by Tessa Teevan
“Momma, I just want to be there in the middle of all the action. It’ll make things easier for when we’re drinking and catching up.”
“Yeah, Beth, he wants to be in the middle of the action…and away from Mom and Dad’s house so he can get some action,” my dad says, laughing and slapping his knee like he just said the funniest thing ever.
“Patrick Sean McAllister! You hush your mouth when talking about my baby boy!”
“Baby boy? Hate to break it to you, but your boy hasn’t been a baby for over twenty-seven years. He’s a man now. He’s been to war and back more than once. I think your baby boy’s all grown up now,” my dad says, chuckling.
“He’ll always be my baby, no matter how old he gets or where he goes,” my mom comments as she sets breakfast down in front of me.
It’s true that I’m the baby in the family. My older brother Clay lives down in Orlando with his wife, Abby, and their two kids while my sister Carrie lives around the corner from my parents. She’s been married to her husband, Mark, for a couple of years now. I’m the last to settle down and my momma doesn’t let me forget it. Growing up, of course, she always thought that Alexa and I would end up together, so she was a bit heartbroken when I left for the Army and lost any chance at that relationship. She’s made comments here and there over the years because she’s kept in touch with Mrs. Sullivan. In fact, my parents were invited to the freaking wedding but weren’t able to make it.
“So, Jace, do you know if Sierra and Jeremy are coming for the reunion?” my mom asks, and I know what her next question is going to be.
“Actually, Sierra’s on the committee, so yeah, they’ll both be there.”
“I hope I get a chance to see them and that they bring their sweet baby girl. Sierra’s mom is always posting pictures of her online.”
“Momma, they’re bringing her. In fact, a few weeks ago Jeremy told me that Alexa is coming with them to act as her nanny so they can go out to all the reunion events child-free,” I say, bracing myself for my mother’s reaction.
“Jace Michael! Alexa Sullivan is coming to town and you didn’t bother to tell me?” my mother huffs.
“It’s Alexa Tate, and no, I’ve tried not to think about it. You know I haven’t talked to her in years.”
“I know, honey. It’s so sad what happened to her young husband. I would’ve told you, but you never seemed to want to talk about her when I brought her up. Regardless, no woman should have to deal with burying her husband at such a young age. I know the Sullivans were really worried about her for a while.”
“I had no idea about it until a few months ago. I’m going to try and see if we can find some sort of friendship again. Sometimes I just want to hit myself for what happened. If I had treated things differently then we’d at least still be friends and maybe I could’ve been there for her. Instead I screwed everything up and we’ve spent the last ten years not speaking,” I say, rubbing my hands over my face, trying to forget the distance between us.
“Oh, Jace. You let your heart speak before you followed your dreams. You tried to find her, but life’s circumstances got in the way. It happens. That’s life. All you can do now is move forward.”
I know she’s right, but I have this restless feeling in my heart knowing that I’m soon going to be seeing the woman I’ve been ridiculously pining for over the last decade and a half. I have no idea how I’m going to approach her, if I’ll even be able to. We’re obviously not going to pick up where we left off, although the thought of Alexa straddling my lap in the moonlight is quite appealing. My dick twitches at the thought and I hurry to switch my mind to something less erotic. The last thing I need is to be sporting an erection in front of my parents on my first day home.
“I’m gonna head to the beach to catch some sun. This farmer’s tan from my uniform is just not cutting it,” I say as I get up from the breakfast bar. “I probably won’t be back before the reunion events tonight, so I’ll stop by sometime tomorrow.”
“Come over anytime, honey. And be careful. You have a sweet heart, and I don’t want you to get hurt,” my mom replies, giving me a kiss on the cheek before taking my dishes away from the bar.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m a grown-ass man. I can protect myself,” I chuckle, and my dad just shakes his head, smiling at me as I leave the room.
“WELL, IF it ain’t Jace freakin’ McAllister?!” I hear, the high-pitched voice pulling me out of the sun-induced nap I’d fallen into while listening to the sounds of the ocean.
