Complicated Relationships (The Southern Devotion Series Book 3)

by McClung, Amy

  "Any luck finding a dress?" I asked, trying to keep myself from getting lost in my thoughts.

  "Several. Cameron's in there with her offering his expertise. If you don't feel comfortable with him being in there, I can go back. She's wearing a slip to try them all on. I know he's gay, but he's still a male so he'll understand if you…"

  "Gracie, it's fine. If she's comfortable, then that's fine. I'm sorry I panicked. This crazy blonde woman kept following me around the bookstore, and when Autumn started crying I didn't know how to calm her; seems like you have the magic touch though.".

  "You did great, T. She's a daddy's girl. I'm surprised I could get her quiet so fast. Normally Ashton is the one with the magic touch. Come sit with me outside the dressing room. I need to sit down with her."

  I followed her to an area that was sectioned off with a few chairs right outside the dressing room. Macy opened the door and peered out at me. "Hey, Tristan. I'm going to model my three favorites to get your opinion. Cameron and I can't decide." A moment later she stepped out wearing a sleeveless dress with a white bodice top with black floral design with a rhinestone bow belt and a black sheer skirt.

  "Very elegant," I commented, pleased that she didn't come out wearing something that showed a lot of cleavage or thigh. The next dress was, as Cameron described, a red chiffon ruffled blouse with faux leather belt and black skirt. This one, however, was too grown up. The skirt fit her too snugly and went higher above the knee than I approved. "No. Too grown up looking." She sighed a bit defeated and went back into the room for the last choice.

  When she came from the room in the last outfit, Gracie spoke up, "That' s the one. The square neckline is flattering, and we can easily find a nice necklace to accentuate it. The high tulip skirt is very fashionable, yet sophisticated and not revealing," she added giving me a wink." What I knew about the dress was that the top was black and sleeveless, and the bottom was a sheer long skirt over a white shorter one.

  "Maybe a light sweater would go nicely with it?" All her upper skin showing was making me a nervous big brother. My little sister was at the worst age possible for getting hurt. She's vulnerable and wants nothing more than to feel loved. Her father abandoned her; she feels abandoned by her mother, and lately I hadn't been the most attentive brother. I didn’t want her to end up searching for affection from the wrong people. That would be one of my worst nightmares for her.

  "I believe a nice sweater would work well with this," Cameron added offering me a wink of understanding. He had a daughter who may be an infant, but would one day be a teenager herself. He has become a bit more conservation since becoming a father.

  Cameron grabbed a red half sweater from the rack, then took Macy over to the jewelry section. "Pick out something in red to match the sweater. Find earrings that match."

  Watching Macy bounce around excitedly trying out jewelry choices, and then running to pick out sensible but elegant shoes, made this entire day fun for me. She had a smile I hadn’t seen her wear in too many years.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Strong-willed One

  Angel had been in rehab for a week now, and the house had been serene since that time. I hadn’t realized how much we fought and how much I dreaded going home until she wasn’t there anymore. Now I missed her, but I was glad she would get the help she needed.

  After the intervention, I had to explain everything to Macy who took it harder than I imagined. It took us a few days to get back into a routine because we were both worried about Angel, but eventually life had to go back to normal.

  "I have to work tonight, kiddo. I need you to go stay with Mary Jane so you can get plenty of rest for school tomorrow. I know you have trouble getting to sleep when you're here alone."

  "Cool. I need some help with my art project tonight. Is Ashton working with you? Maybe he could come to Mary Jane's and help? Or perhaps I could go to the bar with you?"

  I grinned knowing what she wanted. "I know you like hanging out at the bar, but you can only do that when it's closed. Otherwise, your uncles could lose their license; no one under eighteen is allowed in during business hours."

  She sighed, "Fine. But can Ashton help me? He's the best artist I know."

  "I'll call him up and see what he says."

