Everything froze at his words.
The world legitimately stopped for several moments before everything rushed back in.
The clanging from the bar mixed in with the noise from the jukebox.
The dim lighting in the hallway outside the bathroom.
The rough feel of August’s fingertips on my skin, making goosebumps follow in his wake.
The desire I felt curling in my belly for the man in front of me, the man that broke my heart.
What really got me though were his words.
“You felt that way?” I asked in a whisper.
He nodded. “Still do.”
My breath hitched at his words. What the hell?
Before I could form any other thoughts or questions, August leaned down and pressed his lips against mine in the softest of kisses.
It was just a light brushing really, and I stood there frozen as he kissed me, too scared to move.
He pulled back slightly, and ours eyes met.
I blinked at him, and he stared at me.
The next thing I knew, I was pressed against the doorjamb, the edge of it digging into my back. But I didn’t even care.
August had one of his hand cradling the back of my neck and he was kissing me again, this time harder.
He slanted his lips over mine, and his tongue was thrusting into my mouth.
I pressed myself against him, feeling myself grow wet with desire as he fucked my mouth.
His tongue was doing what I wished his dick was doing. I’d worry about that thought later that night, wondering why I was thinking about his dick and him fucking me.
I was more concerned with the feel of his body pressed against mine.
Too soon, he pulled away, and my eyes fluttered open to stare at him.
Neither of us said anything, and I noticed the doorjamb digging into my back. “Can you step back?” I asked quietly.
He jerked and practically threw himself away from me. I straightened, trying not to wince at the twinge in my back and at how quickly he’d moved away from me.
“Sorry about that,” he said, his voice rough.
“Nothing to be sorry for,” I said back.
And I believed that. Did I want people to know we were kissing in the back hallway of Hooligans? No. Thankfully it looked like no one had realized we were back there or what we’d been doing. A small miracle, I was sure.
But I didn’t regret kissing August because even though he’d broken my heart, I still cared for him and probably always would. Especially considering the explosive nature of our kiss.
“Right,” he agreed, though I wasn’t all too sure he actually did.
We continued to stare at each other, but neither of us said anything. I wasn’t sure what to say, and I wasn’t sure why he’d come back here after me.
So, I turned and walked away, glancing over my shoulder once to see him still standing against the wall where he was before.
I stepped back into the bar proper and glanced around, looking to see if anyone noticed me coming out.
I didn’t see anyone staring at me, but that meant nothing. I made my way back to the girls, and they were still laughing at something. They smiled at me but didn’t stop to ask where I’d been for so long.
I glanced at my watch and saw I’d been gone only ten minutes, so I guess that wasn’t all that long.
While they talked, I continually scanned the bar, trying to catch August walking out of the hallway. But I never did, and once I finished my beer, I said my goodbyes to the girls, promised them I’d come out again the next week, and made my way to the parking lot.
I didn’t realize how hot it had been inside until I felt the cooler outside air wash over me, making me sigh in relief.
I walked to my car, pausing once I’d beeped the locks open and stared up at the sky.
Stars stretched across the expanse as far as the eye could see. I took a few moments to take in their glittering light before looking back at my car and climbing inside to head home.
I was tired, and that beer hadn’t helped. I was ready to start my weekend.
CHAPTER TWELVE
AUGUST
IF RICH HAD ASKED me what I was doing standing at the front window in the living room while drinking my coffee, I would have told him I was debating mowing the yard.
Not that I was staring out the window at Britain mowing her parents' yard.
Nope. Not perving at all at her wearing a sports bra and a small pair of shorts.
Okay, perving a little.
But Rich wasn’t home. He’d gotten up early to head to the park thirty minutes away to go on duty for the weekend. He wouldn’t even know that I’d been doing this.
Or that I was considering going to mow the yard without a shirt on, hoping Britain would do some of her own ogling.
While I watched her mow the yard, my mind flashed back to the night before.
What the fuck had I been thinking kissing her?
It was a hot kiss, no question. The hottest of my life and that was saying something since kissing Britain when we’d dated before ranked up there as well.
But last night? It was on a whole other level.
It was like as soon as I saw her standing in the hallway in front of me, mostly alone but for the people in the bar, I couldn’t help myself. I had to taste her again. I had to see if it was as good as I remembered.
And it was. Except it was actually better.
My dick was getting hard just thinking about kissing Britain. I hadn’t felt like this in years.
Not since college, actually.
I forced myself away from the window and walked into the kitchen to refresh my coffee, trying not to think about the woman across the street from me.
We’d broken up for a reason all those years before and I needed to remember what it was. It was harder than I’d like to admit.
She was determined to be a part of the military. I wasn’t on board with that. At all.
The military had taken too much from me, and I couldn’t let it take the woman I cared for from me, too.
