Unknown: I’m here if you need to talk.
I can only think of one person that could be.
Tate.
I press send, calling the number. He answers on the second ring.
“Hello?” comes a familiar male’s voice.
“Tate?” I ask cautiously.
He gives a little laugh. “Yes, it’s me, Sam.”
“Just making sure.” Then a thought hits me. “Did you call me a while back from a blocked number?”
“No.” He gets quiet for a moment. “Why, has someone been calling you from a blocked number?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if it hadn’t have happened.” I laugh. “It only happened once and it was back when we first came home from Tulsa. I figured it was you.”
“No,” he says with unease to his voice.
“Probably just a wrong number,” I suggest when he goes quiet. “Anyways. I want to thank you for yesterday. For finally answering some of the questions that I had.”
“Sorry I couldn’t answer them sooner,” he tells me, sounding truly sorry.
I don’t want to rehash the same conversation we had yesterday, so I decide to change the subject. “What are you up to?” I ask, sitting on the bed.
“I’m getting ready to go to the grocery store.”
“Fun. What are you doing this evening?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Well, I was just thinking that we should all hang out. That way you can get to know Slade and the rest of the gang.”
“I don’t know about that,” he says slowly.
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fine. I spoke with Slade last night and he knows I came to see you yesterday.”
“How did he feel about that?”
“I think he was mad at first, but I didn’t give him much time before I started explaining everything. And by the end he understood,” I reassure him.
“Hmm,” he says, not sounding convinced. “What did you have planned for tonight?”
“I don’t know. Maybe going out and grabbing a drink. In all honesty, I just thought about this, so I still need to contact everyone.”
He gives a little laugh. “Do that, then let me know.”
“Will do!”
I roll over onto my stomach and scroll through my contacts to text the girls.
Me: You guys want to go out tonight and have a few drinks?
Holly texts back immediately: Yep. I will tell Micah.
As I’m typing her back okay, Courtney messages me.
Courtney: You sure you want to go out and drink? Thought you quit?
I release a long sigh before I message her back.
Me: Yes, I’m sure.
Maybe I shouldn’t invite her, but if I don’t then Josh won’t come. And then Slade will be asking questions as well. There is just no winning with her. All I can do is show her that I am doing much better.
I need to call Slade and make sure that he doesn’t already have anything planned. I pull up his number and press send.
“Hello, Angel. I’m sorry I haven’t texted you back, it’s been busy and I’m in a meeting right now,” he says in a rush.
“Okay. I will make this quick. I have invited everyone out for drinks tonight.”
He chuckles. “I know, Micah just informed me. I think that is a great idea.”
I bite my bottom lip, a tad nervous. “I invited Tate as well.”
“Okay,” he says, not even hesitating. “I would like to get to know him better.”
I frown at the tone of his voice. “Are you going to be nice to him?”
“Of course, Angel,” he replies sweetly in that deep voice that makes me light up.
“I’m going to run to the store and then go tan.” I want to get a few things done today.
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
*****
Once I get home from the store, I put the groceries in the fridge and when I turn around, my elbow knocks the flowers that Slade just got me to the floor, breaking the vase in the process.
“Shit,” I hiss as I bend down and pick up the flowers. I walk over and open the cabinet underneath the sink to get another vase. After placing the flowers in the new vase, I head to the laundry room to grab the mop and broom.
I walk back into the kitchen and drop to my knees in the water.
“Sam?” I hear Courtney call from outside the front door. “Sam, I know you’re home.” She rings the doorbell twice.
Leaving the stuff on the floor, I go to answer the door.
“Hi,” I say cheerfully.
She sighs, and my smile becomes tight. “Come in.”
She takes a step into the house and follows me to the kitchen. She comes to a stop as she notices the water on the floor. “What happened?”
“Oh, I accidently knocked a vase over,” I say bending down to finish cleaning up the mess.
“You didn’t throw it onto the floor?” she asks, clearly not believing me.
I look up at her and give her another tight smile. “Nope. Knocked it over,” I repeat.
“Here, let me help you.” She bends down to help pick up the big pieces of glass.
“How are you and Josh doing?” I hate knowing that she lives so close to me now, and yet we are very distant. I wish there was something I could say to her that would make her understand I’m okay. I know Courtney, she will be harder to convince than Slade.
“We’re good,” she replies flatly.
“Courtney.” I say her name to get her to look at me. Her deep brown eyes meet mine, and they have that same look of sadness they used to when she would visit me in college. “I’m sorry about our fight at the restaurant.” I haven’t had the chance to talk to her since then. “I was just having a bad day. I shouldn’t have been so bitchy.”
She gives me a sad smile. “It’s okay. I understand, you’re going through a hard time.” She pushes some blonde hairs behind her ears.
“I’m truly okay.” I reach up and pat her arm.
She looks at me for a few seconds before she answers. “Right.”
I stand up and throw the towel on the counter, growing very tired of her attitude. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing,” she sighs out and stands as well. “I just came by to see if you needed anything.”
