Bent

by HB Heinzer

  Some night out. She looked back towards the bar as she opened the door of her Pontiac to see if Micah followed her. She wasn't sure how she felt to see that he hadn't tried to come after her.

  The house was quiet when she got home. Too quiet. She still wasn't used to the stillness of living alone. She turned on her Angry Girl Music playlist on her iPad to break the silence. Even the blaring music couldn't drown the replay of everything she'd learned. She hated herself for thinking she could forgive him. She hated playing his little games with him. Those games had allowed her to feel things she hadn't felt in a long time.

  Once she settled into her new bed, she checked email on her iPad and took care of a few client requests. Images of Micah sleeping with some strange woman raced through Julia's head the entire time.

  She went to the kitchen and poured Merlot into a plastic tumbler. She hated drinking wine out of plastic. On the upside, a 32 ounce tumbler held a lot more wine than a crystal goblet.

  Back in bed, her thoughts drifted to Micah as a father. They'd talked about getting married and having kids after she was done with school. Caleb could have been their son, but now some whore was the one who gave him a child. A son. The tears she'd held back when Micah was opening up to her began to pour into the pillow she clung to.

  She swore this was the last time she would let herself cry over Micah. Eventually, the tears stopped and Julia fell asleep.

  Julia was rudely pulled out of her fitful sleep by a truck tailgate slamming below her bedroom window. As much as she wanted to go outside and unleash on the contractor for starting work at eight o'clock on a Saturday morning, she knew better. She was lethal before she had a cup of coffee and being arrested for assault probably wasn't the best way to start the weekend.

  She tried to ignore the screech of nails pulling out of wood as the remodel work began on the front porch. Once she felt the coffee working in her system, Julia ran upstairs to get dressed. She also hoped to convince the contractor that it was acceptable to start a bit later in the morning.

  The crying fit from the night before combined with too much alcohol left her eyes looking and feeling like two cherries in a bucket of spit. She dug through her bag for some Visine and splashed cold water on her face in hopes that the combination would bring some life to her face.

  Once she felt like she looked fit to be seen by another human being, she came down the stairs in a pair of white running shorts rolled at the waist paired with a purple tank top. After the day she had yesterday, a long run sounded like a good idea.

  A chill ran up Julia's spine as she stepped onto the wrap-around porch. "What the hell are you doing here?" she seethed. She was going to kill Annie when she saw her. She could deny knowing Micah was at the bar last night but there was no way she could deny knowing that he was the contractor her mother hired to fix the house.

  "Good morning to you too," he said casually, not taking his eyes off the rail cap he was removing.

  "You didn't answer me," she snapped. Micah didn't look up, just smiled and kept working. That made her even more angry.

  When Julia's posture didn't relax, Micah finally lifted his eyes, "See, here's how it works. Someone gives me money and I do work for them. In this case, Mrs. Stevens gave me a nice check and I'm going to take care of everything around here that's been neglected. What are you doing here?"

  Matching his sarcastic tone she said, "I gave Mrs. Stevens a check and she gave me the keys to the kingdom."

  Micah set down the pry bar and came around to the stairs, seeming amused. Julia wanted to slap the smirk off his face but knew that he'd enjoy it far too much. "Well, if you're living here and I'm working here, we're going to see a lot of each other."

  It had only been forty-eight hours since Julia was looking forward to living on her own. Coming to Brooklyn was going to be peaceful. She was going to reconnect with friends and enjoy the slower pace of a small town again. Now, she was face to face with the only man who'd ever broken her and he was smiling, knowing there was nothing she could do about it. Her dream life was quickly becoming a nightmare.

  "Don't look so damned happy about it, Micah," she growled. It was far too early in the morning and there was no amount of coffee that could thaw what she felt for Micah. "You're a lying ass. You might be happy that you get to be here but I'd prefer if you'd try to walk the other way when you see me."

