Seeming a little bored and restless, Ava turned to me. “Can we go to the mall?”
I looked at the clock, realizing Ellie was supposed to come pick Ava up in half an hour.
“I don’t think we’ll have time today, Bug,” I said with a frown. I hated saying no to her. “Maybe next time, though.”
“Can we go to a biiiig mall someday?” Her hands went out in a wide arc over her head.
I laughed. “What kind of big mall?”
“Yike… Like a new super big mall. Yeah. With lots and lots and lots of new toys and stuff.”
I didn’t know much about malls but I remembered one over in Indiana that I went to as a kid with my dad after we moved to Tolson. We didn’t have a lot of money for family vacations, so our trips usually consisted of either camping, or visiting new places close to home.
“It’s definitely a possibility,” I told her, causing her face to light up and my heart to swell. “I’ll talk to your mom about it.”
She snuggled up to me and focused her attention back on the TV. I tried to find some kid shows, but I realized I didn’t have any family-based channels in my cable package.
That would have to change.
We ended up deciding on Funniest Home Videos and we both laughed at the wedding bloopers. People fell down while dancing. A bride’s skirt got ripped off halfway down the aisle. A flower girl tripped face-first into the cake.
“Are you gonna marry my mom?” Ava’s curious question caused my heart to skip a beat.
“I don’t know,” I told her, having to hold myself back from tell her how much I wanted that. “People usually date for a while before they decide to get married. Get to know each other first.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “That’s just the way it is.”
She got quiet for a second. “But you already know her.”
I looked down at her serious face. “Yeah, I guess I do. Did you know your mom and I used to be best friends when we were kids?”
She nodded. “Yep. Can you tell me a story about it?”
Just then, my phone pinged with an incoming text.
Ellie: Done with class. I’ll be heading your way soon
Me: Awesome. We’re just hanging out. By the way, I have a boner pic with you
Ellie: A dick pic? How romantic
I reread the message I sent her. Annoyed, I rolled my eyes at my phone’s inability to be normal. I seriously needed to get this thing checked out.
Me: Dammit. Autocorrect is a pervert. I have a bone to pick with you
Ellie: Oh. I liked the original text better
Me: You’ve deprived your child of ketchup and mustard sandwiches. How could you?
A minute ticked by and I wondered if she was going to reply. When she did, I was reminded again of just how deep her feelings for me went.
Ellie: The truth is I haven’t had one since the day you moved away. It just wasn’t the same without you
A sigh came from next to me on the couch and I glanced down to see an impatient expression on Ava’s face.
“Did you forget about my story?” she whispered, as though she didn’t want to disturb my phone conversation.
“Nope. Just give me one sec,” I told her and typed out a quick message.
Me: Well you have me now
Setting my phone down on the coffee table, I turned my full attention to Ava. “When your mom was about six years old—”
“Is that really old?” she interrupted.
“Nope. Only a couple years older than you. Do you know how old I am?” I asked, curious about what her answer would be.
She put her hand out and made a shrugging gesture. “Ninety-six?”
I threw my head back and laughed. “I’m twenty-two. Good guess, though. Anyway, we were at the park a couple blocks away from my house. We took our shoes off to play in the sand box and when your mom got out, she stepped on bumblebee—”
“Are bumblebees mean?” she cut in.
“Not all of them, but this one was. He wasn’t happy about being stepped on and he stung her.” I remembered the way Ellie’s foot had swelled, how much she’d cried, and how scared I’d been—but I left the gory details out. “I was really worried about her and I knew we needed to get home. I carried her the whole way.”
“You musta been really strong,” Ava concluded.
“Well, it wasn’t easy. Back then, your mom and I were about the same size.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “Boys and girls are the same size sometimes.”
She paused, thinking with narrowed eyes and her lips twisting to the side. I loved the way her mind worked, loved watching her process the information I just gave her.
“You carried her for miles?” she asked, her eyes getting big on the word ‘miles’.
I ruffled her hair. “Two blocks. It kind of felt like miles, though. But I did it because I loved her.”
“Do you still yuv her?”
I nodded. “Yep. I still love her.”
“Your hair is getting kind of long,” Ava said, running a hand over the top of my head.
“Hmm, I guess you’re right,” I agreed, realizing it’d been a couple weeks since I’d buzzed it. “How would you like to help me cut it?”
“Really?!” she asked excitedly, as if I’d just offered to buy her an island. If I’d known cutting my hair was going to make her that happy, I would’ve suggested it sooner.
She followed me to the bathroom, hopping and skipping the whole way.
After getting out my hair-cutting tools, I put a towel around my shoulders and set Ava up on the bathroom sink so she could reach my head. I held onto her legs to steady her while she clumsily ran the electric clippers over my scalp.
“Am I doing a good job?” she asked, coming dangerously close to one of my eyebrows.
“You sure are.” I had no idea what my hair was going to look like after she was done, but I didn’t tell her that. Besides, there wasn’t any way to mess up a buzz-cut.
“Why do you cut your hair so short?”
