I sighed and took a larger gulp of my wine before saying, “What’s there to talk about? It’s out there.”
“Hmmm…” Was all she said as she sipped her own drink.
We sat there in silence for several moments before she said, “You know, I never knew you’d dated him.”
I shrugged. That wasn’t all that surprising. I wasn’t too forthcoming with information about my dating life. I figured when I had a serious relationship, I’d tell my parents. I had planned to tell them about August, but the relationship imploded before we got to that point.
I was taking another sip of my wine when my mom said, “I only say that because he lives across the street and he’s quite close to your father. I had no idea that man used to date you.”
I choked on my mouthful of wine and had to force myself to swallow quickly or risk spewing it from my mouth.
I coughed once my mouth was empty and looked at her. “What?”
I couldn’t have heard her right.
She nodded. “Yes. August, the man you’re pictured with that you used to date lives across the street in the old Vargo house.”
My mind flashed to the house she was talking about. An older couple had lived there when I was growing up. I knew they’d died a few years back, and that someone had bought the house, but I thought it had been a family since this was a family neighborhood.
“August lives there?”
My mom nodded again. “With his brother.”
My brows rose, and I leaned away so I could get a better look at her overall. “His brother?”
I knew I was repeating everything she was saying and likely sounding like a loon, but I didn’t care at that point.
Mom was nonplussed and just nodded as she sipped her wine without a care in the world. “Yes. August bought the house when he moved here and a few months later, his brother moved in with him.”
I just stared at her. It was like she didn’t even care that she was rocking the hell out of my world.
First, I discover that August was living in Sunnyville
Second, I discover they put our conversation in the town’s gossip column for everyone to see.
Third, I discover August lived across the street from my parents and had for years.
The cherry on top was discovering that he had a brother.
Yep, that’s right. I had no idea August had a brother.
I was reeling with this revelation. “What the fuck?” I muttered, guzzling my wine and trying not to wince at the sweet flavor.
I eyeballed my mom’s glass and wished I hadn’t given her so much now because I could use another glass. My other bottles wouldn’t be cold enough yet.
“Give me your glass,” my mom said.
I handed it to her and watched as she poured most of what was left in her glass into mine before handing it back.
“You are a saint,” I said, leaning over to kiss her cheek before sipping my wine.
“I know I am.”
I rolled my eyes. “So modest, too,” I teased as I chuckled. I needed that laugh.
“Yep.”
We lapsed into silence again, and I turned over the day’s revelations in my mind. I was sure the town would have a field day when they realized where August lived.
Though, what was to say they didn’t already know? They probably did.
This was just bizarre as fuck. I never in a million years thought that coming home to help my parents out would hold such drama. But here I was discovering that wasn’t exactly true. Things were very drama filled. And I’d only been home for almost two weeks.
What was the rest of my time in Sunnyville going to look like? Should I expect other exes to show up? A childhood enemy to move in next door? My old crush to come in professing his love.
I drank deeply from my wine at those thoughts, wishing life were simpler.
CHAPTER TEN
BRITAIN
“I CAN’T BELIEVE I’m here,” I muttered to myself as I stepped inside Hooligans, the local bar and main hangout for people in town.
Growing up, I thought being able to come here would be amazing. I couldn’t wait for the chance.
I was well into my thirties and finally had the chance, and it wasn’t all that different from other places I’d been to.
It had a bar. It had alcohol. It was full of locals looking for a good time. Sounded like every other place I’d been to before.
I blew out a breath and scanned the room, looking for the group I was supposed to be with.
It was Friday and my first full week as the new veterinarian at the Sunnyville Vet Clinic was done. In celebration, the other workers said I had to join them at Hooligans.
I’d tried to beg off, but apparently, they’d already talked to my parents—I wondered how they’d accomplished that—and my mom pushed me out the door after dinner.
I saw a hand waving in the air and tipped my chin up, noting it was Amy, one tech from the office. I waved back before wading through the people standing around to the bar.
I was surprised at how busy the place was, though I shouldn’t have been. Any time I saw Hooligans as a kid, the place had a full parking lot. It was obvious it hadn’t lost its appeal.
Once I got to the bar, I flagged a bartender down and waited for him to make his way to me so I could order.
“What can I get ya?” he asked, leaning against the bar and grinning at me.
I did a quick scan and noted that he was hot as hell but based on the practiced ease with which he was flirting with me, he was likely nothing but that: a flirt.
No thanks.
“I’ll take whatever local brew you have on tap.”
He nodded and straightened, grabbing a glass and filling it to the brim with a light colored beer.
“You want to start a tab?” He asked as he slid it to me.
I shook my head and passed him a twenty, stuffing some of my change into the tip jar before nodding and turning to face the room again.
I took a sip of my beer, noting the light lemon flavor of it, and started slowly making my way through the crowd to the table of my colleagues.
It was slow going, and I had to dodge more than one drunk person who was already swaying on their feet. But I eventually made it to the table and immediately felt out of place.
