“Whoa, Addie, hang on. Back up, what the heck are you talking about?”
“He’s cheating on me. I caught him fucking that whore in the shower.”
“What?” she screeched into the phone but then fell silent. “Okay, wait, why am I not that surprised?” she carefully stated.
I shrugged and wiped my palm across my nose. “Because you’re smart. I should’ve listened to you from the very beginning. Dammit!” I tossed my head back into the headrest, irritated didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what I felt. “I was supposed to marry this stupid fucking asshole. Thank God, I didn’t make that mistake,” I mumbled my last sentence.
“Well, I have an idea that might cheer you up.” I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Spill it before I commit a crime I’m not ready to be punished for.” I chuckled bitterly, wiping the tears off my cheeks. I was thinking more on the lines of property damage. What I would give to ruin that pretty boy car he drove. Pussy. I should’ve kicked him in the nuts when I had the chance.
“I want you to—wait, where are you?”
“Sitting in a Charleston Dairy Queen parking lot. Maybe I should run in and grab a Dilly Bar or something.” I laughed. From the side of my eye, the ridiculously expensive bottle sparkled by the sunlight, and I thought better of it. “Maybe not a good idea,” I warned myself.
“Huh?”
“I tanked some of the whiskey from the bottle I swiped on my way out, probably won’t mix well with ice cream. I wonder which one he’s gonna miss more—me or that fucking bottle. Who the fuck spends two grand on a bottle of alcohol anyway? Jase. My asshole of an ex‑fiancé that’s who.” I scoffed. Yet another thing he used Daddy Ackermann’s hard earned money on.
“Wait. Are you going to be okay to drive back?”
“I’m fine, it wasn’t that much alcohol.” That was a total lie. I grabbed my keys out of the ignition and dropped them out my window. There, at least I wasn’t adding drunk driving to my list.
“Why don’t I come down there and hang out for a while? I could really use the change of scenery, and you have a whole week off, whatever will you do?” She laughed softly, and I was grateful she tried her best to ease the blow of the situation.
“Thanks, Ev, but I can’t ask you to come running every time something bad happens in my life.”
“You’re not asking, I already offered. This is what best friends do, we help each other get through the shitty times, and we celebrate together in good. It’s not a big deal, really. You already have that bottle of whiskey, so I’ll grab some wine and chocolate. You know how much chocolate makes you feel better, right? We’ll spend the night talking smack about that asshole. He never really deserved you, Addie.”
“Thanks. I feel so humiliated. How could I have not seen the signs?”
“Quit. Don’t you dare accept one ounce of responsibility for this.” She sighed. “You were making the best of the situation. It didn’t help that the two of you lived so far apart—”
“I know! That’s the thing. What if I never took the job in Savannah? Maybe this would have never happened.”
“I don’t care how close or far you two lived. If Jase was going to cheat, he would have found a way. That’s the kind of person he is. Maybe you did miss the signs, with good reason. No one wants to admit their partner is cheating on them.”
“You’re right, but it still sucks.”
“It’s decided then. I’m making the drive, and there is nothing you can say or do to change my mind. Besides, I need to get away from here for a bit, so you’ll actually be helping me, too.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, it’s time I let my dad have the family he always deserved.”
“Evin?” My heart ached for her and all she never had. Losing her mother at such a young age was always hard for her, especially after she hit her teenage years. What truly amazed me though was her strength through it all.
“We’ll talk about it later. We both have a long drive ahead of us, so I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“All right, see you soon. And, Ev?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. Thank you a lot.”
“Anytime time, babe, anytime.”
There was no noise, no laughter, and for the second time in my life, I felt the hollowness in my chest, but I forced myself to remain seated and went through the motions like I told myself I would do when I dumped that bottle of pills down the toilet. Only this back and forth emotional bullshit was messing with me. When Addie told me she was leaving for Charleston, it was as if she punched me. I wanted her to be with me. I was trying to show her that I was the one she needed to be with—not him. She went to him, I didn’t know if I should push harder or if I should just give up. What kind of person did chasing someone else’s girl make me? Pathetic? Desperate? Determined?