“I’ve done it like this for a long time.” I told her, thinking of how it all started with my mom’s chemo treatments. “Someone I loved a lot cut her hair this way, so I wanted to do it, too.”
Her motions paused. “Should I cut my hair off?”
“No, Bug,” I said quickly with a laugh. If I returned a bald Ava, I’m pretty sure Ellie would be pissed. “Your hair is beautiful just the way it is.”
CHAPTER 32
BRIELLE
I knocked on Colton’s door, but there was no answer so I let myself in.
“Hello?” I called out, but there was no response.
Following a buzzing sound, I made my way to the bathroom. I stopped, taking in the scene before me. Ava was standing on the sink, her face scrunched up in concentration as she ran electric clippers over Colton’s head. Small chunks of hair fell to his shoulders as she made a nonsensical design—some lines were diagonal, some crisscrossed. It even looked like she tried to make some circular, swirly shapes.
Honestly, it looked like shit.
Leaning against the door frame, I watched them. Seeing Ava do this kind of thing with a man—a father figure—wasn’t something I ever thought I would get to experience. Neither of them were aware of me yet, and I took advantage of the opportunity to observe their interaction.
“I think I’m almost done,” Ava told him.
“I bet it looks great,” Colton said, even though I was sure he had to know it was a total hack-job.
“Here you go.” She handed him the clippers and he turned them off.
Running a hand over his head, he looked in the mirror, then to Ava. “You’re a pro. How much do I owe you for that?”
“The first one was free,” she replied, completely
serious, and Colton and I both started laughing.
“Mom!” Ava exclaimed, finally noticing me, and she started clamoring down.
“Whoa. Careful, Bug,” Colton lifted her off the sink then set her on the floor.
She ran over to give me a hug and I smirked up at Colton. “Nice haircut.”
“Thanks.” He grinned, running his hand over the uneven mess.
After Colton cleaned up the bathroom, he gave me the summary of the afternoon, including the part where Ava ate an entire sandwich without complaint. I had to admit he was a natural at this. Not that Ava was difficult, but taking care of a kid could be really hard sometimes.
“Can I watch TV for just a few more minutes? Pleeeeaaase,” Ava begged as I put her coat on.
“Okay. Two minutes,” I told her, and she did some sort of happy dance before running over to the couch. Good thing she didn’t realize two minutes wasn’t a long time.
I went to the kitchen and Colton followed.
“Thank you for watching her again.” I turned to him after grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.
“You don’t have to thank me for hanging out with her. I love it.”
“Your hair though…” I started laughing.
With a wicked gleam in his eye, he prowled toward me until I was backed up against the cabinets.
I squeaked as he picked me up and set me on the counter. We both peeked around the wall to make sure Ava was fully occupied. Looking cozy, she was curled up against the arm of the couch, which meant it was a green light for a quick make-out session.
As soon as I turned back to Colton, his mouth came crashing down onto mine. His tongue swept inside and I sucked on it, making him let out a quiet moan. I scraped at his nipples through his gray T-shirt, knowing it was one of his turn-ons, then he did the same to me.
Needless to say, Ava’s TV time went from two minutes to ten. And like I said, it was a good thing little kids had no sense of time or else she might’ve wondered what we were doing for so long.
Breaking the kiss, I pulled back then ran my finger over the scar on Colton’s eyebrow.
“I have to go,” I whispered breathlessly.
He nodded before going in for one more kiss. “You’re working Saturday night, right?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“It’s Travis’s 22nd birthday. I think he wanted all of us to come to Caged since it’s the only club Angel can get into.”
I frowned, thinking about how much I wanted to go with them. Sure, I would be there, but it wouldn’t be the same if I was working.
“I’ll see if I can get off early,” I suggested and Colton smiled, obviously happy with the idea. He gave my ass one last squeeze before helping me down and I grazed his lower lip with my thumb. “By the way… I still love your shy tooth.”
He grinned, showing me the very tooth I adored.
CHAPTER 33
COLTON
I grunted as I tried to lift the weight of the barbell off my chest.
“Come on. You can do better than that,” Travis goaded from a few feet away. “All this time away from the gym and you’ve gotten soft.”
Letting out another grunt, I completed the last rep on the bench press. Sitting up, I glared at Travis. The asshole was supposed to be making sure I didn’t drop the bar on my esophagus.
“You suck as a spotter. And you can ask my girlfriend—the last thing I am these days is soft.”
He barked out a laugh. “Well, as much as it disturbs me to hear about your never-ending hard-on, I’m happy for you.”
“And speaking of getting soft, all that driving you’ve been doing is going to give you trucker butt.” I stood up to go do some squats and Travis followed.
“Now you’re just making things up,” he said while looking self-consciously in the mirror at his back end.
Chuckling, I shook my head. It’d been a while since we went to the gym together. With both of us juggling work at the shop and the transport deliveries, we didn’t have time. Plus, the fact that we were both in relationships meant things like working out got shoved back on the priority list.
