by Jenika Snow
“You’re way too good to me, Soph.” He popped the pills in his mouth and downed half the glass of water. He looked into her eyes and stared at her for several long moments. She started to get a little uncomfortable with the attention, but before she called him out on being a creepy douche, he dropped his head.
“Yeah, I know.” She smirked and started eating her omelet. “I know you feel like shit, but you need some food in your stomach.”
He glanced up at her and smiled before picking up his fork and eating. She wanted to ask him why he slept around so much, but deep down she knew that Abe was fucked up. After his parents died, something changed inside of him. He had been young and ended up living with his aunt and uncle until he turned eighteen and moved into his parents’ house. He had slept with girls in high school, but nothing like he did now. It was sad and tragic to watch but the only thing she could do was be there for him. They finished their breakfast in silence, all the things Sophia wanted to say lodged in her throat.
****
Sophia left Abe right after breakfast, knowing that he needed to sleep off the alcohol. Sometimes they hung out until he had to go to work. She didn’t have to go to the bar that night and they had a movie night planned, just her and Abe. After looking at the clock, she grabbed her purse and headed out of her duplex. Her neighbor, an older man named Theo, waved at her as he planted a row of daisies. He wore a lilac-colored hat and floral printed gardening gloves.
The trip from her duplex to Red’s Bike and Motor Shop was only a ten-minute drive. Their town, Northon, was on the small side and certainly not what one would consider serene. There were industrial buildings all around and the land that was used for farming was set miles outside of city limits. That was where her mother’s old house was, the one that Sophia had grown up in, and the one that was shattered, broken and condemned.
When Children’s Services found her alone and dirty, thanks to a call from one of the neighbors, they had taken her away from the only home she had ever known. Sure, her life had been broken, but that was all she had known. It hadn’t been too long after that that she met Abe and the two of them became inseparable. Once she graduated high school, she went to work at Tiny’s and had been there for the past four years.
She made decent money, especially with tips, but she certainly didn’t want to spend the rest of her life dishing out shots and margaritas. There was a community college in Asper, the next larger city over, and she had really thought about taking a few classes. Sophia didn’t have a lot of dreams in life, but doing something that took her out of this shitty town with bad memories was on the top of her list.
She pulled into the parking lot of Red’s and cut the engine to her little Honda. The small building that served as the office sat to the left. Three huge garages were attached to that, the bay doors wide open, classic rock blasting all around. Motorcycles were lined up on the side along with trucks and a few cars. A truck was up on a lift in the center of the garage, and she could see Abe’s grease-covered, tattooed back underneath it. It was almost seven in the evening, and she knew he’d be getting off soon.
Sophia shut the car off and climbed out. Credence Clearwater Revival blasted through the speakers and all her focus was on Abe. He looked so good, so delicious covered in sweat and grease. Who would have thought the combination would be arousing? Bangs and clanks of tools being placed back in the toolbox drowned out some of the noise.
“Hey, Sophia.” She turned and smiled at Seth Red, the owner of the body shop. He was in his late thirties, very good-looking in a sort of rough and rugged biker way. His dark hair hung around his chin and his goatee showed a few greys. The white shirt and jeans he wore were covered in grease stains and holes but looked good on him.
“Hey, Seth.” He went to give her a one-armed hug, but she held her hands up in warning. “Oh no, you don’t! You are all greasy and sweaty, and I got plans tonight.”
His grin was all straight, white teeth, which was a stark contrast to the grime that covered his face. “I hope you plan on cleaning Abe up because he smells worse than I do. And he’s uglier too.” She laughed and stared at Abe. He hoisted himself out from under the truck. The rag he used to clean his hands was already filthy.
“Hey, Kid.” Abe walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead. He smelled like he’d been working under a car all day, but to her it was hotter than hell. “Give me five to clean up and we’ll head out, yeah?”
