by Holly Renee
“You deserved it, and you know it.”
I nodded my head in agreement.
“She’s my friend, and I care about her.” He held up his hands when I practically growled. “I’m not into her like you think. We’re just friends. She needed a friend the last few months.”
I knew it wasn’t a dig at me, but it hurt just the same. “I know, man.”
“I just don’t want to see her hurt. No matter what she says, she is still in love with you. If you don’t plan on treating her right, don’t even go there.”
“I hear you.” I rubbed my hand down my beard. “I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Then don’t.” His stern voice was interrupted by her soft question.
“What are y’all talking about?”
“Nothing,” Johnny and I answered at the same time.
Johnny stared at me, and I met his stare. Erica stood there awkwardly looking back and forth between us.
It only took a moment for Johnny’s face to split into a goofy smile. He pulled me into a hug before I realized what was happening. Johnny wasn’t the type of man who hugged one armed and patted your back. He pulled you in and hugged you. It didn’t matter if you wanted it or not. He forced it on you.
I heard Erica’s quiet laugh and looked over to see a smile lighting up her face that I hadn’t seen in a while. It was a true, unreserved smile.
I pulled myself out of Johnny’s hug before grabbing Erica’s hand and dragging her toward her car.
She was still giggling behind me, and I couldn’t ignore how hearing her laugh made me feel.
When we reached her car, I placed our bags on the ground then pulled her small body against me. Her laughter stopped immediately.
“I can’t do this shit where we don’t see each other until everyone gets together again.”
She looked up at me but didn’t say a word.
“Can I take you to dinner one night this week?” I asked as that same unreserved smile formed on her beautiful face.
“That sounds great.”
“How about tomorrow?” I knew I sounded desperate, but I felt desperate around her.
“That sounds even better.”
When I got home from Kat’s, I felt like I was floating on a cloud. A smile hadn’t left my face since Gabe had asked me to go out with him tomorrow. I felt happy. The flip side to floating on a cloud? A lot of the time clouds were accompanied by rain and storms. Storm Gabe was not something that I wanted to experience again. He blew in like a hurricane and destroyed everything in his path, and I seemed to always put myself in the eye of the storm.
I couldn’t think about that though. If I wanted to go on this date with Gabe and actually figure out what was going on between us, I had to try to let go of the past. If I didn’t, it would eat me alive and I would never trust him. I wanted to trust him. I wanted him to prove to me that he was the man that he tried to hide from everyone.
He seemed to be in a constant struggle with himself, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. I could see him pushing me away. He said things that he should never say about himself. He said things about not being good enough, about being toxic, but he was wrong. He wasn’t toxic. Whoever had made him believe that about himself was. I would really like to kick their ass.
My assumption was that it was someone in his family. He hadn’t actually told me that, of course. I wasn’t sure if Gabe would ever open up to me about his childhood, but I was willing to wait. I just had to learn to protect myself while I gave him the time and space he needed.
Lying in bed, I tossed and turned as sleep evaded me. I couldn’t quit thinking about Gabe. I thought about his family. I thought about his green eyes. I thought about his callused hands. There wasn’t a thing about him that wasn’t racing through my mind.
When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed of those callused hands running over my body. I dreamed about his beard scratching against my neck as he kissed and nibbled on the sensitive spot behind my ear that he knew drove me insane. It was a beautiful torture.
Right when my dream was getting to the good part, I shot up in bed due to the blaring of my alarm. My heart was racing, my chest was heaving, and my skin felt damp. There were two things that my dream had taught me: work today was going to suck, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Gabe tonight.
I flew in the door at work with only a few minutes to spare. My hair was piled on the top of my head in a messy bun, and I was sure that outfit was wrinkled.
“Good morning, blondie,” Brenda’s voice greeted me as soon as the door shut behind me.
“What’s shakin, bacon,” I called back.
“You look tired.” She smiled up at me.
“Thanks, Brenda. I love you too.”
I walked back toward my office stuck in my grumpy sleep deprived mood to the sound of Brenda’s loud laughter. Even grumpy, I couldn’t stop from smiling. If Brenda’s boisterous laugh didn’t cause me to smile, then I had more problems than sleep deprivation and a gorgeous guy haunting my dreams.
Throwing myself into my work always seemed to take my mind off everything else. I won’t lie and say that I didn’t think about Gabe throughout the day, but focusing on work definitely deterred it. I worked through the stack of papers Dr. Smith had left on my otherwise spotless desk. He knew how bad clutter bothered me so he made sure to cause some in my office almost any chance he got.
I barely came up for air throughout my day, and I was startled when I heard a loud knock at my office door. I looked up to the clock and was shocked that it was already lunch time. I hadn’t realized so much time had passed.
“Come in,” I called out.
My door cracked open and a tall man walked into my office. His wavy hair was blond and reminded me of a surfer when paired with his deep tan. His eyes were a bright blue that had always matched mine.
“What’s up, grumpy?” my brother asked as he plopped down in one of the chairs across from my own.
