Next In Line

by Daws, Amy

  “So Kate, what book are you working on right now?” I ask, my voice robotic as I try to force the subject change.

  “So Sterling, what do you love most about our Maggie?” Sam asks, blatantly ignoring me.

  Miles’s face turns sharply to Sam this time, clearly taken aback by his buddy’s aggressive conversation skills. “Sam, what’s going on?”

  “Nothing!” Sam replies and exhales heavily. “I guess I’m feeling big brotherly to Maggie here. I want to make sure this guy is good enough for her.”

  Miles sits up a little taller, his eyes hard on his best friend, but instead of challenging Sam, he turns to Sterling, waiting for his answer.

  Sterling leans forward, bracing his elbows on the table as he looks at me and stares at all the features on my face. “Well, she’s beautiful. Light eyes and dark hair are so unique, you know?”

  Sam’s gaze locks on me, and his right eye ticks with annoyance. “That’s what you love most about her?” he asks.

  I reach over and grab Sterling’s arm possessively. “We have a lot in common as well.”

  Sam’s brows lift. “Do tell.”

  I swallow slowly and flick my eyes to my brother. Miles is starting to figure out that Sam is basically in the middle of some sort of dick measuring contest with my boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend, I should say. “We both love the movies, and we love to go to parties.” I force a smile that Sterling halfheartedly returns. “We have really similar backgrounds growing up. Sterling was a football player. I was a football cheerleader.”

  “How cute,” Sam says, propping his chin on his hand like he’s in rapture over this pathetic response I’m muttering like an idiot.

  “We love pizza,” I add weakly. Sterling bristles beside me, so I quickly blurt out, “And when we met, it was love at first sight, so the rest is history.”

  Sam sits back in his chair, bringing his ankle up to rest on his knee. “How cute. Both of you couples are so cute. You make me consider actually attempting monogamy.”

  “Bro, that’s awesome!” Miles exclaims, his mood lightening as if he now understands why Sam is acting like such a maniac. “Is this interrogation all because you’re falling for that ice fishing hottie you told me about?”

  Sam doesn’t reply to Miles. Instead, he hits me with a look that’s so intense, so telling, so mind-blowingly overwhelming that I can’t breathe.

  My chair scrapes loudly on the floor as I move to stand. “Would you guys excuse me? I’m just going to hit the bathroom. Too much margarita,” I state and wave my hand in front of my face.

  I make my way to the long hallway at the back of the restaurant that leads to the bathrooms and a back exit. Feeling claustrophobic, I bypass the ladies’ room and burst through the back door, finding myself in the back alley next to a couple of dumpsters and vents blasting out steam of God only knows what. I inhale the frigid night air into my lungs and begin kicking the packed snow beneath my boots in a childish attempt to relieve some of this anxiety coursing through me.

  What is even going on tonight? Why is Sterling here? Why is Sam here? Why is my brother such a sweet idiot, and why hasn’t he figured out that I’m a complete fraud? Why is Kate not helping me get out of this freaking mess? This feeling in my chest? This is the reason I don’t read novels with love triangles!

  I lean against the stone wall and see a figure walking down the alley toward me. At first, I think it could be a murderer, so I turn to head back inside, but then Sam calls out my name. “Maggie!”

  My brow furrows. “Sam?” Why are you walking down the alley?”

  “I went out the front door so no one would think I followed you to the bathroom.”

  “You and bathrooms,” I murmur, shaking my head.

  Sam reaches me finally, cold air puffing out of his mouth as the single blue light in the alley shines down on us like a spotlight. “What are you doing? It’s fucking freezing out here.”

  I cup my hands in front of my mouth and blow hot air into them. “I needed some air. I was being suffocated in there.”

  He barks out a haughty laugh. “I can see why. What the fuck are you doing here with that guy?”

  I cross my arms over my chest defensively. “He just showed up.”

  “And just like that, you’re taking him back?” he snaps, his eyes wide and accusing. “He’s a fucking idiot!”

  “You spoke to him for five minutes!” I retort, defending not only myself but also Sterling incidentally.