Losing track of the day or time in general was easy when I slipped into these moods, especially when I would drown my sorrow in a bottle or a woman. Since neither had really taken place since Addie came back around, I felt like I was coming out of my own skin. I grabbed my phone for what felt like the millionth time, checking to see if she had called. She hadn’t, but she had sent me a text.
The thought of her thinking about me when she was supposed to be with her fiancé brought me a short‑lived feeling of happiness. The attachment killed that happiness quick. It happened to be a picture of her and a guy, who was not her fiancé.
I was at a loss.
“What the fuck is this?” I hissed, sitting up in bed. “Who the fuck is this guy, and why the fuck is she sending this shit to me?” I jumped out of bed and stood there. Clueless as to what in the hell I was doing. My shoulders slackened, and then I pressed my palms into my eyes. Where the hell was she? I thought she was in Charleston.
Dropping back to my bed, I grabbed my phone again and carefully inspected the picture. My eyes couldn’t make it past the look of lust on her face. How her hands grabbed at the prick’s shoulders, her head tilting to the side, allowing him access. Fuming, I was about ready to throw my phone across the room when the sign on the back wall gave her away.
She’s not in Charleston. She’s right here, downtown at River’s.
My nostrils flared as I tried to figure out who in the hell the guy was, something about him seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place him. The vein on the side of my neck pulsed, my jaw started to ache from clenching it so damn tight, and I had to force myself to not throw my phone. I took a few deep breaths, reminding myself . . . fuck that, she was mine, and I was going to see to it that she knew it.
I threw on some clothes and grabbed my black cap before leaving. I headed straight to River’s, only she wasn’t there. Her car wasn’t in the parking lot, and she wasn’t at a table or outside on the patio. I changed my plan and drove by her house. Her driveway was empty, so I pulled to the side of the road, parked my damn truck, and went to wait for her on her damn doorstep.
And waiting was what I did—for another two fucking hours.
By the time a black, lifted Tundra pulled into Addie’s driveway, it was two in the morning.
Erecting myself from her front steps, my hands made their way into my front pockets, where they balled into fists. Not once while waiting did I take my eyes off the driver’s side door.
An unfamiliar woman rounded the front of the truck, followed by Dane Crenshaw, the youngest of Lilly’s brothers.
“Dane, what’s up?”
“RJ, good to see you, man. Been a long time.” He clapped my shoulder, ignoring my brashness and not questioning why exactly I was outside Addie’s house so late. “Just bringing the girls home,” he added, noting the obvious.
The real question being why was he bringing the girls home?
He must have read my silent questions when he continued, “They were going to call a cab, so I offered to drop them off instead.”
I nodded in appreciation, possible confrontation diffused.
&nb
sp; “Ah, the infamous RJ. Hi, I’m Evin, Addie’s best friend from North Carolina.” The woman stepped forward with her hand held out. We shook hands, and she stepped a little closer to me and whispered, “She’s had a rough night. She ended it with Jase and is going to really need you to be a friend to her.”
Before I could ask Evin what happened, the driver’s side back door opened, and a slightly disheveled Addie slid down, bouncing when her bare feet touched the pavement. Realizing it was me standing in front of her, she paled.
“RJ, what are you doing here?” She wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Heat flamed through me, but for two different reasons. “I got your text.” I raised one eyebrow. “Care to explain why you sent me that picture?”
“Oh, fuck,” Evin sighed and pulled Dane toward the bed of the truck.
I took a few steps closer to Addie, and she bowed her head. “You gonna answer me,” I gritted out slowly, trying to quell the conflicting emotions. If she had ended it with Jase tonight, why hadn’t she come to me? Why did she go and find some no name guy to get lost in? Was that picture her way of telling me that I didn’t matter and she wanted nothing to do with me?
