by Amelia Shea
“It is cold in here,” he joked against her lips.
She gasped and pulled away from him as she heard his chuckle. She stormed off to the bed.
“You’re an asshole!”
He chased after her, grabbed her waist, and pulled her back to his front. His arms wrapped around her and bound her hands to keep her from moving. His chest rumbled from laughter. His laughter evoked her own and she giggled. She playfully struggled from his grip when his mouth neared her ear. He was still chuckling. He wasn’t being malicious, he was teasing her. He was holding her, breathing her in, and this moment was perfect.
“I have to head back to Houston,” he whispered.
Her mood deflated. He was leaving. He lived and worked in Houston, eventually he’d leave. She knew that. She tried her best to be indifferent. She was not going to cry and weep like a lovesick girl. She was twenty-two; she could handle a one-night stand. At least he had the decency to tell her. Otherwise she might have waited around for a call that would never come. She’d still have him in her dreams.
“You hear me?” He tightened his arms around her.
She was going to miss this feeling. She’d miss safe. She nodded and tried to move out of his arms but he wouldn’t let her go.
“Talk to me.” He sighed.
“I’m fine, Stone. It’s fine. Last night was great but you have to go, I get it.”
“You think I’m leaving and not coming back?”
“Aren’t you? Look, Stone, it’s fine. I don’t expect anything from you.” Sadie was trying to convince not only him but herself, too. The sadness washed over her. She needed him to leave. The longer he stayed with her like this, the harder it would be when he left. She was not a girl meant for one-night stands, she realized that now. She let her heart get involved. Now, she had to deal with the repercussions from it.
His heartbeat was soothing against her back as they stood embraced in silence. He rested his chin on her head and breathed deeply. She really would miss the safety she felt when he was with her. And his arms around her, she’d miss that, too. She would enjoy these last few minutes with him. This moment was sweet!
Suddenly, she was spun around and tossed onto her bed. She bounced once on her back before Stone covered her body with his. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. His face was serious.
“You might not expect anything from me, Sadie, but I expect a hell of a lot from you.” His grip tightened on her wrist.
“I expect you to be here when I get back in two days! I expect you to stay away from that piece of shit ex of yours. If he shows up again, which considering he is a dumb fuck he just might, I expect you to call Bogs or T. They’re staying in town, and they’ll take care of him. I expect you to answer my calls and texts. I programmed my numbers into your phone this morning. I expect you to be in my bed when I get back. And I expect that if something happens, good or bad, you will fucking talk to me. Do you get me?”
Oh my God! He was coming back! He was coming back to her! She nodded. Her heart was beating out of her chest. She tried to tell herself to relax. He was coming back for now not forever. She smiled up at his serious face. His scowl faltered slightly. He was only giving her a glimpse of a smile.
“This is crazy, you know. We hardly even know each other.”
“I know you, Sadie, trust me, sweet girl, I know you.” He kissed her lips and pulled back.
She smirked. “Well, I don’t know you.”
“Then ask me. What do you wanna know?”
Sadie thought. “What’s your name?”
“What?” His eyebrows cocked up in question.
“What’s your real name, I mean your first name?” She laughed.
“How do you know it’s not Stone?” He smirked. He was teasing.
“Is it?”
He chuckled. “No. It’s Trey.”
“Trey Stone.” Sadie smiled. “No middle name?”
“Garrison.”
“Trey Garrison Stone.” She giggled and pulled his head to hers for a quick kiss. “That’s sexy!”
He burst out laughing. “Glad you like it.”
“Can I call you Trey?”
“If you want to.” He shrugged. He was noncommittal, however, she saw shadows in his eyes. He was playing it off, but she sensed it was a bigger deal than he let on.
“Does anyone else call you Trey?” Sadie inquired. Her tone was light though she was tense.
