by E. L. Todd
“Oh…”
So she hadn’t mentioned anything.
“Shit, I forgot to tell him.”
If I were lucky, this would piss him off enough that they would break up. I felt like a dick for wishing that, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted it even more than I ever did before. “I don’t have to go, Taylor. I don’t want to mess anything up.”
“No, don’t worry about it. You aren’t spending Thanksgiving alone.”
“It’s really not that bad. I don’t mind.”
“Nonsense. And that’s final.”
At least I tried to be a nice guy.
“Does Julia have plans?”
“I’m sure she does, but I have no idea what those plans might be.”
She eyed me with a raised eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
“I ended it last week.”
“Oh…are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Couldn’t care less, actually.
“How did she take it?”
“She wasn’t happy, but she’ll get over it. I’m sure she’s found another guy by now.” Actually, she probably found someone the day we went our separate ways.
“Yeah, she’s gorgeous.”
Taylor really needed to take a look in the mirror.
“Can I ask you something?”
I wasn’t sure what kind of question was directed my way, but she could ask me anything at that point. “Anything.” A part of me wanted her to ask if I had feelings for her. She could initiate the conversation, so I wouldn’t have to feel bad about blurting everything out.
“If you didn’t really like her, why did you have a relationship with her? I thought you didn’t do that sort of thing.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that question without lying. “I wanted to give it a try. See if I was missing out on anything.”
“And?”
It would be so much easier if I just told her the truth. I was tempted. But there would be bad repercussions. She didn’t feel the same way about me, she had a boyfriend, and our friendship was on the line. I already hated not being with her, but I would hate it even more if I lost our friendship. “She wasn’t the right person.”
Taylor accepted that response with a nod. “You’ll find her—someday.”
I already did. “So…have you met Sage’s family yet?”
“No,” she blurted. “We aren’t there yet. Not even close.”
“He invited you to meet his friends.”
“Yeah, but that went to shit. It really set us back.”
“I thought you said everything was okay?” I didn’t remember much from that night, but I do remember her coming over.
“Well…I lied.”
I hung on to her every word. “What do you mean?”
“He and I got into a big fight. He was pissed I was running off to you on his birthday. I assumed we were broken up, and I’d never see him again.”
Seriously? She was single? “You’re available?”
“I thought I was. But he came by last week, and we worked things out. He apologized for being a jealous ass.”
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I had a chance, but I was too drunk to even realize it. “Motherfucker.”
“What?”
“I mean, what a motherfucker.”
She shrugged. “He said he was sorry, and he was really sweet about it so all was forgiven.”
Why didn’t she tell me? If I’d known she was single, I would have swooped in like there was no tomorrow. “I’m glad it worked out.”
“Yeah.”
I leaned back into the couch and silently licked my wounds. The only good thing about the situation was they were already rocky. Could a relationship survive when it already had so many problems? There was hope, and that drove me forward.
“There’s something I want to talk about.”
“I’m all ears.” I tilted my head toward her and stared at her lips. They were so goddamn perfect, and I wanted to suck them until they were raw. I wanted to feel her lips slide past mine as she breathed heavily into my mouth, on the verge of a climax.
“It’s about Clay.”
The mention of my student snapped me out of my horny funk.
“I think you should tell social services.”
“I took care of it, Taylor.” I made sure that piece of shit would never touch Clay again. “He even told me his father has been nice to him. I think the fear of shitting in his pants again is enough to keep his hands to himself.”
“Until he gets drunk or high.”
I pressed my lips tightly together and felt my jaw clench.
“I know you care about Clay, so do the right thing.”
“He asked me not to. I fought him on it for a long time. I didn’t make this decision lightly.”
“Volt, he’s a kid. He doesn’t know any better.”
“I can’t betray him, alright? I’m all he has. This is what he wants. I’m protecting him and giving him what he wants at the same time. I admit it’s not ideal, but it works.”
That blue fire burned in her eyes, telling me she wasn’t going to stop until she got what she wanted. “Volt, that kid deserves a better home. You need to give it to him.”
“Is staying in an orphanage with hundreds of other kids really better for him?” I countered. “Will he get the attention he needs?”
“Better than being slapped around.”
“It’s only a year and a half. If it were longer, I’d reconsider.”
She shook her head, her eyes conveying her rage.
“I see him every day, and I look after him. If something were wrong, I’d know about it. He has my number, and he knows he can call me for anything. If his dad starts drinking and things get scary, he knows I’ll be there. I have his back—one hundred percent.”
“But—”
“I love this kid. You really think I’d let anything happen to him?”
When I put it that way, she didn’t have an argument. “Of course I know you love him. And I know you’ll do anything to protect him. But I just think there’s a better way.”
“I think this is the way—for now.”
Taylor dropped the argument when she realized it wasn’t going anywhere. It was only escalating the tension between us. It felt like two parents who were disagreeing on how to raise their children. “What’s your brother doing for Thanksgiving?”