She nodded and watched him toss the dirty rag in a container on his way out of one of the side doors. True to his word, he was back in five minutes wearing a clean shirt and pants and void of any of the grease that made him look deliciously dirty. When had her attraction to him gotten so fierce? She groaned internally when he swung his arm over her shoulder and ran his knuckles over her head, messing up her hair. His actions were that of an older brother giving shit to his kid sister. If that didn’t just suck some major balls.
“Whatcha wanna do tonight?”
She stopped in front of her car which she purposefully parked beside his Dyna. “Pizza, beer, and a movie?”
“Sounds good. I’ll pick up the movie and pizza if you get the beer.” She smiled and nodded. “Meet ya back at my place.” For several long moments she did nothing but watch as he grabbed his helmet off the back of his bike and put it on. He didn’t bother with the leather jacket she knew was stored in one of the saddlebags. It was a pretty warm night. In fact, it was so warm she was starting to sweat, but she knew it wasn’t just the humidity in the air that caused her to feel the heat.
“Catch ya in a few, Kid.” He winked and started his Harley. The loud purr traveled straight through her body and right to all her good parts. Clenching her thighs together, Sophia watched him disappear down the dark street.
Chapter Three
They had eaten nearly the whole pizza and were finishing their second beer each when Abe finally put on the movie he’d rented and sat beside her. With his arm slung around her shoulder, he pulled her close so that she was curled against his hard body. Sophia could almost pretend they didn’t do this every week, that he felt the same for her as she did for him.
The movie played but Sophia couldn’t concentrate, not when there was still an underlying hint of motor oil mixed with cologne coming from him. His T-shirt was stretched over his chest and the hem rode up slightly in his relaxed position. A strip of his tan, hard stomach was revealed, and she swallowed, doing her damnedest to control the direction her body was going. She wasn’t a teenager anymore and there would never be anything between them, so she needed to get that through her brain. Thinking about being with him was a hell of a lot easier than actually trying to act upon those feelings. Even if she did manage to find a guy, Sophia knew she would constantly be comparing him to Abe. She had already done that with the few boyfriends she had in the past. “Hey, Sophia?” Hearing him say her full name had her heart doing a little patter behind her ribs, but the seriousness in his voice had her tilting her head and looking at him. To her surprise he was already looking down at her, a very strange expression on his face. Neither of them said anything for several long moments, and she wondered what was going through his head.
“Yeah?” Her voice was low and breathy, and she felt her cheeks heat. She sounded flippin’ ridiculous. Her heart pounded fast, and her pulse beat rapidly in her throat.
“Do you ever think about your mom?”
She blinked several times because she didn’t know how to respond. His question caught her off guard. Pushing away from him, she noticed he kept his arm around her shoulder. Their faces were close, so close she could smell the sweetness of the beer he had been drinking. “My mom?”
“Yeah.” His throat worked as he swallowed. “If you don’t want to talk about it I understand. It’s just…” He exhaled loudly and sat forward to rest his head in his hands.
“What’s going on?” Abe was never like this, emotional and almost vulnerable. He turned his head and stared at her.
“
I’ve just been thinking about my parents lately. You know my mom’s birthday is coming up.” His voice got softer on the end and her heart clenched. “Anyway, I was just wondering if you ever thought about your mom.”
She stared at him and really thought about his question. The truth was she hadn’t thought about her mom in a long time. There were a lot of bad memories, and thinking about it just made her feel shitty. “I do, sometimes, but they are few and far between.” She looked down and started picking at her shirt. The movie continued to play but neither paid it much attention. “I wonder if she’s still alive, if she’s still using. I think about the times she brought strange men into the house and made me stay in my room.” Sophia had been little then, but those memories were ingrained in her head. She would never forget. She could still smell the booze and smoke that always seemed to fill the house. She remembered how her mom had bloodshot eyes and looked like a skeleton. How Sophia even survived was beyond her. If it wasn’t for the little girl who lived next door to her, she would have never eaten. She had gone over there all the time to eat dinner. The neighbors had to know what went on, but the authorities only came to her home once, and that was when they took her away.