“No,” he said as his eyes darkened. His face was back to hard. There was something behind the darkness in his eyes. She knew the look. It was a look she had in her own eyes when she looked in the mirror. She had seen it on many people she’d watched through the years. Pain had a distinct look to it.
“Oh,” she whispered. She hated that she just ruined the mood, and now he was leaving.
He reached under her chin to bring her face to his. His eyes were still dark but his face no longer hard. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before he spoke again. He sighed. “Lisa, the one who gave birth to me, named me Trey. I haven’t answered to it since she gave me up. I was a pissed off little shit.” He snorted. “I refused to answer to Trey so everyone started calling me Stone. It stuck.”
“Why didn’t they call you by your middle name?” Sadie curiously asked.
“I didn’t get Garrison until I was adopted by my mom and dad. I wasn’t ready to change my name. Guess I was still holding out with some fucked-up idea that Lisa would get her shit together and want me back. My mom suggested I take Garrison, their last name, as a middle name. So that’s what I did. If I could go back though, I’d change it and drop the fucking Trey.” His voice was angry as he finished. “Whatever, it’s over and done.”
“I’m sorry,” Sadie whispered. Her heart broke that she was the one who brought all this up. A past she was sure he wanted to forget.
“Stone, I…” Sadie started but his mouth came down hard on hers before she could finish saying, “I’m sorry.” His mouth opened and she could taste his morning coffee. This kiss was filled with passion and urgency. His hands released hers and she grabbed at his back. She pulled up his shirt just as her teeth bit softly on his lower lip. He groaned and licked her lips before he pulled back.
He smiled sweetly at her. That smile was all hers. Wasn’t it? They’d never discussed that part.
“Come on, walk me out. I got to get going.” He crawled off her and pulled her to my feet.
She reached up on her toes and circled his neck to bring him down to her. Her lips met his in a quick sweet kiss.
“One more question. Do you expect anything from anyone else when you come back?” She hated to hear the jealousy in her voice. He had to know who she was talking about. Just the thought of Krista made her mad. She would not share a man. If he wanted to play “my woman” then she got to play “my man.”
He touched her face with both hands and kissed her again. He held her stare. “There is no one else. You, Sadie.” He dropped a soft kiss to her lips. “Just you.”
She smiled, hugged him quickly, and then stepped back.
She threw on her sweatshirt before walking out in the kitchen. T was rinsing his mug at the sink. Bogs was texting on the couch. He looked up from his phone and made an obnoxious pout. He was looking at her sweatshirt. He looked back to her and winked. Asshole. She looked away.
They all headed to the front door. Stone had his arm over her shoulder.
“Remember what I said, any problems you call me or one of the guys. I put their numbers in your cell, too. You got it?”
“Yes. Got it!”
He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss as Bogs opened the door.
“Bye, babe.”
“Bye Stone, be careful.” She smiled.
He granted her a warm smile and pulled her in for another quick kiss. He walked out the door with the guys and he was gone.
It was going to be a long two days.
Chapter Eleven
The next two days went by faster
than she thought they would. On the morning Stone left, she tried to busy herself with cleaning. She spent four hours at the Laundromat. She always brought a book to pass the time, and for some reason her newest book just wasn’t doing it for her. She was a bit fearful that Stone had ruined her for her books. The sex scene didn’t even compare to her night with Stone.
She returned a few texts and calls from the night before. Melinda and Pearl were concerned. She explained that she was taking her vacation but she would see them after Thanksgiving. Sadie could tell Pearl was still worried but she didn’t push. She invited Sadie to Thanksgiving at her family’s house. She invited her every year. Sadie thanked her for the invite but told her she had other plans. Sadie didn’t mind being alone. She wondered if Stone was still going to be here on Thanksgiving.
She received a text from Stone in the early evening.
Stone: Hey babe
Sadie: Hi! How was your flight? Are you home yet?
Stone: Flight was fine, got home 2 hours ago.
Sadie: What are you up to tonight?
Stone: Dinner with Ethan and my dad and work.
