by Lucy Gage
“Is it just me, or was Noah giving you creepy eyes all night? I think he wants to bang you.”
“That’s disgusting,” I muttered, smiling at the driver despite our conversation.
“Are you sure? Maybe you should get it in. It’s been a while since you’ve been boned, and you could stick it to Sabrina the Bitch at the same time.”
“I’m sure. I’d rather stab myself in the eye with a spoon.”
Jamie shrugged. “I guess we’ll just find you someone else.”
“Why do I need to find someone else? I thought I was here to spend quality time with my baby sister.”
“Yeah, um…about that.”
My eyebrows rose. “About what?”
She cringed. “Don’t get mad, but some of my high school friends are in town, and they wanted to hook up. They’re going to be at the bar…and Tony’s going to be there.”
Tony had been Jamie’s high school sweetheart, and as much as she denied it, we both knew she was still in love with him.
“You’re ditching me? I came all the way out here, and you’re ditching me! On the first night no less.”
“I’m not ditching you, Sam. We’re together, aren’t we? Come on. We’ll have some drinks, we’ll dance, and maybe you’ll even have some fun!”
I rolled my eyes.
Fun wasn’t a possibility for me in this town. I hated everything about it, and Jamie knew that. I’d been looking forward to drinking and bitching about our family together. Now, I’d have to hang with a bunch of my sister’s friends and listen to them talk about college and partying. Two things I had very little experience with.
“I love you, Sam, but you really should lighten up. You’re here. Why not make the best of it?”
That was Jamie—always searching for the bright side while I hid in the shadows.
“Fine, but if all of you guys spend the night on Snapchat, taking selfies, I’m fucking leaving.”
The middle-aged Uber driver chuckled and gave me an approving look in the rearview mirror.
Jamie’s eyes narrowed, but she kept quiet because she knew that was likely. I hated the whole if-it-isn’t-posted-to-social-media-it-never-happened perspective of my peers. I was probably the only twenty-three-year-old American that didn’t have a Facebook account. My life was messy enough as it was. I had no desire to advertise that and invite people’s opinions.
A few minutes later, the driver pulled up to a bar called Deuce’s on the small main strip. It was new—or new to me. The owners had turned the town’s old firehouse into a two-story bar. It was a lot nicer than I’d expected. Most of the bars in this town were worn-down, hole-in-the-wall places that required a certain level of grit to even enter. This place was clean and welcoming, the decor was modern, and the staff looked like they’d been flown in from LA, not homegrown in Larkson, Tennessee. It was already full and clearly very popular. I had to admit, I was impressed.
Maybe Larkson is changing.
As soon as we walked in, Jamie’s friends started jumping up and down as they waved her over. I had to fight not to roll my eyes at their squealing and bouncing. Their friendships always seemed so superficial to me. I doubted any of those girls would be around when Jamie really needed them.
I went unnoticed while I stood behind Jamie, and she caught up with her former schoolmates. After five minutes, I decided to give up on getting any of her attention, and I made my way down the bar to find an opening. When I finally did, I leaned over it to catch the eye of a bartender.
“Jameson, please! Make it a double.”
The bartender nodded, and I leaned back, taking in my surroundings. To my left was a couple wrapped in each other’s arms as they kissed and murmured things to each other, both of them clearly buzzed. I sighed and turned to my right, surprised to recognize the guy next to me.
Dominic.
He took a sip from his beer and must’ve felt my gaze because he cut his eyes in my direction. Lowering his glass and swallowing, he turned to fully face me, and I felt my heart sputtering to life. His eyes were disarming; his lips were full and looked so soft. I’d never expected to find him at a bar. He wasn’t the social type; at least, he didn’t used to be. It was one of the qualities we had in common.
“Rough night?” he asked as the bartender set my glass down in front of me.
I blinked, realizing I’d been staring. I quickly faced the bar and picked up my glass. I drank the entire thing in one go, trying to get a grip on my hormones. I hadn’t had sex in over five months, and apparently, my body was ready to end the dry spell. I set the cup back down and signaled for another as the warmth seeped down into my chest.
“Guess that answers my question.”
“Did you even have to ask? If I remember correctly, you wanted out of this lousy town just as much as I did at one point.”
His grin slowly faded, and he gazed into his beer before nodding and drinking the rest.
I was just about to ask why he’d come back when a woman walked up to him, laughing, and put her arm around his shoulders.
The bartender brought my next drink just in time. A woman. Figures.
“Come on, Dom! Come dance with me.”
Dominic shook his head and stayed on his stool despite her tugging. She pouted and stared at his profile for a few more seconds before giving up and heading back to the dance floor. I watched her as she walked away. She looked younger than him and had a great figure. My excitement fizzled as I realized my chances of getting laid had just dropped exponentially.
“Girlfriend?” I asked as I lifted my new glass for another sip. Clearly, the liquor was loosening my lips.
Dominic met my gaze. “Sister.”
My eyes widened. “Sister?”
“Half-sister,” he clarified.
