Thursday Nights (The Charistown Series)

by Lisa N. Paul

  As he sat, he watched as his family—the one he had by choice—sit around the table and eat dinner together. They laughed at each other’s jokes and called one another out on their bullshit. This was the life he had dreamed of when he and Chloe first started dating. He’d thought they would have a house full of friends and family. He thought they would share dinners and holidays, and when he couldn’t be with his family of blood, he would be with his family of choice. But she gave him nothing and took everything.

  “Max, you don’t look well. Are you okay?” Janie asked.

  He stared wordlessly for a second as he looked at her face. The face of an angel, he thought. An angel who had a date last night and spent the whole day with you and never bothered to mention it. He could feel the bile rising in the back of his throat.

  “You know what, Jane,” Max said weakly. “I really don’t feel well. I’m gonna head home. I’ll see you all later.” Max got up and gave the table a wave and a head nod before walking out of Janie’s apartment.

  “That sucks that he had to leave,” Ashley said.

  “It’s what he does best,” Janie muttered, barely able to hide the agitation in her voice. She ignored the stares pointed in her direction as she got up and prematurely began to clear the dishes from the table.

  On Monday morning, Janie arrived at school feeling a bit hazy. Her mind was cluttered with emotional Post-it notes. Lyla was in her Ho-House trying to meet her deadline, which meant Janie would want to bring food over to her house for dinner to remind Lyla to eat. She dropped off bagels on her way to work that morning and at least she had been able to arm herself with coffee.

  Owen had texted her Sunday morning to thank her for a “nice night.” But, since her chat with the girls, she was now questioning whether “nice” was good or bad. Then she had the big, neon-orange Max sign right in front of her. They had had so much fun together yesterday. At least she thought they did. But he looked positively green by dinnertime. Was it finding out that she had been dating that had him looking for an excuse to leave, or was he actually ill? Knowing that she needed to get to the bottom of this once and for all, she decided there was nothing wrong with bringing a sick friend some soup. She’d stop by on the way to Lyla’s, adding another Post-it to her already cluttered mind.

  “Good morning, Janie,” came a smooth voice from just beside her.

  Janie felt her inside go mushy. “Good morning to you too.”

  Owen looked around them quickly to make sure the coast was clear, and then he kissed her cheek. The action brought a smile to her face. Here she thought, after seeing him look around, that he would go for a kiss on the lips, but this man was full of sweet surprises.

  “So, I had a really nice time on Saturday night. Are you free again tomorrow?” His melted-chocolate eyes made it almost impossible for Janie to refuse.

  “It depends,” Janie replied to a surprisingly shy-looking Owen. “Can you tell me what you meant by you had a ‘nice’ time on Saturday night?” Janie asked.

  Owen’s mocha skin flushed with a pinkish hue. “What do you mean?”

  Janie reached out and placed her small hand on his muscled forearm and giggled. “Relax, Owen. I’m just asking because I was telling my friends about our date.” She watched as his brow lifted in what appeared to be curiosity. “I, too, said it was a really nice night, and they gave me a hard time about the adjective nice. They said it was the equivalent of ‘he has a great personality but,’ So, I guess I’m wondering–– am I more than just a great personality to you?”

  Owen released a huge, minty breath and placed another kiss on Janie’s cheek.

  “I can’t speak for you, but I had a great time. As we said on Saturday, we’ve both been burned in the past. So, to me, nice means taking it slow.”

  Janie looked pleased. “That sounds…nice,” she whispered with a giggle. “And tomorrow night is perfect.”

  More Than One Step

  The sun was setting, beautiful deep purples, oranges, and reds painting the sky as Max gazed out the bay window from his master suite. It was seven o’clock on Monday night, but it may as well have been midnight. Gage needed an extra set of hands at the garage, and Max loved working alongside his friend, though the work was hard and twelve hours later he was home and just out of the shower.

