by R. Linda
“Yeah, maybe.” She paused, sadness reflected in her eyes. “If there is a next time.”
Dammit, Jeremy. He better not have hurt her again and told her he didn’t want to see her anymore.
“I gotta go,” Harper said quietly, sparing one more glance at me before turning and rushing away.
My gaze followed her all the way to bathroom.
I pushed out of the booth and stood, stretching my arms over my head as I did.
“What are you doing?”
“Toilet.”
Brody looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips pinched between his fingers.
“Seal. Broke. A lot of water. Remember?”
“Whatever.”
The sadness in Harper’s eyes seemed to have sobered me up somehow. I strode across the diner with long, purposeful strides, down the hall, and walked directly into the female toilets.
Chapter Twenty
Harper
Jeremy and I had spent the last few days together, catching up and getting to know one another again. He wasn’t the same brother I remembered growing up. He was hard. Stronger. Angrier. But he was still my brother, and I loved him. It made having to say goodbye tonight a lot harder.
I didn’t want him to go. I felt like I had just got him back and was losing him again. But he’d got a job in a garage and started tomorrow. Six hours away. So he had to get on the road tonight to make it in time for work tomorrow.
I checked my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I didn’t want to look like I’d been crying and was startled when the door swung open and Nate appeared behind me.
“You shouldn’t be in here,” I said, catching his eyes in the mirror.
He stood right behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders. “Just want to check on my friend.”
“I’m fine.” I gave him a small smile.
Nate dropped a kiss to the top of my shoulder. “You sure? Jeremy is leaving.”
“I’m aware. And I’m trying not to think about it. I don’t want to say goodbye to him because I don’t know when I’ll see him again.”
“Is that why you’re working tonight instead of spending time with him?” His hands drifted down my arms and circled my waist.
I nodded.
“Go spend time with him. Like you said, you don’t know when you’ll see him again. You don’t need to be working tonight.”
I sighed. He was right. I should be spending the last few hours of Jeremy’s time here with him instead of cleaning tables and making milkshakes.
“Okay.” I turned in his arms and looked at his bloodshot, glassy eyes. Brushing my thumb over the dark circles under his eyes, I asked, “You okay?”
Nate leaned against me, pressing me back into the counter, one hand cupping my cheek, fingers in my hair, the other dug into my hip, pinching at the skin. “No. But I’m not important. Tonight, Jeremy is important. He’s where you should be.”
“What happened?” I needed to know. I couldn’t spend time with Jeremy if I was worrying about Nate.
“Later.” He wasn’t going to give me any answers yet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. “Say goodbye to Jeremy and meet me at home.” He pressed his keys into the palm of my right hand and closed my fingers around them.
My stomach fluttered at his words. Home. His home, I knew, but I still liked the sound of it.
“And Brody?”
“Sneak in quietly.” He pressed his lips to mine before releasing me and walking out the door.
I waited a minute or two before I left the bathroom so it didn’t look like we’d been in there together and walked straight into my brother and Nate shaking hands.
“What’s going on?” I forced a smile and refused to look at the bag on the floor by Jeremy’s feet.
“I have to jet,” Jeremy said, releasing Nate’s hand. “But I’ll give you a lift.”
“What?” I frowned. A lift where?
“Home,” Nate answered. My mouth dropped open and my eyes widened.
“Ummm. Okay.” I looked over at the counter, and both Uncle Johnny and Aunt Julie waved me off.
Nate had clearly spoken to Jeremy and my uncle. I glanced at Brody, but he wasn’t paying us any attention. What had he told Jeremy, though, to get him to drop me at his house?
Jeremy said goodbye to Johnny and Julie, picked up his bag, and walked out the door with me trailing behind.
“I like him,” Jeremy said when got in his truck and I directed him to Nate’s place.
“Me too.”
“Kind of noticed that. But no one knows?”
“No.” It was going to be small talk all the way to Nate’s apartment, filling the silence with mindless chatter until it was time for him to walk out of my life once more.
“Why?”
“Because his cousin is my ex-boyfriend.”
“The guy you were dating a few years ago? Ha! You’re kidding.” He was quite amused by that. “Is he good to you, though? Or do I need to kick his ass?”
“He’s great. We just don’t want to rush things or hurt Brody needlessly.” My voice drifted off as Jeremy pulled his truck over in front of Nate’s apartment.
I looked at him, and he gave me a half smile that I guessed was meant to reassure me. “I’ll be back.”
“Sure.” I wasn’t counting on it. Didn’t want to get my hopes up.
“I’ll visit. Come back at Christmas. It’s only a few weeks away.” A glimmer of hope.
“Okay.” I stamped the glimmer out. I wasn’t going to let myself get excited by the prospect of seeing him again.
Jeremy reached over and wrapped his arms around me. “I really did miss you. And I’m so proud of you for becoming you. I’ll see you soon.”
“I missed you too.” I hugged him tighter. “See ya.” I pulled out of his embrace and climbed out of the truck. I couldn’t look at him because if I did, I’d cry. Instead, I ran up the steps and into Nate’s building.
