It was starting to get chilly without the blanket on, but the situation was way too uncomfortable for me to ask either of them to come cover me back up.
“I’m glad you guys find it so funny,” I huffed. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind shutting the door…”
“Oh, hell no. You’re lucky I’m not taking pictures right now.” Travis started leading Angel away by her shoulders. “We’ll be in the living room. Can’t wait to meet your girl,” he said cheerfully.
Groaning, I let my head fall back on the pillow.
Fuck me.
A minute later, the song ‘Pretty Tied Up’ by Guns N’ Roses started blasting through the apartment, and I heard Travis and Angel cracking up in the living room.
Amused and slightly annoyed, I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
Fuckers.
That wasn’t the end of the playlist, though. The next song was ‘Unchained Melody’ and after that, ‘Whip It’.
“You’re an asshole, Travis!” I shouted, trying not to laugh.
However, it was the last song that cut my amusement short. It was Rhianna’s ‘S&M’. It brought back memories of the first night I saw Ellie—before I even knew it was her.
This was the first song we ever danced to. I wasn’t familiar with it at the time, but I recognized it now. Just thinking about that night had my cock hardening. Again.
Glancing at the clock, all I could do was count down the minutes until Ellie got back.
“I found the key!” I announced as I entered Colton’s apartment, but the last word ended with a frightened screech because two people I’d never met before were sitting on the couch, looking at me expectantly and grinning from ear to ear.
“You must be Brielle,” the pretty, petite blonde girl said, bouncing up and down with excitement, causing the springs under the cushion to squeak a little.
“You must be Angel.” I recognized her from a couple of pictures I’d seen in the living room. Then I looked at the guy sitting next to her. “And you’re Travis.”
“Yep,” he replied, and they both stood up to walk over to me.
“It’s so great to finally meet you,” Angel gushed. “All my best friends are, like, eighty years old, but it would be so great to hang out with someone close to my own age sometimes.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” I said, a little taken aback at how friendly she was. She was so happy to see me. Her messy side-braid bounced on her shoulder as she hopped from one foot to the other.
“So, tell us about yourself. Are you hungry? Do you like sloppy joes? They’re kind of my specialty,” she said without taking a breath, making it all sound like one long sentence.
Chuckling, Travis put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Don’t scare her away, baby,” he muttered in her ear.
Not sure which question I was supposed to answer first, I just smiled and shrugged. “I love sloppy joes.”
“I can teach you how to make them,” Angel said, linking her arm with mine and guiding me into the kitchen. “It’s so easy and everyone loves them. So, Colton says you have a daughter?”
Smiling, I nodded and set my purse on the counter. “Ava. She’s three.”
Looking amused, Travis took a seat on one of the folding chairs at the small table, crossing his arms over his chest. His hair fell into his eyes. He just pushed it back and continued to watch Angel, who I realized was still talking.
“You’ll have to let us meet her sometime,” she said, opening the fridge and grabbing the hamburger, ketchup, and mustard. She set them next to the stove. “I would totally babysit for you. I know you don’t know me or anything, but I would love that. I’m a certified in-home health aide, so I’d say I’m sort of responsible. I mostly care for the elderly, but kids can’t be any more cantankerous than my clients.” She ended her rambling with a giggle.
I was about to thank her for the offer, because anyone who was willing to babysit had my full appreciation, but Colton’s voice echoed through the apartment.
“I’m glad you’re all getting along,” he called from the bedroom. “But can I get a little help in here?”
All three of us burst out laughing and my face heated up with embarrassment. I covered my burning cheeks, and Angel snorted into her hand. The ambush meeting had caused me to completely forget that Colton was still handcuffed to the bed.
“I’m gonna give him so much shit about this,” Travis muttered while trying to cover his grin.
“And I’m starving so, yes, Angel, sloppy joes would be awesome!” Colton called out again, causing us all to laugh some more.
“I should probably go unchain him.” Clutching the key in my hand, I made an awkward exit from the kitchen.
What could have been a really uncomfortable situation for everyone involved ended up being one of the best afternoons I’d had in a long time.
After detaching Colton from the headboard, he’d rolled us until I was pinned underneath him, then kissed me until I was out of breath and wishing we were alone. When he said the handcuffs and the key would be staying at his place for the foreseeable future, I couldn’t argue.
My first impression of Travis and Angel? They were unbelievably in love. When Travis smiled at her, dimples popped up on his cheeks and I literally saw her swoon.
Since there were only three chairs, Travis pulled Angel onto his lap as we ate dinner. Every now and then, she would brush his hair off his forehead for him and sometimes he would playfully nip at her fingers, causing her to giggle.
For a second, I was a little bit jealous. But when I glanced over at Colton, the same enamored expression was displayed on his face. And he was looking at me that way.
“So,” Travis started, “I have to imagine you have some pretty funny stories about this guy,” he said to me, and Colton glared at both of us.
“The best,” I agreed. “Unfortunately, we pinky swore to keep all our secrets hidden.” I mock pouted. “I can’t go against the pinky swear.”
