by Ava Riley
Chapter 16
Susan sat at Rowan’s kitchen table listening as Rowan made yet another feeble attempt to get in touch with Josiah. She’d come over at eight this morning to hang out with Tessa and Madison while the guys went surfing. Madison was finally feeling much better, able to go longer periods without having to lie down and was up for some company. She still wasn’t ready to sit out in the heat while the boys played, so they decided that while the guys surfed, the women would have a chick flick marathon. Only, apparently, Josiah had never returned last night after making a trip to The Launchpad. Susan was certain he’d probably picked up some woman and gone home with her, but Rowan and Cade reassured her and the others that Josiah wasn’t that kind of guy. When she’d asked what they meant, both Rowan and Cade in unison had responded, “The kind that picks up women at the bar.” Relief flooded through her at their proclamation then she quickly squashed it. She didn’t give two blows to the wind what kind of guy Josiah was or what kind of women he would or wouldn’t pick up. At least that’s what she’d told herself for the umpteenth time since she’d asked the question. As Rowan pressed the phone to his ear and Tessa grabbed another cup of coffee, Susan found herself worrying right along with the others though. According to Tessa, Josiah had never been one to just not show up without calling.
“Damn it!” Rowan said as he tossed his cell on the kitchen table and Susan watched as it skidded across and came to a stop at the napkin holder. “If I hear that goddamn voicemail one more time I’m going to do…I don’t know what. I swear I’m going to beat his ass if he isn’t laid up in the hospital.”
“Rowan,” Madison’s voice was soothing. “Maybe he did go home with someone. There’s always a first, right?”
Just as Rowan opened his mouth to respond, they heard a car pulling in the driveway. All at once, the five of them bolted to the front door, fear slamming into Susan as she brought up the rear. For some reason, the thought of it being a police officer with bad news flitted through her mind, but she quickly brushed it away. Had he been in an accident and the worst had happened, no would know to come to Rowan’s. This wasn’t Josiah’s place. He was only here visiting. As they all filed out onto the porch, Susan heard a collective gasp as her feet hit the wood. She stepped to the side of Tessa so that she could get a better look then anger and hurt slammed into her chest so hard she almost lost her balance. Susan watched with the others in astonishment as Josiah slid from the passenger side of Erin’s blue mustang. Well, he just debunked Rowan and Cade’s theory that he never picked up anyone at the bar. Either that or he actually sought out Erin, which Susan thought of the two scenarios, the latter had not even crossed her mind. She hadn’t taken him for the kind of guy that would do that to a friend, but then again, she didn’t really know him all that well either.
“What the fuck?” Susan expected it to be either Cade or Rowan who threw that question out there, but it was Tessa who voiced what everyone was thinking.
Erin flashed a grin up to the group on the porch, making eye contact with Susan, thanked Josiah for an amazing night as she put it, then sped off with a wave of her hand out the window like they’d all just had some jovial gathering. Susan avoided glancing in Josiah’s direction and had begun to turn to head back inside when Tessa’s voice brought her to an abrupt halt.
“You are fucking kidding right, Josiah Allen Hunter?” Tessa’s words had Susan swinging her head in the direction of the two of them. Josiah stood with his chin tucked to his chest like a teenager who’d just been caught sneaking in after breaking curfew, while Tessa poked a finger into his chest. “After everything we told you about that skanky woman and you go and put your-"
“Whoa! Tessa!” Cade interrupted as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her away from Josiah.
“It’s not what you think,” Josiah said it loud enough for them all to hear, but his eyes were trained on Susan, his brows drawn together.
“The hell it’s not what we think,” Tessa all but yelled. “And don’t look at her, Josiah. You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as Susan.”