  “Five minutes is all it took,” he grinds and stuffs his hands into his pockets, his broad shoulders lifting up to his ears as he attempts not to freeze his ass off out here.

  “What are you even doing here, Sam?” I ask, pulling my blazer tighter around myself. “You made it very clear yesterday that you were done with this charade.”

  “I am.”

  “Then why are you here?” I ask, my voice echoing down the alley as my emotions begin to bubble to the surface.

  “I’m fucking here to save you from yourself apparently,” he snaps, his jaw jutting out angrily.

  “Why would you think I need saving?”

  “Because you’re in there acting like a completely different person, Maggie. You’re not being yourself. You’re being the version you think he wants, and it’s stupid. Don’t change for a guy. You’re not that girl.”

  “Sam, how well do you even know me?” I ask. I don’t even know me anymore, so how the hell could he?

  “I know you better than that dimwit in there, that’s for fucking sure!” he growls, his voice low.

  “Whatever,” I snap, shaking my head in disbelief.

  This seems to ignite something in Sam as he steps closer to me, his body vibrating with something intense. Something overwhelming and maybe even a little bit scary.

  He crosses his arms over his chest. “You like Chardonnay, you hate beer, and you’re terrible at fishing jokes.”

  “What are you doing?” I ask, but he doesn’t stop to answer.

  “You get a sick thrill out of waking people up. I think you charmed Marv at the bait shop because you felt bad about his first impression of you. You are so stubborn that no matter how bad you are at something, you never give up. You get hot when you’re upset. You fucking hate the cold, but you actually do like ice fishing because a heater is involved, and I’m pretty sure you enjoy imagining a world of possibilities for the fish you catch and release.”

  My breath is stuck in my chest, unable to be released because nothing could have prepared me for this onslaught of words.

  Shaking his head, Sam leans toward me to add, “Fuck your ex. I know you. And in the short time I’ve known you, I have never, not once, not even for a fraction of a second thought you were basic. Crazy? Yes. Delusional? Absolutely. Idealistic to the point of believing in unattainable fairy tales? One hundred fucking percent. But you are so far from basic, Maggie. You’re like the great catch of the day that you know could never be topped even if you fished for the rest of your life.”

  My eyes well with tears because he’s saying so much, yet somehow, he’s still not saying enough. “What are you getting at with all of this, Sam? What exactly are you trying to tell me?”

  “I want you, Maggie,” he exclaims, the veins on his neck bulging as he steps right in front of me. “I want you…not as a fuck buddy and not as a secret friend who’s helping you with a problem. I want you…for everything.”

  My icy fingers move up to cover my mouth. “But you don’t do relationships.”

  “For you, I want to try,” he states simply, his eyes softening around the edges.

  “So just like that, you’re ready now?” I ask, throwing my arms out wide. Because it seems too easy. If he was really ready, why didn’t he say so at Marv’s yesterday? Why did he let me walk out? “It has nothing to do with the fact that Sterling showed up and now you’re jealous?”

  “Yes, I’m fucking jealous,” he growls, his jaw jutting out defiantly. “But it doesn’t make any of what I just said les
s true. I want you!”

  “You’re going to break my heart,” I cry out of nowhere, my mind reeling with a deep, dark, terrifying fear. Losing Sam will be a hundred times worse than losing Sterling. “You’re going to break my heart worse than Sterling did.”

  “Because you care more about me,” he retorts, stepping in so close to me, my back is pressed against the cold stone. “Admit it.”

  I shake my head, crossing my arms over my chest as I look away from him. “You’re clueless about how to treat a woman. I mean, look at how you behaved Friday night.”

  “You said I was acting like a boyfriend that night!”

  “That was before you fucked me bareback in a bar bathroom,” I yell, my voice coming from the depths of my very soul. “What the hell was that all about?”

  He flinches at my crass words and then grinds out through clenched teeth, “That was something only someone you completely trust would be allowed to do. And trust is at the core of relationships, isn’t it?” He takes a deep breath and stares right into my eyes. “Maggie, I trust you. You trust me. It may have taken me a minute to work out my feelings for you, but I’m here now.”