  His body was tired, but at least the physical labor helped to quiet his mind. He was still dealing with the news of hearing that Janie was dating. He didn’t know what he was feeling exactly, but it was making him edgy. He didn’t want to feel anything. He needed to move on, to get her out of his head. Clearly she has. Jealousy and sadness gripped his chest like a vice. He reached for his phone and dialed Gage.

  “Wanna grab a drink?”

  “Sure, man. I’ll meet you in an hour.”

  Max sighed in relief. Good, company would help, he thought just as the doorbell chimed.

  Walking out of his bedroom he realized he was only in a towel. He threw on sweatpants and walked down the stairs of his two-story Victorian home. The bell chimed again. With his mind elsewhere, he padded barefoot to the front door and pulled it open.

  Janie stood outside Max’s house with a bag of food. She went back and forth deciding whether or not wait for him to answer the door or just to leave it and send him a text telling him that it was there. But then he opened the door. Half naked.

  “Damn,” she muttered. She couldn’t stop her eyes from doing a full-frontal gaze of his torso. The man was like a work of art. His chest was so broad and muscular. His skin still held that hint of golden tan from the summer, too, and was sprinkled with dark-blond hair that ran from left to right and down the middle of his stomach into the waistband of his sweatpants. She knew what was in those sweatpants…. She licked her suddenly dry lips.

  Max stared at Janie and breathed in her characteristic scent. Thanks to Lyla and raspberry truffles, he now knew exactly where to get that lotion. And thanks to Janie, every time he cut limes at work, he thought of her.

  Max watched as the tip of Janie’s small, pink tongue licked her full bottom lip. God, she was beautiful.

  “Uh, hi, Jane,” he said with a raspy voice that didn’t seem to be his. “What are you doing here?”

  Janie shook her head, trying to pull her mind away from the sexy, half-naked man standing in front of her.

  “Um…hi. You looked like you weren’t feeling well last night, so I brought you soup.” Janie gave Max another full-body glance and realized how completely foolish she must look. “Clearly, you’re fine…but here’s the food. I’ll see you later.” Janie shoved the bag in Max’s hands and walked away, each step heavier than the one before.

  “Janie, wait!”

  The sound of her name coming from his lips always sent a thrill through her body. This time was no exception. She was halfway to her car before she turned around. Max had taken one step out of his door but no more. His body was pensive but his expression hungry. She could see the rise and fall of his chest as he took in shallow breaths. But he didn’t move.

  “One step,” she whispered realization finally, finally, hitting her like a freight train through a tunnel. Janie pulled in a breath and waited another heartbeat, and then another, but Max stood silently, his eyes locked on hers. Stalking her way back up to Max, she held his gaze. His normally brightened eyes darkened to a deep jade and appeared to be filled with desire, hesitation, and fear.

  Enough of this, she thought.

  She stopped when she was close enough to feel his body heat through her clothes. She lifted herself onto her tiptoes and placed one hand over Max’s heart and the other on the back of his head. She lowered his face down to meet hers and planted her lips on his. It started out tentative, more like a question as she nibbled at his lips. At first, she was worried that she had misread his look. She thought she sensed desire weaved in with his complete confusion, but maybe she was wrong. Just as she was about to pull away, Max’s hands cupped the back of her head, keeping her in place. His mouth opened, a
nd his tongue entered her mouth. Janie moaned with the pleasure of a simple kiss, but in reality, a kiss with Max was anything but simple.

  Janie ate hungrily at Max’s mouth, and he let out a moan of his own as he pulled her closer. She felt his erection through the thin cotton of his sweatpants, and Janie’s panties dampened. She knew that if she let it happen, they could be in bed within minutes, he could be deep inside her, making her come. Goose bumps run up and down her arms as her mind screamed for her to stop. And then she did.

  She opened her eyes and pulled away from the embrace. She watched as Max opened his lust-filled green eyes and awareness struck him.

  “Why did you do that?” he asked, his voice husky with desire. His eyes filled with equal parts confusion and arousal. Janie dragged in a lungful of air and continued to look into the emerald gems; she knew it was time to do this.

