Wicked Hearts

by L A Cotton

  “I just got off work, my bus stop is the next block over.”

  “Need a ride?”

  “Oh no, I wasn’t...”

  “I know.” He smiled some more. “But I’m done here for the day and I don’t have any plans so I’m all yours.”

  His words twisted something inside me. It was a slip of the tongue. Nothing more. But my heart interpreted them as something much more. Silly foolish heart.

  Trey stepped closer, taking the air with him. “It’s just a ride home, Kiera. I promise not to bite.”

  Fuck.

  I was screwed.

  So screwed.

  I swallowed, my throat dry, my words gone. I looked like shit and didn’t smell much better and here Trey was, looking like he’d walked straight out of a GQ photoshoot. My eyes dropped to the floor, embarrassment staining my cheeks. Working at Brownie’s was a means to an end. It wasn’t the permanent plan. But suddenly, I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

  And I hated it.

  I hated that even after everything, this man in front of me had the power to make me question everything about myself.

  “I- I should go. I’m sure—”

  “Get in the damn truck, Kiera,” Trey said before stalking toward his truck which I now noticed was parked alongside the building. He reached his door and glanced back at me, waiting. With a heavy sigh, I trailed after him, slipping inside before he could say anything else.

  THE RIDE TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD was quiet.

  Some singer I didn’t recognize sang to us about complicated love. The irony wasn’t lost on me. After a few minutes, I realized we weren’t heading out of town toward my neighborhood. “Trey, where are—”

  “Just trust me.”

  I threw him a sardonic look, but he laughed it off.

  Ten minutes later, we pulled up to our old spot by the beach. He parked the truck and cut the engine, running a hand down his face. “I need to tell you some things and I need you to listen, okay?”

  “O- okay.” Blood pounded between my ears as I angled myself to face him, the air in the truck so thick I could hardly breathe.

  “Last year, after you suggested we just be friends, I was a fucking mess. I spent most of my time getting shitfaced or high or...” His eyes flashed to mine. “Doing other things.”

  Oh.

  Oh.

  My stomach sank.

  A part of me had known Trey would have eventually sought out other girls—what guy wouldn’t—but hearing him confirm it was like a knife to my stomach.

  “But you have to understand what it was like for me, Kiera,” he went on. “I wanted you so fucking much. Even though I knew we couldn’t be together, even though I knew you were right to friend-zone me, it totally screwed with my head.

  “Things got so bad, they threatened to kick me off the course. Coach benched me until my grades improved and my old man damn near about blew a gasket. Threatened to cut me off if I didn’t clean up my act. I managed to turn it around and I met Callie.” His eyes slid to mine. “In the beginning she was just a distraction. But my parents found out about her and my old man was so fucking proud. His son dating the daughter of one of LA’s wealthiest families. Anyway, I knew I had to tell you in person. You deserved that.”

  “But I got it all wrong,” I whispered, remembering how nervous I’d been about finally giving in to my feelings for him.

  “Fuck, Kiera, I felt like such an asshole that night. All I’d wanted to do was tell you the truth, to clear the air between us and there you were, offering me the one thing I wanted but could never have...” He shook his head softly as if he couldn’t believe what had gone down between us. “I didn’t plan on it going down like that, you have to know I didn’t.”

  “Don’t, please.” I screwed my eyes shut, trying to force out the onslaught of memories. The embarrassment and dejection. The moment my heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

  I’d changed that day. Something had altered in me and it had never quite healed right. It was silly, I knew, giving someone so much power over you. But where Trey was concerned, I’d always been powerless. A slave to my attraction to him, to the simmering connection between us.

  “You broke my heart, Trey.” I stared at him, letting him finally see the truth. “You broke me.”

  “I know, babe, I know, and I’m so fucking sorry. If I could go back in time and do things differently, I would. Fuck, I’d do it all so differently.”