Susan turned a shocked look to Tessa then again to Josiah. His eyes were no longer on her, but on the toe of his boot as he kicked at a pebble shoving his hands in his pocket. Susan almost felt sorry for him, until images of him and Erin having a roll in the hay, so to speak, flashed through her mind. The thought made her stomach churn. Not so much because she wanted it to be her, but because of who he chose – Erin. Why her, of all people? And really what kind of friend did that? At least she found out what kind of person Josiah really was before she spent any more time with him. Tessa had been bugging her to go out with him since their day at the beach, to spend some time with him just to get to know him and now she was happy she hadn’t given in to Tessa’s request and wasted her time on him.
Rowan pushed past Tessa and Cade, encouraging them along with the rest of the group to go inside so that he and Josiah could talk in private. She began to turn, but stopped when Josiah’s voice drifted up to where she stood.
“I want you to stay, Susan. I want you to hear this, also.”
Susan shook her head, making sure she didn’t make eye contact. What he had to say she didn’t want to hear. The things he did with his life and who he did, didn’t concern her. She turned on her heel and walked into the house without another word. As she walked in she heard Josiah tell Rowan that nothing happened then she shut the door to him and the conversation.
****
“J, please, please tell me you didn’t have sex with Erin. Please just tell me that.”
Josiah blew out his breath, walked to the steps, and lowered himself resting his elbows on his knees. “I didn’t have sex with Erin.” He glanced to Rowan and saw the relieved look on his face and could have kicked his own ass for being so stupid last night. Since meeting Susan, his hormones had been all hyped up and last night he’d been hell bent on getting laid, so he picked the one woman he was certain would be easy to bed. “Honestly man, I had every intention of doing so when she bought me a drink last night at The Launchpad. I’m so sorry. I didn’t choose her to hurt anyone, she just happened to be there and willing.”
“Yeah, Erin is always willing, that you can be assured of. Well, what the hell happened that she had to bring you home?”
“This isn’t my home,” he said on a sigh.
“You know what I mean, J. And as long as I have a home, you have one.”
Josiah ran his fingers through his matted hair. As much as he’d wanted to have sex, to find a woman’s core wrapped tight around his cock, he hadn’t had sex with Erin. Sure he’d intended to, but when it came to the deed his conscious got the better of him. He knew it would kill Rowan and realized that not only one of his best friends, but both would be hurt by it, not to mention that if he wanted to find a way to get Susan to spend any time with him he’d lose all chance of that also. Of course, from the disgusted look on her face and her refusal to hear his explanation, he pretty much killed any chance of hanging out with her, or anything else for that matter.
“We went to her place, but she drove because I’d already had three shots and two beers, so I wasn’t about to get behind the wheel and when we returned to The Launchpad this morning the rental wouldn’t start so I just had her bring me here.”
“And the time in between?” Rowan asked in almost a whisper.
Josiah shrugged. “I don’t know. I had her almost completely undressed and then I couldn’t do it. I kept hearing your words about what she’d done to you and then seeing Susan put her on her ass the other night.” He let out laugh laced with a sigh. “It had been like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on my crotch. I swear all I was thinking about was getting laid. I guess I wasn’t thinking with the right head, that’s for sure.”
“You’re damn right you weren’t,” Tessa’s voice boomed from inside the house.
“Tess!” Rowan yelled in return.
Josiah put his head between his knees like he would if
he were hyperventilating. “It’s all right, Rowan. Let her get it out. Honestly, I deserve it.”
Rowan nudged at Josiah with his shoulder, stood up and began to walk inside. Josiah continued to sit, not really wanting to face anyone else. Cade would forgive him for being so stupid, but the women, especially Tessa wouldn’t. As a matter of fact, he already knew it would be a long time before Tessa let him live it down. Of the three of them, Susan was the only who he cared about what she thought. Sucking up his pride, at least any he had left, he pushed himself from the steps and made the walk of shame into the house.
