“What the hell, Jared?” I sputtered scowling up at him after he set me back on the floor.
“I missed you,” he said sheepishly, bringing his hand up and running his fingers lightly over his mouth like he was remembering the kiss. Then he tacked on, “Sorry.”
“Well, I miss a lot of people but I don’t try cramming my tongue into their mouth. And I have a boyfriend! Jeez!”
“You have a boyfriend?” He looked shocked and hurt all at the same time. “Why haven’t you said anything?”
I frowned at him wondering what part of our breaking up he hadn’t understood. “We haven’t really talked that much lately.”
“Yeah, but you could’ve told me.” He looked so hurt and I couldn’t figure why. We were broken up for crying out loud!
“I’m sorry. But now you know.” I glanced pensively at him. “Did you think... um, did you think you and I might get back together?”
He ran a hand over his forehead and I could tell he was embarrassed. “I guess I thought if you weren’t seeing anyone and since I’m not really seeing anyone, that maybe we could hook up this weekend. It’s your birthday and I’m staying at my friends’ who have a great house with a pool and all and I thought you’d like to come over and celebrate.”
I narrowed my eyes. “When you say ‘hook up,’ are you meaning hang out or something more?”
He shrugged. “Hang out but if you were open to it…”
Wow.
I saw Dakota in the background staring at us as he moved the carpet sweeper back and forth over the same spot which wasn’t doing any good. But it reminded me we were closing.
“Well, it’s time for us to close, but how about I call you and we can have lunch or something. How long are you here?”
“I fly out Sunday night, so yeah, give me a call.” He bent down and kissed me on the cheek this time pulling back to give me a mix between an apologetic and embarrassed grin.
I followed him to the door. “Okay, I will. Bye, Jared.” I locked the door behind him and turned to see Dakota staring at me. “What?”
“You’re getting all kinds of action these days but you won’t give me any of your time?”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s close.”
~*~*~*~
I got home around nine-thirty and texted Loch to let him know I was there and that I was going to take a quick shower so to take his time coming over. But when I got out of the shower and checked my phone I saw he hadn’t answered so I called him getting his voicemail.
“Hey, baby. I’m home now, so you can come over any time. I love you! See you in a bit.”
At ten-thirty when I still hadn’t heard from him, I was getting worried so I called him again, and again got his voicemail.
“Loch? Are you okay? Please give me a call when you get this. Love you, baby.”
A little after midnight I awoke to find I’d fallen asleep on the couch and immediately grabbed my phone to see if Loch had called but he hadn’t. He also hadn’t texted. Now I was really worried and called once more.
“Baby. Where are you? I’m getting scared now. Please call when you get this, okay? Love you.”
When I didn’t hear anything from him in the next fifteen minutes, I risked being cussed out by calling Ryker.
“Yo,” he answered.
“Uh, Ryker? Is Loch home? He hasn’t answered any of my calls or texts.”
“Don’t know. I’m not home.”
“Oh. Well, if you talk to him, could you ask him to call me, please?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“No problem.”
What in the world was going on?
Then as I tried coming up with an answer, every horrible thought imaginable bombarded my brain.
Was Loch still at the garage with his parents and something big like a car chassis had fallen on him incapacitating him and now he was at the hospital having emergency surgery and his parents just hadn’t thought to call me?
Had the chassis fallen on all three of them to where none of them could call anyone?
Or maybe he’d hit his head on the chassis and lost his memory and his parents were so distraught they’d forgotten to call me.
I hated doing it, but I had to know. So dialing Loch’s mom I hoped A) she wasn’t stuck under something unable to get to her phone and my calling was making it more frustrating for her or B) all was well, they’d just left the garage and Loch had informed her to let me know if I happened to call her that his phone had died so he couldn’t get me.
“Simone? Is everything okay?” Mrs. Powers answered.
She didn’t sound like I’d woken her (which was good) or that she’d been trapped under a car chassis (which was even better).
“Hi, Mrs. Powers. Is Loch still at the garage with you?”
“No, honey. We all left there hours ago. Why?”
“Oh. I’ve been trying to get a hold of him but he’s not answering. Did, uh, his phone die and he doesn’t have a charging cord maybe?”
“That could be it. You might call Ryker and see if he knows.”
“I did but he’s not home and doesn’t know if Loch’s there,” I replied, wondering where the heck Loch was. “All right, thank you. I think I’ll go by their place and see if he’s there and his phone is just dead.”
“Okay, hon. If you need me just call. We’ll see you later.” She was so sweet. And I guess having four boys who’d probably done some pretty crazy things over the years kept her from worrying herself silly over them.
Loch’s house was about forty minutes away with traffic, thirty without, and I hated being out on the road by myself this late at night but I was kind of starting to fret now since I’d called him a few more times as I drove.
When I got to his neighborhood, I saw his truck in the drive which scared the bajeebus out of me. What if someone was inside holding him hostage and when he answered the door, he had to give me a code word or something to let me know he needed me to call the police. Ack!
