“Fuck, man,” he curses in anger. “All I want to do is help you. I know you’ve been to hell and back. That part is clear. I know it wasn’t easy and I’m sure it was the worst thing any human being could have possibly endured, but I’m your best friend and have been for the last twenty years, so when I tell you I’m here, I fucking mean it.”
“Jace,” I sigh.
He flies to his feet cutting me off. “You know, I just don’t get it. A week ago, you told me you couldn’t stand that girl. You said she was fucking irritating and impossible, yet somehow, you can go and tell her all about it, while I get ‘you wouldn’t understand’.”
He walks around his desk, reaches for the door, and stands before me. “Well, fuck you, too, dickhead,” he says. “I fucking get it. Any weaker man wouldn’t have survived what you went through, but did you stop to think that we were going through our own hell? I thought you were fucking dead, Luke. Every day I was waiting to hear that your body had been recovered. Then you show up four months later acting like nothing happened,” he says. “I can’t just forget about that shit.”
“Come on, man,” I say.
He shakes his head in disbelief before yanking on the door and slamming it in my face.
Shit. I deserved that.
I’ve been such a bad friend to him. He’s right. Not once did I consider what the people at home were going through. I’ve been a self-centered ass. He needs his closure. He needs to know the extent of what happened so he can finally put it behind him.
The only problem is that my mind is still screaming at me not to.
I let out a breath and step away from his door.
My fucking great day has just gone to shit.
I push my way into my office and collapse down into my chair feeling like an absolute prick. I sit there for a while before deciding I should probably get a bit of work done.
I flick through some emails and spend a bit of time looking at the final plans for the new club. The new Rebels Advocate. It’s going to be incredible. Though, as exciting as it is, this club is my home. The plans are awesome and show exactly where every last thing is going to go.
The club is going to be huge, probably three times the size of this one, but it’s closer to the city and has everything in its favor. There’s no doubt in my mind that this new club is going to be a major success, and the second we have it up and running, I’m sure it will open the doors for a third and fourth Rebels Advocate.
I can’t fucking wait.
As I busily go over every tiny detail, my phone vibrates against my desk beside me. I glance down at the screen and see a name appear on my phone that instantly puts me on edge. Sharpy. The best damn sniper the military has ever seen. He’s a sharpshooter and those skills got me out of a shitload of trouble.
I unlock my phone as the sinking feeling settles in my stomach.
Sharpy – Hey man, just checking in. How are you holding up? Have you talked to Ben recently? Apparently, he’s not doing so great. Doc says its PTSD. He could really use a visit from you.”
The sinking feeling stops and is replaced with absolute agony. I should have been checking on him.
Luke – Shit. I’ll head up there this weekend.
Chapter 15
Lexi
Holy crap, Batman. It’s hot.
I don’t know what the hell has been going on lately, but the weather has been ridiculous. It’s like some kind of heat wave has come through to kill us all. Maybe it gets a kick out of watching us poor earthlings fanning ourselves with our hands and making that sicky noise when we try to unstick ourselves from leather couches.
I’ve just started pulling out the bathroom and it’s the most exhausting thing I’ve ever done. It’s too hot for this shit, but I’m far too determined to give up.
After working my ass off trying to dislodge the old cracked bathtub, I manage to get it over to the door. I twist and turn as I try to get the bastard out of the bathroom door, but the fucker is well and truly stuck. “Come on, you big bastard,” I groan at the stupid thing.
I give it a big old kick, but all that does is wedge it between the doorframe. Shit. How the hell am I going to get it out of here?
I glance around the bathroom, realizing that since the doorway is now blocked, I’m also well and truly stuck. I mean, fuck the bathtub, how am I going to get out of here?
There’s a tiny window that’s high up on the wall. I could possibly get my head through and then fall to my death on the other side, or I can try to wedge myself underneath the bath and risk being crushed by the stupid thing.
Options. Options.
I go with the crushing.
With a huff, I get down on my hands and knees and work out how the hell I’m going to get under this thing. Dread fills me but I have no other choice but to stick my head through and try to worm the rest of my body through the small gap.
I keep my eyes locked on the door knowing a particular neighbor likes to barge his way through and I can only imagine what he would say about this. For the first time in two days, I’m pleased about this ridiculous heat wave as it has a layer of sweat covering my body which makes it that little bit easier to slide myself through.
I manage to get through mostly unscathed but end up with grazed elbows and knees. I get myself to my feet and walk down to the kitchen where I keep my first aid kit.
As I’m cleaning up my knees I realize something is off. I look around the room and can’t quite work it out until I look up. The ceiling fans are off. No wonder I’ve been feeling so damn hot.
I could have sworn I flicked them on. In fact, they’ve been on for the past two days. I swear, if they’re broken, I might just die.
I walk over to the switch and give it a quick flick with my eyes focused intently on the fans. They instantly start rotating, but the second they gain a little speed, a white powder starts flying across the room.
“What the fuck?” I shriek as I duck for cover.
