by Sam Crescent
At one, the bar closed, and Trey took a beer with him and went for a walk. He needed to clear his head. Something was completely off with how he was feeling.
Since graduation he didn’t have to think about June or how he’d bullied her through high school. Seeing her again had awoken all the guilt, and the hunger still simmered deep inside him.
He wanted her badly.
Max was right. June was a hottie. He’d always thought so, and time had only enhanced her beauty.
Moving from classroom to classroom he remembered looking for her. She was the only girl in high school with dark black hair that was natural and not out of a bottle, and she always walked with her head bowed down.
There were times he wanted to see her blue eyes so he’d knock the books right out of her hands. He always felt like an ass, but at least he got a glimpse at her eyes. The worst was getting shit faced at prom, taking his date to a motel and fucking her. All the time he’d been fucking her, his thoughts were on June. She’d gone to prom, without a date, and she’d looked stunning.
The black full length dress she’d worn had molded to every curve. He’d spent most of the night rock hard, his date thinking she was the cause of his aroused state.
Circling back to town, he kicked an empty beer can across the street heading toward his shop. The buzz of the alcohol was fading. He’d walked his way to being sober.
He saw the light shining in Just Another Slice. Stopping at the entrance to his shop he watched as June made her way around the bakery. She wore an apron, and from across the way he saw her face covered in flour.
Walking toward the door, Trey knocked on the glass.
She jumped, looking at him.
Trey waved at her.
****
June looked at the window and saw Trey waving back at her. He looked rough through the glass. Heading toward the door, she unlocked it and opened the door.
“What do you want?” she asked, frowning.
“I was wondering what you’re doing up.”
“Are you drunk?”
“A little.” He smiled down at her. It gave him a dorky look.
“Then why are you here?” she asked, folding her arms.
“I thought I’d come and see you. Your light was on and everything.”
She stared at him, looking past his shoulder.
“I’m alone. No friends with me today. I’m alone.”
“What do you want?”
“How about I keep you company?” he asked.
Why would he keep her company?
“If you’ve been drinking, where’s your woman? I’ve heard legends of how you take more than one woman at a time.”
Trey let out a sigh. “I’m ruined for all women.”
“Whatever. I’ve got work to do. You should go home and sleep it off.” She didn’t close the door. “Fine, you can stay for one hour, but then you’ve got to leave. I’m not having you here all the time.”
She let him through. The stench of alcohol clung to him making her wince.
He followed her down to the back where the large industrial sized mixer was kneading her dough. Trey sat down on the spare seat she kept in the back.
“Are you always up this late?” he asked.
“Do you always spend your Saturdays walking around drunk?” She fired a question back at him.
“I’m an artist. I always have to clear my head. Speaking of artistry, would you like me to ink your beautiful skin?”
Rolling her eyes, June ignored him.
“I see you ignoring me, June Armstrong.”
Considering he was drunk, he sounded pretty coherent to her.
She went through her morning routine, drinking coffee and transferring stuff from the oven through to the main shop.
“I get up at four and start baking by four-thirty. It’s now five-thirty, and it’s time for you to go.”
“Answer me one question and I’ll leave you alone,” he said, standing up.
“Fine.” She headed for the door intent on getting him out of her shop as quickly as she could.
“Why don’t you want me to ink you?” he asked.
“Are you drunk?”
“No.”
“Out of everything you could ask me, you want to know why I don’t want you to ink me?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t trust bullies. You’re a bully, Trey. I wouldn’t have you come near my body even if you were a doctor intent on saving my life. I’ve already got ink from someone else I trust. I don’t want or need you to ink me.”
She shoved him out of the door and locked it behind her.
Her heart was racing at her words. She wished she hadn’t spoken at all. When she was in the comfort and safety of the back of the shop, she pressed her head against the refrigerator. Why did he make her lose control of her emotions? She never held a grudge, but with Trey and his friends she couldn’t get past it.
It’s in the past. It’s in the past.
The weight hadn’t fallen off, but she was confident now in herself. She was more than happy with her life.
Going through the motions of the morning she tried to cut all other thoughts out of her mind. At seven Molly walked through with Luke and Sasha trailing behind her.
June smiled at the two and turned a questioning glance at Molly.
“My parents were up all night drinking and fighting. They can’t have them this morning. My babysitter has informed me that Saturday mornings are her mornings, and I’ve got no one else to look out for them. I’m on my own,” Molly said.
Kneeling down in front of the two kids June smiled at each of them ruffling their hair in turn. “You two look tired. Would you like some toast with jam and if I can talk your mommy into it, maybe a cookie?”
Sasha wrapped her arms around her neck. June really did adore these kids.
“You’re like the best boss ever,” Molly said.
June chuckled and headed toward the back, setting up a table for the two little devils. She sectioned off the bakery so they wouldn’t be a problem to their own safety. After getting each of them to promise not to scream or to move outside of the gate, June found Molly in the back.