“I’m going to kill Brenda. I am not grumpy.” My tone sounded grumpy even to my own ears.
“Rawr.” My brother held up his hands like they were cat claws.
I flipped him the bird.
His booming laugh filled my office and made me feel lighter instantly. That was the thing about him. He was overprotective and typically overbearing, but he could always make me feel better.
“Let’s go.” He stood up from the chair his large body was taking over. “I’m taking you to lunch.”
“I don’t remember you asking me to go to lunch with you, Jon.”
“I don’t remember caring, Erica.”
Over. Bearing.
“Whatever.” I grabbed my purse from beside my desk and caught the dimple on his cheek that drove all the ladies crazy.
I walked out of my office and left him laughing behind me. He was laughing now, but he wouldn’t be when he realized that he was buying lunch.
Jon took me to my favorite Mexican restaurant, and I reminded myself to give him a brother of the year award. The chips and salsa were that good.
In proper big brother style, the grilling started before our server even brought our drinks to wash down the fiesta that was happening in my mouth.
“What have you been up to lately?”
“Nothing much,” I said around a chip. “Just working and hanging out with Kat.”
“Any men in the picture?”
“That’s some more of your business.” I smiled sweetly up at him.
He didn’t return my smile. He stared at me sternly while crossing his arms over his chest. I knew this routine. He wouldn’t budge until I answered him. It had been the same way for as long as I could remember. He really should have become a defense lawyer or something.
“Fine.” I crossed my slender arms over my chest to match him.
“Just tell me, Erica. You know you can’t keep this up when your tacos get here.”
He was so right, and it made me furious. He always had more willpower than me.
“I’m going on a
date tonight.”
“With?” He asked.
It wasn’t that I was scared to tell him that my date was with Gabe, but he wasn’t Gabe’s biggest fan. He hadn’t even met Gabe, but he had been one of the shoulders that I leaned on when Gabe had left, and I didn’t think he was going to be too happy that I let him walk back in.
“One of Blake’s friends,” I said evasively. It wasn’t a lie.
“Please tell me you aren’t that stupid, Erica.” His voice was filled with anger.
“Don’t call me stupid.”
“Don’t act stupid,” he countered.
“You don’t even know who I’m going on a date with.”
“Let’s see.” He wiped his hands on his napkin. “Number one, you are grumpier than usual. Number two, you’re going out with one of Blake’s friends.” He held up finger quotes when he said Blake’s friends. “I’m not an idiot. I know you’re going out with Gabe.”
I shoved a few chips in my mouth to give me time to think about what to say to him. He was overbearing, but he was my big brother. Everything that Jon did involving me was done out of love. I knew that, but it didn’t always make him easier to take. If I ever tried to get involved in his love life, he shot me down with no problem. It was maddening.
My mother has always told me to just except it. “It’s what big brother’s do,” she would always say. While I understood that, it didn’t make it easier to deal with.
He came about it honestly though. Our parents’ had always been overprotective. I had hated it when we were growing up, but when I became an adult and saw where many of my childhood friends who had the “cool” parents ended up, I was thankful. I knew that I may eventually be thankful for Jon being overprotective as well, but right now all I felt was irritation.
I was irritated that he was in my business, but mostly I was irritated that he was probably right. Going out with Gabe probably was stupid.
“Do you remember what you were like after he left?” he asked sternly.
“I think I remember better than anyone else.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I was no longer irritated. I was getting pissed.
“Then don’t forget it. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go with him. I know you’re a grown woman and all that, but I don’t want you to forget either.”
I blinked up at him and let his words set in.
“If he is what you want and he wants you, then he damn well needs to work for it.”
“Okay.” I moved my hands from their pissed off position and started digging into more chips and salsa.
“That’s all you’re going to say is okay?” He sounded confused.
“Yes. I agree with you. Gabe Lawson is going to have to work if he wants me to ever trust him again.”
At seven o’clock on the dot, I arrived in front of Erica’s house in my truck. It felt weird driving my truck. I was so used to riding my Harley now. I missed the wind in my face and the vibrations in my hands. I don’t think Erica would be opposed to riding with me, but I didn’t think that was a good first date idea.
It felt odd calling it our first date. Technically, it was, but we had also passed the first date stage a long time ago. I was an asshole, though. I never took her on a date or treated her the way she deserved. I wouldn’t be making that mistake again.
I heard the click of her heels behind her front door after I knocked. My heart was pumping in my chest. I felt excited and nervous to see her. I felt like a pussy.
When she opened the door, every thought left my brain. My nerves seemed to calm, but my dick didn’t. She looked incredible.
“You look fucking beautiful.” My voice was rough and filled with awe.
A blush worked up her chest and onto her cheeks. “Thank you.”
I knew I looked like a creeper, but I couldn’t help staring at her. She had a pair of skin tight blue jeans on that looked like a second skin. She had on a black lace top that showed a hint of her breast but would make every single male we encountered wishing for more. On her feet were a pair of black heels that made me want to fuck her in nothing but them. Her blonde hair was curly and wild. Exactly how I liked her.