I open my eyes and shield them with my arm to see who’s interrupting the most peaceful nap I’ve had in a long time. Not being able to see because of the bright sunrays reflecting off of the white sand, I sit up and come face to face with Sierra Banks. I immediately jump to my feet and look around as I absentmindedly greet her.
Sierra laughs as she says, “You haven’t changed a bit. She’s not down here, so you can stop the search party your eyes are currently on.” I look down at her as she wraps her arms around me in a hug. “It’s so good to see you,” she claims.
I try to hide my disappointment as I return the hug. “Good to see you, too, Sierra. And for your information, I was looking to see if Jeremy was with you,” I lie.
“Whatever. You never could fool me, and you’re not going to start now. Jeremy went to see some of the guys from the football team. Alexa and Ava are up in the condo taking a nap. The flight wore them out, I guess,” she says, pointing up to resort where I’m staying. I turn and look, scanning the balconies to catch a glimpse of her. We’re too far away for me to make anyone out, so I look back at Sierra.
“That’s cool that she could come so that you guys can join in on all the events this weekend. Hopefully I get a chance to meet your daughter. I can’t imagine Jeremy as a dad,” I laugh, recalling the goofy guy from high school.
“Trust me, you’re not the only one, but he’s the best. Ava’s the ultimate definition of a daddy’s girl, and he’s just as hooked. Anyway, his parents decided to come in town and they’ll be taking her for the night,” she tells me with a smirk on her face.
I play it off and act like I don’t know what she’s trying to say. “Oh, I didn’t know they’d moved.”
“Yeah, they decided to move to Ohio after Ava was born. They wanted to be near their only grandchild. It’s actually been really nice having them around. They’re a lot of help with her. They figured they’d come down this weekend and see some old friends. I think they really just didn’t want to miss her first experience at the beach. It all worked out just fine, especially since that means that Lexi can go out with us tonight when everyone meets at the bar.”
Before I can help myself, a smile comes to my lips. “Ah, um, yeah, it’ll be good to see her, too. Hopefully we can catch up.”
“I think you’ll have plenty of time for that this weekend.”
“So, umm, a couple of months ago I saw online about her husband. How is she?”
“Jace McAllister, were you Facebook stalking?” Sierra teases.
With what I’m pretty sure is a bashful grin spreads on my face, I admit it.
“I didn’t even know you used it anymore. You hardly ever add anything on there. Anyways, she’s doing okay. For a while she wasn’t eating and she’d barely leave the house, but over the past few months, she’s started coming out of her shell a little bit. She still has dark circles under her eyes, so I don’t think she’s sleeping well, but for the most part, I think she’ll be okay. It was just…a lot to take in. For all of us.”
I let out a deep breath as her words sink in. “Man, I hate that. It makes me even angrier at myself for letting our friendship go. I wish I could’ve been there for her.”
Sierra looks at me as she places her hand on my arm. “Jace, you can’t worry about that. You didn’t know. How could you have? All you can do is be here for her now. I don’t know that she’ll open up to you about it, but be patient with her, okay? She’s been hurting for a long time. I think you may be exa
ctly what she needs to heal.”
“You always knew, didn’t you?”
She smiles and gives me a knowing look. “Everyone knew. Except for the two of you. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen two people be so oblivious to the other’s affections. I know something happened before you left, but Lexi wouldn’t ever tell me. Care to spill?” she asks, cocking up her right brow.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mrs. Banks,” I reply as I try to maintain a look of pure innocence.
“Right. You always had a shitty poker face. Fine, don’t tell me. I’ll wait until tonight when you’re full of alcohol to get it out of you. I’m gonna head back in and rest up for tonight. I can’t drink like an eighteen-year-old anymore. See you tonight, Jace,” she says, giving me a hug before she walks away.
I glance down at my watch and see that it’s almost 3:00 p.m. Six hours until we’re all supposed to meet at the bar. Six hours until Alexa Sullivan Tate walks back into my life. Six long freaking hours until my life feels complete again.
