You Can't Go Home Again

by Aubrianna Hunter

  The limo was outside waiting for them. He’d thought about driving, being the DD, then decided against it and rented the car and driver. Safer that way.

  When they saw him, the guys all cheered, toasting him and offering him a glass. He laughed, determined to have a good time. He would just force thoughts of Dani from his mind. Yeah, right.

  * * * * *

  They were all having a great time—even Dani, believe it or not. Jenn was wearing a tiara and a T-shirt that said “Bride,” so everyone in there knew it was a bachelorette party. The champagne had been opened before they’d even left the house, and had been flowing freely ever since.

  Seeing the festive atmosphere of the group, not to mention the pretty women, the waiters had been giving them all more than their share of attention. One of them, a tall, dark-haired Italian guy with soft brown eyes, had been shamelessly hitting on Dani all night.

  “Girl, if you don’t take him up on that, I will,” Beth slurred out, trying unsuccessfully to whisper in her ear.

  Dani leaned over, whispering back, still sober compared to Beth. “Go right ahead. Not my type.”

  Jenn caught the comment, adding her two cents. “Sweetie, he’s everyone’s type. If I weren’t getting married, I might take him home myself!”

  Dani laughed. “Liar! You’re so in love with Bri it’s not funny.”

  Jenn’s face got all mushy. “Yeah…I am. It’s gross, isn’t it?”

  They all laughed, and Jenn leaned her head over on Dani’s shoulder. “I know this is supposed to be my last hurrah as a single lady, but it’s not like we’ll never go out again with just us girls. Can we go to Hooligan’s? I want to see Bri.”

  Dani was exhausted anyway, and the other girls were plowed beyond belief. She figured they’d be lucky to get home without someone puking in the car. “Yeah, why not. Let’s go get your man!”

  Jenn laughed, clapping her hands like a kid. Dani paid the tab, poured the drunks into the car and told the driver where to go.

  * * * * *

  Jace was sitting there, watching Zack flirting with the stripper. Bri had barely even looked twice at her, but the others were having fun. He saw Bri looking kind of lost and dreamy eyed. He thought about chocking it up to tequila, but he knew Brian had only had a couple of beers.

  Grabbing another mug for each of them, he wandered over and sat next to his buddy. “Hey…what’s up? You don’t look like you’re having any fun.”

  “Naw, it’s fun. I’m just tired. It’s been a long week. What about you? You’re newly single—why aren’t you hitting on that poor girl?”

  Jace glanced over at the young blonde. She was curvy, almost too curvy, and the boobs were obviously fake. “Not my type.”

  Bri glanced at Jace, a sly grin crossing his face. “Too blonde?”

  Nicole had been blonde, as had almost all of Jace’s girlfriend’s, so he thought he knew what Bri was hinting at. Raising an eyebrow, he simply answered, “Something like that, yeah.”

  “Yeah, I know. I miss Jenn, too.”

  “Well, let me pay the lady, call a cab for these yahoos and we’ll get you home to your girl.”

  It was about two minutes later that “his girl” walked through the door. She bee-lined toward Bri, sparing a small glance at the blonde, before settling herself into his lap with a big kiss. “I’m done being single. I missed you.”

  He squeezed her to him. “I missed you too. It’s more fun with you than without.”

  After a long kiss that left both of them breathless, clapping sounded in the room around them.

  Jace watched as Dani walked in, seeing everyone clapping, she turned to Zack. “What’d I miss?”

  Zack, obviously more than half soused, swept her into his arms, bending her backwards and planting a long, lips-only stage kiss on her.

  Dani stood up, laughing, patted his cheek, and headed to the bar. Jace knew he was glaring again when her smile faltered and she sighed.

  She gave him a nervous looking smile and asked if she could possibly get a glass of wine. He poured the wine, trying to calm himself down before leaping over the bar.

  He’d seen her walk in and felt his breathing stop. It hadn’t started again until Zack had finally let her go. He knew it was a drama kiss, not a real one, but the surge of jealousy had almost had him ripping Zack’s head off.