“Well, I never swore on anything,” Travis said, grinning over at Colton. “Did you know this fucker picked a fight with me because of you?”
“The letter,” I gasped. “This is the neighbor you punched in the face?” I asked, pointing at Travis.
Laughing, Colton nodded.
From the matching smile on Travis’s face, I could tell there were no hard feelings about the scuffle.
“Tell her about that camping trip when we were thirteen.” Travis threw a piece of popcorn into his mouth.
Colton guffawed then ran a hand down his face. “We were pretty ornery.”
“You don’t say,” I said sarcastically, imagining all the trouble he could have caused as a teenager.
Ignoring my jab, he playfully pinched my chin before continuing. “My dad took us to Wyoming that summer. The campsite we were staying at had one of those buildings with the big bathrooms. Outside, there were a few vending machines and for some reason, there was this giant stuffed bear—like a real bear.” Colton paused. “What’s the word for when they take a real animal and make it into a statue?”
“Taxidermy?” I supplied, my lips tipping up because no story could have a good ending when taxidermy was involved.
Colton snapped his fingers. “That’s it. Anyway, Travis and I thought it would be really funny if we took it and put it in the women’s shower stall.”
Angel and I both gasped, a bit horrified to realize how this might have ended for the poor women of that campsite.
Our concerns were confirmed when Travis finished the story. “About 6 o’clock in the morning, we hear all these screams.” He laughed. “Woke up everyone within a quarter-mile radius.”
“Somehow, my dad knew we did it,” Colton chimed in. “But he was too busy laughing about it to punish us.”
“You guys are terrible,” Angel scolded while trying to fight a smile.
“It didn’t go completely unpunished,” Travis told us as his hand absentmindedly ran through Angel’s blonde
strands.
Colton sent Travis a half-hearted scowl. “That’s for sure. During the struggle to get the bear through the doorway, Travis dropped it on my big toe.”
“I did not,” he argued. “That was all you.”
“Either way, that shit hurt. My toenail got all black and blue. Oozed for a week before it finally fell off,” he said with a grimace, and Angel and I both scrunched up our faces at the mental image.
“That’s disgusting,” Travis said as he flicked a piece of popcorn across the table.
Catching it mid-air, Colton threw it back at him and it landed in Angel’s hair.
“Hey!” she laughed, picking the kernel out and tossing it into a nearby trash can.
Now that I was seeing Colton and Travis together, I could understand the strong bond they had. Colton was right about them being like brothers.
An almost foreign kind of happiness came over me—something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I hadn’t been part of a group of friends since high school. As I looked around the flimsy card table and took in the happy faces around me, I started to feel like I was part of the group. Like I belonged.
The next couple weeks passed in a blur of work and stolen moments with my girls.
Ellie and I kept the routine of having dates on Sundays, but finding time to see each other had been difficult with her classes and our work schedules. When we got to be alone, we spent most of the time holed up in my bedroom playing, teasing, laughing, and fucking.
I couldn’t really call it fucking, though.
Because it was so much more than that.
A few nights a week I went to Caged because being near her, watching her, was better than not seeing her at all. Sometimes we got carried away after her shift in the parking lot, which resulted in me dragging ass the next day.
Totally worth it, though.
On Thursday afternoons, I got to hang out with Ava. Today Ellie dropped her off at my apartment, and it was the first time she’d been here.
As she sat down in the chair at the kitchen table, I realized I might have to invest in a booster seat. Her chin barely made it over the tabletop. The thought of filling my place with kid stuff made me excited.
She would need toys. And DVDs. Maybe a few changes of clothes. I would have to ask Ellie what size Ava was so I could pick up some outfits next time I was at Walmart. And kids liked coloring books, right? Building the list in my head, I made a mental note to pick up some of those awesome little juice boxes.
“What’s that?” Ava interrupted my thoughts as she eyed the paper plate I set in front of her.
“It’s a ketchup and mustard sandwich,” I replied.
Her eyes almost bugged out of her head while her face twisted up like she had smelled something bad.
I laughed at her reaction.
She grinned up at me. “Are you just joking me?”
“Nope. It’s the best sandwich ever,” I said, and her smile fell. She looked skeptical. “Seriously,” I insisted. “Just try it.”
Pursing her lips, she picked up one quarter of the sandwich and took the smallest nibble possible. After chewing and swallowing, she glanced at me and took a bigger bite. She made a sound of contentment before plowing through the rest.
Success. The kid devoured it. In fact, she’d eaten it so fast I hadn’t even had time to sit down yet.
“That was really good,” she said enthusiastically, smiling up at me with her cheeks decorated in red and yellow.
“You mean to tell me your mom has never made you one of those before?” I asked, and Ava shook her head.
Maybe Ellie forgot about our favorite food as kids, but when I tried to think of something Ava might like a ketchup and mustard sandwich had been at the top of the list. Obviously, it’d been a great idea because now Ava sat back and patted her stomach, full and satisfied.
I finished off my own dinner in about three bites, then we settled down on the couch to watch some TV. Flipping through the channels, I passed the news, some sports, and more news. Not exactly the most interesting stuff.