I CLOSE the door to the bedroom quietly as not to wake Ava up from her nap. Grabbing my Kindle out of my purse, I pour myself a glass of sweet tea and head to the balcony. I settle on a lounge chair, all prepared to dive into Kristen Ashley’s latest novel, Breathe. This woman makes me want to pack my bags and move to Colorado in order to find a bad-ass Alpha man. You know, if I ever plan on finding a man again. As I power up my Kindle, all ready to get to know Chace and Faye, I look out onto the white sands as they meet the glistening emerald water. Spotting Sierra, I notice that she’s standing next to a tall, familiar figure. I can’t make out his face, but I know it’s him. She’s pointing up towards the condo, so I shrink down in the lounge chair. I am so not ready to be seen by him.
A few minutes later, Sierra finds me still crouching down in the chair, completely lost in my book. She pulls the other chair closer to me and plops down.
“Why does it look like you’re hiding?” she asks.
I look up from my Kindle and nonchalantly reply, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just lounging and reading.”
She laughs. “Right. You look extremely uncomfortable. I’m guessing you saw who I was talking to on the beach?”
“I saw you talking to someone, but I couldn’t tell who,” I say with a faked indifference.
“Well, don’t worry, he couldn’t see you either. He asked about you. Said he was looking forward to seeing you.”
I sigh. “Sierra, don’t push it. Please. I agreed to come out tonight, but please don’t make it uncomfortable for me.”
“Since when has being around Jace made you uncomfortable?” she asks, raising that stupid right eyebrow that lets me know she’s onto me.
“Oh, I don’t know, since I offered my virginity to him and he walked away from me!” I gasp as I realize what I just said, thankful I stopped before telling her what else happened.
Sierra’s eyes widen as she exclaims, “You did what?!”
I stand up and start to make my way back into the condo. “Nothing. Forget I said anything.”
“Alexa Leigh, sit your ass down and tell me what happened. Now! You can’t say that and not elaborate.”
I stop and sit back down on the lounge chair. Letting out a deep breath, I figure I need to just to say it quickly. Like ripping off a Band-Aid. Quick and only slightly painful.
“The night of the graduation party, Jace told me that he had feelings for me. He went down on me, I offered my virginity, and he stopped, said he couldn’t do it, and walked away. I literally threw myself at him until he agreed to be my first. And then he left the next day and I never heard from him again!” I say as fast as possible, hoping the words run together so she doesn’t actually hear what I’m saying.
Sierra just stares at me as I try my hardest to look anywhere but at her face. She busts out laughing, falling back onto the lounge chair as she holds her stomach.
“I’m so glad you find this amusing. Now you know why I never told you!”
“I’m sorry. I really am. I just can’t believe it. Everyone but you knew that he was insanely crazy about you and he chose to tell you on his last night here? Then he left you with blue lips but later came back and he took your virginity after you tackled him?!”
“Oh my God, you did not just say that. Blue lips? Is that even a thing?”
“Yeah, you know, like blue balls. Maybe blue clit would be better?” she squeals, falling into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
“What the hell’s so funny?” Jeremy asks, suddenly appearing in the balcony doorway holding a sleepy looking Ava.
“Jace gave Alexa blue clitoris!” Sierra proclaims.
I smack my hand to my forehead, wondering why in the hell I thought telling Sierra would be a good idea. Clearly I’m an idiot who needs to learn how to keep her mouth shut.
“No he didn’t. He just tried to, but I wouldn’t let him walk away,” I explain, wishing the floor would just swallow me up whole.
Jeremy looks at me with pity. “No way! No wonder you didn’t talk to him for so long. In ninth grade Mandy Simpson went to give me a hand job but chickened out halfway through. She said it was taking too long or something. I spent the rest of the party with a hard-on and it fucking hurt! I never spoke to that tease again.”
Sierra slaps Jeremy on the arm, and he gives her a sheepish grin then kisses her on the nose.
“What? I’m just telling Lexi here that I understand her pain. Jace will never live this down!”
I jump up from the chair. “Oh, no no no. You cannot say a word to him. Nothing, I mean it, or so help me, Jeremy, I’ll…kick you so hard that you’ll wish you only had blue balls!”