  When he handed over her wine, he forced a polite smile. “Here you go.” She took a sip, thanking him.

  “So, what brings you guys here tonight?”

  She laughed softly. “True love.”

  When he looked at her questioningly, she pointed to Jenn and Bri. “She wanted to see Brian. I figured it’s her party, why not. I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” She glanced meaningfully toward the stripper.

  * * * * *

  With Jace’s casual shrug, Dani felt her shoulders sag in relief. He wasn’t interested in the blonde at all. Why she cared, she didn’t want to consider too closely.

  “Nah. Zack’s being Zack, but that’s about it. Bri was too busy missing Jenn to even notice her.”

  They both turned when they heard the music stop, and the sizzle and click of the karaoke machine.

  Beth was on stage, beckoning wildly for Sara to come join her. They all settled around the tables, ready to be entertained. Zack paid the stripper, sending her on her way, leaving only family and friends in the bar.

  After a few rousing songs, sung badly, loudly and incredibly off key, Jenn started shouting Dani’s name. When Dani called out, “Only if you join me,” she hopped off Bri’s lap and climbed up onto the stage.

  “Let’s go, girl!”

  They started with the Dixie Chicks’ “Goodbye, Earl,” moving on to Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine.” They went on to the Jane Deere Girls’ “Wildflower.” When Jenn climbed down, they all shouted for Dani to keep singing. The next song that came on the machine was Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me.” Dani started singing before she really thought things through.

  As she sang, she realized just how true the words were. She found herself looking at Jace, watching his reaction. He was staring at her, hard, as if trying to see something.

  “Can’t you see that I’m the one who understands you, been here all along so why can’t you see, you belong with me. You belong with me.”

  At the end of the song, Dani nervously glanced around, seeing Zack walking toward her to help her off the stage. Everyone was cheering, making her self-conscious. She was too nervous to pay any attention when Zack kissed her cheek, announcing loudly that he had finally seen the light. When everyone else laughed, Dani looked over. Seeing a flirtatious grin on his face, she finally grinned back, joining in the teasing.

  “Well, hell. Let’s go…” She grabbed his hand, making like she was going to the door, only to run into the solid wall of Jace’s muscled chest, face-first. She had kicked off her shoes, so she had to look up at him, and what she saw stole her breath away.

  He was furious, a look of murder in his eyes, but there was more. When she looked closer, she saw the barely restrained passion.

  He glared over at Zack, who promptly dropped Dani’s hand and backed away a couple steps.

  Seemingly oblivious, everyone around them was still chatting and laughing. Dani didn’t understand how they couldn’t feel the heat sizzling between them. The room had gone up at least twenty degrees.

  After what seemed like minutes, but was probably just seconds, Jace grabbed her, pulling her into him with an arm around her waist, and another one in her hair.

  His lips closed over hers, their mouths melted together. His tongue swept out, begging entrance.

  Her legs turned to jelly, her hands grabbing his shoulders for balance. She felt the evidence of his desire pressing against her belly, making her yearn for him. Just when she thought she might tumble off into the abyss, Jace pulled his head back.

  The room had gone silent, but he pretended not to notice, looking only at her. He backed away, slowly, turning after
a minute to head back to the bar. Dani snapped out of it, looking around and seeing all eyes on her, every mouth hanging open. Except Brian’s. He was smiling like the cat that ate the canary.

  After a few quiet moments, Zack finally let out a wolf whistle. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  Everyone laughed nervously, not sure what else to say. Thankfully, Jace had started the radio again, so, slowly, everyone returned to their conversation. As she sat back down, she heard Jenn whisper in her ear. “At some point, I will get the rest of the story. I get the impression you left some things out.”

  Chapter 29

  The next morning, or rather early afternoon, Dani was downstairs when the doorbell rang. Since it was immediately followed by, “Hello, I’m here,” she knew it was Jenn without having to leave the table.

  “Kitchen, I’m still working on coffee,” Dani called out.