  Ashton said that Derrick would be running things tonight, so he agreed to go to Mary Jane's. Gracie and their daughter Autumn would go as well so they could keep MJ and Katelyn company while Ashton and Macy worked on her project.

  My shift began an hour before opening so I could get in and set things up. As the doors opened, a hundred people poured into the building ready for a night of drinking and debauchery. It was early November, and as the holidays approached, business at the bar picked up. I suppose people wanted to get out and meet someone before the holidays arrived.

  The first song that came on the radio was a fast beat hip-hop song that filled the dance floor with gyrating bodies and even a few show-offs. People surrounded the bar while holding out their arms to show they had a stamp showing proof of age and not the dreaded black X reserved for those under twenty-one.

  I swung around to deliver my final beer before going on break when someone grabbed my shirt and pulled me into the backroom. It was dark, and I felt hands roaming my body and a soft pair of lips pressed against mine pressing harder and more frantically. It wasn't the taste of cherry that I was used to from Lanie, and the kissing was too rushed. As they reached for my pants, I pushed them away and turned on the lights.

  "Bailey?"

  "Hey, stud. I know you blew me off the last time I saw you but I was hoping for a second chance. I haven't stopped thinking about our night together."

  She moved toward my lips again, and I shoved her back gently. "No. I have a girlfriend now."

  Bailey grinned and said, "I'll be discreet; she'll never know." She lifted her dress above her head and stood there in nothing but a bra and pair of thong underwear. She turned to show me the back and said, "I know you liked my thongs last time. I wore them just for you."

  She began to remove her bra, and I grabbed her hands. "Stop, Bailey."

  She glanced down at my pants and said, "Doesn’t look like you want me to stop."

  I'm a guy, and there is a naked woman in front of me, I can’t help how my body responds to her, but I can help how it connects with her. There would be no connection in this supply room.

  "Bailey, you're hot. There is no denying that, but I have a girlfriend that I love, and I do not cheat. Now put this on," I said handing her the dress, "and leave."

  When she pushed through the door, it didn’t shut all the way, and I glanced up to see Lanie standing there. She looked back at Bailey, who had adjusted her dress after opening the door and then back at me.

  "Lanie…I…"

  Before I could say anything, she pressed up against me and pushed her tongue into my mouth in a fierce kiss. Now I enjoyed the sweet taste of cherry lip gloss. We didn’t say anything to each other. She unzipped my pants and slipped her dress up as she draped her arms around me. I placed my hands under her ass lifting her, and she wrapped her legs around me. After we had given in to the passion we'd been missing for the past few weeks, we collapsed onto the floor gasping for air.

  Once I caught my breath, I said, "I guess this means you know nothing happened with Bailey?"

  "I heard the whole encounter; T. I saw her pull you in here, and I followed to go off in an angry tirade when I heard everything you said. I've missed you."

  "I missed you too, a lot. You came up with a nice way of showing me how much." I groaned as I pulled her into an embrace. "I don’t want to leave right now but I have to get back to work. Things are too busy for Marcus and Xander to take care of it on their own."

  Lanie kissed me before standing up to straighten her dress. "I know. I came here to talk and check in on you. I didn’t plan this but the moment kind of presented itself to me." She winked. "Do you mind if I hang around a little tonight?"

  I jumped up fr
om the floor and pressed her against the wall for another mind-blowing kiss before answering. "I'd love it. And if you stick around long enough, Macy is staying at MJ's, and we'd have a house to ourselves."

  "Guess I'm hanging around for a while then."

  Going back to work was difficult, especially when I'd catch a glimpse of Lanie sipping her drink seductively. Tonight would be the longest night of my work week. I must have been in a daze because a hand appeared in front of my face with a wave.

  "Hey Derrick, sorry about that."

  "It's cool, Tristan. I understand the distraction of a beautiful woman," he said with a wink. "How's the night going? Do I need to call in another bartender? Grayson is on call tonight in case we get too swamped."

  "I think we have it handled so far."