  But that was the thing about the past, you couldn’t change it or erase it. You had to live with the pain and memories and devastation. You had to wear the scars for a lifetime, hoping they eventually faded enough to forget.

  But they never healed completely. I knew that better than most people.

  “But you can’t take it back.” Silent tears streaked down my face. “You can’t take any of it back.”

  Being here, in Trey’s truck, again, him being back in town, it was too much. My hand reached for the door handle, but Trey said, “Wait, please.”

  I glanced back at him, our eyes colliding.

  “I love you, Kiera. I think a part of me has loved you since that day I first met you. But I was scared. Of what people would think, of what Kyle and Rick would do. Of the intense feelings I felt for a girl I barely knew.”

  “You... you love me?”

  He leaned forward, brushing the stray hairs from my face. “You know I do. You’re so strong and loyal and you don’t give a shit what people think about you. And you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

  “Trey...” I breathed, too overwhelmed at his confession. “You hurt me, so much.”

  “I know and I’ll never forgive myself for it. And I know I don’t deserve another chance. I know you’re with Jack—”

  “He’s gone.”

  “Gone?” Trey’s eyes went wide, and I nodded.

  “He left to spend the summer with his grandpa in Nevada.”

  “I see.” His expression hardened.

  “Don’t do that,” I said, defensively. “Don’t feel pissed on my behalf. You don’t get to judge my relationship with him. Not when you—”

  “You’re right, I’m sorry.” His voice softened. “I just... He left? For real?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So, you and he?”

  “There is no me and Jack anymore.”

  Hope glittered in his eyes but before he could reply, I asked the question that had been burning through me since he waltzed into the diner earlier. “And you and Callie, what happened?”

  “I ended it.”

  “Oh.”

  His lip curved in a half-smile. “I just told you I ended my relationship and all you’ve got is ‘oh’? I’ve got to say, I’m a little disappointed.”

  “What did you expect?” My voice rose. “That I’d throw myself at you and we’d fuck away our mistakes right here in your truck? Sorry to disappoint you, Trey, but I’m not looking to make a fool of myself aga—”

  “Stop,” he choked out. “Stop. That’s not... That was a shitty thing to say. I’m sorry. I didn’t bring you here hoping—”

  “I know.” And I did. Trey was an idiot and he’d hurt me time and time again, but he wasn’t a bad guy. “I’m just... fuck, I don’t know what I am. This. You. It’s too much.”

  “Callie and I were never engaged,” he added. “She told her parents we were to get one over on her father. So, I did what I should have done a long time ago, I ended it.”

  Relief washed over me, easing the permanent ache in my chest, I’d felt ever since hearing Trey was engaged.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  “Say something,” he coaxed, his head dipped low to mine as if we were in on some secret conversation.

  “I don’t know what to say anymore.”

  He let out a weary sigh. “I deserve that. I didn’t bring you here looking for anything other than an opportunity to explain and apologize. I’m not going to lie, it’s a huge fucking relief you’re not
with Jack still because I’m not sure I could have handled that all summer, but I was prepared to do the right thing. I was prepared to apologize and tell you all I want is for you to be happy.”

  Silence stretched out before us as his words sank deep into my bones. I’d waited so long to hear all of this. Too long. “And now?” The words spewed out before I could stop them.

  “Now?” His eyes sparkled like the sun across the ocean. “Now, I’m thinking I have my work cut out for me to make it up to you.”

  My heart swelled.

  Shit, why did it swell?

  I couldn’t let him back in again.

  Could I?

  “I’m leaving for San Diego in two months,” I blurted out as Trey fired up the engine and began backing out of the parking lot.

  “Nine weeks to make you fall in love with me again?” His brow quirked up. “I’ll take those odds.”

  “What makes you think I was ever in love with you?” I threw back, keeping my expression flat. But he smirked as if he could hear my thoughts.

  Ducking away from him, I glanced out of the window, fighting a smile. My head knew this was a bad idea. Knew there was still too much unresolved between us, to really make it work. But my heart...