I pulled into the drive and got out, going to the door on shaky legs. It took three rings of the doorbell when suddenly the front door jerked wide open making me jump. But when I saw Loch was okay, I let out a small sob of relief.
“Baby, you scared me!” I said, moving to him and wrapping my arms around him. When I realized he wasn’t hugging me back, just standing there stiff as a board, arms as his side, I looked up at him with a frown. “What’s wrong?” He took a step forward, pushing me out onto the porch and coming out with me. He closed the door behind him then crossed his arms and looked down at me. He was angry but I didn’t know why and it was eerie how much he looked like Ryker just then. “What is it?”
He stared at me, his eyes cold, jaw muscles popping and it was then I noticed that he looked somewhat disheveled, his hair messy as if someone had been running their fingers through it. Then I swear to God, it sounds so fucking cliché, but there was lipstick on his fucking collar.
And all the air was knocked out of me in one fell swoop. Holy shit. But I was able to suck just enough wheezing out, “I-is that lipstick on your shirt?”
He tucked his chin and looked down at it. “Probably.” His icy stare hit me again.
What the hell? I looked at him and asked something I was afraid to ask but I did it anyway. “Is someone in there?”
His stare said it all.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered as my heart shattered into a billion pieces right there on his front porch. Then for a moment, I felt like I was going to throw up but somehow managed to swallow down the bile that was threatening to make an appearance. The whole time he just stood there watching me, his steely eyes cutting right through me. And that’s when the anger finally caught up with me. “There’s someone in there with you?” I said loudly staring at him in disbelief.
He smirked and let out a humorless laugh. “How’s it feel?” he spit nast
ily.
My face turned hard as I gritted my teeth. “What the fuck do you mean how does it feel?” I screeched, my fists balling at my sides. “You really wanna know? Well, I’ll show you how it fucking feels!” Before I knew what I was doing, I swung my right arm and punched him right in the chin. I was shocked for a beat then I screamed, “That’s how it fucking feels!” Then I turned and ran to my Jeep wanting to get the hell out of there.
Of course, I didn’t make it because I was jerked back by his arm circling my waist and he hauled me kicking and screaming inside the house, slamming the door behind us.
“Let me go!” I screamed, scratching at any part of him I could reach.
He carried me to the couch and threw my ass down on it which gave me more leverage to kick the son of a bitch which I tried my hardest to do but then he grabbed my legs stopping their movement. Putting a knee to the couch, he fell down on top of me keeping my lower half still but then had to grab my wrists, slamming my hands down on the sofa at either side of my head, because now I was trying to punch him again.
“You fuck him, Simone?” he got in my face and cryptically asked.
Upon hearing that, I stopped my assault and frowned up at him wondering what in the hell he was talking about.
“You fuck him?” he now shouted making me jump.
“I have no idea what you’re talk—”
“I saw you!”
More screaming and more jumping.
He was so angry.
Then he let go of my wrists, pushed up off the couch and stepped away from me. “Get out.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Loch,” I declared looking up at him.
And I guess he’d had enough because he grabbed me by my upper arm jerking me up off the couch and literally dragging me to the front door which he opened and once again ordered, “Get out.”
I glared up at him for a beat then I said very low and very dangerous, “You’d better know what the hell you’re doing here, Loch, because I walk out this door, we’re done.”
That gave him pause (finally) then he put his hands in his hair, pulling at it as he started pacing.
“Never been in a serious relationship before, Simone.”
I watched confused as he walked then he stopped suddenly, turning his eyes on me. “Never been in love with anyone before.”
I frowned at the agony I saw on his face. “I haven’t either,” I confessed, shaking my head. “You’re my first, Loch. My only.”
“Then who was the guy?”
I guess I was just dense because I was still clueless. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, Loch.”
He sighed and looked so defeated I took a step toward him but his eyes warned me off. Yikes.
“I saw you tonight. Went by the store after leaving the garage and saw you kissing that guy. Up in his arms. Holding onto him so tightly.”
Oh, my dear sweet lord. That’s what this was all about? Good grief.
“That was my ex, Jared. He’s in tow—”
“Don’t give a fuck. Just want you to leave.”
“Listen to me, damn it! If you’d shut up for five seconds I could tell you!”
He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. “You’ve got five seconds.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s in town visiting some friends. He came by the store to see me. I was gonna give him a simple hug, but he picked me up and spun me then tried kissing me. If you’d stuck around long enough you’d have seen me gripe him out for it. He didn’t know I have a boyfriend because I haven’t talked to him to tell him! And that’s how important that stupid kiss was to me because I’ve had no idea what you’ve been talking about for the past twenty minutes!” He squinted his eyes at me as if trying to gauge whether I was telling the truth which made me throw up my hands. “And how about that lipstick on your shirt? Huh?” I pointed a finger at his shirt accusingly.
He looked down at it, perplexed.
“Yeah.”
Then he looked up at me and shook his head. “Must’ve been Mom.”
“And I’m just supposed to believe that?”