She looked up at me, and it was then I noticed her eyes were red and slightly swollen. “Excuse me,” she whispered out harshly. “Since when do I answer to you?”
Taken aback by her attitude, my ugly green‑eyed monster punched through, and I took a step closer, breathing out a hot breath, “You send me a picture—”
“Umm, excuse me, both of you,” Evin interrupted, “Addie, a minute please?”
Addie gave me a hard look and then turned to her friend, who led her just far enough away that I couldn’t hear what she was saying. Though, Addie’s body language told me that she wasn’t happy with the discussion.
“You are not staying at a hotel!” Addie scolded, loud enough for me to hear. . . for the whole block to hear before she threw her hands into the air.
“Yes, yes, I am.” Evin didn’t leave room for Addie to argue before she spun and walked right past me and into the house. I smirked, thinking that I liked the girl’s attitude.
A minute later, Evin exited the house with a large bag on her shoulder and a smaller one in her hand. “Nice to meet you. Too bad it wasn’t under better circumstances.” She tossed in my direction as she walked right past me again. “Love you, Addie, I’ll call you . . . or you call me.” Dane took her bags from her, tossed them in the backseat, and helped her up into the truck. “House keys are on the table!” she yelled before she slammed the truck door, and she and Dane took off.
I was so pissed that Evin just abandoned me. Weren’t friends supposed to help? Well, she sucked at it. And what the heck was RJ talking about? What picture? If he was talking about the payback picture with Jaxson, I sent that to Jase, not RJ. My jaw dropped open, and I pulled out my phone to check.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
My face turned an impossible shade of red, and I had nothing to say for myself as RJ and I stood there, avoiding each other’s glares. It was too cold to argue outside, so I headed inside. If he wanted to hash shit out, we could do it in the comfort of my warm home. After a short string of mumbled words, RJ followed.
“Who the hell is this?” RJ questioned, closing my front door with a little more force than necessary.
“That would be Jaxson Hayes. Remember him?” I purred sarcastically and rolled my eyes. Well, it was nice to know the picture worked, even if it was sent to the wrong person.
“Addie, I’m at a loss for what is going on here, so please forgive my language, but why the fuck are you standing in this guy’s arms with his lips all over your neck?” He held his phone out so I could see the picture. I shrugged one shoulder and scrunched my nose. I wasn’t ready to explain what I had found out earlier today or replay the events and how I became single in less than twenty‑four hours.
“Well, if you must know. Evin and I decided on a girls’ night out, where we ran into Jaxson. We danced, hung out, and drank a little as we caught up. Simple as that.”
“Let me get this straight.” His eyes narrowed. “You break up with your fiancé, and you’re in the arms of another guy—at a bar—in less than twenty‑four hours? Addie, I saw you this morning, what happened between then and now?”
How the heck did he know I broke up with Jase? Dammit, Evin.
His words stung, and since I didn’t have the energy to argue his last comment, I turned and made a beeline for the kitchen.
“Addie, quit,” RJ barked in that familiar possessive timbre as he kept pace with me through the house. “Addie, talk to me, please.”
When I turned around and our eyes met, the air around us shifted. No matter how many years we had spent apart, or how much hurt we might have caused the other, something stronger still remained.
With my eyes fixed on his and my heart pitter‑pattering, I managed to close the short distance between us. Reckless abandon and one too many shots had me throwing good sense right out the damn window. My fingers itched to touch the smooth, tan skin of his chest. To pull his mouth to mine in a soul-searing kiss and reclaim the Addie and RJ we once were. The Addie and RJ we should be.
Any lingering thoughts of Jase ceased to exist, and I took hold of RJ’s jacket, grabbed the zipper, and held on for dear life. My fingers trembled as the anticipation of him turning me down slithered through me. When he didn’t, I gradually slid the zipper down, revealing his smooth, tan chest.
I admired the beautiful landscape in front of me, carefully laying my palms to his skin. Fear of what I might uncover hiding in his eyes made it impossible for me to look up at him. Instead, my eyes grazed over every inch of him as the muscles in his arms twitched and his hands balled into fists. My actions might have been unfair to him, but I couldn’t resist us any longer.