Once inside Nate’s apartment, I went straight to his room, pulled a t-shirt out of his drawer, and changed into it before sliding into his bed and waiting for him to come home. Only then did I let the tears fall.
I didn’t hear Nate come home.
I didn’t feel him climb into bed beside me.
I didn’t feel his arm wrap around my waist and hold me close.
But he was there in the morning when I woke up, tangled with his legs, my head on his chest.
“Hi, friend,” he whispered as his fingers stroked my hip.
“Hi.”
“You okay?”
I nodded, not wanting to talk about it. There was nothing to say. Jeremy had gone with the promises of coming back, but I wouldn’t hold him to that because who knew what could happen in the next few weeks.
“Are you?” I asked, suddenly remembering he was drunk last night for some reason.
“I am now.”
“Want to tell me what happened?”
“Audrey woke up, and she wants to see me.”
I pulled back and lifted myself onto my elbows, watching Nate curiously. I knew he’d had so many mixed feelings over this girl. He felt guilty he couldn’t save her family, and he felt bad she was alone, but he also wanted her to have a happy life and knew his parents could give her that.
“And?”
“And I’m going to see her today. With Brody.” He closed his eyes.
“That’s great. You might find it’s just what you need. Maybe speaking to her will give you peace of mind and release some of that guilt you’ve been holding onto.” I leaned into him and kissed him.
“I hope you’re right.”
“I always am.”
He captured my mouth his while his hands roamed my back. “We have a few hours to kill before I have to leave.”
“Oh, yeah?” I raised an eyebrow teasingly.
“Mmm-hmmm.”
“What did you have in mind?” I chewed on the corner of my lip, knowing exactly what he had in mind.
“Th
is.” He peeled his shirt off me, removed our underwear, and rolled us both off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. “Oops. That was louder than I thought.”
A knock sounded at the door just as Nate settled himself between my legs. Brody said through the closed door, “You okay, man?”
“Ah, yeah, I just fell out of bed that’s all,” he said and kissed my collarbone.
“Okay,” Brody said slowly, unsure of what to think of a grown man falling out of bed.
I bit his shoulder to stifle my laughter, and Nate pressed his lips together to silence his chuckle. Brody’s footsteps retreated down the hall.
“You’re going to get us in trouble,” he whispered.
“You’re the one who rolled us on to the floor. Why didn’t you just announce to Brody I was here?”
“My intentions were good,” Nate murmured against my lips.
“Good…really?”
“Very good.” He pushed his hips forward, and my eyes rolled back into my head.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Nate
Dead.
They were dead.
All of them.
I was going to strangle them with my bare hands. Squeeze the life out of them.
I hated bowling.
And what was more, I hated bowling on a date.
Oh, and I hated dating…when it wasn’t Harper.
And I really, really hated double dating with Brody and the two blonde bimbos Indie so happily set us up with.
Conned, more like.
Duped.
Tricked.
Whatever you wanted to call it, she did it. Rang to tell me Linc was picking me up for some event at the Surf Club that she couldn’t attend because she had a meeting. The word “meeting” should have been an instant red flag. She was a graphic designer and worked from home. She didn’t attend meetings. “Dress nice,” she said. So, I did.
I walked into the living room to find Brody dressed equally nice, though if I was being honest, I looked better.
“Where you going?” I asked him. We’d been at the hospital again, visiting with Audrey. I’d seen her three times now, and things were getting easier.
“I have a date.”
“During the day?” I laughed. What a terrible time for a date. I hope he hadn’t suggested it.
“Yeah. Where are you off to?”
“A presentation for Linc.”
“You his hot date?” Brody sniggered.
“Yeah. Indie couldn’t make it.”
A knock sounded at the door, so Brody opened it.
Indie waltzed into the room with Linc following close behind, an amused smile plastered on his smug face.
And then, out of nowhere, two blondes walked in. Twins.
“Guys, this is Cindy.” Indie pointed to blonde number one. “And this is Mindy.” She smiled brightly as she pointed at blonde number two.
Cindy and Mindy. No joke.
I smiled briefly in an attempt to be polite and not make them feel uncomfortable or unwanted. Even though they were.
“Can I speak to you for a minute?” I ground out. I grabbed Indie by the arm and dragged her into the hall.
“You’re welcome. Mindy is lovely. Isn’t she, Linc?” Indie smiled happily.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I told you I was going to set you up.”
“And I told you no!” I raised my voice. Linc stepped in front of Indie and pushed me back. As if I’d hurt her. But I did respect him a little more for protecting her over me.
“But then Linc told me your plan to set Brody up, and I thought why not set you both up.”
“Why not? I’ll tell you why not. Because I am not interested.”
“Well, you can’t very well turn them away now. Can you? That would be cruel, Nate.”
I stared at her. Opened my mouth but closed it again, unsure what to say. Linc rocked on his feet, whistling softly.
Glad he was amused.
He probably put her up to it because he knew about Harper and me.
