by K B Cinder
Careful planning went straight down the shitter with the resurrection of Josie Roberts in Briar happening far ahead of schedule. I’d planned a camping trip for the day of her little sister’s wedding, but she’d gone and fucked that up royally, showing up in the one place where Briar folk went to unwind.
Sweat beaded at my temple as I rounded the corner toward freedom. In the haze, I bumped into a server, catching her elbow to save her from careening into a pool table. Luckily it was Piper, a choppy-haired redhead who told me off whenever she saw fit.
“Seriously, Barrett?” she hissed, straightening her outfit. Thankfully, she hadn’t been carrying a tray.
The commotion gathered enough attention to clear the surrounding crowd, giving me the perfect view of Josie and Lynette making their way out.
Fuck.
Josie looked good. Damn good. A tight-bodied blonde with long legs, she stilted herself with heels like Lynette, losing the Converse she’d once lived in, while a short sundress bared miles of bronzed skin.
The two were as enthralled in their conversation as they’d been at the table, seemingly unaware of my existence. They were probably swapping country club stories and gossip. She’d been one of them all along.
How disgusting.
We were hellions in our day, driving around in my Camaro without a care in the world. Cliff jumping. Hiking. Mile-high bonfires. We’d done it all.
Until one day, it stopped.
The thought broke the spell, and I remembered poor Piper who I’d almost knocked into next week. “I’m sorry.” I slapped on my best smile. “I’m barreling through like the oversized dog I am.”
“Damn right!” She frowned but still had a hint of a grin behind it. “Now get outside, you filthy animal!”
I winked and continued toward the door, the two women dawdling far enough behind that I could make it to freedom unnoticed. I weaved through familiar faces, surprised people weren’t flocking around the long-lost classmate. A new name in the mix was fresh meat and gossip material.
As the door swung wide, a cool breeze cut through. I held it open for a gaggle of women entering, a habit courtesy of Nan. Even in an all-out panic, I couldn’t ignore manners thanks to years of her drilling.
To my horror, Lynette and Josie strolled through, smiling and exchanging laughs. Josie’s floral perfume drifted over — the same brand she’d worshiped as a teenager.
I gritted my teeth and looked away, hoping Lynette wouldn’t notice me. If she did, I prayed she wouldn’t say a thing. She shouldn’t, given the sour history.
But of course, she lit up like a goddamn Christmas tree once her eyes fell on my face. I offered a quick head shake, hoping she’d take the hint.
“Oh my gosh, Luke Barrett! Well, I have a blast from the past for you! Look who’s in town!”
Son of a bitch.
The door shut with a loud thump, sealing the sound of country music inside and leaving me in my personal hell with the ocean breeze as a soundtrack.
She gestured to Josie, who looked as horrified as I felt, those big brown eyes impossibly wider, her smirk falling into a thin line. “It’s Josie! You two knew each other, right? I think I remember you hanging out.”
Hanging out? Try fucking like rabbits.
“Yeah, we knew each other,” I replied, not interested in taking a stroll down memory lane. A memory lane dotted with potholes, debris, and straight-up carnage. “Hi, Ms. Roberts.”
“Hello, Luke.” Josie’s voice was small, and I almost felt a lick of pity. Almost.
“I was just telling her about you!” Lynette gushed, not picking up the obvious signs of discomfort from either of us.
“All good things, I’m sure.” I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to bolt.
“Absolutely!” Lynette cooed. “Busy day at the shop, hon?”
I nodded, hooking my thumbs in my pockets, tremors of adrenaline rippling through the limbs. “Busy month.”
We had enough appointments booked through summer that hiring another guy was a must if any of us wanted to see the sun again. Four men wouldn’t cut it, and as the preferred shop in town, there was money to be made.
More so, the brewery opening meant I’d be spending less time working on cars in town and more time on the ridge overlooking it.
Lynette smiled, reaching to fluff her hair, her tits jiggling wildly. “Well, I’ll be in for servicing soon,” she declared, sliding her tongue over her lower lip, taking a streak of pink lipstick with it. “He does incredible work, Josie.”