“Not sure. Probably staying with a friend.”
“You haven’t asked him?”
“Nah.” We usually only talked to each other when we were with our parents. Other than that, we kept to ourselves. Even though we lived in the same city, we never spoke to each other.
“Did something happen between you two?”
“Kinda. When we were in high school, he had a girlfriend. I slept with her.”
“Oh…”
“It’s more complicated than that. They broke up, and we were at a party together. She came on to me, and I was drunk, so I let it happen. I didn’t think it would bother him that much but it did. We were never the same after that.”
“Did you apologize?”
“Yeah. He never seemed angry with me, just indifferent.”
“I think indifference is worse.”
“You’re right, it is. But I apologized and tried to make it right. If he doesn’t want to forgive me, I can’t make him. It was a long time ago, and I’m not going to keep feeling guilty about it. The ball is in his court.”
She nodded in agreement. “Nobody is perfect.”
“And I’m not even remotely close to being perfect.”
“Maybe one day he’ll let it go.”
Doubtful. “Yeah.”
“So, what do you want to do?”
“Strip poker?” Getting her naked was all I ever wanted to do.
She laughed it off like she thought I was joking. “How about Mario Kart?”
“You like Mario Kart?” I blurted.
“Of course. Who doesn’t?”
Somehow,
she made me fall harder for her. “You’re on, Tayz.”
“You’re on, baby.”
“What did you just call me?”
“Nothing…mama’s boy.”
Now it was on like Donkey Kong. “Don’t you dare call me a mama’s boy.”
“Why not…mama’s boy?”
I held up my hands to tickle her. “Big deal. I love my mom. So what? But you’re going to pay for that anyway.”
“Oh shit.” She jumped up to run away from me.
I grabbed her by the waist and threw her back on the couch. I climbed on top of her and began my series of tickles, getting her right along the ribs and below the armpits. She was ticklish everywhere, so it was easy to get her good.
She laughed and tried to push me off. Her leg moved and slightly wrapped around my waist.
I pinned her arms above her head with one hand and used my free hand to get her vulnerable spots. Her eyes lit up as the sensations rocked her body. She tensed and coiled as she tried to fight off my hand.
My face was just inches from hers, and her body was pinned underneath mine. I was close enough to have her, to kiss her.
And that’s all I wanted to do.
I wanted to play with her just like this, but I wanted something more. I wanted her to be mine—and mine alone. Why couldn’t she feel the same way about me? Why couldn’t she look at me the way I looked at her?
Why couldn’t I have what I wanted?
I finally stopped tickling her and gave her some air.
She didn’t pull her hands away from my grasp. She breathed hard underneath me, looking into my eyes with an open expression. Her leg was still wrapped around my ass, just the way I dreamt about.
My cards were exposed, and I was making my feelings obvious. She was a smart woman, and if I kept this up, she would see right through me. I’d already given too much away.
I cleared my throat and sat up. “I’ll set up the Wii.”
“Yeah…I want to be Mario.”
“I want to be Bowser.” I kept my back to her as I set everything up. It was a relief to hide my face—and my hard-on.
“But he’s the bad guy.”
I hooked up the wires and grabbed the controllers. “I’m a bad guy too.”
***
Derek and I fist-bumped when we reached each other in the bar.
“What’s up?” Derek asked. “Julia told me you guys broke up.”
“Yeah. It didn’t work out.”
“How could it not work out?” he asked. “She’s drop-dead gorgeous, and she was really into you.”
That made me feel worse. “It wasn’t going anywhere. My feelings never changed.”
“Taylor has you really tight on her hook, doesn’t she?”
“Yep. I’m stuck.”
“So, that’s it?” he asked. “You give up?”
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I dated an amazing woman, and I still didn’t feel anything. That tells me I’m doomed. Maybe when Taylor gets married, I’ll finally get over her.”
“You think she’s gonna marry that guy?”
“No. At least I hope not.”
“I don’t even know what to say.” He ordered two beers and passed one to me. “You tried dating, you tried avoiding her…we’re running out of options.”
“No, we’ve already run out of options.”
“The only thing left is fessing up.”
“I’m not fessing up when she’s seeing someone. That’s a dick move.”
He rolled his eyes. “That’s not the Volt I know.”
“I’m a different guy when it comes to Taylor. I’m not going to manipulate her existing relationship to get what I want. I wouldn’t want her to resent me down the road. I just have to wait and hope for the best.”
“Who knows how long that will be.”
“Hopefully, not forever. They got into a big fight recently. That bodes well for me.”
“Over what?” he asked.
“Actually…me.”
“So much for not interfering.”
“I didn’t get involved on purpose. It just happened.”
“But it still worked out pretty well.”
“If they’re butting heads now, they’ll probably hit another bump in the road. I just hope it’s soon. We were tickling each other the other day, and I almost kissed her. I’m not sure if I can control myself anymore.”
“I say you should do it and see what happens.”