With my confidence gaining momentum, I dragged my eyes up and locked them on his throat. RJ swallowed hard, and the vein on the side of his neck pulsed. I wanted to kiss the soft flutter of it and taste him, but I stopped myself.
“What are you doing?” I asked, holding onto her wrists, her palms still pressed to my chest. She had no idea what her touch did to me. How it ignited a rabid fire within. Lighting every dark corner and making my heart soar. God, I hoped she felt the same and this wasn’t just because she was drunk and upset over ending things with that asshole.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Her voice quivered through her bravado. Maintaining a stoic expression, I raised one brow. Her soft hands slowly traveled upward to my shoulders, and she leaned forward. She pressed her lips to the dip in my chest between my pecs, and I groaned at her touch. Closing my eyes, I prayed that this woman didn’t ruin me for a second time.
“It looks like you’re using me,” I answered in a low, strangled voice. Her hands dropped, hanging loosely at her sides, and she stood there unwilling to look at me. I knew she was getting ready to run, so when she turned away from me, I slapped my palms against the wall, caging her in. “I get it—I’m familiar. But your emotions are all over the place, you’ve been drinking—” Being so close to her, her warmth, her scent pulled me a step closer, erasing any kind of distance between us.
She shook her head and whispered, “I only had a couple of drinks.”
With my chest barely pressed against Addie’s back, she turned her cheek to me, and I got a good look at her profile. Her eyes grew wide, the blue a shade darker. She licked her lips, and the way her chest gently heaved for breath had me wanting to do things to her, her body, her heart, and her soul.
“Addie, when I reclaim this beautiful body . . .” Using the back of my knuckles, I ghosted them down the side of her arm. “And you know I will. I need you to understand one thing first.” Her breast begged to be touched, and I had to remind myself to keep my control. “When that happens, I won’t be the other man. I’ll be the only man.” I pulled her top to the side, exposing her shoulder, nipping and then dragging my tongue up the side of her neck. She tilted her head, granting me a
ccess to that little sensitive spot. Pressing a soft kiss under her earlobe, I whispered, “Understood?” Then, I dropped my hand from the wall and stepped back. She didn’t hesitate before she bowed her head and rushed down the hall while I stood there and watched her walk away with my heart in my throat.
Evin warned me Addie would need a friend, so I put my own lust aside and moved to her living room, where I tossed my jacket over the back of the couch. I winced as I adjusted my hard cock pressing against my jeans.
Why the fuck didn’t I take her, ease both of our aches?
Because you love her, you moron.
Quit calling me a moron, asshole.
Not wanting to get into it with myself, I made sure the front door was locked before I made my bed right there on her couch. Invitation be damned. I removed my cap, grabbed one of the fancy pillows she had tucked in the corner, tossed the other on the matching chair, and stretched out with my hands under my head.
So many things ran through my mind. Was this too soon? Did she still feel as strongly about me as I did about her? If she would forgive him once this all settled. I wondered if she even wanted me. That was what my mind decided to fixate on, and I wish it had picked something else. The thought of Addie choosing someone else over me was enough to make me want to scream.
I rolled and punched the pillow, taking out a bit of my anxiety on the fabric and filling. Just as I was moving to lay back down, the sound of soft whimpers floated from down the hall. I sat up and dropped my head into my open palms, listening. Addie wept quietly, but it was loud enough that the sounds broke my heart. Was she crying for him?
Careful not to disrupt her, I stood and took quiet steps down her hallway, stopping right outside her open bedroom door. I wiped my palms on my jeans, unsure of what I would walk in on. Addie sniffled, and I pushed her door open a bit farther so I could see her.
My beautiful girl sat curled up in a chair next to her window, her chin resting on her knees as she mindlessly stared out into the night. I didn’t fight her like I did a short while ago; it was undeniable she needed a friend—she needed me.
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