“I wonder if my mom ever thinks about me, if she ever wonders if I’m even still alive.” Damn the tears that spilled down her cheeks.
“Ah shit, baby. I’m sorry I brought it up. Don’t cry, please.” The way he comforted her had her tears falling faster. He pulled her into his chest, and she buried her face in his shirt. He smelled so good and all she could do was fist his shirt in her hands and let him give her strength.
“You have nothing to feel sorry about, Abe. I always get like this when I do think of her.”
“Yeah, but if I hadn’t been so insensitive and brought it up you wouldn’t be sad right now.” He kissed the top of her head and tightened his arms around her.
She knew her tears made his shirt wet and he could probably feel it, but all he did was hold her tighter and stroke her hair. His murmured words comforted her, and she was so very thankful that she had him in her life.
There had been so many times they had been in this same situation, holding onto one another as their pasts reared their ugly heads. When his parents died he had been a mess. Abe used his anger to mask his hurt. Fighting, drinking, and sex with random people had started after all, and the pain she felt for him only intensified. He might have let her hold him while he raged on about the unfairness of it all, but in the end he drowned his sorrows in everything that was negative.
Even with his tormented past, Abe still managed to be there for her. It was hard for her to hate the way he was when he showed her that there was still someone in the world that loved her. It might not be the kind of love she wanted, but it was still there for her to take.
Time seemed to stand still as they stayed wrapped in each other’s embrace. She wished their scarred pasts weren’t hidden behind smiles and laughter. Maybe one day they both would be healed so they could actually move forward.
****
Two weeks later
Since crying into Abe’s chest, Sophia hadn’t spoken about her mom and he hadn’t said anything about his parents. She knew he still thought about their conversation, knew that he always thought about it.
Sophia wiped down the counter of the bar and cut her eyes to the far left corner, the corner where Abe drank his sixth beer and groped a busty redhead who had her mouth latched onto the side of his neck. He looked three sheets to the wind already, but that was no surprise since he had taken four shots of Jack before the sixth beer. She knew this wasn’t just another night of getting drunk and debauchery for him. It was his mother’s birthday and a seriously rough day all around for him. It always was. He had been aloof when she made him breakfast that morning, quiet unless she asked him something.
The redhead’s hand disappeared beneath the table and Sophia knew exactly what she was touching. The thought annoyed her and jealousy spread through her body. A look at the clock showed she had about half an hour to go before she was off work.
“Honey, just go. I’ll cover for the last half hour.” Sophia looked over at Roxy, one of the newer bartenders. She was older, maybe in her forties, but had a smokin’ body and an awesome personality. “It looks like your boy is in need of a bed, some painkillers, and a big glass of water.”
Letting out a sigh, Sophia gave her a grateful smile and went to close out her till. Abe had been drinking all day. Hell, he'd smelled like a brewery when she showed up at his house this morning. It was rough for him and she wished she could make him feel better, but she knew how hard it was, knew that he struggled to get through each day.
Sophia started totaling up her tips when she heard the sound of glass breaking. Abe stood toe-to-toe with some guy she had never seen before. The redhead pushed her way between them, a very stupid move on her part. She was trying to talk the other guy down and Sophia realized he must be her boyfriend. This was so not what she or Abe needed tonight.
“Well, fuck. I don’t need this shit tonight.” Hunter Bronson, owner of Tiny’s and her boss, came busting out of the back room, his face set hard. “Fucking Abe ‘Trouble’ Rochester.” He looked at Sophia and narrowed his eyes. He stalked toward her and stopped right in front of her. “Get your boy outta here, Soph, before he knocks that guy’s teeth in and I have to call the cops.”
God, this day was going from bad to worse. “What about my till? I haven’t finished counting it down yet.” He waved it off and then pointed to Abe.
“You’re good, Soph. Just take Abe home before it gets ugly. I don’t want him thrown in county, especially on a day like today.”