She turned away from me when I didn’t say another word and grabbed her small leather jacket and her bag. When she turned back to me, I couldn’t stop myself. I needed a taste. I needed to mark her as mine before she or anyone else got the idea that she wasn’t.
I grabbed her upper arm and pulled her closer to me. She let out a little gasp as her heels clicked on the floor. I didn’t give her time to figure out what was happening, though. I ducked my head into her neck and ran my tongue up her soft neck and sucked on the spot where her neck met her shoulder. I felt like a starving man, and she was my first meal. She tasted fucking divine.
I moved my lips across her jaw, and my thick beard drug across her sensitive skin. She whimpered right before my lips met hers.
I devoured her in a kiss. I buried my hands in her curls and tilted her head back so I could have better access. She kissed me just as hard. She kissed me like she had no plans to leave her apartment.
I pulled away from her before I forgot about my plan. I wasn’t here to get laid. I was here for her, and she needed to realize that.
I leaned my forehead against hers and tried to catch my breath. Her deep breaths were dragging in and out against my lips.
“Did I tell you that you look amazing?” I asked between breaths.
I felt her lips form a smile before I heard her laughter.
I leaned away from her and reached out for her hand. She followed behind me as I opened her front door then she locked up. We walked hand in hand toward my truck, and I opened the door and helped her inside.
I may have been an asshole, but Blake’s mama would kick my ass if I didn’t at least attempt to be a gentleman.
I took off down her street toward our date. I hadn’t given her any details of the date so far, and she hadn’t asked. It made me feel guilty that she still trusted me enough to not even question me. If she was smart, she should have never trusted me again.
We pulled into the parking lot of a great little restaurant right on the lake. I saw her eyes twinkling as soon as we pulled up. There was one thing that Erica used to talk about all the time when we were “just friends” and that was spending time on the lake with her family. Her face lit up every time she talked about it so I thought this would be a good idea. I wanted to surround her with things that she loved. I wanted her to constantly have a smile on her beautiful face.
I climbed out of my truck and walked to her side. I opened her door and helped her out as she looked all around us. The lake sat directly behind the restaurant and its magnificent view was everywhere we looked.
We walked into the restaurant hand in hand and waited at the hostess stand.
“Can I help you?” the young woman asked.
“Yes. We have a reservation. It’s under Lawson.”
Erica threaded her arm through mine and squeezed. I looked down at her, but she wasn’t looking at me. She had her eyes narrowed on the hostess.
“Okay, Mr. Lawson. Your table is ready if you will please follow me.”
We followed the hostess to the back of the restaurant and to a table that sat against a full wall of windows that overlooked the lake. It was perfect.
I pulled out Erica’s chair for her and took my seat. The hostess handed us our menus and hovered around the table.
I looked up from my menu to see her smiling down at me. “Please let me know if there is anything else that I can do for you,” she said sweetly.
“There’s not.”
My head jerked toward Erica’s voice to see her staring daggers at the hostess who was now looking at Erica with a similar expression. It took me only a moment to realize that Erica was being possessive. It was hilarious and hot as hell. I hadn’t even paid attention to the hostess, but now that I thought about it, she had been staring at me for a bit too long and she was a little bit too eager to please.
&
nbsp; The hostess took a step back from the table when Erica’s stare didn’t waiver. As soon as she had turned her back to us, Erica looked down to her menu and said, “What are you thinking about getting?”
Trying to bite back my laugh, I sounded like I was coughing and laughing at the same time.
Erica shot her glare toward me, but this time there was a hint of a smile on her face.
“What was that?” I pointed to the hostess, and this time I couldn’t stop my laugh.
“What was what?” She faked innocence as she stared down at her menu.
“You know what I’m talking about, Erica.” I was still laughing.
Her eyes rose to mine again and she crossed her arms. The move made her breasts push out and distract me.
“She was clearly flirting with you right in front of me. If a women flirts with a man right in front of his,” she waved her hand back in forth between us, “whatever we are, then she deserves the dirty look I was giving her.”
“Were you jealous?” I teased.
“Of course, not. I don’t have anything to be jealous of.” She raised her nose as if she was looking down at the girl who was nowhere in sight. She looked like a brat. She looked jealous. She looked gorgeous.
“You’re right. You have absolutely nothing to be jealous of. Did you look at yourself before you left your house? Did you really take the time to look? Because let me tell you, you look amazing. I don’t even need to look around to tell you that there isn’t a woman in this whole place that holds a candle to you. There is no one in this place that could make me take my eyes off of your perfect blue eyes and your crazy, beautiful curls. And even if you weren’t that devastatingly beautiful, the sound of your laughter could pull me away from anything. It’s my favorite sound in the world.”
Her glare was now soft and glistening with tears. She had a small smile on her face, but her bottom lip trembled slightly. I meant every word that I had said to her. Every bit was the truth.
“Now, let’s forget about the hostess and enjoy dinner,” I suggested.
“That sounds great,” she barely whispered.