Jeremy moves to shield himself as he looks at me in horror. “That is not something to joke about, woman! Fine, I won’t say anything. I need to protect the Banks family jewels.”
I glare at him as I head into the condo. “Just remember that when we’re around Jace, got it?”
He stands up straight and gives me a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am!”
NOT ABLE to stand pacing around my condo any longer, I head down the block to Helen Back, a local dive bar that serves the best pizza in the Florida panhandle along with pretty cheap beer. It’s the perfect place to kick off the reunion. I walk around back and head to the patio. The official kickoff isn’t for another hour, but there are already quite a few of my old classmates here. My eyes take a quick scan of the room. You know, just seeing who’s all here. And who’s not. Looks like I made it here first. I grab a beer and take a seat in the far corner of the bar where my seat faces the door. Yeah, I’m being the creeper sitting in the corner, hopelessly staring at the door, waiting for this girl to walk back into my life.
Over the next forty-five minutes, I’m distracted by old friends joining the table and catching me up on all I’ve missed since I’ve been gone.
Ryan Harper heads over to the table with a pitcher of beer and a tray full of shots. He passes them around and places two in front of me.
I look at him, confused, and before I can comment, he laughs and say, “Dude, you obviously need to liquor up. Your leg hasn’t stopped shaking and you’ve been serenading us with the drumming of your fingers on the table since you got here. What the hell has you so anxious, man?”
Looking down at my hands, I realize that he’s right. Shit. Why the hell am I so nervous? I’m twenty-eight freaking years old, I’ve gone to war more times than I can count, and I’ve been within seconds of a bomb blast tearing my body apart. I should be able to handle one damn reunion. I mean, how bad can it be? We were always close. There’s no reason we can’t be anymore. Yeah, except you took her virginity on the same night you told her that you cared about her and then left her. I quickly take the shot of tequila that was set down in front of me.
“Shit, man, what is that?” I growl at Ryan as I take a swig of my beer to wash the taste of cheap tequila out of my mouth.
Ryan grins, “Whatever the house stuff is. I
can’t be getting Patron when I’m buying a round. You’ve got another one there. Bottoms up.”
I shake my head, because not only is there no way that I’m letting that liquid go down my throat again, I also don’t want to be trashed when Alexa finally shows up. Which, by looking at my watch, should be any moment now. I shoot a quick glance at the door as it opens. I hold my breath and exhale with disappointment when an older couple walks in. I check my watch again. Any minute now.
I’M FURIOUSLY going through my luggage and pulling out every outfit I brought. I had no idea I’d be going out to a bar on my first night here, so I’m a little out of sorts. Not to mention I didn’t think I’d see Jace so soon. I mean, sure, deep down I knew we couldn’t be in the same town without running into each other, but on the first night? I guess I have Sierra to thank for that. Sneaky, meddling Sierra. I’ve changed my clothes three times already, completely unsatisfied with each outfit.
“Alexa, you have ten minutes or we’re leaving without you!” she yells from the living room.
Oh good. I can just hide out for ten minutes, they’ll leave, and then I can put on my comfy clothes and spend the night with a bottle of wine and my Kindle. Yeah, that sounds much better than meeting face to face with my past.
Ten minutes later, Sierra and Jeremy walk into my room, presumably looking for me and wondering why the hell I’m not dressed.
“What the hell?” I hear Jeremy mutter as one of them stumbles to find the light switch. The room is suddenly illuminated as they find me sitting in the corner in the dark.
Sierra laughs, “Umm, what exactly are you doing?” as she walks over to me and pulls me up.
“I’m hiding. You said I had ten minutes. I was waiting for you to leave before I came out,” I say, giving her a sheepish smile.
She pulls me towards the bed where all my clothes are strewn about. Going through my outfits, she comments, “No way are you getting out of this tonight. You’re coming with us and you’re going to have fun. No sulking. Seriously, I don’t get it. You guys were thick as thieves back in the day, and now you’re scared to even see him? I don’t get you.”