That was a deal breaker that was made worse by her joining up, even though I’d told her I was against it.
It wasn’t long after that that we’d parted ways and moved on with our lives.
Or I’d tried to, at least.
It hadn’t been easy moving on from Britain. It had taken me months to date someone new, and even then, that relationship had paled compared to the one I shared with Britain.
All of them had.
That must be why I was still single in my thirties and had been for a while.
That wasn’t for lack of trying on Britain’s parents' part or other people in town. In fact, I’d been set up on more blind dates and surprise dates than I could count by the people of this town.
But none of it stuck.
I was mostly okay with that.
Especially because I didn’t know how I would feel being married to someone when Britain was back in town. It felt shitty admitting that to myself, but I had to.
Seeing Britain again had made me realize something very important: I still had feelings for her. A decade hadn’t dampened them. Not one bit. Seeing her again had just made me remember how good it was with her.
Even after we broke up, I remembered how good it was. And having her in my face constantly, even from a distance, was weakening my resolve. And it was just that much harder to remember the valid reasons why we’d broken up.
I sighed, doctored my coffee and wandered back to the front window. Britain was still out there. Still in that skimpy outfit. Still looking delicious as fuck.
I was so fucking screwed.
I TUGGED my shirt off and wiped my face with it before tossing it onto my porch. I looked back at the push mower that I’d been battling with for the last hour.
It had started fine when I first began, but it quickly sputtered to a stop after spewing blue smoke. And it wouldn’t start again.
“What the fuck?” I mutter
ed, crouching down to look everything over again.
It wasn’t like I knew what the fuck I was doing with the thing, but I wanted to look like I was doing something to figure it out and not debating going to the home supply store to buy another mower just so I didn’t have to deal with this one.
“Everything okay?” A sweet feminine voice asked.
I froze and turned to look over my shoulder. Britain was standing on the sidewalk in front of my house, hands on her hips, wearing almost the same outfit from earlier. The only difference was she was now wearing a shirt.
“Yep.”
I turned back to the mower and hoped I looked like I knew what I was doing.
Britain laughed behind me and I heard the crunching of the grass as she walked closer.
“Issues?” She asked, coming to stand next to me.
I didn’t look at her, instead trying to focus on the mower and not her legs, which were right there next to me.
But it was hard. In more ways than one.
“You can deny it,” Britain said, crouching down, “but I saw it spew smoke.”
I sighed. “Yeah. Not sure what the problem is.”
“You checked everything? Spark plugs? Oil? Gas?”
“Gas, yes. Not the other two.”
I glanced at her and caught an arched brow. “Do you even know where they are on this?”
I slowly shook my head, and Britain chuckled. “If that’s the case, you got some oil here?”
“Oil?”
I felt stupid for even asking that, but here I was.
“Yeah, oil for your motor. The smoke was blue. That usually means oil.”
I blinked before shaking my head. “No.”
She sighed and shook her head, but she said nothing else.
I watched as she checked a few things before unscrewing something and pulling it out. “Oil is low. That’s probably the problem. We have some at the house. Give me a few.”
I stood and watched her jog across the road, disappearing around the side of the house. She reappeared a few moments later with a jug in her hand. I tried—and failed—to not stare at her as she made her way back to me, but it wasn’t easy.
She was glistening from sweating earlier and she was a little dirty, which didn’t detract from how I felt about her. Instead, I wanted to dirty her further.
I needed to rein my thoughts in because I didn’t need to go down that rabbit hole.
I cleared my throat and thought of unsexy things as Britain crossed the few remaining feet between us.
“I’m hoping that this oil works for yours. I think it will because we have a similar model,” she called out.
She crouched down, poured some oil in and screwed the top back on. She then stood and looked at me with a smile.
“You want to try it, or should I?”
“I’ll do it,” I muttered, trying not to think about the fact that she knew more about this than I did.
I went to the mower, held down the starting lever, and pulled the cord. It sputtered, which was more than it did before, but didn’t catch. I tried it again. It caught for a few seconds before sputtering back out.
“One more try,” I muttered, pulling again.
The mower sputtered a few times before giving a cough and roaring to life. I smiled and turned to face Britain, who was also smiling.
“How’d you know that?” I asked loudly so I could be heard over the mower.
“My dad. When I was old enough to mow the yard for him, he showed me basic maintenance.”
I nodded. Made sense. “Thanks to you and your dad then.”
She just smiled and nodded, waving at me before walking away. I watched for several seconds, noting the way her shorts hugged her ass. How had I missed that earlier?
I shook my head and turned around. I didn’t need to daydream about her and her delectable ass. I needed to concentrate on making sure I mowed a straight line.
While I mowed, my mind wandered right on back to Britain.