  My heart always had been hopeless when it came to Trey Berrick.

  Chapter 19

  Trey

  I was floating on cloud fucking nine.

  Yesterday, I’d finally plucked up the courage to go into the diner and see her. It had only taken all week. I knew Kiera had no idea I was back in town from the confused expression on her face when she spotted me across the room. But what I wouldn’t give to see that look in her eyes again and again.

  Lust.

  Longing.

  A flare of anger that brought a flush to her cheeks and looked so fucking good on her.

  I hadn’t been looking to mess things up again. She was with Jack and, as far as I knew, she was happy. It had taken some serious self-reflection to realize I had to let her go. But I was finally at a place where I didn’t want to get on my knees and beg her for another chance.

  It was funny; since my near escape with Callie, I’d realized that loving Kiera was enough. Even if I only ever got to love her from afar, I could live with that. Because all I wanted was for her to be happy.

  On some fucked-up level, that’s all I’d ever wanted.

  Did it sting knowing another guy made her smile? Yeah, it did. But it also brought me a sense of peace I hadn’t expected.

  Kiera was the first girl I’d ever loved. The girl who got away. And maybe that’s all we were ever supposed to be.

  Then she’d said three little words that changed everything.

  Jack is gone.

  If that wasn’t a sign from the Universe that I needed to grow a pair and do what I should have done two years ago... well, I didn’t know what was. So I was feeling damn pleased with myself when I walked into my old man’s car lot this morning. Business was booming which meant my days were busy and my old man was happy. Sure, he still gave me the cold shoulder unless absolutely necessary, but I could live with it. Especially since I knew a certain pink-haired girl was working right around the block from me.

  “You’re late.” my dad snapped as I entered the office.

  Good morning to you too. “It’s eight-thirty.”

  “Eight-thirty-five.”

  “My watch must be running slow.” He wouldn’t ruin my good mood. Not today. Not when I had a plan to win back the girl.

  He huffed under his breath as he filed some paperwork. “It’s been a good week. Business is good, son. And although I might not always show it, I am glad you’re here for the summer to get a real sense of things.”

  “Sure thing, Dad. I’ll go make sure the place is tidy.” Dad had a lackey for that, Paulie, but I liked to spend as little time as possible in the back office.

  “You do that,” he murmured, lost in his papers. I left him to it and headed out front.

  Berrick’s Automotives was a used car dealership specializing in rare and classic cars. And it was my old man’s passion. But as I stared at the rows of vehicles—Pontiacs and Camaros, Starliners and Polaras—I felt no sense of pride or ownership. Was I proud of my dad and all he’d achieved? Sure. He was a successful businessman who’d always provided for his family. But a career in the auto trade wasn’t for me. I still hadn’t quite figured out what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew for certain it wasn’t this.

  I just hadn’t figured out how to break it to him yet. Not when we’d reached a strange kind of truce.

  “How’s it going kid?” Paulie said from inside a red Chevy Corvette, busy buffing the leather seats. “You’re wearing a smile today. If I didn’t know better, I’d say there was a girl involved.”

  My smirk grew and he threw his head back, hearty laughter rumbling in his chest. “I remember those days, kid. A different girl every weekend. Fucking like rabbits—” He noticed my expression slip and narrowed his eyes. “Oh, it’s like that. This isn’t just any girl. It’s the girl.”

  “Don’t let my old man hear you say that, okay? I barely escaped his wrath over this shit with Callie. I don’t need—”

  He mimicked locking his lips and throwing away the key. “Consider your secret safe with me, kid.”

  “Thanks.” I jammed my hands in my pockets feeling embarrassed. I wasn’t used to talking about this stuff with anyone. There had been girls in high school—hook ups and flings—and then there had been Kiera and Callie. I didn’t exactly have a great track record. But it was time to change all that. I wanted Kiera, for keeps.