I knew his dad had been in prison for most of his life, and his grandparents had taken care of him while his mother went in and out of rehab, but I hadn’t known he had any siblings. When he’d disappeared during our junior year, there’d been all kinds of rumors about where he went—his father had been released and taken him to California, he’d been arrested and sent to juvie, or he’d been kidnapped by his mother’s drug dealer. I never did find out the truth.
“So, what happened to you?”
“What do you mean?”
I moved a little closer, so he could hear me better. My arm brushed his, and I couldn’t help but notice how big it was. His skin was so warm.
“You disappeared our junior year and never came back. I was worried about you.”
His eyebrows rose. “You were?”
I tried to fight the blush blooming on my cheeks but couldn’t, not when he looked at me like that. “Of course. We were kind of friends back then, remember?”
His eyes flicked to my mouth. “I do.”
“So?”
Dominic sucked in a breath and signaled the bartender for another drink. “I ran away.”
I pictured him at seventeen, hitchhiking down the highway, alone. I was hurt that he hadn’t taken me with him. We hadn’t been friends long, and I knew I had no real right to be upset, but he’d known enough. He’d known how much I wanted out of Larkson. If he’d knocked on my bedroom window one night and asked me to run away with him, I would’ve gone without a second thought.
“Where did you go?”
“I made it all the way to California. Ended up working at a small surf shop on the coast and laid low for a while. I knew, once I turned eighteen, they couldn’t touch me.”
“Why are you back then?”
The bartender dropped off another beer, and he took a sip, probably contemplating how much he wanted to share. Normally, I wouldn’t be so nosy, but the alcohol was helping me not give a shit.
“My sister needed me. So, I came back.”
I looked past him and at his sister, who was currently dancing in the middle of the dance floor like she was the only one in the room. She seemed fine to me, but w
ho was I to judge? He didn’t offer any further explanation beyond that.
“Why are you here?”
I shrugged. “Same.”
My sister laughed with her friends a few feet away as his eyes glanced past me.
“Looks like you were suckered in.”
I scoffed, “What about you?”
I lifted my chin toward the dance floor, and he looked over his shoulder, toward his sister.
“She was a lot worse off three years ago.”
“You’ve been back for three years?”
He gave me a sidelong glance before taking another sip.
“Damn. That’s rough.”
Our conversation eased into a comfortable silence as we sipped our alcohol, and I tried to muster up the nerve to be honest with him.
“I missed you,” I said into empty glass number two. I was too scared to look at him. “You were the only person I knew who hated this place as much as I did. It sucked, not having you around to talk to anymore. Especially since we hadn’t been friends for very long.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, waiting for a response. When I didn’t get one, I finally turned to face him. Dominic’s eyes were on me, and I felt his stare down to my bones. My words meant something to him.
“I’m sorry.”
I grinned, trying to shake off the heaviness in my heart. It was a futile effort. My heart had been heavy for years.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be sitting here, making you feel bad for things that you had no control over. I just wanted you to know…” I met his eyes, and he was watching me with such intensity, hanging off every word. I felt like an idiot. “I don’t know what I wanted. I think I’m a little drunk.”
Dominic chuckled, and just like I had done a few seconds ago, he gave me a fake grin and turned to face his beer again. Time had clearly made us better at pretending.
“There you are!” Jamie shouted, bumping into my side. She was drunk. “I was looking for you. Who’s this?” A flirtatious smile curled her lips as she took in Dominic next to me. “He’s hot.”
I stood up and started pushing her backward. Not happening.
“He’s an old friend from high school. Come on, let’s go.” I glanced over my shoulder at Dominic and smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
He lifted his beer from the bar and nodded in response.
I hoped he was looking forward to it as much as I was.
I woke up in Jamie’s bed on Christmas Eve with a hangover from hell and her foot in my face. I groaned at the sunbeam shining in my eyes, rolled over, and fell right off the edge and onto the floor. I landed with a thud loud enough to wake the entire house.
Jamie’s head lifted from her pillow, and she scowled as she stared at me on the floor. “Shut up, Sam. It’s too early.”
She pulled the blanket back over her face, and I tried to remember why I’d even agreed to come see her for the holidays. I loved her, but she was a pain in the ass. Sitting up, I grabbed another pillow and hit her with it.
“What the fuck?”
“This is your fault, you know! I could be sitting on a beach somewhere, away from all of this!” I pointed toward her bedroom door. “Instead, I’m sharing a tiny-ass bed with my little sister, who doesn’t even appreciate that I’m here!”
“Oh my God, Sam. Get over it! We’re your family whether you like it or not. You’ve spent your whole life complaining and bitching about it, and it hasn’t helped a damn thing. Can’t you ever be positive?”
I stood up and held my head as it throbbed. Sucking in a deep breath, I dropped my arms and looked at my little sister. Her hair was a mess, her makeup was smeared, and her blue eyes looked just like Mom’s. I’d always been jealous that she took after our mom more than I did. I was like our dad, and I hated it.
I opened my mouth to argue some more, but defeat swept through me, and I closed it. There was no use. It wasn’t Jamie’s fault I hated my life. I picked my purse up off the floor and walked out of her door and straight into Noah.