“It’s the truth.”
“Maybe you should try believing me then,” I shared.
He looked at me in disbelief. “I caught you red-handed though.”
I shook my head, fed up. “Jesus. Call me when you realize I’m in love with you and would never do anything like that to you.” I looked him right in the eye. “Ever.”
I stomped out of his house, getting in my Jeep and going home. As I lay in bed, I thought about how mad he’d been. And I knew Jared and I must’ve looked bad to him, but it really hurt me that he’d think I’d do that to him. Then again when he’d answered the door, I’d done the same thing to him thinking he had a woman inside.
I sighed. Sometimes it sucked being young and immature.
Just as I was drifting off, I got a text.
Text Message—Fri, Sept. 12, 2:18 a.m.
Loch: Still standing here. I’m sorry. Open your door.
I got up and ran to the front door, throwing it open and jumping right into his arms.
“I’m so sorry, Loch,” I said against his neck, breathing in his smell that I thought I’d die without. “I thought you had someone over. I should’ve trusted you. I’m so, so sorry.” And cue the tears.
He carried me inside, turning to lock the door behind him then walked to my room where he sat on the edge of it holding me as I cried.
“Baby, it’s my fault,” he said. At my tearful, “No, it isn’t,” he nodded and repeated, “It’s my fault. I should’ve trusted you. It just hurt like a fucking bitch to see you with him like that. I should’ve gone in and found out what was going on instead of assuming. Or at least gone in and kicked the shit out of him. That would’ve made me feel better.” He chuckled. “But I guess I was in shock and that’s why I reacted the way I did.”
I pulled back to look at him, sniffling. “We’re quite the pair, huh?”
He nodded, lips pursed.
“This is our first fight. Well, not our first, I guess. I was so stupid at the beginning with Marcy and my plan, cancelling movie night. So I guess that was a fight, huh?”
He shrugged.
“Oh, and then when we were in the library and I left you there.” My stomach fluttered at the memory of what had happened before I’d gotten mad and left. “That was our second fight. So this was our third.” My eyes got big. “That’s three fights in less than a month, Loch. How’re we gonna make it? Crap!”
I felt him shaking against me as he laughed. He cupped my face and used his thumb to wipe away my tears. “When we’re old and gray I hope we’re still fighting like this.”
I jerked my head back looking at him like he was nuts.
He smiled, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. “Means we care, babe. If we didn’t, there’d be nothing to fight for.”
Oh. Well, that made sense. “Well, I love you and care about you a lot so I guess we’ve got a lot of fights to look forward to,” I informed him.
He chuckled. “I love you and care about you a lot too, so yeah, we do.”
“I guess this is good news?” I queried.
He nodded and brushed his lips against mine. “It is. But the best news of all?”
I raised my eyebrows waiting for him to tell me.
“Is all the fabulous fucking makeup sex we’ll be having.”
I let out a surprised laugh and then he kissed me, long and hard and deep and wet.
And then he got us started on our road to all the fabulous fucking makeup sex we’d be having for the rest of our lives.
Epilogue
Being in love with someone is easy.
Staying that way is easier when you know you’re with the one person in the entire fucking world you’re meant to be with.
Simone was my person.
; I’d loved her since I was a kid, before I even knew what love was. And when she left, I felt an emptiness I’d never known before. And at some level I knew I’d screwed up.
I’d like to say that during the years I spent without her I was a mess and so lost that I could barely find my way but I can’t. I was just a kid trying to make his way to adulthood. Hell, I still am, but back then, like I said, I had no idea how to love someone or what love even was.
But having her back in my life has shown me exactly what love is. It might be small things, like me giving her my last jelly bean or her rubbing my shoulders when I’m sore from lifting weights. But it can be bigger things too, like holding her when she cries, telling her it’ll be okay, or not talking at all if that’s what she needs. It can be her telling me how awesome I still am when I’ve missed the shot at the buzzer to lose the game on my intramural basketball team or her giving me space when I’m pissed that the Giants lost. Or maybe it’s the birthday present I gave to her which was an 11”X16” picture of us as babies sleeping in the same crib, my arm thrown across her back already protecting her even though I was only nine months old.
Look, I realize it’s a miracle that she ever came back into my life but believe me when I say I’ll do anything and everything in my power to keep her here and make her happy. I know she knows this too by the looks I sometimes catch her giving me. And those moments are special, they’re for us alone and I like it that way because it’s as if we have an inside joke with one another. But the joke is on everyone else because they don’t get how into each other we are.
Oh, through the years, I know we’ll have fights, maybe even some knockdown drag-outs that last for days but I actually look forward to them. Not just for the makeup sex, which of course will always be spectacular, but I know that as long as we’re fighting, that means we know we’ve still got something worth fighting for.
And for however long that is, no matter if it’s fifteen years or fifty years, you can bet I’ll still be standing here.
Look for Ryker (The Powers That Be, Book 4) coming December 30, 2015!
Loch (The Powers That Be Book 3) Page 16