Seeming a little bored and restless, Ava turned to me. “Can we go to the mall?”
I looked at the clock, realizing Ellie was supposed to come pick Ava up in half an hour.
“I don’t think we’ll have time today, Bug,” I said with a frown. I hated saying no to her. “Maybe next time, though.”
“Can we go to a biiiig mall someday?” Her hands went out in a wide arc over her head.
I laughed. “What kind of big mall?”
“Yike… Like a new super big mall. Yeah. With lots and lots and lots of new toys and stuff.”
I didn’t know much about malls but I remembered one over in Indiana that I went to as a kid with my dad after we moved to Tolson. We didn’t have a lot of money for family vacations, so our trips usually consisted of either camping, or visiting new places close to home.
“It’s definitely a possibility,” I told her, causing her face to light up and my heart to swell. “I’ll talk to your mom about it.”
She snuggled up to me and focused her attention back on the TV. I tried to find some kid shows, but I realized I didn’t have any family-based channels in my cable package.
That would have to change.
We ended up deciding on Funniest Home Videos and we both laughed at the wedding bloopers. People fell down while dancing. A bride’s skirt got ripped off halfway down the aisle. A flower girl tripped face-first into the cake.
“Are you gonna marry my mom?” Ava’s curious question caused my heart to skip a beat.
“I don’t know,” I told her, having to hold myself back from tell her how much I wanted that. “People usually date for a while before they decide to get married. Get to know each other first.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “That’s just the way it is.”
She got quiet for a second. “But you already know her.”
I looked down at her serious face. “Yeah, I guess I do. Did you know your mom and I used to be best friends when we were kids?”
She nodded. “Yep. Can you tell me a story about it?”
Just then, my phone pinged with an incoming text.
Ellie: Done with class. I’ll be heading your way soon.
Me: Awesome. We’re just hanging out. By the way, I have a boner pic with you.
Ellie: A dick pic? How romantic.
I reread the message I sent her. Annoyed, I rolled my eyes at my phone’s inability to be normal. I seriously needed to get this thing checked out.
Me: Dammit. Autocorrect is a pervert. I have a bone to pick with you.
Ellie: Oh. I liked the original text better.
Me: You’ve deprived your child of ketchup and mustard sandwiches. How could you?
A minute ticked by and I wondered if she was going to reply. When she did, I was reminded again of just how deep her feelings for me went.
Ellie: The truth is I haven’t had one since the day you moved away. It just wasn’t the same without you.
A sigh came from next to me on the couch and I glanced down to see an impatient expression on Ava’s face.
“Did you forget about my story?” she whispered, as though she didn’t want to disturb my phone conversation.
“Nope. Just give me one sec,” I told her and typed out a quick message.
Me: Well you have me now.
Setting my phone down on the coffee table, I turned my full attention to Ava. “When your mom was about six years old—”
“Is that really old?” she interrupted.
“Nope. Only a couple years older than you. Do you know how old I am?” I asked, curious about what her answer would be.
She put her hand out and made a shrugging gesture. “Ninety-six?”
I threw my head back and laughed. “I’m twenty-two. Good guess, though. Anyway, we were at the park a couple blocks away from my house. We took our shoes off to play in the sand box and when your mom got out, she stepped on bumblebee—”
; “Are bumblebees mean?” she cut in.
“Not all of them, but this one was. He wasn’t happy about being stepped on and he stung her.” I remembered the way Ellie’s foot had swelled, how much she’d cried, and how scared I’d been—but I left the gory details out. “I was really worried about her and I knew we needed to get home. I carried her the whole way.”
“You musta been really strong,” Ava concluded.
“Well, it wasn’t easy. Back then, your mom and I were about the same size.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “Boys and girls are the same size sometimes.”
She paused, thinking with narrowed eyes and her lips twisting to the side. I loved the way her mind worked, loved watching her process the information I just gave her.
“You carried her for miles?” she asked, her eyes getting big on the word ‘miles’.
I ruffled her hair. “Two blocks. It kind of felt like miles, though. But I did it because I loved her.”
“Do you still yuv her?”
I nodded. “Yep. I still love her.”
“Your hair is getting kind of long,” Ava said, running a hand over the top of my head.
“Hmm, I guess you’re right,” I agreed, realizing it’d been a couple weeks since I’d buzzed it. “How would you like to help me cut it?”
“Really?!” she asked excitedly, as if I’d just offered to buy her an island. If I’d known cutting my hair was going to make her that happy, I would’ve suggested it sooner.
She followed me to the bathroom, hopping and skipping the whole way.
After getting out my hair-cutting tools, I put a towel around my shoulders and set Ava up on the bathroom sink so she could reach my head. I held onto her legs to steady her while she clumsily ran the electric clippers over my scalp.
“Am I doing a good job?” she asked, coming dangerously close to one of my eyebrows.
“You sure are.” I had no idea what my hair was going to look like after she was done, but I didn’t tell her that. Besides, there wasn’t any way to mess up a buzz-cut.
The Good Guys Box Set: TRUCKER, DANCER, DROPOUT, and A Trucker Wedding Page 39