“Whoa. You look like shit. How much did you drink last night?”
“Fuck off.”
The smell of his expensive cologne invaded my nostrils, and nausea swept over me. I ran for the bathroom down the hall and heard him laughing as I slammed the door behind me.
An hour later, I’d showered and changed, and I was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a large cup of strong coffee. My father sat at the other end, reading the newspaper. He hadn’t spoken or even looked at me.
Sabrina, Regina, and Noah had already left; they’d probably gone to Nashville to spend more money. Regina hated our small town almost as much as I did. Jamie had fallen back to sleep, but I couldn’t get her words out of my head. She was right; this was the only family I had whether I liked it or not. I needed to come to terms with that fact and move on. I’d thought I had, but clearly, they still got under my skin. I just couldn’t comprehend how my father had had someone as thoughtful, fun, down-to-earth, and loving as my mom and then married Regina.
Doesn’t he see she’s using him? Does he even miss Mom?
My father was the biggest cynic I knew. I didn’t understand how he could be so blind to Regina’s true character.
My phone chimed in my purse, and I retrieved it to see a text message from an unknown caller.
Your car will be ready around noon.
Dominic. I grinned.
Okay. Thanks! Where do I go?
He texted me the address to the shop, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I had an escape.
I decided to walk to get my car. The shop was only a few miles from the house, and I could use the time alone. I arrived at exactly noon and approached the open garage doors where I found Dominic tightening the last lug nut on my new tire. I felt a tingling under my skin as I took him in. He wore a pair of brown boots, worn jeans, and a white T-shirt. His hands were covered in grease and dirt, and his dark hair hung over his forehead as he concentrated on his work. Just being in his presence lifted a weight from my chest that had been there since that morning.
“Hey.”
His green eyes met mine, and he stood up. I loved how tall he was.
“Hey. You okay?”
He took an old rag out of his back pocket and started wiping his hands as he approached me.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just a little hungover. I hope I didn’t embarrass myself too much last night.”
He gave me a sympathetic grin. “You were fine.”
I glanced around the shop and realized we were the only ones there. “You didn’t come in to work just for me. Did you?”
He shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. I didn’t have much going on.”
“Shit. You didn’t have to do that, Dominic. I feel awful.”
“Don’t. I really don’t mind.”
I nodded and glanced at my shoes.
“Come on. Can I get you some coffee?”
I followed him into the office. “No, thanks, I’m good. I’ve had, like, three cups already.”
He poured himself a cup and walked toward the register. “It’ll be seventy bucks for the tire.”
“That’s it? Even on Christmas Eve? Isn’t there an extra labor fee or something?”
Dominic smirked, and it sent a shock straight between my legs. I bit my bottom lip to keep from gasping.
What the fuck was that?
I cleared my throat. “Um, do you take credit cards?”
“Sure.”
I fumbled with my purse and got my wallet out, focusing hard on what I was doing so that I couldn’t acknowledge how badly I wanted him to throw me over the hood of my car and fuck me.
Jesus. Where is this coming from?
Finding my card, I reached out to give it to him. I could feel his stare as I slipped it into the palm of his large hand, and I finally found the courage to meet his gaze. I wished I hadn’t. My heartbeat doubled as his piercing eyes stared into mine. I could smell the gr
ease from his hands and feel the heat from his body. I started imagining his lips against my skin.
Would it be so bad to ask him for sex?
I closed my eyes and laughed before catching myself.
“What’s so funny?”
My eyes opened and widened. “Huh?”
“You laughed.”
“Oh. Uh…I was just remembering something funny.”
He started pushing buttons on the cash register. “Yeah? What?”
“I forgot,” I muttered, looking away for a distraction. “How long have you worked here?”
He stayed silent as he finished ringing me up, making it clear that he noted I’d dodged his question. It wasn’t until he handed my card back that he answered mine.
“I opened it a couple of years ago.”
“You own this place?”
He tilted his chin. Dominic might talk more now, but he was still greedy with his voice. It made hearing his words seem more special.
“Nice.”
I looked around with a new perspective, noticing the waiting area with the flat screen television and the framed pictures of old cars on the walls. It was clean and organized. Dominic had clearly done really well for himself, and I couldn’t help but feel happy for him, even a little proud.
“It’s really nice actually.”
“Thanks. Well, here are your keys.”
He walked around the counter with my keys hanging from the tip of his finger, and I hated the idea of leaving.
What if this is the last time we see each other?
“Oh, yeah. Thank you.” I took the keys and pulled my purse strap higher onto my shoulder, awkwardly standing there as I searched for something to say. “So, what are your plans for the day?” So lame.
His eyebrows rose. “Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Nothing really. I suppose I should buy a few Christmas presents.”
I laughed and felt myself relax a little. “Talk about waiting until the last minute.”
Dominic chuckled and reached up to scratch the back of his neck. I stared at the skin exposed below his T-shirt. It was tan and toned with just enough hair to guide my eyes toward his package.
