickly moved down to my left breast. He engulfed me, sucking super hard, my hands grabbing the sheets as I cried out. His teeth came together and pulled, letting me go at the second. His right hand slapped against my right hip. He put his left hand to the bed and made space between us, with the exception of our lower halves. Colliding, thrusting, pumping, the sweet sound of our bodies coming together over and over, the passionate glances, the squeak of the bed, the unbridled passion, and just the idea of losing everything to that one person.

  My heart raced from the pleasure, but also from his presence.

  His right hand released its grip on my hip and slid up my body, cupping my breast.

  “Fuck, Lily,” he growled between thrusts. “So fucking good.”

  “Just keep taking me,” I said. “I need it…”

  Aiden growled again and pulled away. He came up on the bed onto his knees. With a quick motion, he grabbed me and flipped me around, putting me on my stomach. His body was then against mine, heavy enough to feel the muscle and heat of his strong body but not enough to make it so I could breathe. His cock slithered between my legs, resting against my pussy.

  I turned my head so I could breathe, gasping, aching for him to have me again.

  Aiden reached down to the bed and around my body, sliding his fingers down until he found the swell of my clit. I bucked back but had no room to actually move. He had me pinned, his fingers digging at my clit, leaving me to hold the sheets and moan in pleasure.

  I felt myself approaching orgasm.

  As I started to come, I cried out his name in relief, but I knew he wasn’t going to let me off that easily.

  My phone started to ring, some annoying high-pitched tone that came with the phone. I heard it and felt it vibrating on the floor. Aiden’s fingers kept up their welcome assault on my sex, digging and twisting, playing with my wetness, feeling what he caused my body to do.

  My phone calmed, then started right back up again.

  That’s when I heard Aiden start to chuckle.

  I forced myself to look back as far as I could.

  “What’s so funny?”