by J. Daniels
“I wish. She’s not that scary,” Mia answers. She shifts Chase against her so he’s facing us, his back to her front.
I never know how to acknowledge babies. He’s obviously here, and staring at me with those big brown eyes that resemble Mia’s, waiting for me to give him something. So I settle on a nod, an informal what’s up.
Drool falls down his chin and onto his shirt.
He’s not amused. I should’ve went bigger.
Sal, the owner, comes walking up to our table, holding a ball of pizza dough in one hand. He knows all of us well, especially Tessa and myself. We came here all the time back in high school.
“How’s it going? We bring our big bellies today?” He smiles down at Nolan and sets the dough on the table in front of him. “You make any shape you like, okay? I bake it for you and you take it home.”
“Oh cool!” Nolan starts pounding his fist into the dough to flatten it out.
Sal looks around the table. “What’ll it be today?”
“Just cheese for us,” Mia replies before looking across the table. “Do you want to do half and half?”
I nod. “Yeah, sounds good.” I look over at Tessa. “What do you want? Everything?”
She turns her hand into a gun, points it at me, and makes a clicking sound in the back of her throat. “Bingo.”
“Okay, half cheese, half the works,” Sal echoes the order in his thick accent. “And to drink?”
“White milk,” Nolan declares as he sits up on his knees and hovers over the dough for leverage.
“White milk?” I ask.
Mia shakes her head through a smile, looking between Sal and myself. “He means plain milk. Not chocolate. It’s how he’s been saying it lately.”
“Daddy says milk will help me get big muscles like him.” He looks across the table, tilting his head up to see me underneath his hat. “Do you dwink white milk too, Uncle Weed? For youwr muscles?”
“Yeah, of course.” I look up at Sal. “I’ll have a root beer.”
A foot connects with my shin underneath the table, and I drop my eyes to Mia who’s exaggerating her stare and officially confusing the hell out of me.
“What?” I silently ask, holding my hands out. It’s then I look back to Nolan and see his eyes still on me, wide and unsure.
Ah. Got it.
I look up at Sal. “On second thought, I think I’ll do white milk too. I wouldn’t dare drink anything else with pizza.”
Nolan grins and resumes hitting his tiny fists into the dough.
“I’ll have a root beer,” Tessa says through a teasing smirk as her fingers poke me in the ribs.
“You’re a menace. You don’t even like root beer.”
She shrugs, her smile growing obnoxiously. “I like it just fine, thank you. Mind yo’ business.”
“I’ll just have a water,” Mia orders, sending Sal away from the table. She bounces Chase gently in her lap when he starts fussing. “So, what do you think you’ll do if you see Molly? Are you going to talk to her?”
I settle back in the booth while my fingers pull apart the napkin in front of me, tearing it into tiny pieces. “Already saw her.”
“What?” Tessa shoves against my shoulder.
Christ, these two are violent when they’re hungry.
“What do you mean you already saw her? And you didn’t call me? What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing’s wrong with me. I just didn’t feel like talking about it.”
“Girl code, Reed.” Tessa crosses her arms with a pout, leaning her back against the window to fully face me. She makes a soft tsk sound. “I’m disappointed in you.”
The fuck?
“Girl code? Is that what you just said? You realize I have a penis, right? A very large, well-loved penis.”
Nolan giggles across the table, and I realize my error, which is only confirmed as I lock onto Mia’s tested glare. I risk a glance over at Tessa, who merely rolls her eyes, as if she’ll never believe I’m not a fucking chick.
“Well, what happened, Mr. Zero Filter around my children? Where did you see her?”
I dodge Mia’s expectant stare, pinch my eyes shut, and let my head fall back as I take in a slow breath.
This is just what I need. On my own, I can’t stop thinking about Saturday night. Now I’m going to be forced to re-live it out loud, and I don’t think getting an erection right now will play out well for me.
“Hellooo.” Tessa snaps her fingers in front of my face, prompting me to open my eyes and tilt my head down. “I do need to get back to the house sometime today. I have a stack of transcripts waiting for me.”