  Even as the words passed her lips, she questioned them. Her head told her she needed to stay mad at Micah. Her heart had always turned to warm putty in his hands and was threatening to do that again. No, this was a time to listen to her head. Her heart was foolish and weak.

  "You're absolutely right," he agreed putting his hands up in surrender. "But that doesn't change the fact that you have to live here and I have to work here. I can't guarantee I'm always going to run away from you. I don't want to run away from you. Hell, part of me wishes you'd beat the crap out of me and get it over with."

  The thought of pummeling Micah for everything he'd ever put her through made Julia crack a smile. She'd never actually do it but it was an entertaining thought.

  "Truce?" he asked extending a hand to her.

  She didn't want a truce. The only thing she wanted was him gone so she could process everything. She contemplated whether or not she could call a truce with Micah before grabbing his hand and shaking. Calling a truce simply meant she wouldn't pull the ladder out from under him or throw a hammer at his head. It didn't mean she had to forgive him or be pleasant to him.

  Without another word, she turned to go back inside. She hated it when Micah made sense and today he made sense. He didn't choose to come to her house, he was there because he was hired to do a job. Given the condition of the house, he was going to be showing up for a long time. The best strategy, she decided, was to find out when he'd be working on the house and try to be out during those times.

  The morning was relatively uneventful. The screeching of nails being pulled from wood became easier to ignore and Julia was able to get some work done. She spent part of the morning looking over the social media presence for the country band from The Oasis. They had an incredible stage presence and their music was good. While the fans were the loudest during their cover tunes, it was the original songs that stuck with Julia. She scribbled some notes on a yellow legal pad at her desk and started to put together a proposal for helping the band extend their reach beyond southern Wisconsin.

  Faced with bare cupboards and an empty refrigerator, Julia made a quick shopping list of essentials. She remembered that you didn't buy anything that wasn't critical at the local grocery store. Yes, there is something to be said for buying local, but when buying local costs twice as much the budget has to play a role. She grabbed her car keys off the shabby white table in the foyer and bounded down the stairs to the driveway.

  She leaned in to turn on the car so it could cool down before she was ready to leave. Nothing. The battery was so drained it didn't even attempt to turn over. She took a few deep breaths preparing for what she knew she needed to do.

  "Hey, Micah?" she called across the lawn. If the store wasn't on the other side of town she would have walked. It seemed like a better option than having to admit she needed his help.

  "Yeah?" He didn't look up from the stack of lumber he was marking.

  She didn't know whether to thank or curse Mother Nature for the late August heat that left him working shirtless. Not one to pass up on a nice piece of eye candy, she wanted to take in the sight of every ridge and valley of his sculpted chest but she needed to resist. Looking made her want to touch. She knew touching would make her want him. And wanting him was the last thing she needed.

  "Did you need something?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

  Her face turned red as she was caught staring at him. "Um, yeah. Can you jump me?"

  The pencil in his hand dropped to the cement. "Excuse me?"

  "My car. Do you have jumper cables?" She rolled her eyes. There was no way he could have honestly though
t she was being so bold. When she was able to look up at him again, she saw that he was stifling a laugh.

  "You always were so easy to make blush," he laughed.

  He didn't have jumper cables in the truck. They were in a box he'd taken out to make room for the lumber he brought over this morning. As she walked to the house, hoping that Annie would answer her phone, Micah called after her.

  She turned around just in time to see the keys to his truck flying her direction. He offered her his truck as long as she brought him lunch. As he started to tell her what he wanted from Subtown, she rattled the order back to him. Some things never changed, including the sandwich that Micah always ordered from the local sandwich shop.

  Julia got behind the wheel of the full size pickup and adjusted the mirrors, chuckling because she knew how much Micah hated having things adjusted in his vehicles. If he didn't want her to crash, he'd have to deal with it. She slid the seat forward considerably so she could reach the pedals.