It wasn’t a secret what today was, not when Abe’s parents’ death had been big news in their town. Melanie and Rosco Rochester had been prominent in Northon. They had their hands in community gatherings, bake sales, and auctions to raise money for the hungry and poor. They were good people and everyone had loved them.
She thanked Hunter and grabbed her purse. Pushing through the crowd of people that were now huddled around Abe and the guy that was about to get his teeth busted in, Sophia stopped beside Abe. The redhead’s voice was loud and shrill as she tried to talk down the preppy schoolboy. He was way out of his element, especially wearing a cable knit vest over his blue oxford. Yeah, he was definitely a preppy, probably from one of the colleges in the neighboring cities.
“Hey!” Neither the redhead nor preppy looked at her. “HEY!” That got their attention. “I suggest you leave. Like now. Abe has a pretty short fuse sober, but when he’s drunk, it’s nonexistent.” Oxford scowled and looked like he wanted to argue, but Abe started laughing and cracking his knuckles.
“Don’t stop this, Kid. I’ve been itchin’ for a fight all fucking day. I’m just glad this pansy-ass motherfucker thinks he can take me.” His voice was hard, like steel, but under that she could still hear the slur. There was no doubt he could still whip Oxford, but she wasn’t in the mood to deal with the aftermath. Abe might be lit, but he was more than ready to throw down with this stranger. Sophia rolled her eyes.
“Abe, please, stop.” He looked over at her and a small, warm smile touched his lips.
“That’s right, bro, listen to that bitch of yours.”
Sophia closed her eyes and shook her head. Of course Oxford had to open his damn mouth. When she opened her eyes, she saw how tense Abe was. His jaw worked under his tanned, square jaw, and he looked ready to explode.
“First off, I’m not your bro.” Abe took a step forward. “Secondly, don’t you ever speak about my Sophia like that.” It only took a millisecond for Abe to swing his fist out and crack the loudmouth in the head. He stumbled back and Abe took another step forward, following him. If she didn’t stop it now, it was going to get a lot uglier and a lot bloodier. Stepping right in front of Abe, Sophia placed her hands on his chest and lifted onto her toes.
“Please, Abe.” It took a long minute for him to take his murderous stare off Oxford, and
when he finally did, she exhaled in relief. “Let’s get out of here. He isn’t worth it, not by a long shot.” Abe’s chest was hard beneath her palms and she could feel the steady beat of his heart. After what seemed like forever, his body relaxed slightly, and he nodded. He turned and grabbed the one full shot left, downed it, then grabbed his half-full beer and finished that as well. The crowd that had gathered to watch the almost fight seemed disappointed that there would be no bloodshed for their entertainment.
Once outside, the cool air whipped by them and she hoped it helped to sober Abe up. Sophia led a very wobbly Abe over to her car. “You walk here?”
“Nah, got my bike on the side.” He sounded totally trashed and was only getting worse with each passing minute.
“Well, obviously you aren’t going to be going home on it, so I’ll send a text to Hunter and he’ll put it in the garage out back.” She helped him into her car and shut the door before jogging around to the other side and climbing in. After sending a quick text to Hunter about Abe’s bike, she started the car, pulled onto the street, and headed toward Abe’s home.
Chapter Four
Getting Abe into the house had been a bitch, but he was now on his bed. His right leg and arm hung off the mattress. Sophia breathed out heavily, trying to catch her breath because Abe was one big guy. His chest rose and fell evenly in his passed-out stupor. She got to work on his feet first, taking off his big black boots and then getting his socks off. For a moment she stared at his feet. That had never been a particularly attractive part on the body for her, but looking at Abe’s had her insides doing funny things.
Keep it together, girl.
Sophia had done this too many times to count, so when she took off his belt and then unzipped his jeans, she didn’t think much of it. At least she tried not to. His pants were now unbuttoned and unzipped, but she didn’t attempt to remove them. That would take quite a bit of strength and energy on her part, and she was still breathing heavily from getting him in the house.