  When Jenn walked in, she saw Dani, dressed, but barely awake, sitting on the counter and sipping coffee.

  “So…lay it on me.”

  “Good morning to you too.” Dani laughed.

  “Uh huh. I don’t have much time, and neither do you… We need to go and finish the setup at my parents, approve the tents, etc. So…just spit it out, will ya.”

  Dani laughed. Knowing there was no way around this, not after Jace’s kiss last night, she decided to spill everything, and hope Jenn didn’t think less of her.

  “Okay, straight to the point. Five years ago, we had sex. The night before I left. Afterwards, I got a vision of him thinking it was the worst mistake he’d ever made. I bailed before he woke up.”

  Nothing. Not a sound. You could hear crickets chirping outside.

  Finally Jenn spoke. All she said was, “Uh-huh.”

  “That’s it? Uh-huh? That’s all you’ve got to say?”

  “Well, yeah, actually.”

  “You don’t think I’m slutty, horrible, even worse for not coming back sooner. You don’t think I’m a wuss?”

  Jenn kind of scrunched up her face, contemplating that for a minute. “Nope. Not at all. So, that’s why he’s so pissed. It makes more sense that way.”

  “Why? What does?”

  “Well, you never talked about him, he never asked about you. It just makes more sense that something happened before you ever left that caused it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been mad until two years ago.”

  “You really are much more observant than we ever thought.”

  “Ummm, thanks, I guess. So, what happened last night that changed things? Or, maybe just start when you got here. Might be better.”

  “Yeah, okay. Well, you pretty much saw most of it. He was an ass, calling me names, my freak-out over the scars, and what caused them. There were a couple of steamy make-out sessions I didn’t tell you about. They all ended with more fighting. And then, last night…”

  She huffed in a breath, not really sure what to say. “Well, I told him at the rehearsal that I didn’t want to fight anymore. Whenever he started trying to talk to me, to apologize, I just kind of left. Then, your mom sent me on that damn hospital trip. I don’t know why she sent me; it would have been better to send Zack. Anyway…well, if you didn’t think I was a slut before, you will now. Basically, I got him drunk, or rather stoned, and took advantage of him.”

  “What?” Jenn laughed. “I think I might have paid good money to see Jace stoned!”.

  “The nurse gave him some sort of dopey shot. He was wasted. I stayed there, mostly to make sure he didn’t stop breathing or something. He talked me into sleeping in bed with him. I woke up sometime in the middle of the night, having a dream, or maybe a vision. It felt like a vision, not a dream. But I never have good visions, only terrible stuff, so I guess it was a dream. Anyway, I jumped him. Literally.”

  “So, you had sex, and then he was kissing you last night? Why didn’t he just wait until later, or drag you upstairs for a quickie? Why the PDA?”

  “Well, we didn’t have sex, not completely. And I don’t think he remembers it.”

  Now Jenn was laughing hysterically. “So, you had almost sex, and he doesn’t remember it? That is awesome!”

  “What? Why is that awesome? You don’t think I’m a horrible person? Bad enough that I ‘nailed and bailed’ five years ago, but then I took advantage of him and he doesn’t even know it. Oh my God! I date raped him! Jenn, stop laughing. I have to tell him!”

  Now she was laughing hard enough that tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m betting he participated willingly. And based on that kiss, he remembers enough to want more. Stop beating yourself up.”

  Jenn finally staunched the laughter, a few more giggles escaping despite her best efforts. “Dani, why didn’t you tell me? I mean really, it’s been five years. Why the big secret?”

  “Because I was embarrassed. Jenn, I have been head over heels in love with him for years. Literally years. I had a crush on him even back in high school. After my parents died, I fell like a ton of bricks. I was humiliated to be labeled the biggest mistake of his life.”

  Jenn paused a beat, thinking. “Dani, do you think that maybe it was only a mistake because you were gone? Maybe if you’d stayed it would have been different. You know, a self-fulfilling prophecy?”

