“Give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s not David—who you are giving the benefit of the doubt to, by the way.” Beth began charging forward again.
“I know.” Lottie jogged to catch up. “Do you think I should stand him up?” Lottie couldn’t help herself from grinning at the thought.
“Oooh, that’s so evil of you. I love it.” Beth smiled. “But since he already ruined your date last night, you may as well go and find out what the fuck he wants. Otherwise, it’ll just drive you—and me—nuts not knowing. But make him pay for your lunch!”
“I can’t do that.”
“The fuck you can’t! Lottie, he left you with practically nothing. The least he can do is buy you some lunch. If for no other reason than the fact that he cheated you out of dinner last night. You know Grant would have paid. He’s an old school gentleman. Michael is that way, too. You know, that’s one of the things that always turned me on about him most. He always opens doors, takes my hand, and pays for everything. That and how big and manly he is. I love men who are men, ya know? I hate these beta males carrying purses and getting their nails done, pandering to feminists just in the hopes of getting their wieners jiggled. I wanna grab those men and say, ‘Look honey, not even these hairy-armpit feminists want to fuck a man like you. In the end, we all want to be fucked by someone with a ball-load of testosterone.’”
Lottie shook her head. She couldn’t believe some of the things that came out of Beth’s mouth at times, but she was right. Those kinds of men were such a turn off. She never liked when small, thin men would ask her out. Feeling bigger or more masculine than a man never got her in the mood, but it couldn’t be the case for all women, could it? Considering every romance novel she’d ever snuck from her mom’s room as a teen, she certainly hadn’t read any about men like that. The men in those novels were always very masculine and knew how to make a woman feel like a woman. A grin spread across her face as she thought of Grant taking her like one of the women in those novels. Her cheeks flushed.
After walking around the reservoir more times than she could count, discussing what her perfect answer would be to anything that came out of David’s mouth, Lottie gave Beth a hug, put Pickles in the car, and headed home to shower and get ready to meet David.
Chapter Twenty
Lottie
Lottie showered, did her best to copy the color palette Beth had used on her face the night before, and carefully curled her hair to make it look as perfect as possible—without looking like she’d spent any time on it.
Her stomach flipped and flopped the whole drive to Roma’s, her mind flashing back to the last time they were there together. The way he’d broken her heart had been so easy on his part, so matter of fact. Oh, why was she meeting him there again? She should have punched him straight away when he showed up at her door and threw his box of clothes on his—crumpled up on the doorstep—body. Her punch was so much more powerful when she replayed it over in her mind.
“Asshole,” she muttered as she took a quick right down a side road, deciding to turn around and go home instead. As she pulled the car back out on the street toward home, she cursed herself, “coward,” when she decided she couldn’t live without knowing what it was he wanted to talk about. She quickly pulled into a gas station parking lot and turned around again.
“Stupid,” she muttered, unsure if she was talking about herself or David.
Pulling into the driveway, she parked and eyed the cars around her, trying to see if there was a way to tell if one of them was a rental. Although, with as many officers coming in and out of town for training and sims, that wouldn’t have meant much anyway. She flipped down the visor and flicked open the mirror, checking for boogers, unblended makeup lines, and lipstick on her teeth. When she was convinced she looked as good as possible, she took a deep breath and charged inside before she lost her nerve.
Lottie held her chin up, and she shoved her way through the door, trying to look more confident on the outside than the rumpled-up mess she was on the inside. Stopping, she looked around and spied him sitting there in his flight suit, waiting for her with an iced tea—no lemon—at her place. She sucked in a deep breath and headed over to him, guilt slapping her when she saw how fat his lip was.
She grimaced as she sat down, not taking her eyes off it. “Oh my goodness. Your lip.”
“Looks like shit, right? I told everyone I got into a bar fight with a big, burly dude at Scooters.”
Lottie reached out and grabbed the iced tea. Her throat suddenly felt parched. The moment she set it down, the waitress was over, filling it up.
“Thank you.” Lottie smiled at her.