Chapter 17
Rowan pulled the group together with his arm wrapped around Madison’s waist as Josiah changed, and informed them that Josiah hadn’t had sex with Erin. When Tessa asked if he’d done anything with her at all, Rowan had told her to drop it. Rowan looked directly at Susan when he’d told them that Josiah had had too much to drink and that was why he ended up with Erin. Why he made it a point to focus on her, she wasn’t positive. She didn’t deserve an explanation, nor did she want one. That should have gone to Cade or Tessa, not her. She’d be lying, though, if she said she wasn’t a little relieved that he didn’t have sex with the wench. At least he had enough self-control and thought of his friends to not follow through with his intentions.
After the guys left and the tension in the house lessened, she and Madison had declared that they did indeed need a chick flick marathon, but it had taken some convincing when it came to Tessa because she’d wanted to follow Josiah out to the beach as he carried his surfboard to give him the third degree. Susan just wanted to forget about the whole thing.
Sitting on the couch squished in between Tessa and Madison, Susan waited for the next movie to come on. Steel Magnolias, though it was an oldie, was one she knew scene for scene, almost word for word. Every Saturday afternoon when she was growing up, she and her mother would watch it. Her father had been disgusted with it. It hadn’t been so much the movie, as it was the two of them sitting in front of the television saying the words simultaneously with the actors. And then crying when Julia Roberts’ character died, even though they knew it was coming. Her father had always questioned why they kept watching the damn thing if they knew exactly what was going to happen or what was going to be said at the exact moment it did. For Susan, it was a special time she looked forward to. It had been a time her mother set aside for her no matter what chores she had waiting or what errands she could have been doing. When her mother had gone into the nursing facility, Susan had taken the movie in for them to watch in hopes that it would trigger some memory. Some happy time for her that would bring her back to the here and now. She had hoped that maybe by some miracle the woman who would watch it religiously with her would make an appearance. Unfortunately, her mother had just stared at the screen with little emotion and kept asking Susan if she was a new nurse. That had been when Susan finally resigned herself to the fact that her mother would never be from the hell she lived in now, no matter that her body still functioned.
Madison reached for the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, offering it to Susan, but she quickly declined. She’d already had her max and her stomach began to ache, but not so much from the intake of junk food. She’d been bombarded with too many emotions today and now thoughts of her mother forced the ache in her stomach to travel to her chest. Susan sat through the first twenty minutes of the movie then decided she’d had enough for one day. She needed to go check on her father, anyway, and if she sat any longer watching a show meant to be seen only in the presence of her mother, she’d fall apart. Pushing herself up from the sofa, she grabbed her keys off the table.
“I need to go. Tessa, I’ll call you later.”
“What? You can’t just leave in the middle of a movie,” Tessa declared.
“Yeah, if you don’t like this one, we can switch to a different one,” Madison added.
“No, that’s okay. I have an errand I forgot I need to run.”
Susan said her quick goodbyes then rushed out of the house. The air had become stifling and she couldn’t get outside fast enough. Taking a moment to catch her breath and clear her head, she pressed her palms against the white railing and tried to swallow the tears that threatened to escape. The lump in her throat grew painful as she fought her emotions as best as possible. She couldn’t calculate how long she’d been standing on Rowan’s porch, but suddenly she felt as if she were being watched. Without lifting her head she opened her eyes. Standing directly below her, his arms crossed over his muscular chest, Josiah stood waiting. For what, she wasn’t certain.
“Are you okay?” he asked in a hushed tone.
“Yeah, I just ate too much popcorn and needed some fresh air. Actually, I was just leaving.”
“Susan, wait.”
“I can’t, Josiah, I need to go. I have an appointment I can’t miss.”
“Will you let me explain about last night at least?”