“I’m great, thanks. Are you guys coming out tonight?” She never did answer my question when she texted me back.
She leans over and pulls me into a hug. “Of course, Sam,” she responds, using her much softer voice before she pulls away.
“Okay,” I say slowly, trying to figure out what she is up to.
“Well, I was just coming over to check on you.” She stands back and looks around the kitchen.
“Thanks.” I guess.
“We will meet you guys later at the bar.”
I walk her to the door then turn around and head back to the kitchen when my phone rings in my pocket. I pull it out to see a blocked number.
I’m going to let them know that they have the wrong number.
“Hello?”
They hang up. They must have realized I was not the person they were looking for. I place my phone back down and start preparing dinner.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SLADE
I walk into the house and loosen my tie. Today has been one of those days where everything that could have gone wrong, did. I want out of these clothes and Angel’s lips on mine.
“Angel?” I holler through the house.
“In here,” she calls from the end of the hallway.
I push open the door to the laundry room and see her folding towels out of the dryer, smiling as she looks up at me.
“How was your day?” she asks, setting aside the towel and flinging her arms around my neck.
“Not as good as my evening is going to be.” I wrap my arms around her waist while bringing my lips down to hers. I give her a soft kiss, just our lips touching.
She pulls away looking up at me with
those green eyes. She looks down to my shirt and her fingers start unbuttoning it. “What are you doing?” I ask, knowing where this is going.
“Well….” She looks up to me again, biting on her bottom lip.
I reach up and pull on her lip gently, releasing it from between her teeth. I run the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip. She parts her lips taking in a deep breath. “I thought I would get you out of these dirty clothes,” she whispers.
I don’t object as she continues to unbutton my shirt. Once she finishes with the last one, she places her palms flat on my chest. She moves her hands slowly up over my chest and shoulders as she pushes my shirt off. I let it fall to the floor, and reaching down I pull her t-shirt up over her head.
She holds my gaze as she goes down on her knees before me. I’m so hard my dick hurts as it strains behind my zipper, waiting to be released.
The house is quiet. All you can hear is my heavy breathing and the sound of my zipper as she slowly pulls it down. Once my dick is free, she licks her lips and takes it into her hands, keeping her eyes on mine.
“Christ,” I say between clenched teeth as she pulls me into her mouth. I place my hands in her soft hair, guiding her to how I want it.
She moans as my hands grip her hair roughly and I throw my head back, closing my eyes as it vibrates up my dick and through my balls. She pulls back and runs her tongue around the tip of it.
“Angel,” I pant. She wraps her lips around me and sucks me all the way to the back of her throat.
I tighten my hands in her hair and pull her mouth from me as she whimpers. I pull her up to her feet and go straight for her pants. With some help from her, I am able to get them off, along with her panties and shoes, in a matter of seconds. I toss them over my head along with her bra. I pick her up and she wraps her legs around me as my lips find hers again. I push her back up against the wall.
“Fuck,” I say into her mouth, when she moans from hitting her back on a shelf. “I’m sorry,” I mutter against her mouth.
“Don’t be.” She crashes her lips to mine.
I pull her away and set her on top of the washer. I try pushing her back on it but there is something behind her not allowing her to scoot back any farther.
I put a hand behind her and knock whatever is stopping her to the floor. The sound of something heavy hitting the floor doesn’t distract me. I pull my mouth from hers and place little kisses down her neck.
“Slade, please.” She spreads her legs more for me, putting her hands behind her to hold herself up.
I kiss my way up to her ear. “How do you want it, Angel?”
She lets out a strangled breath.
“Do you want me to lay you down on the bed and make love to you, or do you want me to fuck you hard and fast right here on the washing machine?”
“Right here.” She inhales deeply. “Right now.”
I reach down and guide myself into her in one swift move. I grasp her hips and lean my face down next to hers. “Well then you better hang on.”
*****
I stand in the laundry room trying to catch my breath as Angel leans back on her hands trying to do the same. I reach up and grab her as she wraps her shaking legs around my waist. I turn to walk out of the laundry room and almost slip in something on the floor. I am able to get our balance before we go crashing to the ground.
“What the hell was that?” Angel asks laughing.
I take a few steps back and look down, eyeing the mess on the tile floor. “That would be the laundry detergent that I knocked off of the washer earlier.”
She looks down to the floor then looks up to me as she wraps her arms around my neck. “I’ll clean it up later,” she laughs out.
I slowly make my way around the puddle on the floor and walk to our room. We lie down on the bed trying to catch our breath. I look over at her as her chest rises and falls quickly. She licks her lips and it brings my eyes up to her face. Her lips are parted and her eyes are closed.
I roll over onto my side and wrap my arm around her, pulling her close to me. “Can I ask you a question?”
She opens her eyes and stares at me for a few seconds before speaking. “I don’t want to keep things from you. If you have a question, just ask.”