“Thank you.” I kept my focus on Lynette, hoping to get the chat over with.
“We were about to head over to Pete Parvin’s place for a party if you’re interested.”
Pervy Pete? Hard pass.
It was funny how morally ambiguous people were when money was involved. There I was, a dirty mechanic tatted to high hell, and I wouldn’t be caught dead in Parvin’s company. These two polished pinheads were desperate for it.
“I’m sorry. Plans.”
“Bummer! It’ll be so fun!” She pouted, her artificially plumped lips nearly bursting at the seams. I always imagined them feeling like gummy worms, a blow job on par with fucking a calamari ring.
I suppressed the urge to shudder. “I’m sure.”
She put a hand on her hip, not used to being shot down. Money always got her what she wanted. Unfortunately for her, I had plenty. “Well, why don’t we go to dinner another night?”
Josie was uncharacteristically quiet, her cheeks dusted in red. Apparently, someone snipped her balls over the years.
“I’m awfully busy, Lynette….” I trailed, ready to bolt.
Lynette shot me a hard look, ticked off at the rejection. “Too busy to chat with old friends?”
“Someone is waiting for me. Have a good night with Perv-er… Pete.”
A smile touched Josie’s lips at the slip-up, and for a moment, I didn’t hate her. That shared inside joke stretched over a decade to bind us.
“Hey, dude!” Marsh greeted, bursting through the door and shattering the microsecond of peace.
I glared his way, frustrated he hadn’t come sooner. What if some guy was kicking my ass? There weren’t many men bigger than me in town, but still. MUSKRAT meant now. “Just heading out.”
He rolled his eyes. “Obviously. I’m going home with Alanna.”
I rolled my eyes right back, disgusted that she was the holdup. He ignored a MUSKRAT for that? “Not a surprise.”
He and Alanna were the eternal on-and-off couple. No matter how many times everyone told them they were a bad mix, they’d get back together, likely hooked on the wonders of make-up sex. Apparently neither had heard of role-play.
He offered a weak grin, but then caught sight of Lynette and Josie, his smile fading in a flash. “Oh..uh… hi!”
“Hi, Marsh.” Josie’s voice was steadier with him, as it should have been. She had no reason to fear him exploding. She hadn’t shit inside his heart.
“Haven’t seen you around here in a while.” He crossed his arms, his eyes darting between us as if awaiting a dog fight.
That was my opening.
“Well, I’ll see you around. Can’t leave her waiting too long.”
“Tally?” he asked.
I nodded and offered a stiff wave to the two Stepford wives before rushing to my truck, fleeing the past.
Josie
Chatting and networking were my bread and butter, dealing with pushy authors and even pushier publishers regularly. Yet, a backwoods bad boy wannabe let me speechless.
As much as I wanted to slap him across his bearded face, I wouldn’t. I’d moved on, and he had too, morphing into a six-foot-sexy grown man.
Lynette had raved about how hot the Barrett boys were over martinis, but I drowned her out with the watery mixture.
But dammit, she was dead-on. At least with Luke.
Wearing a fitted black tee and worn jeans, he oozed masculinity, the fabric skimming a muscled body. There were elements
of the boy I once loved there under all the scruff — a faint white scar across his lower lip and blue eyes as brilliant as ever, the striking shade still taking my breath away with ease.
Unfortunately for him, I knew the trouble that lurked behind them. Trouble I’d fled.
First love was a sickness. It was one Dad cured me of by leading a lost daughter toward salvation. And it came at a terrible price.
Things were never the same once I fell in love with Luke Barrett.
As he strolled toward a black pickup, I let my eyes follow, ignoring better judgment and the chatter of Lynette and Marsh. A part of me wondered if Tally had straightened him out. Maybe she was the water to his fiendish flames rather than an accelerant like I’d been.
He looked strikingly similar to my neighbor on the inlet, but I hoped paranoia was playing tricks on me. There was no way Luke still lived in his Nan’s house. It had too many memories.