  “Work out your feelings for me?” I huff and flick my hand to push my hair out of my face. “And what did you figure out?”

  “I love you, Maggie,” he croaks, his eyes haunted with that admission.

  I suck in a sharp breath, my eyes blurring because nothing could have prepared me for those words to come out of his mouth. “You love me?”

  His hands reach out to cup my face. “Like a fucking great day of fishing I love you,” he murmurs against my lips. He presses his hard body flush against mine, and I can feel his heart pounding in his chest.

  And in one breath…he’s kissing me.

  Not just kissing me, though…

  Worshiping me.

  He parts my lips with his tongue and dives in deep and purposeful with a ferocity to his touch that I’ve never felt before. He gives me everything he has, and I give it right back because I can’t help myself. His lips taste like a confession my soul wants to hear. My hands tighten around his waist, aching for his warmth and affection to be felt over every inch of my body as our tongues dance and our bodies grind into one another.

  It’s too much and still not enough. It feels like no matter how hard he kisses me, that fear that lives deep in my belly will still be there when he’s done. The anxiety of change presses down on me, and I’m being sucked out of the moment like yanking a rip cord during a free fall.

  I pull back, my lips raw as I pant out hot breaths of cloudy air. My entire body has seemingly gone numb to the cold in response to this overwhelming declaration. I press a hand to Sam’s chest. “This was so not a part of my plan.”

  “Fuck your plan, sparky,” he replies, tilting my chin up so I look at him. “I can’t promise you a fairy-tale happily ever after, but I can promise you an adventure that you don’t have to fake. Hell, just waking up with you is an adventure.”

  A tear slips out and freezes halfway down my face. “I need time to process this.”

  He stiffens, his hands falling away from my face. “Time to process what?”

  “All of it,” I huff out with a laugh. “You and me. I need to get rid of Sterling and wrap my head around what this all means.”

  He shakes his head from side to side. “Bullshit.”

  “What?” I ask as he jerks away from me, putting way too much cold air between us.

  “I’m not going to sit here and hope that I’m next in line for you, Maggie,” he growls and narrows his eyes at me. “It won’t happen.”

  “What do you mean?” I exclaim, stepping closer to him with desperation in my eyes. “If you are finally admitting to having feelings for me, why can’t you be patient and understanding?”

  “Because I’m not the kind of guy who waits in line,” he roars, clenching his fists at his sides, his entire body vibrating with a flash of anger that came out of nowhere. He suddenly stalks toward me, backing me up against the wall again and caging me in with his big arms. “I’m the kind of guy who’s always in the front, and if you don’t see me, then we are wasting our time.”

  “What the fuck is going on out here?” a voice states from the restaurant doorway.

  I look over and see Sterling standing there with the door propped open, his eyes dark with accusation.

  Sam exhales, and his lips puff out angrily as he pushes off the wall. “You need to leave,” he states in an ominous tone.

  “I need to leave?” Sterling barks back, stepping out and letting the door close behind him. “I think you’re the one who needs to step away from my girlfriend.”

  “She’s not your fucking girlfriend,” Sam growls as he takes a step toward Sterling.

  Sterling looks at me, his eyes full of confusion.

  “Yeah, I know,” Sam answers Sterling’s silent question. “I know you had the fucking decency to dump her on Christmas. And I know you called her basic. And I know you’re ten times fucking wrong for her. So unless you want my fist in your face, I suggest you leave us the hell alone.”

  Sterling laughs, stepping right into Sam’s space to play up his two-inch height advantage. “There is no us with you and her. I’m her past and her future, bro. So step the fuck back.”

  He reaches out and shoves Sam on the shoulder.

  Sam laughs with delight. “You do not want to put your hands on me.”

  “Don’t put your hands on my pussy, and we won’t have a problem,” Sterling retorts and reaches out to push Sam again.

  With those words, Sam snaps.