She makes it sound so simple. I have these thoughts of her and Tate. I have thought about them all day. I know she has never slept with him because I know besides me, she has only ever been with Jax, but I just find it odd that he all of a sudden has come back into her life. “I want to know about you and Tate.”
“What do you mean me and Tate? We are just friends. Or we used to be friends.” She looks up to the ceiling in thought. “I don’t know, really. We used to be very close. I would like for us to be that close again.”
I hate the feeling of jealousy that runs through me at that thought. I always seem to fuck things up and just because she doesn’t want him, doesn’t mean he doesn’t want her. Maybe he is just waiting for me to screw up so he can slide in.
“Hey,” she urges, getting my attention by running her small hand over my face. “You have nothing to worry about.” She’s amused.
“What do you think is so funny?”
“You’re jealous,” she says matter-of-factly.
I jump up and pin her small body underneath mine as I look deep into those bright green eyes. She reaches up to grab my face but I hold her hands down by her head.
“You’re fucking right I’m jealous.”
She throws her head back laughing and I let out a growl. “I’m serious. What did he tell you when you went to see him?”
She stops laughing and lets out a long breath as she tries to move out from underneath me. I tighten my hands around her wrists. “You’re not going anywhere. So start talking,” I demand.
She narrows those green eyes at me. “Just that he was sorry for keeping such a big secret from me, that it was hard for him, too. That he wanted to tell me—”
My hard laugh interrupts her.
“You don’t know him!” she snaps. “You don’t know how hard it was for him,” she finishes quietly.
“You don’t know him either,” I say, grinding my teeth. “You haven’t seen him since you were kids.”
“He had to watch my mother die, Slade.” She closes her eyes and I feel guilty that I continue to bring up bad memories. “He said she wasn’t thinking clearly. She was also seeing my dad the entire time.” She smiles softly. “He still loved her, guess their past didn’t matter.”
I release her wrists, place one hand in her hair, and pull her head back, exposing her neck to me. I lower my face to rain soft kisses on her throat. “I understand how your dad felt about her,” I whisper.
“What do you mean?” she asks breathlessly.
“Nothing,” I mumble as I slide one hand down. It’s time for round two.
*****
SAMANTHA
We had just pulled up into the bar’s parking lot when Tate pulls in beside us on the same sport bike that I remember from my mother’s house.
“Where’s your helmet?” I place my hands on my hips as he looks at me with a puzzled look.
“I don’t wear one,” he states simply.
“What?” I call out as he starts to walk past me to the front of the building. “Do you know how dangerous those bikes can be?”
“I’m well aware,” he throws over his shoulder as he moves to stand next to Slade on the sidewalk.
I’m about to give him the third degree about helmet safety, but stop when I see him and Slade standing side by side. Slade has his arms crossed over his chest and Tate has his hands in his front pockets.
They continue to stand there staring at me. “Do I need to properly introduce you guys?” I point a finger from one to the other.
“I know who Slade is,” Tate states, not taking his dark blue eyes off of me.
Slade slowly turns his body to face him. “Well, I have no idea who you are.” Then he looks at me. “But I promised Angel I would get to know yo
u. So, let’s go inside and have a few drinks.”
Tate seems satisfied with that and they both turn to head into the bar. We spot everyone already sitting at a big table in the back.
Before I sit down, I introduce everyone to Tate. Holly and Courtney smile and say hello, whereas Micah and Josh say hello but then look at Slade, wondering if Tate should be here or not. I clear my throat and give them all big, threatening smiles. They are going to be nice to Tate. He is not threatening our group in any way.
“What does everyone want to drink?” Slade asks, coming up behind me.
“I’ll take a beer.”
“A beer? You don’t like beer.” He frowns.
“I do. I just don’t drink it much.” I’m just in the mood to sip on a beer tonight.
“So, Courtney,” I prompt, getting her attention, “how are things going in the rental house?” I think Josh has been spending every night over there with her. She’s afraid of love. Her mother never loved a man. She raised Courtney with the mentality that no woman should ever need a man for anything outside of the bedroom. Her mother went through so many different guys, Courtney never even knew who her dad was. Hell, her mom never even tried to figure that out.
Of course, her mother wasn’t always that way. She had loved once in high school and had her heart broken. Her mom has always told her never to depend on a man. Not even for love, because that love can be gone in a second. If you ask me, her mom is just bitter. Not every man is that way. Hell, I think Josh already wants to marry her. Just by the way he stares at her all the time with that goofy smile on his face.
“It’s good.” She looks up from her phone as the guys join us with our drinks.
Slade sits down next to me wrapping an arm over my shoulder.
I turn my attention over to Holly. “How’s the planning for the Vegas trip coming along?” I am extremely excited to be going to Las Vegas for their bachelor/bachelorette party. I’ve never been there, but I can imagine what it is like.
“It’s going well,” she says.
I start to speak when I hear Micah clear his throat and then look at Slade.
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