Sadie: okay well I’ll let you go then so you can get ready.
Stone: Guys don’t need time to get ready for dinner with other guys.
Sadie: Oh LOL…
Stone: I do have some work I have to finish up now.
Sadie: Ok! Maybe I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
Stone: You WILL talk to me tomorrow!
Sadie: Bye!
Stone: later
She didn’t have many friends so her contact list doubled when Stone programmed everyone’s number in her phone. Every once in a while, Melinda would text her to come out with her and her friends if they had the same night off. She always declined. Besides her mom, Bernie, the girls at the diner, and Miss Trudy, Sadie didn’t call anyone else. She deleted Tyler from her phone the night she caught him cheating. With that said, it was rare to get more than one text a day. That had changed.
During her movie marathon, she received a text from Roxanne.
Roxanne: Hey Girl!!!!!! U comin 2moro right?
Sadie: Yup : —
Roxanne: I’m driving over with the guys. Want us 2 pick u up?
Sadie: No that’s ok, I’ll meet ya there!
Roxanne: U sure?
Sadie: I’m good. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Roxanne: K girl Bye!!!!
At about eleven Sadie was cleaning up and getting ready for bed when her phone beeped again. She opened the text to find a link for the local weather.
Bogs: According to the weather channel, it’s going to be cold tonight!!!!
Sadie: Asshole!!!
Bogs: LMFAO…
He made her laugh. It was hard to believe this was the same guy that threatened to shoot her. She knew Ethan explained that she was never in any danger. It was funny though. Now that she knew a little bit of Bogs’ personality, it was hard to believe he was capable of killing anyone.
T, however, still scared her. She was woken up at three in the morning by a beep. It beeped four times before she grabbed her phone. She was barely awake when she hit the screen. Under T’s name there were six messages. They started about ten minutes prior. She sat up to read them.
T: You good?
T: Are you ok?
T: answer me
T: Sadie answer this fucking text
T: wtf
T: you better fucking answer this text now
Sadie: It’s three in the morning
T: I got a clock I know what fucking time it is. you answer me when I fucking text you
Sadie: I was sleeping which is what most people do at THREE IN THE MORNING!!!!!!
Sadie was waiting for his reply but she got nothing. It was now three in the morning and she was wide awake. She lay back down and closed her eyes. Seconds later they snapped back open. She was up! She had been like this since she was a kid, once she was awake, she had a really hard time falling back asleep. She punched her bed in frustration and sat up. That jerk woke me up! She grabbed her phone and texted him again.
Sadie: You woke me up and now I can’t get back to sleep!
No reply. Two minutes later she sent another text.
Sadie: I’m still up thanks to you and your texts.
No reply again. One minute later.
Sadie: I’m still up, in case you’re wondering. I’m going to make coffee now because SOMEONE was rude and kept texting me. What are you up to, trying to sleep?
T: I’m getting my cock sucked by Krista and Jill. U want me to send a pic?
Sadie dropped the phone on the bed. He was such an asshole. She immediately walked away from the phone and ended her texting with T. He had two girls in bed? He said Krista. She wondered if it was the same girl from the diner, the one with Stone. She couldn’t think about it anymore.
She grabbed her book from her bedside table; hopefully she could get back to sleep soon. Reading at night usually made her sleepy. If not, her day would officially begin at three a.m. Asshole!
She was finally able to get to sleep around six. A good five hours had her up by eleven. She was pretty productive. She went and gassed up her car and grabbed a newspaper to start her job hunt. She bought three papers in hopes that she would have more options. She realized it wasn’t a smart move when she saw all the same job postings in every paper. Sadie had Internet access through her phone, she’d try that tomorrow, she thought.
Sadie awoke several hours later to her phone beeping. She rubbed her eyes and scooted up on the bed. She grabbed the phone and smiled as she looked down at the screen.
Stone: Catching a later flight, shit came up.