I flick the fans straight off, but the damage has been done. There’s flour covering the living room and kitchen from top to bottom. My teeth clench down and my hands ball into fists. I mean, the place looks like a flour bomb exploded in here.
There’s not one single doubt in my mind how it happened and if I thought the bastard was home, I’d be over there right now, beating his door down and giving him a piece of my mind.
I know this is payback for what we did to his house, but this is taking it a little too far.
I thought things had changed between us. We had that crazy intense moment together a few days ago, he told me about his scars and opened himself up to me. We connected on this crazy level and I felt things I’ve never felt before.
The following morning, he returned my speakers and I felt as though it was some kind of truce, so since then, I’ve been the perfect neighbor. I guess I was wrong.
I really should have taken it a little further when we were boobytrapping his home, at least that would have made me feel better about the mess I’m going to have to clean up. I mean, it’s not like I can storm over there and throw him over my shoulder, demanding he clean it up.
Damn him.
I can just imagine the grin on his face if he were to see this. Not only is my home a mess, but I am too. The sweat covering my body makes the flour stick to me like glue. I swear, I look like a ghost right now. Not to mention, I just ripped out the bathroom, so I can’t even get myself cleaned up.
Unless…
I grab a clean set of clothes and walk straight out the door. I don’t bother locking up. I mean, if someone walked into that disaster, they won’t be staying long.
I head over to Luke’s house. His truck isn’t here so I’m assuming he’s not home. Well, I’m hoping he’s not here, but then, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he is here. I could really give him a piece of my mind right about now, and if he feels that way inclined, I could really go for round two between the sheets.
I try his door and naturally, the bastard has it
locked up like Fort Knox. I walk around the side of the house to his living room window and I get to work giving it a good old wiggle. I can’t believe my luck when it actually slides open. “Holy shit,” I grunt to myself before resisting the urge to pat myself on the back.
I hoist myself up through the window and grin at the flour handprints left behind on the windowsill. I don’t bother wiping it off as I head down his hallway and into the bathroom, leaving a trail of footprints behind.
I strip out of my flour covered clothes and get straight into a cool shower. I mean, this is his mess, so it’s only fair that I use his bathroom, right? I wash my hair and stay in here until my skin starts to wrinkle before I hop out and wrap his towel around me.
I get myself dried up and dressed before heading into his kitchen and making myself at home. I don’t doubt he’s watching me on his little security camera that comes up on his phone. I rifle through his fridge, make myself a sandwich, and leave behind as many crumbs as possible before getting my ass back home.
I find the broom and sweep a path from the front door to the hallway, then get a little creative and make paths off that path to all the rooms so I can get around without making a mess.
With my bathroom in a bit of a sticky situation, I decide to call it a day as there’s really nothing I can do about it until I can get someone to help me with the floating bathtub in the doorway.
With the rest of the day to waste, I decide there’s no better time to sit with my drip than now. I get myself all hooked up in the living room and start fiddling on my phone while I wait.
As usual, the quiet moment has my mind wandering to Luke. I can’t help but think back to the moment in my guest bedroom where he blew my mind. I haven’t spoken to him since then. I mean, I’ve seen him walking in and out of his place, he winked at me and set my underwear on fire, and of course, he’s still comfortable making his way in here, but why hasn’t he actually spoken to me?
I have this incredible need to be with him again and the fact that I haven’t been able to touch him is driving me insane. Just once is never enough with a man like him.
I never expected to feel this way about the asshole who boils my blood. Well, I guess calling him an asshole is a bit much. That’s not who he is. He’s so much more than that. He’s actually… pretty incredible.
As I’m playing on my phone, I press down on the hold button and chat away with Siri. “Siri,” I ask. “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”
She responds instantly. “As many cookies as Cookie Monster could muster if Cookie Monster could master cooking cookies.”
I chuckle to myself before letting out a sigh. “Siri?” I ask again, getting serious. “When’s Luke going to come around?”
“Texting Luke,” Siri replies. “When’s Luke going to come around?”
Wait… What?
My eyes widen as I look down at the phone to see a text message open to Luke, in the middle of sending. “No, no, no, no. Shit,” I yell before I desperately try to backtrack, but once the text has been sent, there’s not a lot I can do about it.
“No, Siri, no,” I pout. What have I done? I’m mortified.
I instantly turn my phone off and throw it away as though I can pretend it didn’t happen. Oh god, this is so embarrassing. I need to turn off all the lights, shut the blinds, lock the doors, and climb under the blankets while my life comes to an end.
I’m in the middle of drowning in my own self-torture when the door opens.
Oh no.
I close my eyes in mortification as Luke steps through the door with a grin. He holds his phone up and I know he’s about to say something moronic and equally as painful when he gets a look around the room. “Holy shit,” he laughs as a wolfish grin takes over his handsome face. “This is brilliant. I didn’t think it’d work this well.”
I glare at him with everything I’ve got. “You’re cleaning this shit up,” I tell him.
“Ha,” he scoffs. “Right.”
I fold my arms across my chest as my eyes narrow on him. “Is there something I can help you with?”