They were all done up with makeup, cute tops, and tight jeans. I’d changed my top from what I wore to work but had kept everything else the same.
“You’re here!” Amy crowed, throwing an arm around my shoulder.
Based on that and the smell of alcohol wafting from her, I’d say she was already close to sloshed.
“Hey, guys,” I said, giving a little wave and settling into the empty chair next to Amy.
I looked around the table, taking in the other girls sitting there.
I’d worked mainly with Amy this past week, and she was the one that extended the invitation. I’d assumed she’d done it on behalf of the other people in the clinic. Based on the looks on the other girl’s faces, that might have been a bad assumption to make.
The three other women all had looks on their faces like they’d sucked a lemon and discovered it was sour.
Rhonda, our receptionist, was curling her lip at me.
Tonya, one of our other vet techs, had a neutral expression, but that meant little. She could be hiding something from me, and I just wasn’t good enough to read it.
Lisa, the other receptionist, was outright glaring.
This night out was turning into a great idea.
I sipped my beer and mustered up a smile. “Thanks for inviting me out,” I said, looking at each of them. “I haven’t gotten out much since I got home. I appreciate you thinking of me.”
I was laying it on a bit thick with that, but they didn’t have to know it. All I wanted was for them to get over whatever was making them look at me like they were.
And it seemed like my words had done just that. The three women shifted in their seats and the expressions on their faces eased.
“I’m so glad you agreed to come! You worked hard this week and you need to let some steam off,” Amy said, sipping from a martini glass.
I smiled at her, genuinely, because it was hard not to, and murmured my agreement.
Things lapsed into silence and I wondered briefly what they were talking about before I showed up.
“There he is,” Tonya muttered, her eyes pinned to something—or someone—behind me.
I couldn’t look at who she was talking about without being obvious, so I continued to sip my beer and hoped that someone would be more specific.
“I knew he’d be here,” Lisa said, her eyes trained to the same place.
“Who are we talking about?” I asked in a whisper when it became obvious they wouldn’t be more specific.
Tonya's and Lisa’s eyes met briefly before they looked at me. “August Black.”
My eyes widened, and I took a big gulp of beer. August was here? Why was I surprised by that? I shouldn’t have been, that was for sure.
“What’s the deal with you two, anyway?” Rhonda asked, tilting her head to the side as she waited for my answer.
“Yeah,” Tonya said, nodding. “What’s going on there? We all read the article, but you know how they like to inflate shit in that column.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I gulped another large mouthful of beer while I tried to figure out what to say.
“You can tell us. We won’t tell anyone,” Lisa chimed in, giggling at the end.
I cut my eyes to her, not believing those words for a second. “Putting it on a little thick with that, don’t ya think?” I asked.
Her face paled, and the other women laughed. “She’s got you there, Lis!” Tonya said between bouts of laughter.
Once it died down, I said, “There isn’t much to say. We knew each other. Now we don’t.”
I felt the heat of their stares and knew they wouldn’t be satisfied with that, but I wouldn’t say anything else about it. There wasn’t anything else to say about it.
They must have read that on my face because they dropped it and started talking about other people that were at Hooligans. Some I knew, most I didn’t.
“Jimmy just walked in with Sonny.”
“Those two get into too much trouble together. I thought they were banned from Hooligans after last time.”
“They paid the damages, and they gave them one more shot.”
“They look like they’re looking for trouble tonight.”
“They’re always looking for trouble.”
“Oh, there are the Malone brothers and their wives.”
“Lucky women.”
“You got that right.”
“I wish I could have snapped a Malone brother up.”
“You got that right.”
“Maybe they have some cousins that are still looking.”
“I think we would have met them by now.”
“Right. A girl can dream.”
They did this back and forth, talking about the people around us in low voices that were just loud enough I could hear them over the noise of the bar.
I would never admit it, but it was nice listening to them go back and forth because I learned some things about people and it helped me put names and faces together. Some people I’d recognized but couldn’t remember their names. For others, it was the opposite. I could remember their name, but not the face.
It was enlightening, and as they continued to talk, I realized I was low on my beer.
“I’m getting a refill. Anyone need anything?”
They all waved me off, and I stood, grabbing my empty glass and making my way back toward the bar.
If it was possible, it was busier now than it had been when I first arrived and it was busy then.
I sidestepped someone that walked in front of me only to bump into someone else.
“Sorry,” I said, glancing up and freezing when I realized it was August that I’d bumped into. “Oh, sorry,” I said again, stepping away from him.
It was like someone had sucked all the air in the room out because of the realization that he was there and we were standing beside each other. And it was probably my imagination, but it sounded like the entire bar sucked in a breath and waited for what would happen next. Even the music seemed to mute itself.
I cleared my throat and went to turn, not wanting to give anything more to the gossip mill.
“Wait,” he said, making me pause half-turned from him.