The message was from a few hours ago. She immediately started typing.
Sadie: Hi! Just got your message, I was sleeping. Have a safe flight, see ya later!
Stone: Sweet dreams?
Sadie: Yep! You were in it.
Stone: oh yeah? Was I naked?
Sadie: LOL……I’m not telling!
Stone: Tease. The guys will pick you up tonight and drive you to the bar. I’ll meet ya there.
Sadie: I can drive myself.
Stone: I know you can but they’ll pick you up.
Sadie: No. I’ll drive myself, Stone.
Stone: You gotta a problem with my brothers?
Sadie: NO! I just don’t know them well and I don’t think T likes me very much. Please, I’ll just drive myself. Ok?
Stone: Yeah. Pack a bag, ur in my bed tonight.
Sadie: Ok!
Stone: later
Sadie: Bye!
Apparently, she was staying at his place. The thought of being with him again excited her.
She packed her bag. She wished she had the money to go out and buy something for tonight but she didn’t. She packed a sexy nightie she bought when she was with Tyler. The night she planned to wear it was the same night she caught him cheating. So technically, it was new, which made her feel better about wearing it for Stone. She gathered her toiletries together and clothes for tomorrow. She was all set for her sleepover.
Her phone beeped as she was preparing to leave at six fifty-five. DL’s bar was off Main Street in the center of town. It took about twenty minutes to get there. Roxanne texted her they were going to be there at seven. She purposely decided to leave late. She didn’t want to get there before them. She was never very social to begin with but in a bar setting, she was totally out of her element. Add seeing Stone and not knowing how to act… Were they a couple or just casual? Throw into the mix his brothers, who may or may not like her. Was it too late to back out?
Sadie checked her phone. She had missed three text messages in a span of five minutes.
Roxanne: Where r u?
Roxanne: Sadie!!!!!!! Come on, girl, we’re here!!!!! Time to get our drink on!!!!!
Bogs: Weather man says it’s going to be a cold one tonight. Don’t wear a jacket!
Sadie laughed at the messages. She headed out the door not responding to them, she’d b
e there in twenty minutes anyway. Her phone beeped again. She glanced down at the screen and smiled.
Stone: Not here in 10, I’m coming 4 U.
This text she responded to, telling him that she was leaving now. She paused before sending and quickly added another sentence and hit send before she could second guess her message.
Leaving now. Can’t wait to see you!
She had never been one of those people who couldn’t walk in somewhere alone. She went everywhere by herself. It built character. But she didn’t do it by choice. It had never been an issue in the past. However, at this moment, she really wished she had someone to walk in with. She was feeling anxious about seeing Stone. Sadie didn’t know how she was supposed to act. Should she go up to him and kiss him? Should she just hang back and wait for him to come to her? This was so confusing!
She walked into the bar and it was packed. She searched for the group but there were so many people she didn’t see them. She knew they were here. Sadie walked further into DL’s bar when a couple of guys entered the door behind her, the door she currently blocked.
She’d been there a few times. It was an average local bar. A large bar lined the wall. A few pub tables scattered, and in the back, were two pool tables and a dartboard. They had pretty cool bar pictures though. Old signs from the forties that still lit up. They had signs for every beer and liquor imaginable sprawled on their walls. Her favorite was the Pabst Blue Ribbon. She scanned the bar area again. Where were they?
“You’re here!” Roxanne practically pushed people out of the way to get to her. Sadie burst out laughing as she tripped some huge muscle guy.
“Oops…sorry.”
Sadie started to the back as Roxanne barreled into her and grabbed her for a bear hug. She jumped up and down with Sadie in her arms. She smiled back. This girl was infectious.
“Come on, we’re back here!” She grabbed Sadie’s hand and yanked her. “This night will be epic! Oh, and ignore the bimbos, it’s been torture dealing with them. I’m so glad you’re here.” She excitedly shouted over the loud music while dragging Sadie through the crowd.