“Are you all right?” June asked, folding her arms under her breasts.
Molly’s eyes filled with tears. “No, I’m not okay.”
June saw how broken the other woman was. “Do you need to talk about it?”
“I don’t know. It’s going to be a hard couple of weeks. My parents are now refusing to look after them. I couldn’t tell you the truth in front of them. Mom called them bastards and said until I introduced them to their father, she wasn’t helping out anymore.” The tears started to fall.
June listened, keeping an eye on the shop door. From the spot she was standing she kept a good eye on the shop and the kids as well.
“The babysitter thing is the truth. The girl is seventeen with her whole life ahead of her. I knew what it was like at that age.” Molly looked up at the ceiling, the tears falling down her face. “I thought I was over this.”
“They’re great kids, Molly. I don’t mind having them here.”
“It’s not that. No, I’m not going to say it. It’s selfish.”
“What? What is it?” June asked.
“Sometimes I feel I made a mistake. I mean, I love my babies, but getting knocked up at eighteen was never my intention. And it was the worst mistake of my life.” Molly dropped her face into her hands. “What kind of a mother thinks that?”
June walked toward her and hugged her. “I think a lot of young mothers think the same thing. Being a parent is not easy.”
“How would you know?” Molly asked.
“I watch you, and I had another friend at college who was doing it. It’s not easy.” June smiled at her. “I admire you for doing what you do, and if you don’t want to talk about their dad, then don’t.”
“You’re the first person to ever say that,” Molly said.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m
awesome.”
They both started laughing.
“How was your Friday night?” Molly asked, changing the subject.
June told her what she did, what book she read and the hot chocolate she had. Molly knew she was always awake early to start working in the bakery. “Oh, Trey decided to stop by. He was drunk out of his face and all that. I don’t really know why he even bothered. The guy was one mean person back then.”
“Trey’s a good guy, but I remember what he was like also. I’m sorry you had to put up with the meanness and bullying.”
The alarm in the back went off letting June know something had finished baking. She excused herself and went to see what was done. Her thoughts were not her own. June kept trying to think of something else or someone else other than Trey.
She hated him. The guy was a bully.
After she finished stocking up the breads and topping the cupcakes with the whipped cream, she went and sat with Molly’s two children. They were so sweet and caring.
A bruise had formed around Sasha’s eye from the fight the other day. She tried to draw the young girl into a conversation, but nothing was happening. Sasha was as quiet as her mother. June knew all about keeping stuff buried deep inside. Her biggest shame was having a crush on the sexiest guy she’d ever known, only to have him bully her. Yeah, she hated her own weakness when it came to Trey Hunt.
Chapter Four
Waking up to a pounding headache was not something Trey enjoyed. He didn’t think he’d drunk that much, but from the pounding he was taking, it was clearly not the case. Getting out of bed did not seem like a good idea either. Pressing his palms to his eyes, Trey groaned.
He needed aspirin, and he needed it now.
Stumbling out of bed he went straight to the bathroom where a tub of aspirin lay. Swilling out the glass beside the sink, he filled it with fresh water and took the pills. Once he was done, he started running a shower. A clear head would be good right about now. Saturdays were always slow days for him. His first client wasn’t until one.
After he’d showered, brushed his teeth, and finally started to feel like a human being, he headed downstairs. The building had three stories. The main floor was where his tattoo parlor lay. The second floor was living and dining room area with the top floor being his sleeping and washing space. He loved it.
When he woke up he could go into his shop without any of the travelling time. It was the main reason why he wanted to buy the shop from Elliot Armstrong. He was saving as much as he could, but he’d not even approached the other man with a price. Since June had come back to Winters Fall, he was more nervous about asking for the price.
His door was being banged on as he made his way down to the kitchen. The side of the building had some backstairs, which led to the house.
Dale stood outside, shivering his ass off.
“What are you doing here?” Trey asked, letting him inside.
“Max is fucking all three of the women, and I’m tired of hearing the giggling. I’m telling you, listening to your mate come is the worst sound in the world.”
Trey laughed and headed back to cooking himself some breakfast. “Is there anything you want?”
“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
Nodding, Trey looked through his fridge getting out all the leftovers and then some bacon. He ate everything with bacon.
“It’s fucking freezing out there.”
“Did you take a chick home last night?” Trey asked.
“Nope. I went home alone, and then I spent most of the night listening to Max and the three women he brought home with him. I need to get a new place. Sharing a house was great when we were younger, but it’s wearing a little thin right now.”
There was a time when all three of them would be around the table eating food and talking about the chick they’d just banged.
“Trey, can I be honest with you about something?” Dale asked.
“Sure.”
“Do you know Molly’s two kids?”
He started laughing. “Of course I know them. I was accused of being the father to the first one, Sasha. I never touched her at all.”
Turning to look at his friend he saw the pale face staring back at him.
“What is it?” Trey asked.