“You’re welcome. Need a few more minutes here?”
“Yes, please.” Lottie scooped up her menu. “Boy, she must have been watching me drink that.”
“Someone wants to earn a good tip.” David winked. “I should suck mine down and see how quickly she fills it up.”
Lottie smiled and waved him away. “Don’t.” She chuckled. Her eyes flashed down to her menu. “Hmm, I think I’m in the mood for a pizza. You in?”
“Anything you want, Lot.”
Lottie cocked her head to the side. It was so uncharacteristic of him to be so agreeable. She wasn’t sure she was comfortable with it. Lottie squinted at him and then glanced back at the menu. “The white out?” She knew he loved the supreme pizza best.
“That sounds great.” David smiled and waved the waitress over and ordered the pizza. “You want an order of garlic bread? I know how you like it.”
“Sure.” Lottie took a sip of her tea but kept her narrowed eyes on David.
“And an order of garlic bread.” He handed the waitress their menus and grinned at Lottie once his eyes returned to her. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Lottie shook free from her gaze. “Like what?”
“You were giving me bullshit eyes.”
“No, I wasn’t.” Lottie shook her head.
He cocked his.
“Fine. What’s up? You’re never this agreeable. You like to get your way and rarely ever gave me mine that easily.”
“What?” David’s palms turned up, and he shrugged. “I’m just trying to be nice. That’s all.”
“That’s all?”
“Yeah. Stop being so suspicious of me.” David took a sip of his tea. “You know, Lottie, I was meaning to tell you how beautiful you looked last night. Wow, I was blown away, really.”
Lottie rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“No, I mean it. I was caught a little off-guard. You took my breath away.”
Lottie took another long sip of her tea to cool the heat that was radiating throughout her body. “Thanks.”
The waitress brought their garlic bread to the table, and to try to avoid needing to say anymore, Lottie picked a piece up and shoved it in her mouth. The roof of her mouth was scalded by the hot buttery top. Opening her mouth, she did the reverse blow to cool it off.
David watched her, smiling. “Someone’s hungry.”
Lottie chewed, swallowed, and took a sip of the ice-cold tea. “It’s been a while since I’ve had the bread here. I got a little excited.”
David’s eyes danced and the corner of his mouth pulled into that sexy lopsided grin that had always let her know he was interested in getting a little action. Lottie quickly looked away. He couldn’t possibly be trying to flirt with her, could he? He had his new girl now and they were over, but he had said he wanted to start over with her. Wasn’t that what he’d said? Did he really want her back? Too scared to ask, Lottie quietly chewed on her garlic bread until the pizza arrived.
Careful not to burn her mouth this time, she blew on the cheese before putting it into her mouth, quite aware of the way David watched her. If she were currently admitting the truth to anyone, she would have revealed the way it made her pelvis ache to see him watch her with such longing and the way she stretched out each blow just long enough to tease him just a little bit more.
M
ost of their lunch was quietly spent watching each other. She knew he wanted her as much as she now wanted him. It was awkwardly delicious to feel horny for someone who had been in her so many times. But could she have him now? Really have him? She wanted to find out.
Her eyes locked on his, unblinking, yearning. Lottie licked her lips and smiled. “Do you have to get back right away?”
“I have a sim in half an hour.” His eyes drifted down to her breasts then slowly back up to her eyes.
“You could stop by my place for dessert if you’re in the mood for something sweet.”
“I think I have time for that.” David waved the waitress over and asked for the check. He opened his wallet and quickly handed her the cash. “Keep the change.”
“Do you all want a box for the leftover pizza?”
“We’re good.” He waved her off, stood, and reached for Lottie’s hand. His flight suit betraying any doubt that he was interested in the kind of dessert that Lottie was offering.
She took his hand, and they headed out the door. “Do you want to follow me?”
“Yeah, I’m in the silver Civic.”
Lottie climbed into her car, backed out, and waited for him to follow before pulling out onto the street and heading home.