Surprisingly, being a mechanic was pretty good exercise. The physical aspect of the job was great for staying in shape, but it just wasn’t the same as going to the gym with a friend. Travis and I were long overdue for some male bonding time.
“So you and Brielle,” Travis began, raising his eyebrows. “You two really hit it off. One might even say you rushed into things…” he joked with a pointed look.
“About that,” I started, sheepishly glancing down at the blue-speckled linoleum. “I know I gave you some shit back when you and Angel moved so fast with your relationship—”
“Uh-huh.” Travis cut me off, crossing his arms with an expectant expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, okay? I just didn’t understand it then, but I feel like I’m really eating my words now.” I gave him an apologetic look, remembering how I’d given him a hard time, all in good fun of course. He’d taken it all in stride, swearing it would happen to me someday.
I didn’t believe him at the time, but I’d never been happier to admit I was wrong.
“I guess I can let it go.” He pretended to think it over. “As long as drinks are on you tonight.”
“It’s your birthday. Drinks were already gonna be on me tonight.”
“We’re good then.” He clapped me on the back before going over to the chin-up bar. “You know, I like Brielle. It’s great to finally see you tied down.”
Shaking my head, I laughed knowing he was referring to the handcuff debacle.
We continued the rest of the workout in companionable silence and I thought that was the end of it.
But I was wrong.
As we walked out of the gym, the puns continued. “It’ll be nice to see your girl tonight. The good ol’ ball and chain.”
I scoffed and we climbed into Travis’s pickup truck. After fastening my seatbelt, he started it up, then turned to me.
“You up for watching a movie before we go out?”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “I’m okay with whatever.”
“Good. I was thinking we could watch James Bondage.”
“Dude.” Trying not to laugh, I rolled my eyes. “I’m never going to live this down, am I?”
“Absolutely not.” He looked at me like I was crazy. “Brielle went all Fifty Shades of Grey on your ass. That’s burned into my mind forever.”
“You don’t even know what Fifty Shades of Grey is,” I pointed out.
“No, not really,” he admitted as he drove out of the parking lot. “But Angel does.”
“Oh, I forgot. You two are like one person now.”
“Pretty much, yeah.” He shrugged. “You’re getting there, too.”
I couldn’t argue with him, so I just smiled and gazed out the window at all the empty fields we passed on the way back to Tolson.
Once again I had to admit my friend was right, and I couldn’t have been happier about that.
CHAPTER 34
BRIELLE
It was Saturday night and I was back in the cage. Country night was hopping. Normally, I just got into the zone and did my thing, but tonight I was distracted. Most likely it had to do with the fact that Colton, Travis, and Angel were here having a great time without me.
Colton was in for a surprise, though. I hadn’t told him yet, but my boss agreed to let me off at 11 tonight. Just the thought of hanging out with friends—doing something so normal for people my age—had me feeling giddy.
And that wasn’t the only surprise I had in store. My parents had agreed to watch Ava the entire night, which meant for the first time, Colton and I were going to get to spend the night together.
When my shift was over, I got down from the cage and went straight to their table. Colton�
��s face lit up with a huge grin.
“Hey,” he said, standing up. “What’s going on?”
I smiled at him. “I got off early tonight.”
“Mmm,” he nuzzled my neck while palming my ass, which was barely covered in Daisy Dukes. “You look so sexy in those cowboy boots. Why are you such a sexy cowgirl tonight?”
Laughing, I pulled back and noticed his glassy eyes. “Are you drunk?”
He held up his thumb and forefinger, pinching them together. “A little.”
Glancing over at Angel, I realized Travis was probably three sheets to the wind, too. He was leaning his head against her shoulder and sloppily kissing her upper arm. From the entertained expression on her face, I could tell she shared my amusement over their state of inebriation.
“Let me go change really quick, and I’ll come hang out,” I told Colton, who was still openly groping me.
“Can you leave on the boots?” he requested, his hot breath by my ear causing tingles to spread over my skin. “I fucking love those boots.”
“Okay,” I agreed and I was rewarded with a huge lopsided grin.
After changing into skinny jeans and a white lacy top, I found Angel sitting alone in the booth.
“Where are the guys?” I asked, taking the seat next to her.
She motioned toward the dance floor and giggled. “Making asses of themselves.”
She wasn’t kidding about that. Travis and Colton were attempting to line dance to ‘Boot Scootin’ Boogie’ and somehow they had both acquired cowboy hats. Colton hadn’t gotten any better at his moves since our first date. Apparently, he thought he had skills because he was trying to show Travis how to do a jig.
While the guys did their thing, Angel and I got to know each other a little better as she sipped at her kiddie cocktail.
She told me about her job as a health aide, which consisted of caring for the elderly by doing housework, cooking, and grocery shopping. I could tell she loved it. When she talked about her clients, it sounded more like telling me about close friends.
I groaned when she asked about my classes, because nursing school was kicking my ass and I hadn’t even gotten to the hard stuff yet. When I told her Ava would be turning four soon, she listened intently while I talked about her upcoming party.
Dancer (The Good Guys Book 2) Page 17