I couldn’t escape her, and it wasn’t just because she was living across the street. It was because she was consuming my thoughts.
I’d thought about her all week after that article. After running into her last night, kissing her, and now seeing her again, it was like nothing had happened.
I let my mind wander toward what she’d been wearing the night before and how beautiful she’d looked and how hot she looked today in her work clothes.
By the time I was done mowing, I’d dissected everything about her I could and I still wasn’t sure what to think or what to do.
“Thirsty?” Britain asked.
I jerked before glancing to my right and saw her standing two feet away. How had I missed her coming up to me?
“Yeah.”
She offered me a sweating bottle of water, which told me she must have been watching me. I couldn’t deny that didn’t make me feel good.
“Thanks,” I said with a smile.
She shrugged. “No problem. It’s hot today, and you looked like you could use it.”
I chugged some water, watching Britain from the corner of my eye. Was she flirting with me? After last night?
I swallowed and looked at her straight on. “You have fun last night?”
Her cheeks pinked, but that was the only indication of what might be going on before she answered, “Yeah, it was nice going out with the girls from work.”
I nodded. “I’m glad. You settling in okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
We lapsed into silence, and I took another swallow of water.
“What made you pick this house?” Britain asked out of the blue.
I shrugged and looked at my house. It wasn’t large, especially compared to some of the other houses in the neighborhood, but it was tidy and it was mine. It had a wraparound porch with a porch swing hanging from the ceiling. The inside was an open plan and had been updated before I bought it.
It was pretty nice.
“I don’t know,” I eventually said, looking back at her. “I knew I wanted to buy when I moved here because I had a feeling I might stick around. I saw the house and liked it. Went for it. Here we are.”
“You knew you might stick around?” She asked, her head tilting to the side, her ponytail sliding over her shoulder. My eyes traced the path it took before remembering she’d said something and thinking back.
I barely stopped myself from wincing. Knew she’d pick up on that. I shrugged and dropped my gaze. “Yeah. I didn’t want to do a lot of moving around. I want to put down roots. What better way than to buy a house?”
She nodded, but she was looking at me like she didn’t quite believe what I was saying. I wasn’t sure I believed it either.
She cleared her throat and shifted her weight. “Well, I should get back to the house. I’m helping Mom do some cleaning. I’ll catch you later.”
Before I could say anything, Britain had already turned around and walked away, giving me another great shot of her heart-shaped ass in those shorts.
I stood starting at her parents' house for several minutes before making myself get a move on. I had a few other things I wanted to get done that day and standing in the yard staring after my ex-girlfriend wouldn’t make them happen.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
AUGUST
SOMEONE WAS CONSPIRING AGAINST ME, I was sure.
I spent a good portion of the day in the yard working. And every time I turned around; Britain was there.
Not there there, like in the yard with me. But she was outside doing the same in her parents' yard.
Of course, I realized she was likely taking advantage of the day off and knocking things off her list. But I kept getting distracted by her. So, someone was conspiring.
Every time I finished something, I looked toward her house, hoping to glimpse her.
And I’d caught plenty.
After she mowed, she edged around the driveway and flower beds.
She’d then gotten on her knees and wee
ded the flower beds. That particular position had caused my imagination to run wild, and I was still feeling the effects.
She’d then gotten the hose out and watered the plants and scrubbed the railing on the porch.
By the time I called it a day, I knew she’d accomplished more than I had simply because I spent too long looking at her.
I couldn’t help it. It was like she was a magnet. I couldn’t help but look at her. Nothing could stop me.
When I went inside, I sent one last look her way and saw she was staring my way. Maybe I’d been a little eye candy for her too. That gave me a little thrill.
“Have fun out there?” Rich asked as I stepped inside.
I cut my eyes to him as I toed my soiled sneakers off. “When’d you get home? And why aren’t you parked in the driveway?”
Rich chuckled and shook his head, sipping a beer while handing me one. “I drove by earlier and noticed the mating call between the two of you. Decided I wouldn’t interrupt and parked down the street and came in the gate at the back.”
He’d driven by? I didn’t remember seeing that, but I was honed in on Britain, so that wasn’t all that surprising.
“Thanks for the beer,” I said, twisting the cap off and taking a sip, sighing as the cold brew worked its way down my throat.
“No prob.” Rich turned back toward the living room and collapsed on the couch.
It didn’t look like he’d been home long because he was still in his ranger uniform. He usually took that off within ten minutes of arriving home.
“How was work?” I asked him, stepping further into the room and leaning onto the back of the recliner. I wanted to sit down, but I was ridiculously sweaty.
“Same old. People trying to do shit they shouldn’t be doing in California this time of year.”
I shook my head. “Never learn, do they?”
Vetted: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World) Page 7