I nod a silent thank you to Sal as he sets our drinks down in front of us. Nolan grabs his milk and brings it up to his lips, his eyes seeking mine and willing me to do the same.
For fuck’s sake. I need a beer right now. Not some kiddie drink. But it’s Nolan. And he’s staring at me, wearing that crazy big hard hat, like I’m his damn idol or something.
I grab the milk, tip it back, and swallow a mouthful. Nolan does the same after I’ve set my glass back down.
“It was at McGill’s on Saturday night,” I begin, glancing between the two sets of eyes to make sure they’re paying attention. I can’t go through this again. This will be the only time they hear this story, and hopefully, the last time I remember it.
“I was talking to this girl, just . . . you know, doing what I usually do when I’m at McGill’s.” I shift a knowing look between them. They’re both familiar with my weekend strategy. “Then out of nowhere, Molly walks in, and I completely freeze up.”
“Did you talk to her?” Mia asks, taking a sip of her drink.
I laugh through a slight shake of my head, then pinch the top of my nose as the memory of what happened next stirs wildly inside me. “Yeah,” I answer through a strained voice. I decide to skip some parts of the story and get this shit over with. My hand falls to my lap and I look between the two of them. “We talked. She’s engaged. I got the hell out of there.”
Engaged. Unfuckingbelievable.
Confusion passes between the two of them as I shoot the rest of my milk like it’s goddamn whiskey.
Ah, yeah. That’s better. Sweet dairy. Really helps take the edge off.
“She’s engaged?” Tessa questions doubtfully, with a tinge of jealousy coating her words. “What idiot would want to marry that cumdumpster?”
“Tessa, seriously?” Mia covers Nolan’s ears, keeping Chase tucked against her, but I don’t think Nolan’s heard anything. He’s too engrossed in the giant hammer he’s trying to form out of the pizza dough.
Nice.
“Could you fucking not?” Mia whispers through a clenched jaw.
“Sorry! But what the h, Luke?” Tessa turns to me after exchanging a smile with Mia and pointing at her bare ring finger. “Well, what did you say? You said you two talked. What did you talk about?”
“Honestly? She talked. I didn’t say much of anything.”
I didn’t need to. My girlfriend did all the talking.
Shit. Don’t call her that. Don’t even think about her. Leave her ass out of this story.
“Wait a minute.” Tessa voice cuts into my head, a look of disbelief etched on her face. She points a finger at me. “You’re leaving something out.”
“No, I’m not,” I counter, turning my glass over and setting it on the table. I look across the restaurant in the direction of the kitchen.
Where’s the fucking pizza? Tessa wouldn’t be this chatty if food was involved.
“Yes, you are,” Mia agrees, nodding. She pulls something out of the bag sitting next to her and holds it in Chase’s mouth for him to suck on. “You’re being defensive,” she continues. “And you just slammed your milk like we’re actually at McGill’s. Something else happened.”
I shake my head and keep my gaze cast down at the table. I’m not giving them anything else. I’ve told them enough. Confiding in them any more will only do more harm than good.
Shit. Motherfucking FUCK.
I don’t look up at Mia. “What girl?” I ask, coolly. Calmly. Completely in control.
It’s at that exact moment I realize the universe hates me. That if there is a God, she must be a chick who I screwed over at some point or another.
The front door chimes, and I glance up, locking onto the stunner who walks in to officially ruin my life.
Wearing a faded Eric Clapton T-shirt, ripped jean shorts hanging low on her hips, and Dr. Martens covered in colorful flowers, I take my first real look at the body I’ve spanked, sucked, and fucked in my head over the past three days, and my dick hardens so fast, you’d think she was wearing nothing but those fucking boots.
Fuck. Now I just gave myself another image to jerk off to later. Like I needed anymore variety.
“Reed. The girl . . . hello?”
I hear Tessa, but every part of me is focused on Beth as she walks up to the counter, oblivious to my presence.
Christ, what is she wearing and why the fuck is that doing shit to me? I mean the shorts, yeah, I’m fucking loving the shorts. She’s tiny, but she’s all fucking leg in those things. But Clapton and Dr. Martens? Why the fuck is that so sexy?”