He wiggles his phone with a teasing smirk. “I got your message,” he tells me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Uh huh,” he says as he walks forward. “You wanted me to come around?”
“Nope.”
He walks right up in front of me, places his hands on each of the arms rests of my chair before leaning into me. “You’re a liar,” he says before ducking his head and pressing his lips to mine.
Holy shit this is good.
I can’t help but kiss him back. His lips are like my kryptonite. They're intoxicating and incredibly delicious. A moan slips out of me and I hate myself for being so obvious. He pulls back slightly and looks across at my drip. “Are you good here? Do you need anything.”
Shit. My heart melts. “I’m good,” I tell him as his fingers find the bandages on my knees and elbows from where I crawled out of the bathroom. His eyebrows furrow and I absolutely hate the look of concern that crosses his face.
“Does it hurt?” he asks.
I shake my head as his eyes bore into mine in the most intense stare off I’ve ever experienced. “No,” I murmur.
“Good,” he says. “Did you enjoy my shower?”
At that, a grin of my own rips across my face. “Uh huh,” I say. “I had a pretty good sandwich too.”
“I noticed. You left a mess behind.”
“Shit, really? I didn’t notice.”
He pushes back off my chair but doesn’t take his eyes from mine, holding me hostage within his deep eyes. “You’re a smartass,” he chuckles.
I shrug my shoulders. I’m not about to deny it.
He shakes his head in exasperation before finally releasing his hold on me. He takes himself for a walk down my hallway and checks out the progress I’ve made on the house.
“What the fuck happened to your bathroom?” he calls through the house.
I grin as I picture what it must look like to him. “We had a bit of a disagreement,” I tell him.
“Shit,” he laughs. “This is more than a disagreement.”
A moment later, I hear a loud bang followed by a little bit of grunting before he walks back down the hallway holding the bath. Luke passes straight by me and out the front door. I watch through the open doorway as he dumps the bath in the dumpster, dusts off his hands and makes his way back in.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I tell him as he leans up against my kitchen counter.
“Yeah, I did,” he says with a scoff just as my drip finishes. I go about pulling it out as he watches with curiosity. I usually get funny when people I don’t really know watch me do this, but for some reason, I feel more than comfortable with Luke.
“Come on,” he says the second I put it all away.
“Huh?” I grunt as I stop and turn towards him.
“You’re coming to my place,” he tells me. “You have a mess to clean up in my kitchen and then I’m making you dinner.”
“Ok,” I smile as I step into his personal space and smile up at him. “As soon as you clean up your mess.”
He scoffs as a smirk crosses his handsome face. His hands find my waist and he pulls me into him. “This isn’t my mess,” he tells me. “You’re the one who turned on the fan. It’s not my fault your extremely unobservant.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You’re such a jerk,” I tell him.
He kisses me once again before pulling back. “Fine,” he groans. “But you’re helping. This place is a fucking mess.”
An hour later, my house is spotless, though I’m sure I’ll be finding flour in every nook and cranny until I finally sell this place. I stand in his kitchen, wiping up the mess from my sandwich as he gets busy cooking dinner.
Once again, he manages to blow me away with his cooking skills as he makes me some sort of chicken dish that I can’t even pronounce.
We sit down
together and he drills me with every question under the sun, from what my childhood was like to the breakdown of my marriage.
After dinner, I clear my plate away and go to leave, only he catches my wrist in his big hand. “Where do you think you’re going?” he questions.
I stop and look back at him before he pulls me into him for the second time today. “Home,” I tell him.
His hand comes up and he runs his fingertips down the side of my face. My body instantly reacts to the touch and I find my chin tilting up to him. “No,” he tells me. “You’re staying here tonight.”
His lips come down on mine, but this time, his kiss is different from the ones I’ve already experienced. It’s not a needy, sudden urge. It’s two people giving in to their desires. It’s almost like it’s the start of something, and from the way he looks at me as though I have all the answers, I feel that whatever this is, it could be something huge.
He leans down and scoops my legs under his arms so he holds me close to him. He walks down the hallway and into the bedroom before showing me again, just how good it can be.
Chapter 16
Luke
The sun is barely out when I get in my truck. I’ve got a long drive ahead of me and if I expect to be home at a decent hour tonight, then I need to get going.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the message I received from Sharpy a few days ago. To hear that Ben isn’t doing so great kills me. I was hoping he’d be coping a bit better than I was. He’s just a kid and has his whole life ahead of him.
After a four-hour drive, I pull up at the suburban home and let out a breath. I don’t know what I’m going to see when I walk through that door, but something tells me it’s going to be one of the hardest things I’ll ever do.
I lock up my truck and walk up the path to the front door. The closer I get to the door, the more the dread settles in my stomach.
I raise my fist and knock before taking a step back to wait.
A small brunette lady with Ben’s eyes answers the door and it’s immediately clear this is his mom. She looks exhausted and I don’t doubt this has something to do with Ben. “Oh,” she says, pleasantly surprised, “I know a soldier when I see one.”
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