“I’m not going to make her cheat on her boyfriend. Not cool.”
“Whatever,” he said. “I’d knock off the chivalry act and just take what you want. Life isn’t fair, and the sooner you learn that, the better.”
I wasn’t against competition or doing whatever was necessary to get what I wanted. But I was against hurting Taylor. If we had a chance together, I wanted it to start on good terms. I wanted it to feel right, not tainted.
“Anyway, what are you doing for turkey day?”
“Spending it with Taylor’s family.” I took a drink to mask the cringe on my face.
Derek slammed his beer on the table. “Say what?”
I took a longer drink than necessary. “I figured you’d have something to say about that.”
“Okay, it’s official. She’s got a thing for you.”
“She doesn’t.” Even though I wished otherwise.
“Why else would she invite you to meet her damn family?”
“Because I told her I had nothing to do on Thanksgiving.” It was a pity invite.
“That’s still pretty ridiculous to invite you all the way to Washington.”
“That’s the kind of person she is,” I said with a shrug. “She doesn’t want anyone to be alone.”
“She wouldn’t have invited me.”
“She probably would have, actually.”
“Dude, I bet all the beer in this bar she wouldn’t have invited me.”
“We’ll never know the answer to that so we should just let it go.”
He shook his head and grabbed his beer again. “I’ll never understand you two. Seriously.”
I’ll never understand us either.
Chapter Twelve
Taylor
I cooked dinner for the two of us, and we dined by candlelight at my kitchen table. Since I would be in Washington for nearly a week, I wanted to make the evening memorable.
I wasn’t the most amazing cook in the world, but I rocked my Crock-pot like nobody’s business. I made green chili chicken tacos with refried beans and rice. And it tasted pretty damn good.
“Thanks for dinner,” Sage said when he finished his meal. “That was amazing.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you liked it.”
“Never knew you could make tacos in the Crock-pot.”
“I didn’t either until I found the recipe on Pinterest.”
He chuckled. “Imagine what cooking was like thirty years ago when the Internet wasn’t a thing. How did people find recipes?”
“A cookbook.”
“Yeah, but most books are like thirty bucks. Kind of a rip-off.”
“True. That’s probably why frozen dinners became so popular.”
He rubbed his stomach. “Ah, yes. I’ve had a few of those in my day.”
I finished my food and felt way too full to move. I didn’t want to clean the dishes in the sink, and I didn’t want to clear the table. Sometimes, I wished I would wake up one morning and find out that elves broke in and took care of everything.
“So, you’re flying out tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yeah. It’ll be a long flight.”
“How long?” he asked.
“Six hours.”
“Any layovers?”
“Nope.” Thank god. Long layovers made traveling a million times worse. Sitting around in a terminal with nothing to do was agonizing. And I usually felt gross after sitting on a plane.
“That’s something to be grateful for. When will you be back?”
“Sunday night. The
n I have work the next day.”
“Brutal,” he said. “At least you’ll be relaxing over the holiday.”
“Yeah.” I knew I needed to tell him about Volt, but I kept chickening out. I wasn’t even sure how to address it. Did I just blurt it out randomly? Did I bring up Volt first, and then lay it on him?
“How’s Volt’s student doing?”
Or he would bring him up for me. “He’s still at his father’s house. I told Volt to call the police, but he thinks the kid is better off where he is. We’ve been arguing about it.”
“Why would he think the kid is better staying there?”
“Because he almost killed the dad when he jumped him in an alleyway.”
Sage couldn’t hide the shock on his face.
“He thinks the dad won’t mess with him again. But I’m not so sure. In a few months, anything can change.”
“That’s some serious stuff.”
“Yeah…” I had to get it over with. It was like a bandage. I just had to pull it off. “Volt’s parents went on a cruise for Thanksgiving, so I invited him to spend the holiday with us.” I took a drink of my margarita and acted normal, like what I said wasn’t totally inappropriate.
Sage’s shock immediately turned to disbelief. “Whoa, can you repeat that?”
“Volt is coming with me to Washington.” I kept up my indifferent façade, but my heart was racing a million miles an hour.
“I don’t remember you mentioning that.” He kept his cool a lot better than last time, but his rage was building.
“I asked him that night when…he was going through a hard time.” And I thought we were broken up.
“Don’t you think that’s a little weird?”
“He’s my friend. Friends invite people over all the time.”
“Not when they live across the country and they’re dating someone else.”
This was headed to a fight. I could already tell. “I know it’s a little weird, but I didn’t want him to be alone on Thanksgiving.”
“And you’re just going to tell your parents he’s a friend? And nothing more?”
“I already told them that.” But I didn’t mention the fact he was a dude.
He crossed his arms over his chest, his face darkening. “I could let the kissing incident go because we were at each other’s throats at the time, but this… I’m not okay with this.”
“There’s nothing to be okay with. Volt and I hang out all the time. We’ll just be hanging out in a different state.”