Beth leans further against the counter, tilting her ass into the air. My entire body goes stiff before I drop my head against the table with a barely audible groan.
“What’s going on?” Mia asks, sounding confused.
I keep my head down, clamp my eyes shut, and get through this confession as quickly as possible.
“The girl I was talking to at the bar, that’s her. At the counter.”
I hear movement, no doubt Mia shuffling Chase around to get a good look.
“Are you ducking her? Is she like a clinger or something?” Tessa asks.
“No,” I lift my head an inch, then drop it against the table again. “I don’t know, I didn’t get her out of McGill’s to find out. When Molly walked in, that girl grabbed me and kissed the hell out of me. Now Molly thinks we’re a couple, because that girl told her we are, and I’m supposed to be going to her engagement party this weekend, with my girlfriend.” I turn my head to gaze up at Tessa’s shocked face. “And I don’t mean how I kissed you that one time when you pretended to be my wife. I mean she fucking kissed me.” I mouth the word ‘fucking,’ and Tessa’s eyes widen in alarm, but her shock is short-lived.
Because it’s Tessa. Because my misery is amusing to her. And because she sees an opportunity to make this shit unbearable for me, and she’s going to take it.
A slow smile spreads across her lips before she turns her head and looks across the table. “Well, I think we need to meet this girlfriend of yours, don’t you think, Mia?”
“Absolutely.” Mia’s voice is practically giddy, reveling in my obvious discomfort.
Male friends. That’s what I need.
I slowly sit up, my eyes immediately being drawn to Beth and her ass that’s barely covered. I swallow down my moan. “Please don’t.”
“Oh, relax, Reed. We won’t embarrass you.” Tessa puts her hand on my shoulder and pushes against me to gain some height in the booth. “Hey, Clapton! Over here!”
Beth immediately turns her head, connects with my eyes that are trained on her like a fucking vulture, and smiles like I’ve just given her the world or something.
Never been smiled at like that before, besides when she did it Saturday night. There’s no shame to her excitement at seeing me. No containment to it either. And fuck if I don’t smile right on back.
“Oh, you are such a shit for keeping this from me,” Tessa whispers as Beth walks up to the table. “Look how happy she is to see you.”
She stops a few inches away, letting her smile soften marginally. “Hey, how are you?” she asks in the sweetest fucking voice I’ve ever heard.
I’ve jacked off countless times to you. I’ve never been this obsessed over pussy I haven’t tasted yet.
“Good,” I reply, almost harshly. I’m not trying to be an asshole, but reacting any other way to her might result in getting banned from Sal’s for public indecency. I can hear Mia now.
“I can’t believe you fucked that girl right here on the table! You’re paying for Nolan’s therapy.”
Beth pinches her mouth together through a curt nod, looks down at the floor, then back up at me through her lashes. “Me too, thanks.”
Fuck. Don’t be a dick. It’s not her fault you’ve rubbed yourself raw.
The fuck it isn’t!
Tessa pushes her weight against me to lean closer to Beth. “Hi, I’m Tessa. Please excuse my best friend’s behavior. He sometimes gets shy around pretty girls.”
Beth smiles as her cheeks flush pink, and follows Tessa hand as she motions across the table.
“That’s my sister in-law, Mia, and her two boys, Chase and Nolan.”
Beth lifts her small hand and waves. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Beth.” She taps Nolan on the head. “Cool hat, dude.”
Nolan turns his face up, hitting her with his toothless grin.
“Do you want to join us for lunch?” Mia asks before dropping her eyes to mine. She smiles at the tortured frown I’m giving her, and I can’t help it. I let a quiet laugh slip past my lips, because I can’t be mad at Mia for anything. Especially her friendliness to everyone she meets.
Beth takes a quick glance at me, sees the unspoken answer to that question written all over my face, and looks back at Mia, her shoulders sagging. “No, thanks. I’m actually picking up my order. My aunt’s waiting for me at home.”
“So, when’s the engagement party?”