I slowly turned to face him again, my eyes sliding past him to take in the avid looks from the people around us. We were garnering a lot of attention, which shouldn’t surprise me considering the article in the Gazette.
We should probably avoid each other for that to die down, but it was too late.
“Yes?” I asked when he said nothing after a few moments.
His mouth opened and closed a few times, but he still said nothing. I shook my head and turned, walking away and ignoring him calling my name.
I wouldn’t get sucked into whatever it was he wanted and the small town gossip, though I was sure that brief encounter would be embellished to where I’d tripped and fallen right onto his dick in the middle of the bar.
Once I was at the bar, I slammed my glass on the counter and waited for the bartender from earlier to see me and come get my refill order.
While I waited, I tried to figure out why I was upset. I knew part of it was because of August and the fact that we dated in college.
We hadn’t dated long, only six months, but it was long enough for me to be serious about him. And I was sure he was serious about me as well.
But that was over ten years ago. We’d both gotten older and moved on. So why was it he had the power to make me feel out of sorts?
I was thirty-four years old. I was old enough to get a hold of myself when it came to a man.
“Another one?” the bartender asked.
I nodded, and he took my empty. A few moments later, I had a new beer in a clean glass and my change. I smiled my thanks and turned back to the bar.
I didn’t see August anywhere. There was a part of me that was sad at that, but the other part of me was relieved. I didn’t want to have another run-in with him in public because it was just adding fodder to the mill.
I made my way back to my table with the girls and plastered a smile on my face, hoping they didn’t bring up that run-in with August. I was sure they’d seen it; everyone had. But I definitely wasn’t up for talking about it, something they seemed to pick up on thankfully.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BRITAIN
A FEW HOURS later and I was genuinely smiling as Rhonda told a raunchy joke about a sailor and his mistress. We were all dying of laughter and I was now very happy I’d agreed to come out. I hadn’t realized how much I needed time to relax until it was happening.
They’d relaxed around me as well, so for the first time since I got to town, I felt like I fit in and that I was settling. And that was a great feeling.
But because of the laughter and drinks, I now had to go to the bathroom. I’d been holding it for a while, not wanting to break the seal, but we were hitting the dire part of the evening where if I didn’t go, we’d be cleaning up a puddle.
“I’ll be back in a few,” I said, sliding out of my chair.
“You need company?” Lisa asked.
I shook my head. “Nah. Just hitting the bathroom.”
They all nodded, and I slowly waded through the crowd to the back hallway that led to the bathrooms.
Considering how many people were packed inside Hooligans, it surprised me there weren’t any people in line to the bathroom. I expected having to wait to go. It was a nice thing to discover, and I walked right into the bathroom and did my business.
When I stepped out, I drew up short when I saw August leaning against the wall outside of the ladies’ room, the light from the room casting him in a slightly yellow glow.
The door shut behind me, shrouding him in shadows a
nd my eyes struggled to adjust to the dim lighting. He glanced up at the thud of the door, his eyes meeting my own.
He straightened, and I looked toward the entrance to the hallway that led back to the bar proper. I could see the slightly brighter light of the main bar and people passing in front of the door to this hallway, but no one was looking this way. It didn’t look like I was going to have someone give me an excuse to not talk to August.
My eyes slid back to August, who had now taken a step closer to me. I cleared my throat. “What’s up?” I asked as I carefully wiped my now sweaty hands on my pants. Everything else disappeared around us, and it was just me and him together in that hallway. No noisy bar. No chance of someone stumbling upon us. Nothing.
“Nothing much. How are you?” He asked, taking another step closer.
My mouth was dry, and I knew it wasn’t because of the beer. It was because of this guy in front of me. I just didn’t know why I was reacting this way.
“Good.”
August took another step forward. He was close enough to me I could feel the heat from his body. I took a small step back, the heel of my foot catching the doorframe of the door to the ladies’ room.
I was stuck.
“What’s up?” I asked again as I pressed back into the wall behind me.
August said nothing and instead let his eyes rove over me. I watched as they slowly slid down my body in a visual caress. It might have been a decade since I saw him last, but it was like no time at all had passed by the way my body reacted to him.
My nipples hardened, and my belly tightened. I could still remember what it was like being with him intimately, and my body yearned to feel that again. I’d never had better. Never.
But I wouldn’t admit that to him.
“I see you…” August started, reaching a hand out and lightly running a finger over my left cheek as he talked. “For the first time in over ten years and you don’t look any different than you did then. It was like… my body just remembered you and what it was like when we were together.”
I gulped as he spoke.
“What the fuck is up with that? I never thought I’d see you again, even living in the town where you’re from, I never thought I’d see you again. Yet, here we are and it’s like no time has passed. I’m standing here,” he paused and huffed out a laugh as his fingers slid lower and lightly brushed over my collarbone, making me shiver. “I’m standing here wanting to kiss you just as badly as I did the first time I saw you at UC-Davis.”
Vetted: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World) Page 6