  ”Max, I love you.” He opened his mouth to speak, but Janie placed one finger over his lips to shut him down. “I love you. I love you so much that it physically hurts. And to be honest, I really thought, even after everything, that maybe you loved me too. But Ashley was right. I was hearing what I wanted to hear and not what you were actually saying.” He watched as she seemed to search for the right words. “I came here tonight looking for answers. And you gave them to me.”

  “I don’t understand, Janie…”

  “I know you don’t. And that, right there, was all the answer I needed. I turned around to leave you just now, and you took one step to come after me. One fucking step, Max,” she said without any anger in her tone. “I’ve waited my whole life to feel worthy of love and affection. I never got it from my parents or my siblings, and I never found it from other lovers. Hell, I couldn’t even find it in myself. But I get it now. After all the times you and Lyla have told me that I’m worth more than the men I’ve dated…well, I finally believe you. I’m worth more than one fucking step, Max. I deserve at least halfway.”

  Unshed tears burned Janie’s eyes, but she managed not to let them fall. Had it been any other man who caused that look on her beautiful face, he would have killed them, but knowing it was he who did the damage made him want to punch himself. Instead, he stood in front of this strong, loving, giving woman and didn’t say a word.

  Janie continued. “You can’t give me that…fine. I still love you. But I’m done coming to you. I’m done taking all of the steps. I can’t make you love me, and I don’t want to. You want friendship—okay. I can give you that because our friendship has meant so much to me. But I’m done with the rest, Max. So, be a good friend and keep your fingers crossed that there is someone out there that can make me as happy as I deserve to be. As for me, I’ll return the favor and hope that one day you find a woman that you trust with your heart.”

  With that, Janie turned around and waved her hand in a backward good-bye. Max stood standing shirtless outside in the dark as he watched another woman drive away from him. Another woman leave him standing all alone. Self-loathing wrapped around him like a snake, as realization squeezed the oxygen from his lungs. He could have stopped her from going had he just asked her to stay.

  Janie arrived at Lyla’s house with tear-streaked cheeks and shaking hands. “Oh my God, honey. Whose ass do I have to kick?” Lyla demanded.

  Janie took in Lyla’s appearance; she didn’t look her best, either. Her espresso hair was in a messy bun with pens sticking out of several places. She was wearing her Batgirl T-shirt and ripped leggings. She had been in her Ho-House for almost two weeks, minus the Thursday night that Janie made her go to Danny’s and Sunday dinner. She looked like she had lost weight and barely showered. In a word she looked, well, gross, but Janie loved her that way. This was the Lyla that kicked ass first and asked questions later.

  “You have to kick my ass, Ly.” Janie sniffled.

  Lyla looked at her best friend and then at the bags she had in her hands.

  “Can I kick your ass after you feed me? I haven’t eaten since the bagel you brought me this morning. I would hate to break the hands that feed me.” Lyla winked at Janie and then grabbed the Chinese takeout containers. “Come on.”

  Janie gave a detailed version of her encounter with Max while Lyla ate directly from the white cartons.

  “So I kissed him and then told him I was finished. Could I be a bigger tease?”

  Through slurps of lo mien, Lyla said, “You basically told him to shit or get off the pot?”

  “Yuck, Ly. I know I taught you not to speak with your mouth full! And don’t forget, I told him that I loved him.” Janie cringed at her own stupidity.

  “Yeah, but you do love him, so what’s the problem?” Lyla asked.

  “You know, for a woman that writes romance novels for a living, sometimes I think you are clueless when it comes to romance. I told a man who has been running for the hills that I love him, and then I told him that I deserve better than him.” She let out a humorless laugh. “This is why men think women are crazy. We are!”

  Lyla looked at Janie’s dejected posture and thwacked her on the side of the head.

  “First of all, missy, I do write romance novels, and I know a thing or two about how men’s minds work being that I am constantly fucking them, so I can tell you that you just laid down the proverbial gauntlet. It may not happen right away, but Max is going to come for you. Whether or not you want him by the time he reaches you is up to you.”