  As she pulled into Dick's Grocery, she wrestled over whether or not she was being too hard on Micah. Yes, he'd screwed her over worse that anyone. Yes, he'd lied to her. But they were kids then and they were adults now. She knew her life wasn't filled with good decisions when she was younger. She'd done plenty of things she would give anything to take back. Walking through the parking lot, she heard Annie's high pitched voice calling out to her.

  When the leggy blond caught up to Julia, she pointed to the truck. "You're about the last person I expected to see behind the wheel of that truck. What gives?"

  Julia explained the dead battery, the only man she knew that didn't have jumper cables and the trade-off of using the truck for lunch as if it was completely normal.

  Annie looked over the top of her designer sunglasses, "So, does that mean you two are getting along?"

  And that was the million dollar question. When Julia left a message for Annie last night, she'd didn't mince words on what a prick Micah was, how she had left the bar before she slapped him and didn't want to talk to him again. This morning, after finding him working on the house, the anger in the voicemail was directed at Annie. Julia had been upset that she wasn't given a heads-up on who was going to be completing the work on the house.

  Now, just a few hours later, Julia was driving through town in Micah's prized possession. Annie's confusion was one of the only things that did make sense.

  "We called a truce," Julia shrugged. Part of her wanted to stay mad forever. Part of her knew she was the only person who would be hurt by holding on to the pain. And she couldn't deny that present-day Micah wasn't a half-bad guy. He'd slow danced with her without allowing his hands to roam. He'd come clean with her. He given her the keys to his truck, no questions asked and no lectures.

  Annie threw her arm around Julia's shoulder and the pair made their way into the grocery store. Julia could tell that Annie wanted her two friends to get along. And even though Julia didn't like it much, they were both friends. It stung that Annie had stayed in touch with Micah after the break-up. What hurt worse was the fact that Annie had kept so much from Julia for over twelve years. She knew she'd have to bring that up at some point, but not today.

  As they walked up and down the aisles of the smallest grocery store Julia had been in in a long time, Annie explained that she had spent plenty of time staying mad at Micah for what he had done. It wasn't until Caleb's mom left that Annie had forgiven him. Apparently, that was a low point in Micah's life and he had needed someone in his corner.

  It hurt to listen to everything Annie was telling her. Julia was still plenty mad but to hear Annie tell it, karma had punished Micah for his choices in the years he was trying to do the right thing and stay with the mother of his child. That in itself seemed so old-fashioned since people had babies without being in long term relationships all the time, but she admired that he'd tried for the sake of his son.

  Pushing their shopping carts back through the parking lot, Annie made a simple request. "Jules, just give him a chance. He's not a bad guy, just stupid sometimes."

  Chapter Four

  The drive home wasn't nearly long enough. Julia needed time to think. Time to breathe. Time to process everything. Annie had shared a lot of information with her as they walked through the grocery store. Julia was beginning to admit that Micah may have learned from his mistakes. To hear Annie's version of life in Brooklyn, Micah was actually someone Julia would really get along with if not for their past.

  After unloading the groceries and putting them away, Julia carried two glasses of iced tea outside. She was impressed with how quickly Micah was removing the floor of the front porch. To the left, everything was already gone. From the door heading to the right was still untouched. She set the tea and sandwiches on a small table and went to extend an olive branch.

  "Thanks for letting me use your truck," she said, his keys dangling from the tip of her index finger. When Micah went to grab them, she curled her finger back to snatch the keys away from him. "I'll give them back to you on the porch. You need to eat."

  With that, Julia retreated to the rickety porch swing curling her feet under her legs and picked up the iPad. It seemed like everything in the universe was conspiring to knock down a wall that she'd carefully built around the part of her heart she'd once given to Micah.

  Over the years, Julia had spent a lot of time wondering what she could have done differently to make him see they could have survived the college years. Now she knew the answer was, unequivocally, nothing. Even if he'd told her the truth, chances are everything else would have stayed the same. Trusting people even less, she realized, would have been the biggest thing that would have changed.

  It was time to get to know the adult Micah. The man her best friend had managed to forgive.