Susan just shook her head, taking the steps two at a time and made it to her car without a word to him. She avoided him partially because visions of him with his hands all over Erin played over in her mind causing that sickening feeling in her stomach to hit her full force and partially because she didn’t want to hear an explanation. Or maybe she did. She supposed that yes indeed she did want to know what the hell went through a man’s mind that would cause him to risk losing his friends over a woman, especially a woman like Erin. Josiah followed her, reaching for the handle on her driver’s side door before she could grab hold of it. She closed her eyes for a brief moment to gain her composure. The scent of him freshly out of the ocean and the sight of him standing in only his navy blue board shorts clinging to his skin sent heat coursing through her body. The nearness of his body triggered a need in her she didn’t want. Damn it! She didn’t want him causing heat to radiate from any part of her body and she definitely didn’t want it pooling between her thighs as it was now. The sight of him standing there in only his board shorts, while water droplets clung to his muscled chest and his hair a tumbled mess made her thoughts skip a beat and for a brief moment she forgot all about his episode last night.
“You don’t need to explain anything to me. Maybe you should save that for Tess. She’s the one who is really pissed off.”
“I will explain to her, but I wanted to apologize to you first.”
“Apologize? For what? What you do with your life is your business, not mine, Josiah. We don’t know each other well enough for an apology to be warranted.” Susan shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. “I’m not the one who’s been friends with you for too many years to count. Maybe you should think about how those people are affected by what you did. Not me.”
“I have thought about that and I will make it right with them. But they aren’t the ones I really want to spend time with right now. You are.”
Susan gave a little laugh, pulled open the car door when he released the handle then slid into the driver’s seat. “So, you hook up with a woman I clearly don’t like? You do remember I knocked that bitch on her ass right?”
“If it would have been anyone else would it have mattered who I hooked up with?” Josiah asked, leaning into the car, his face inches from Susan’s.
“It wasn’t anyone else. It was Erin and that tells me a lot about who you are, Josiah. Now, please, I really need to go.”
As soon as he stepped away from the car and without another word, she yanked the door closed a little harder than she intended and pulled the car out of the driveway.
Chapter 18
Josiah had spent the last week since his little hiccup with Erin, trying to find a way to get Susan to go out on a date with him and Tessa off his case about the whole situation. The latter he figured would take years to do, since Tessa had a way of holding a grudge. He’d already decided to just sit back and listen to her berate him while he nodded without conscious thought. Of course, everything she said about him had been true. He had acted like a snake and didn’t deserve Rowan’s frie
ndship and he would be lucky if Susan ever gave him the time of day…yada, yada, yada. And even though Tessa was stilled pissed at him, something she told him every time she saw him, the woman still agreed to help him convince Susan to go out with him. Why, he wasn’t sure, but he learned a long time ago to never look a gift horse in the mouth. If she was willing to help him even after the screw up, he’d accept it.
The week he’d come into town had been the week Susan had been on vacation and now she was back in the office working again which meant he’d missed his opportunity to spend time with her alone while everyone else was busy. Tessa had so cleverly pointed out she did have to eat at some point during the day, though. His best bet with her would be dinner, but to play it safe, Tessa suggested lunch so as to take things slowly. How much slower he could take things, he wasn’t sure. He’d only seen her once since the morning Erin dropped him off and that had only been a couple hours at Eddies Pool Hall with Cade and Tessa. They’d had a few drinks and shot a few games of pool.
She looked amazing then, as well. She’d worn a pair of denim shorts and a green cotton tee that matched the color of the felt on the pool table. And her blond hair had been down, just as she’d had it the last time he’d seen her. It reached just past her shoulders and held a bit of a light brown tint to it. He hadn’t noticed it before and wondered if the lighting had something to do with bringing out her lowlights. Either way, she’d awed him again with her beauty. The time they spent at Eddie’s had been nice and relaxing without the pressures of an actual date. Although he’d be amiss to think it was anything more than friends getting together. He and Susan had exchanged small talk, but she’d still not let him apologize correctly to her for his actions with Erin. She’d mostly kept close to Tessa, which left him little room for talk, as Tessa brought up as often as possible the mistake he made. He’d really been trying to put the entire situation behind him and wasn’t exactly sure how Tessa thought that bringing up the incident with Susan around was helping him convince her to go with him.