  "Great. Do you have it handled enough to help me with restocking the bar? Marcus told me earlier tonight that we were low on beer, so I had to make a run to the distributor. They weren't scheduled to deliver until tomorrow. We need to get some on ice before we run out."

  I tossed my bar towel behind me onto the counter and wiped my hands on the half apron I wore around my waist. "I'm all yours, boss."

  Derrick had unloaded the cases of beer into his office, and we each grabbed a case putting it up on top of our shoulder to work our way through the crowd. The fact that I got it over my shoulder this time told me my working out was improving my muscle tone. Marcus grabbed the case from Derrick and shouted, "Good timing, boss! We're down to the last six pack in the cooler."

  We managed to fill the cooler up and still fill orders without running out of cold beer. Lanie tapped me on the shoulder around one in the morning. "I think I'm going to head home. You could call me when you get off work if you want."

  I reached into my pocket pulling out a set of keys with my house key attached. "I have a better idea. Go to my house. It's empty, and you can wait for me there." I pulled my hand back toward myself and added, "Only if you want to, of course."

  Lanie took a brief moment to think it over before placing her palm out and saying, "I'd love to." With a quick peck on the lips, she waved goodbye, and I sighed knowing the next three hours of work would drag.

  A hand slammed down on my shoulder, and I turned to see Marcus grinning at me. "I saw that hot piece of…"

  Before he could finish his comment, I interrupted, "Her name is Lanie."

  Marcus raised his hands in surrender and said, "No offense intended, man. All I was going to say is that the crowd is thinning, and I saw you hand her your keys. You're always covering for me when I'm sick so give me this chance to repay you. Take off early. We got this."

  It didn’t take much consideration to take him up on his offer. I untied my apron and threw it onto the bar behind me. Patting Marcus on the arm, I said, "Thanks, man."

  Derrick walked out the door at the same time I did and gave me a curious glance. "Leaving early?"

  "Yeah, Marcus is covering the bar now that it's emptying. I hope it's cool with you?" It hadn’t occurred to me to double-check with Derrick. He's always such a laid back boss when it comes to our schedules.

  "Yeah, it's fine. You know that. I trust you guys to work the schedules the way that is best for you. You're their boss, and I've seen you cover for all of them too many times. You deserve a night off. Is there someone you're running home to?" Derrick smiled knowingly.

  "Why would you think that?"

  "Well, Angel is still in rehab, and Macy is at our house, so you're in quite a hurry to get home to an empty house. Unless you want to pick Macy up tonight?"

  "No!" I responded quickly. "Sorry, no. I…Lanie is waiting for me."

  Derrick grinned and patted me on the back, "Enjoy your evening, T. I won't keep you any longer. See you tomorrow." He waved as he unlocked his vehicle and slipped inside.

  As Derrick pulled his vehicle out of the spot, he rolled the window down and yelled out, "Hey T, come here."

  Sprinting over I noticed he turned and reached for something on the floorboard of the passenger side. "What's up?"

  When Derrick turned back to face me, he had a bottle of wine in his hand. "I know you had to get rid of anything alcoholic at the house. I thought you might want this to celebrate with Lanie tonight. You two have had a rough go for a new relationship. Funny enough that seems to be the norm for our group of friends. Take this and enjoy your evening. Macy can stay all day tomorrow if you want. I know what being a single dad can do to your romantic life."

  "Thanks, Derrick. I need a good night away from all the drama of the last few weeks."

  "I know. If you need tomorrow night off, just say the word. Now go enjoy yourself." Derrick handed over the wine and rolled his window up before driving off.