  Dani nodded. “God, you’re quick. Actually, that finally occurred to me yesterday. But at this point it doesn’t matter, not really. Yesterday, I told him…about my visions. I don’t think he believes me, which is almost better. Imagine how he’d feel if I told him I’d seen his accident. Before it happened. Jenn, if I could have stopped it, could have saved him…” She took a slow breath, fighting back the tears she hated so much. “If he does believe me, he’ll hate me for sure.”

  Seeing Jenn’s face fall, Dani knew. She agreed. She hopped off the counter. She couldn’t think about Jace anymore. She’d had one more night with him, which was more than she’d ever thought would happen. It would have to be enough.

  “Not everyone gets a happy ending, Jenn. But you do. So, let’s go get everything ready for yours.”

  * * * * *

  When Jace opened the back door to his apartment, the one that led in from outside, not the bar, he wasn’t really surprised to see Brian. He was supposed to meet him and Jenn at her parents to finish setting up for the wedding tomorrow. Seeing him here, an hour or so early, was almost expected. Last night, anger and desire had gotten the best of him. He’d had enough of Zack flirting with Dani, so he’d made a very public statement about a very private situation. He should have expected Bri to come over.

  Brian walked past Jace, without any greeting whatsoever, wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee. Meanwhile, Jace watched ESPN and pretended he wasn’t there.

  “So, that didn’t seem new last night. Seemed like maybe something that had been brewing awhile.”

  “Yeah…probably longer than you think.”

  “Really? So, how long?”

  “Don’t want to talk about it, Bri.”

  “Okay…Jenn’s over at Dani’s right now, so I’ll just ask her when she gets home.” He stood and headed to the door. “See you at the house in an hour or so?”

  “You’re just going to go ask Jenn? Seriously?”

  “You said you didn’t want to talk about it. I want to know. You never mentioned it was a secret.”

  “You suck, you know that.”

  Bri just smiled. “Yeah. Okay, see ya.” He shut the door just in time to hear Jace swearing.

  “Fuck! Get your ass back here.”

  Bri opened the door. “So…I guess you want to talk about it now?”

  Jace just glared, making Brian laugh as he sat back down on the couch. Once he was settled, ankle crossed at the knee, he decided to go ahead and get straight to the point.

  “How long have you been in love with her?”

  “Who said I was in love with her? Maybe I just want to screw her. She’s always been hot…got more so out there in Cali.”

  “I could believe that, except you would have backed of
f and let Zack have a shot first if that were the case. Plus, you spent weeks calling out her name.”

  “What? When?”

  “In the hospital. At first, I thought maybe you had a buddy over there named Danny. He’d gotten hurt or something. I never really knew for sure until she showed up here. So, I ask again…how long?”

  “Senior year. Although I don’t think I really even knew it until she told everyone she’d gotten that job in L.A.”

  Bri nodded. “Makes sense. Finding out she wouldn’t just be waiting here when you got back. Is that why you’re pissed at her?”

  “I’m not…mad at her. I was more pissed at myself. I screwed up. I think that’s why she hasn’t come back sooner.” He ran his hand over his face, shoving his fingers through his hair. Realizing this was likely the move Dani had been talking about made his scowl even deeper. “I kind of…shit…I made love to her. The night before she left.”

  “Yeah? Okay. So, where’s the mistake? You called her someone else’s name, said her ass was big, what?”

  “No, nothing like that. Come on, it’s Dani. There is no way that perfect ass could ever be big. And I knew exactly who I was with. I just made love to her.”

  “That was the mistake?”

  “Apparently. Because she was gone when I woke up.”

  Bri stared over at Jace, incredulous. “She left?”

  “Yeah, like all the way to L.A. She was on a plane before I even woke up. I tried to catch her at the airport, but some lady said she took an earlier flight.”

  “And you never called her, or talked to her? Asked her why she left?”

  Jace said nothing. After a couple of minutes he asked Brian, “Do you believe in psychics?”

  “Psychics? Like talking to ghosts, fortune-telling psychics?”

  “Yes…no…like real psychics. Normal people who get visions or something. Who can see things before they happen.”