Beth jerks her head toward Tessa, sending a strand of dark hair into her eyes.
I fist my hands in my lap to keep myself from reaching out and doing what I did a few nights ago. I know what that silky hair feels like between my fingers. I know how smooth the skin is behind her ear, and down her neck.
She moves the chunk out of her face before answering. “Saturday night. Six o’clock, I think. I have to check the invitation.”
“You’re still going?” I ask, leaning forward.
I honestly figured she was baiting me on Saturday, and when I said I wasn’t going to that bullshit, she’d toss the invite into the trash. But she’s actually going?
She stands taller, letting her hands fall to her sides. “Yes, I told you I was. I want to play this out.” Her bottom lip becomes caught between her teeth, and she stares at me for several silent seconds before stating as a fact, “You’re not going.”
I shake my head, keeping my eyes on her mouth. “No.”
“La mia bella, here you go, my dear,” Sal calls out from behind the counter, his hands clutching a large pizza box.
Beth nods over her shoulder, avoids me, and smiles at the rest of the table. “It was really nice to meet you. Maybe I’ll see you guys around.”
Tessa and Mia both tell her goodbye, and Nolan waves behind her back.
My eyes follow Beth out of the restaurant through the glass window to the parking lot.
“What is wrong with you?” Tessa asks with a firm shove to my shoulder. “You should go to that party with her.”
“Why would I go to Molly’s engagement party?”
“Why would she invite you?”
I stare at Tessa, waiting for her to answer her own question.
She lets out an annoyed sigh, as if this explanation is a waste of her time. “She’s trying to make you jealous, obviously. There’s no other reason why she would want you there. And showing up with your hot little girlfriend is a good way to shove that jealousy right down her mother effing throat.”
I look over at Mia. “You wanna weigh in on this?”
She faintly lifts her shoulders. “I agree with Tessa. If my ex invited me to something like that, I’d grab the hottest guy I could find and take him with me as my date.”
Tessa holds her hand out over the table and Mia high-fives it enthusiastically. �
�Thank youuu,” Tessa sings.
I look out the window, spotting Beth closing her passenger door and walking around to the driver’s side.
“Do it, Reed,” Tessa encourages. “If you’re over Molly like you say you are, what’s the harm?”
I don’t answer her. I can’t, because I’m too busy shoving out of the booth and exiting the restaurant, waving down Beth’s car as she backs out of her parking spot. The rain has let up for now, but the clouds are still heavy overhead, threatening another storm. She sees me through the front window and stops half-way out of her spot as I come up to the driver’s side.
“All right, I’ll go,” I tell her as soon as she rolls down her window.
I’m expecting that smile. I want that fucking smile. But her lips pull down in distress as she shifts her grip on the steering wheel.
“I know you don’t want to go with me. I get it. It’s not a big deal.”
I flatten my hand on top of the hood, angling my body down to get closer. “This has nothing to do with you. That bitch thinks I’m still hung up on her, and I’m not. That’s why she threw that invite out. She wants to make me jealous or some shit, but you gotta care to get jealous, and I don’t care. I stopped caring a long time ago. I said I wasn’t going because I don’t really like the idea of being around somebody I never wanted to see again. Someone I regret knowing. Not because I still give a shit about her.” I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she watches me with steel concentration. “Do you get me?”
She nods, hesitantly, her eyes gentle as they gaze up at me. “I get you. I know what that’s like.”
“If we’re doing this, we’re fucking doing this. That means we need to spend some time together before Saturday. This isn’t going to be believable if I don’t even know where you’re from.”
The corner of her mouth twitches. “How did you know I wasn’t from here?”
I drop my gaze directly to the source of that sweet sound. “You’ve got a little drawl to your voice, and it isn’t one I’m used to hearing.”
That sexy mouth, all full and soft, curls up slowly. “I’m from Kentucky. Louisville. Lived there most of my life, I think.” Her tongue wets her lips, and I lift my gaze before my dick punches straight through her driver’s side door and scares the shit out of her. “And you’re right,” she continues. “We should probably be prepared for questions about each other.”