  The drive home had me feeling nervous for some reason. Maybe it was the idea that no one would interrupt us tonight. When I pulled into the driveway, the house was dark but Lanie's car was in front of the house. Stepping inside, I stayed quiet and stopped to pour us each a glass of wine in the kitchen before heading upstairs.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sleeping Beauty

  My bedroom lights were out as I gently pushed the door open. The moonlight shone through the window highlighting Lanie's face, the rest of her was covered up. I set the glasses of wine down on the bedside table and slipped my shoes off. Pulling my shirt over my head, I threw it into the basket. I sat down on the bed without moving it too much so I could remove my pants and socks. Donning only a pair of boxer briefs, I slid under the covers and pressed up against Lanie. I groaned when I felt her body and realized she only had on a camisole and panties beneath the covers.

  I moved my hand over her stomach and kissed her shoulder blade. She moaned and turned over to face me. "Hi," she whispered groggily.

  "Hi. I didn’t mean to wake you. You're very cute when you sleep."

  She giggled softly, "Since when is drool and bad breath cute?"

  I leaned forward and captured her lips with mine. After a moment, I said, "No bad breath there. You know I could get used to coming home to you in my bed."

  "It wouldn’t be hard for me to get used to this too," Lanie said as she reached up to push my hair back out of my face. "In case it wasn't clear before, I don’t want to be on a break anymore. Do you think we could start seeing each other again?"

  "I'd love that. I can't promise there won't be any drama with Angel when she comes home, but I can promise that I'll always be honest with you."

  "That's all I need to hear," she said before pulling me against her body starting the night off with a bang. Pun intended.

  In the morning, I woke up to an empty bed. The wine glasses sat still full next to the bed, so I took them to the bathroom sink to empty the liquid. Lanie's clothes were not where she'd left them on the chair, and I checked my phone, but there was no text, and there was no note anywhere. I opened the door to go check for her car when I smelled pancakes.

  Relief swept over me with the comprehension that she hadn’t regretted our reunion. Downstairs I found her in the kitchen dancing around the stove as she piled pancakes on a plate. I stepped up behind her and kissed her neck. "Good morning, sexy."

  She spun around to face me and rolled up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss. "Good morning, yourself. I was going to bring you breakfast in bed."

  "I woke up alone and got a little worried that you left, maybe even unhappy about what happened last night?"

  Lanie shook her head, "Last night was amazing, and no matter what the future holds I'd never be sorry we shared that. I love you, Tristan."

  "I love you."

  "Good. Now that we settled that, go sit down, and I'll bring you breakfast," she said before smacking my ass as I walked away to the table.

  She brought over a plate of pancakes for each of us and drizzled warm maple syrup over them. Freshly squeezed orange juice was already poured in two wine glasses, so we clinked them together in a toast before digging into our food.

  "Tell me about Angel. How is she doing?" La
nie asked with sincere curiosity.

  "She's doing good. I talked to her the other day, and she's enjoying the therapeutic part of it. They have different therapy groups you can attend based upon why you began drinking. She attends several different ones. I don’t want to get into it too much though, I feel like it would be invading her privacy. She should be the one to tell those stories."

  "Oh, I agree. I was only curious as to whether she was showing signs of getting better. I didn’t mean to pry." Lanie seemed embarrassed which made me feel like I should have worded myself better.

  "I appreciate you asking and you weren’t prying at all. I only wanted to be as honest as possible with you, as promised." That seemed to make her feel better which made me happy. My phone interrupted the moment with a text message.

  Derrick: Did things go well last night?

  Me: Yep, very well. Eating breakfast now.

  Derrick: Macy can stay with us today. We're going to do some Christmas shopping.

  Me: Thanks, D. Call you later

  "Everything alright?" Lanie asked as I set my phone on the table face down.

  "That was Derrick. We have the house to ourselves for the rest of the day."

  She grinned, "Whatever will we do?"

  After spending a few hours keeping ourselves busy in the house, we decided to go out for some fresh air. Since I've been in Nashville, I haven’t done much exploring of the city on my own. Mary Jane had been telling me I needed to go check out the Parthenon sometime. One of my interests is Greek Mythology, and she knew I'd appreciate it. Lanie had been when she was younger but was up to explore it with me for the first time.