I turned my attention back to Marsh, handsome as always with cheekbones people paid big bucks for. He was also as nervous as ever, and still running around as Luke’s wingman, unfortunately.
“Have a good night, Marsh. See you around.” Lynette fussed with her blouse, the barely-there scrap of fabric hardly counting as a shirt. When she boasted about its cost, I almost fell out of my chair. Who paid $3000 for a glorified napkin?
She was in a rush to go to Pete’s, raving about his money in between drooling over Barretts, both subjects equally revolting.
I smiled at Marsh, trying to calm down before sealing myself in a car with Lynette. She didn’t know it yet, but she was driving me home, not to Pete’s. “Have fun with Alanna.” I couldn’t resist teasing him for old time’s sake.
He blushed, not about to chat with me while his best friend was still in the parking lot. It totally violated bro code, and Luke held grudges like no one else. He used to, anyway.
I waved and followed Lynette, wobbling with each step across the gravel lot. My heels were no match for the loose stone.
I bumped into her after Liv’s fitting downtown and agreed to grab a drink since Linc was staying with my parents overnight. I needed one after turning up empty-handed while car shopping.
Growing up, Lynette was always over the house babysitting Liv, but we never clicked as friends. But now that we were older grabbing drinks wouldn’t hurt. I missed my Cali girls like hell, and it’d only been a day. I needed to make friends, but she didn’t seem like one I’d want in my corner, after all.
“This will be so much fun!” she exclaimed, sliding into the driver’s seat of her convertible. “Pete throws the best parties!”
“Can you drop me-” I started, pausing when the car didn’t start. Not even a click.
“What the hell?” she grumbled, trying again with the same result.
“Battery?” I asked, trying my best to breathe once the doors shut. She wasn’t exactly light on the perfume.
“I don’t know!” She flew into a panic and was on the verge of tears in an instant.
“Okay, should we call someone? A tow truck?” I suggested.
She spun her head to face me so fast I thought her neck snapped. “Josie! I can’t be seen in a tow truck!”
I blinked, realizing I’d grabbed a drink with a psycho. “Call a cab and have it towed later?”
“In front of all these people? I don’t want them to think I’m driving a lemon!” she shrieked, smacking the steering wheel.
“Okay, what do you want to do?” I just wanted to go home, change into pajamas, and call it a night. I worked all morning before heading out, and sleep was calling.
She sniffled, her eyes welling with tears. I hoped for her sake, she’d used waterproof eye makeup. If she hadn’t, she was about to look like a long-lost member of KISS. “This is so embarrassing!”
“Batteries die all the time. Let’s ask someone for a jump.” I grabbed the door handle, more than ready to get the show on the road.
“NO!” she howled, her hand snaking around my upper arm.
“What should we do then?” I asked, shrugging out of her grasp. I wasn’t playing into hysterics.
“Oh! Oh! My knight!” she cheered, opening her door to fly out before being snapped back by her seatbelt like a bungee jumper.
I had to put a hand over my mouth to keep the laughter in as she unclipped it. She barreled out of the car and left the door wide open after finding some poor sucker to help her.
Unfortunately, the poor sucker was Luke, who slid into her seat a moment later. His size overwhelmed the tiny interior as did his scent — a faint hint of cigarettes and manly musk. He was silent as he worked aside from a quick apology when his arm brushed mine.
Memories of our last time in a car flashed, pain striking along with them. It was in a backseat instead, but we weren’t entrenched in passion; we were handcuffed in tears.
He disappeared to pop the hood, his scent lingering along with the memory, the duo pinning me to the leather seat. My worlds collided, a painful past dancing with a promising present, with the man who started it all feet away.
I could hear the craziness outside thanks to the open driver’s side door, the two moving to stand beside it once he finished tinkering.
“Looks like you blew a fuse or relay.” Luke’s voice was tired, the bite of earlier replaced with a low rumble.
“I didn’t do anything!” Lynette snapped.
“Okay… your vehicle blew a fuse or relay.”