The thought of Harper had my pulse racing and stomach flipping. After the whole “just friends” thing with her brother a few days ago, things had been tense. I got the feeling she wanted to make us official or something, but I wasn’t entirely sure because she wouldn’t open up to me about what she was thinking or feeling.
“Get back in there and show those girls a good time.” Indie ushered me back into the room. “Who knows? One might be your soulmate.”
“Doubt it,” I muttered under my breath. Pretty sure my soulmate was sitting on top of a water tower.
“Ready to go?” Brody asked when I returned to the living room.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Which was not at all.
I turned to speak to Indie one last time, but she and Linc had already gone. Jerks. They deserved each other.
“Let’s go.”
Bowling sucked.
And bowling with Cindy and Mindy sucked even more because they were more concerned with breaking a nail than knocking over any pins.
Where the hell did Indie find these girls?
Brody seemed to be enjoying himself, though. So that was good. Maybe Cindy and Mindy would be his soulmates, and then I’d be free to take Harper out on a real date and not just sleep with her.
“I’m hungry,” I announced after Mindy closed out the final frame. Those two games seemed to drag on. For. Ever.
“I could eat,” Brody agreed.
Yes. Maybe we could lose the girls somewhere and go get some food.
“Oooh, yes.” Cindy clapped her hands. Or was it Mindy? I really couldn’t tell.
“Let’s go.” Brody grabbed Mindy’s hand and pulled her toward the door.
Cindy stared at me expectantly. Or was she Mindy and Brody had walked off with Cindy?
Shit.
I was confusing myself.
“Let’s go, hot stuff.” The blonde chick whose name I really didn’t know skipped over to me and linked her arm through mine, pressing her body against my side.
I tried not to cringe, but I couldn’t help it. Hers was not the body I wanted rubbing against mine. I recoiled slightly and faked needing to tie my laces so I could untangle myself from her. I wasn’t even wearing laces, and she didn’t notice I was pretending to tie air.
Yeah.
They were dead.
All of them.
***
It didn’t matter how hard I argued with Brody, he wasn’t taking no for answer. I tried everything. At one point, I opened the car door and tried to throw myself out because that would have been more pleasant than what was waiting for me through those doors.
Damn Johnny for making the best goddamn burgers in the state.
Why couldn’t his food taste like shit? Then no one would want to stop there. If his food tasted awful, then Brody wouldn’t have insisted on taking the twins there.
I felt like this whole thing was a setup.
Someone planned it this way so Harper would catch me on a date with someone else when I couldn’t give her anything more than “just friends.” I was really beginning to hate that word.
“Get out of the car,” Brody said.
“No, you go. I’ll just head home.”
“Seriously, dude. You’re acting like a tool.”
We argued back and forth for ten minutes until one of the blondes climbed into the passenger seat, leaning over the console and whispering in my ear all the things she’d like to do to me.
I was out of the car in a flash. Unfortunately, so was she, and she seemed to think since she told me she wanted to tie me to her bedposts and cover me in whipped cream that we were actually dating and physical contact was perfectly fine.
She attached herself to my side. She was like a leech. Only she wasn’t sucking my blood. She was sucking out my will to live.
Just kill me now.
Her arm snaked around my waist, and her hand slid into my back pocket. I moved away from her
. She followed. I couldn’t shake her. She was determined, I’d give her that much. But the thought of walking into the roadhouse with Airhead Barbie fused to my side made me sick. I wanted to throw up.
Reluctantly, I followed Brody and Airhead Barbie number…whatever into the diner. Maybe I’d luck out and Harper wouldn’t be there. Ha. Even then, I’d still have to see the disappointment on Johnny’s and Julie’s faces when I walked in with someone other than their niece.
Dropping my head so I wouldn’t have to see the look in anyone’s eyes, I tried to remove myself from my not-date, but it only made her purr in my ear and tell me how she liked guys who played hard to get.
I wasn’t playing.
I could sense her eyes on me. Cold. Hard. Hurt. I looked up and straight into the murky brown eyes of the woman I loved. No longer were they the bright sparkling caramel colour I got lost in. No. They were dead. And so was I with one glare.
She tore off her apron and slammed it on the counter, still levelling me with her glare. She had too much pride to look away or cry. I took a step forward, but the leech pulled me back.
With a slight shake of the head, I tried to convey to Harper it wasn’t what it looked like. But she just curled her lip in disgust and took off into the bathroom, leaving me staring at Johnny, who was casually throwing the meat cleaver in the air and letting it stab into the bench.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
I’d ruined everything before it began.
They were dead.
All of them.
Slow and painful, just the way I felt right then.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Harper
I refused to cry.
I couldn’t breathe. My chest constricted, and my head spun. Everything I believed, everything I thought I knew was wrong. I’d never felt my heart break before. Not like that. Not when my boyfriend in high school broke up with me. Not when Brody broke up with me. I wasn’t sure I even had a heart left to break after what my parents did to me. After Jeremy left me.
But I did.
That beautiful, handsome, kind man out there pieced my heart back together and held it in his hands. I thought he’d take care of it. Cherish it.