  And this time I was going to do whatever it took to win her back.

  “HMM, HEY.” KIERA GLANCED up at me as I made my way to the counter. She looked so fucking adorable in the dark-gray ball cap with a white B embossed in the center, pink strands of hair escaping around her face.

  “Hi.”

  “Can I...” She gulped. “Get you something?”

  “Maybe.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and studied the menu overhead. Brownie’s was one of those authentic American diners with mini-jukeboxes on the tables and a huge backlit menu hanging from the ceiling above the counter.

  “Trey,” she hissed, leaning closer. “What are you doing?”

  “Nine weeks, remember?” I flashed her a smirk and then went back to studying the menu. I knew what I wanted, but I wanted to make her sweat a little. I wanted her to remember how things could be between us—the banter, the simmering sexual tension.

  Fuck. My dick sprang to life at that. Maybe I needed to not remember that. Not yet. Not until I’d convinced her to give me another shot.

  “Are you okay?” Kiera asked, her brows knitted. “You look a little... uncomfortable.”

  “Just browsing.” I pasted on a smile, thinking about naked old ladies, hoping my dick would stand down.

  “I have to take table three their check, but I’ll be right back.”

  I watched her with the family sitting at what I presumed to be table three. The little girl reached out and tried to touch her pink hair and Kiera blushed, and fuck me, she looked so beautiful. The mom apologized but my girl brushed it off, ruffling the little girl’s hair. When she walked back over to me, she had a smile on her face, but I caught the lingering pain in her eyes. And I knew she was probably remembering her own childhood, all the things she missed out on because her mom was an addict.

  “Cute kid.”

  “Who, Ellie? They’re regulars.” She glanced over at the family who were leaving. “Her mom and dad bring her in every week for pancakes.”

  “You want that one day? Kids and weekly family pancakes?”

  What the fuck was I saying? But seeing her reaction, watching her with the kid, had done crazy things to me.

  Kiera stared at me as if I’d lost my mind, and maybe I had. But now my mind had gone there, I couldn’t stop. Kiera in a white dress waiting for me at the end of a long aisle, pink in her hair and stars in her eyes.r />
  “Trey?”

  “What?” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I mean, yeah.”

  She inclined her head, smiling. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re acting weird.”

  I was so screwed.

  So fucking screwed.

  I thought I could take things slow, ease her back into the idea of us. Give myself time to figure out how to break it to Kyle I wanted to be with his sister. But I’d underestimated one tiny little detail.

  How much I’d want to kiss her every time I saw her.

  I’d wanted to do it yesterday and I wanted to do it now. I wanted to lean across the counter, cup her face, and kiss her so fucking much it would be impossible to know where she ended, and I began.

  “Trey, you’re starting to freak me out.” Her voice was like a bucket of ice water and I stuttered trying to formulate a reply.

  “I think I know what I want,” I rushed out.

  “Yeah? What can I get you?”

  You.

  I want you.

  I want your flaws and insecurities and hopes and dreams.

  I want everything about you.

  “Okay, I’ll take a turkey sub and some of those skinny fries to go, and I’d better take a coffee for my old man. Oh, and some chili fries for Paulie.”

  “Paulie?”

  “Yeah, he works at the lot with my dad.”

  “Oh, okay.” She rang through my order and I gave her twenty dollars.

  “It’ll be about ten minutes.”

  “I can wait.”

  Her breath hitched and I hoped it was because she caught the double meaning behind my words. Because I would wait for her.

  “I still can’t believe you’re here, working right around the block.”

  “Believe it, baby.” I smirked. “Do you believe in fate, Kiera?”

  “Fate? If I believed in fate, I must have done some pretty shitty things in a past life.”

  “Fuck, I didn’t mean...” Way to go insensitive asshole.

  “It’s okay,” she gave a strangled laugh that sounded anything but okay. “I’m not sure what I believe. I guess I think sometimes things happen for a reason and sometimes they don’t.”