“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do? Fix it!” She transformed from a damsel in distress to a monster, blowing her shield of humility in a flash.
“I need to do a diagnostic at the shop to see if it was a worn fuse, or if there is a short somewhere.”
“Well? What are you going to do? Stand there? Replace it!” she exploded.
“Yeah, I’ll just pull a fuse out of my ass that will only blow again if there’s a short.” He patted down his pockets, mockingly.
I put a hand over my mouth to hide my smile, loving every second of their showdown.
“Luke Barrett!” she huffed with clenched fists, her handbag making a crackling sound that no bag should in one. “Do something!”
He smirked, reaching in his pocket to pull out a pack of cigarettes. “Do you want me to have it towed in?”
Her hands flew above her head, nearly launching the Birkin into the sky. “Towed? Like I’m some peasant?”
He lit a cigarette, taking a step back. “I don’t think peasants have sports cars.”
“I can’t have my car on the back of a tow truck! People will talk!”
“About what?” he asked, taking a frustrated inhale of smoke, a sight I’d seen a thousand times.
Figured he hadn’t quit yet. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen a woman suffer for years with cancer. Idiot.
“My vehicle being a hunk of junk, Lucas!” She spoke through clenched jaws, practically snarling.
“None of these people will notice, let alone give a flying fuck.”
Her eyes practically bugged out of her head at his calm, cool response.
I couldn’t help but laugh, doing my best to stifle it, but both of them heard it loud and clear. Lynette glared at me through the window, while Luke stiffened at the sound.
She turned back to him, flustered as can be. “Have it towed to your shop, and my assistant will pick it up when it’s ready.”
Luke angled away, letting out another puff of smoke. “I’ll have one of my guys pick it up in the morning, so no one sees your broken-down carriage.”
He always had a way of making you want to punch him and kiss him at the same time. It was part of his allure, and the reason he hadn’t been expelled in high school. It was probably why he wasn’t in jail, too.
“How am I supposed to get to Pete’s party?” she sniffled.
Luke took a step back, blowing a cloud of smoke between them as a barrier. “Call a friend?”
“They’re all there! And they’ll know my car is a piece of crap!” she wailed, throwing
her head back with a sob and reminding me of Linc in his tantrum hey-day.
“Okay, well, fuck ‘em. If they won’t help you in a time of need, they aren’t friends, are they?”
She wiped her cheeks, streaking the fallen eye makeup into her foundation. “You’d never understand.”
“You’re damn right.” He shook his head, cigarette bouncing between his lips as he spoke. “I’ll have one of the guys bring it in. Have a good night.”
She stepped toward him through another cloud of smoke with a hand outstretched. “Can you give us a ride? Pete’s driver will take us home. I’ll drink too many martinis, and they’ll never know.”
“You’d rather drink too much than admit car trouble to your friends?” he laughed as he ran a hand through his hair, the dark brown tendrils hanging beyond his shoulders.
“Well, duh!” she groaned.
“You need new friends.”
She gestured towards her car, making me slump further into the leather, cursing my luck. “That’s why I’m out with Josie. She’s a doll.”
“I’m sure. Like Chucky.” The joke missed with Lynette, but I caught it along with the massive eye roll on his end.
“Can you please take us? Please?” she begged, clasping her hands together.
He hesitated, and I didn’t doubt he’d leave me to rot without batting an eyelash. “I’ll drop you off, but I’m not staying.”
“Oh, thank you, Luke! Thank you!”
I never dreamed my night would end with Luke Barrett in a car not once but twice. Nor did I think I’d step foot in Pete’s palace of perversion.
Shit.
Luke
I didn’t know what I did in a past life, but I must have fucked up.
Was I a mosquito?
A pushy mall kiosk worker?
A dickhead that hogged two parking spots?
Why else would Josie Roberts be in my truck?
Unfortunately, being a nice guy bit me in the ass, unable to leave the two women stranded.
Lynette chose the seat by the door to fuss with her makeup in the mirror. Her face was a mix of colors from the epic cryfest.