“I’ve never told another living soul this, and I want you to keep it to yourself.”
“What?”
“I’m the father of those two kids.” Dale gave him a shaky smile.
Trey was confused. “What? How?”
“The usual way. We were fooling around when we were younger. No one knew we had a thing together.”
“Dude, that’s so uncool. She’s raising those babies all by herself. Why don’t you own up to them? They’re good kids. Fuck me, they’re great kids.”
If he’d knocked up any of the women he’d fucked he’d have stood by them. They’d be the mother of his kids.
“I proposed to her when she told me,” Dale said.
Serving up the breakfast, Trey took the seat opposite him, waiting for all the details.
“In high-school, we were both eighteen, and she told me outside of the girls’ bathroom. The halls were clear, it was deadly silent, and I got down on one knee and I asked her to marry me.”
There was no point asking what she said. Molly was an unwed mother.
“She told me no, and she didn’t want anyone knowing I was the father. I hated that. I was more than happy to marry her, and I didn’t push her, Trey. I got angry and told her to get an abortion. If she wasn’t going to own up to me then I didn’t want her having my kid.” Dale stopped, blowing out a breath. “She stormed off. We never spoke for a long time. She avoided me in the hallways, and I slept with other girls. It was over. For the next nine months I watched her get bigger and her stomach more rounded.” Dale looked lost in his own little world. “I couldn’t stop the wanting. I wanted more than anything to touch her stomach. It’s sick, right? I was eighteen, almost nineteen, and I just wanted to touch my baby. I put it inside her. It was mine. Molly was mine. The other women stopped after that.”
Trey listened to him, knowing he needed to get this off his chest.
“When she gave birth she let me hold Sasha for a couple of hours. I asked her again to marry me, and she refused.”
“Is Luke your boy as well?”
“Yeah, I slept with her after she refused my proposal. I must have proposed to that woman over a hundred times, and she still says no. Fuck if I know why.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Trey asked.
“Because I couldn’t keep it in anymore. I’m twenty-four years old, and I’m tired of hearing my roommate fuck countless women. I’ve not touched another woman in over three years. Molly has been the woman for me for a long time. I was too fucking stupid to see it.”
“What about all those tales you used to tell of your women?”
“Lies. I told stories. I support Molly as much as I can. I make sure she has plenty to eat and the bills are paid for. She doesn’t want anything from me, but I don’t know how much longer I can go on watching my kids grow up without me.”
It was so much to take in. the pain on Dale’s face was heartbreaking to see.
“Why did you tell me and not Max?”
“He can’t keep his mouth shut. I love him like a brother, but he doesn’t know when to stop.”
Trey understood that. Out of the three of them, Max was the most social, the most exciting. Trey knew he was starting to grow tired of the party scene. There had to be more to life than fucking countless women.
Fuck, when had he become such a pussy?
“If we’re being open and honest about shit then I may as well tell you that for as long as I can remember I’ve been into June Armstrong.”
He let the words settle between them. Never once had he said them out loud, not even to himself.
“You’ve got a thing for June? The woman across the street? The girl you used to bully along with Dale and me?”
/>
Throughout all the questions Dale asked, Trey nodded.
“Fuck, man, you’re in for some tough loving. There’s no way she’s going to fall for you. You’re like her biggest enemy.”
Trey told him everything that happened last night. “She told me if I was a doctor trying to save her life, she wouldn’t let me near her.”
“It seems we’ve both got problems,” Dale said. “At least you can try to fix yours and show June you’re a different guy than the ass you were to her.”
“Why can’t you fix your problem as well?” Trey asked.
“I’ve got to get past Molly’s defenses. She’s turned me down all this time. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get her to let me back on her team. You knew what you did wrong. I’ve not got a clue what I did wrong with Molly.”
Raising his cup of coffee to his lips, he took a sip.
“Then I guess we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“I feel sorry for you. I’ve never hurt Molly, but you’ve got a good five years of pain on June. She might never get past that.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve got to do something.”
“I’m here for you, buddy.”
Trey smiled. He was under no illusions that this was going to be easy. In fact he knew it was going to be downright difficult to draw June out.
****
For most of the morning June sat with Sasha and Luke in between her baking commitments. Saturdays were always slow days, which she was thankful for. After this morning with Trey she wasn’t ready to handle a rush. Molly stopped by to talk with her. From the look on the other woman’s face, Molly was glad of the peace while someone else looked after her kids.
June fed the kids at lunchtime and then decided she needed to get some work done otherwise she’d feel like a lazy person. June stayed in the back and began to clean the machines. Unlike through the week where she’d be making more breads and cakes, on Saturday she did the initial bake off, and then when the food was gone, it was gone.
“June, there’s someone here to see you,” Molly said, collecting her from the back.
Wiping her hands on a towel she followed her out to the front of the shop. Trey stood with a bouquet of red roses. She stopped and stared at them.