  He dodges Sterling’s hand that’s reaching for his chest, and in a quick maneuver, he manages to hold a foot out and push Sterling in the back, sending him down to the ground with a loud thud. Sterling hops back up on his feet and lunges for Sam with all the athleticism of a quarterback while Sam grabs Sterling like a prepared lineman.

  Sterling rears his right hand back and sends it flying into Sam’s ribs. Sam winces at the blow, but then he yanks Sterling off his hips, and in a flash, Sam’s fist connects with Sterling’s face.

  The blow throws Sterling into a spinning half circle, and before I can scream, “Watch out,” Sterling falls straight back toward the wall, cracking the back of his head on an exhaust pipe.

  “Sterling!” I exclaim, rushing over and dropping to my knees beside his limp body on the ground. I carefully lift his head off the ground, and my hand feels instant wetness.

  I look up at Sam. “He’s bleeding.”

  “Fuck,” Sam growls and rakes his hand through his hair.

  Suddenly, Miles bursts through the back door, his eyes hitting Sam, then me, and then Sterling. “What happened?”

  “Sterling hit his head on this pipe. We need to call an ambulance.”

  Kate appears next, and she instantly whips out her phone. “I’m on it.”

  “Sterling, are you okay?” I ask, my voice thick with anxiety. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

  Sterling squints and stares up at me, his eyes glassing over in the blue light from up above.

  “Sam, what the fuck happened?” Miles asks.

  “I’m sorry,” Sam husks, his voice laced with regret. “I’m sorry for everything.”

  I look up just in time to see Sam turn on his heel and run down the alley, leaving me behind with my brother, his girlfriend, and my bleeding ex-boyfriend.

  There’s A Fine Line Between Fishing… And Standing On The Shore Like An Idiot

  An hour later, I’m seated in the emergency room waiting area of the Boulder hospital with Kate on one side of me and Miles on the other. I keep looking nervously at my brother whose teeth are probably cracking from how hard he’s clenched his jaw since we arrived.

  He hasn’t said a single word since the ambulance showed up to take Sterling away. And he refuses to even look at me. So basically my brother is a ticking time bomb, and he could detonate at any moment.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I
see a man in blue scrubs come striding out of the double doors where they took Sterling when we arrived. He looks decidedly grumpy as he grabs a clipboard out of a slot.

  “Hello, Dr. Dick,” Kate whispers into my ear.

  I frown and shake my head at her and then flick my eyes to Miles.

  Kate laughs softly. “I’m an erotic romance novelist, Maggie. Everyone is material for my imagination, and Dr. Dick over there might just be my next bestseller,” she whispers.

  “Why are you calling him Dr. Dick?” I ask, puzzled.

  “He looks angry,” she says, her eyes squinting at him objectively. “Look at his posture. He’s totally closed off and wants nothing to do with people. A male nurse probably just threw himself at him, and he had to reject him, which upset him because he hates communicating, and it’s been over a year since he got laid. Plus, you can totally see the outline of his dick in those scrub pants!”

  My head turns to gape at her. “Kate!”

  Her face twists. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s a weak plot. I’ll workshop it and get back to you.”

  Suddenly, Dr. Dick calls out, “Maggie Hudson?”

  “That’s me!” I exclaim, standing up out of my chair.

  With a sullen frown, he makes his way over to me. “You came in with Sterling Fitzgibbons?” he asks.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Okay. He’s going to be fine. He just came out of X-ray, and there are no signs of a concussion. We had to give him two stitches.”

  “Two?” I ask, shocked by that small of a number. “Only two?”

  He nods, his expression bored. “Head wounds are notorious for looking a lot worse than they are. Honestly, he could have driven himself in for the stitches.”

  I exhale heavily and look over at Kate who has her hand clasped tightly over her mouth, completely failing to hide her amusement.

  The doctor then adds flatly, “He was crying pretty hard during the stitches, so we gave him some pain medicine that will make him a little loopy. He shouldn’t drive himself home.”

  Kate explodes with snort-filled laughter against her palm, spit flying everywhere as she loses her will to stay cool.