  “This is not a game to me, Lyla Paige Dalton,” Janie all but screamed. “I love him, and I don’t want him to want me just because I’m a challenge. I wanted him to trust me. I wanted to mean something to him.”

  Lyla nodded, giving Janie a warm smile as she pulled her into an embrace. Lyla stroked Janie’s hair. “Jane, he loves you. He just can’t see past whatever hurt him in his past. I know how that is…so do you. Move on, date, have fun with ‘nice’ Owen tomorrow night. Things will work out the way they are meant to. Trust me.”

  Janie hugged Lyla tighter. “Okay, Ly,” she said softly. “I’ll trust you on this one, but you need to trust me on something, too.”

  Lyla stepped back and looked seriously at Janie. “What’s up?”

  Janie held her nose. “Lyla, honey, you smell like dirty ass. Please go take a shower, and give me your clothes. I promise I won’t burn them, but they do need to be fumigated.”

  Lyla started laughing and began to strip down. “I love you, Janie. Thanks for taking care of me.”

  “Right back at ya,” Janie said. “Now, go shower. You smell like ass.”

  The previous night’s dinner had been lovely, aside from the service, and the conversation flowed like the wine they drank. The date had felt like aloe on sunburned skin: cool and refreshing on top of raw, blistered pain. It was exactly what she had needed after the emotional encounter with Max the day before.

  “No, I swear, don’t you think he acted like we were asking for his kidney? All we wanted was more wine.” Janie couldn’t help but laugh at the amused expression on Owen’s handsome face. “He was our waiter for God’s sake!”

  “Oh, I know,” she giggled in the parking lot. “He sucked, but come on, you have to admit he was totally entertaining.” Her breath hitched in her chest as Owen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned in for a kiss. She felt like a teenager getting kissed in the parking lot of the school, but since there was no one around, she let herself sink into his embrace. His kisses were warm and gentle. They made her insides tingle and her heart feel light.

  “I’ll call you later,” he promised. He opened her car door and watched her slide in.

  Smiling, Janie watched the sexy schoolteacher walk to his own car as the chime of her cell phone alerted her to a text.

  Ash and I are at Starbucks waiting for you. We can’t wait to get the goods on ur date with ‘nice O’…get here. L

  Rolling her eyes at Lyla’s nickname for Owen, Janie drove to Starbucks to meet her girls.

  “Max, do you intend to make a career out of brooding? Because I can get m
y camera. Women will swoon over a face like that.”

  “Oh…hey, Julie. I didn’t even see you there.” At three o’clock the bar was empty, so he was doing prep for the night shift. He had already filled the juices, and now he was cutting the fruit. The smell of the lime had permeated his senses and thoughts of a particular brunette kept hijacking his attention.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Max nodded his agreement and walked out from behind the bar to join Julie on the stools.

  “I know you already had a ‘Come to Danny’ chat, and the last thing you probably want is motherly advice from me.” Before Max could speak Julie placed her hand over his and shook her head. “I said it was the last thing you want, but you need to hear it, so listen up. You fell in love with a woman, and you got burned. There’s no denying that. I’m not trying to take that from you, Max. It happened. But you’re thirty-seven years old, and no matter how much you want to deny it, you fell in love again, and this time it’s with a wonderful woman. Now you are walking away—no, running away—from something good. And you are making a mistake, Max. You aren’t supposed to end up alone, sweetie. I would hate to see that happen because you were too scared to take a chance.”

  He felt Julie squeeze his hand as she got up to head back to her office, but the rest of him felt numb. I need more time, he told to himself. Just a little more time.

  “I got you a coffee—lots of cream and a sweetener, just the way you like it,” Ashley declared, looking proud of her accomplishment. Today, pink streaks accented her silky blond hair. After months of discussions, Janie and Lyla decided that Ashley’s streaks had a direct correlation to her mood. Hmm, Janie wondered. Pink. Playful? Happy?

  “So, start talking, Jane. How was last night? Did Nice Owen give you a nice O?” When iced coffee shot out of Ashley’s nose, Janie and Lyla howled with laughter.