  Micah wanted to know where the light switch was for Julia's mood swings. She'd always been an emotional girl and it seemed that time had only intensified that aspect of her personality. The past twelve hours showed him that she was still incapable of hiding her feelings. He prayed he wasn't getting ready to witness another swing like the one she'd had at the bar.

  Walking to the front porch, it was nearly impossible to keep his eyes off her toned legs and the curve of her tight backside. What struck him most was her straight back and shoulders. Julia wasn't the insecure girl he'd fallen in love with as a teen. She was a confident woman and it showed. His insides stirred as he memorized her features.

  Grabbing a sandwich from the table, he sat on the top step. They sat in silence, him eating lunch and her playing around on her iPad. She looked amazing in running shorts that looked a size too big and a tank top. She brushed away a lock of hair that had broken free from her haphazard ponytail and glanced at him through long, naturally curled eyelashes. "You're staring," she stated. He'd have thought she was annoyed if not for the slight curve on the side of her mouth.

  "Am not," he responded. Apparently, playful Julia was still in his midst. Now the trick was keeping her there.

  She set down the iPad and leaned forward, "Are too," she laughed. He couldn't get over the feeling that came over him when he heard her laugh. It was one of his favorite sounds.

  "Okay, so maybe I am." He shrugged. Micah felt no shame in admitting the truth. It had been a long time since he'd had lunch in the presence of anyone other than sweaty construction workers and he wanted to enjoy it. "Can you blame me?"

  Julia's cheeks flushed. She'd never been good at accepting compliments and it was obvious that hadn't changed. "Yes, I can." She shifted on the swing and muttered something about having work to do. She didn't look up through the rest of lunch, but Micah noticed her shaking her head and smiling as she ate.

  When he finished, he thanked her for lunch and started back to the driveway. He was hoping to finish the first half of the porch deck before he had to quit for the day and sitting around watching Julia wasn't helping him accomplish anything. As he reached the edge of the lawn, he turned back to the front of the house. "Hey, Jules..." Her megawatt
smile took his breath away for a second when she looked up at him. "I need my keys."

  It was definitely playful Julia who slowly creeped down the steps. Her eyes were filled with a mischievous glint that he loved. She came over to meet him on the lawn and pulled the keys out of her pocket. She kept walking until her body was within inches of his.

  Before he knew it, he felt her finger tips rubbing his thigh through the thin material of the pocket. "Thanks again," she whispered. Before he could react to her actions, she turned on her heel and walked away.

  He stood there for a minute trying to regain composure. Julia was enjoying this torture. Once the throbbing in his jeans subsided a bit, he went back to work. Luckily, all of the precision work was done for the day because there was no way he could concentrate when all his mind wanted to do was replay the feel of her fingers grazing his pockets.

  The innocent lumber bore the brunt of Micah's frustration as he tried to stop thinking about every misstep he'd taken when it came to Julia. If he'd been honest with her, would he have been doing repairs on their home right now instead of doing repairs on her rental? The rental she needed because yet another man had broken her heart. When he saw that he was gouging the planks with the force of his swing, Micah set down the hammer and walked away. He needed to clear his head.

  As he turned to the sidewalk, he was jerked out of his thoughts. "Hey, are you done for the day?" Julia jogged down the front steps and across the lawn, her perfect breasts bouncing with every step she took. There was no way he was going to be able to do this every weekend until the work was completed. He was going to die of a heart attack before the end of today if she didn't stop. It didn't help that he had no clue which of her personalities would show up when she opened her mouth. One minute she was ripping his head off and the next minute, it seemed like she'd rather be ripping off his clothes.

  "Uh, no," he stuttered, trying to think of something to say. He couldn't tell her that his mind kept drifting to walking into her house and stripping off every stitch of clothing she had on. He couldn't tell her how badly he wanted to take her breasts into his mouth. With her standing in front of him, it was even harder to think straight. He wanted to taste her. He wanted to blow off work for the afternoon and pull her close to him while they napped.