As she pushed open the door, Pickles growled and barked at David. The hair on his back stood on end like a ridge.
“Pickles, no!” Lottie grabbed him by the collar and put him in her bedroom.
David pulled off his boots and sat on the couch. “You finally got a dog, huh?”
“That’s right.” Lottie licked her lips as she approached him. Without saying a word, she knelt down between his legs and unzipped the lower zipper in his flight suit, pulling up enough to reach in and free his cock from his boxer briefs and the uniform.
He groaned when her hands touched him. Her eyes flicked up to meet his; she grinned and rubbed him with her hand before pulling him to her lips.
***
Grant
Grant didn’t wake up until it was once again dark outside. Muffled voices drifted in with the light under the door. Confused about the time of day, Grant rolled out of bed, rubbed his eyes, and looked around the room for his cell. He found it on the nightstand. It was passed six p.m. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, reiterating the thought that he was too old for this shit anymore. Grant’s heart skipped when he realized he had notifications for seven text messages. Had Lottie been trying to get a hold of him?
He clicked them open and realized they were all from Tiffany.
How did she get my number?
Her name had been entered into his phone with a little heart emoji after it. Now he vaguely remembered her entering her number into his phone and saying, “And a heart because we’re friends now.” And there was the sent text she’d sent to herself to have his number.
He read the texts.
Tiffany: I had a fun night. Hope we can do it again sometime.
Tiffany: Are you up yet?
Tiffany: I’m going to Western Sizzlin’ at eleven if you wanna join me. Mac-n-cheese cures hangovers!
Tiffany: Guess you’re not up. Headin’ to the sizzling, join me there if you want.
Tiffany: Okay, I’m leaving now. Hope you’re not mad at me.
Tiffany: I called Nana, she said you’re still sleeping. Call me when you wake up.
Tiffany: I’m in your neighborhood. Stopping by with some cherry cobbler from Meers for Nana. I’m not psycho, when I called earlier, she told me how much she was craving it. I figured it was a hint.
Grant shook his head, figuring it was Tiffany and Nana talking in the hallway. He had half a mind to hide in his room and avoid talking to her. True, she turned out to be sweet, but his head still didn’t feel like having a conversation with anyone. His bladder, on the other hand, demanded he find his way to the bathroom. He was also curious as to whether Tiffany told Nana about their night last night. He was sure he’d asked her not to, but he had no idea how drunk she was when he asked and if she’d remembered or not.
He pressed his ear to the door to try to figure out if they’d see him slip around the door and go into the bathroom. The door clicked shut when he leaned against it. He’d obviously not closed it the whole way when he’d gone to lie down.
“Oh, I think someone’s up.” Nana’s excited voice came clearly sailing in his direction.
Fuck.
Grant ran his fingers through his hair, scraped the corner of his eyes to relieve them of any eye boogers, and quickly pulled a pair of pajama bottoms out of his drawer and slid them on. He twisted the knob and pulled the door open, squinting into the light that was assaulting his sensitive eyes.
“Hey, Grant, the coroner’s here to check for a pulse.” Nana waved from her chair.
Tiffany strolled over and threw her arms around him. “He’s still warm. Guess you can send the meat wagon back to the morgue.”
“Very funny.” Grant pulled away from her embrace. “I’ll be right back.” He turned and headed straight for the bathroom.
Grant let the thunderous piss free from his body, hoping he wouldn’t also release a thunderous fart. The last thing he needed were those two finding another reason to tease him. Normally, he wouldn’t care whether others had a laugh at his expense, but he didn’t want to deal with much of anything at the moment. He cursed his bladder for waking him up in the first place. After washing his hands, Grant returned to the living room, plopping down onto the couch.
“Someone drank a little too much last night, Tiffany.” Nana grinned.
“Oh, really?” Tiffany smiled at Nana and then smirked at Grant.
Good, she obviously hadn’t told Nana that they’d been together last night. Grant’s mind flashed to the kiss in the car and how he’d thought about going inside when she invited him. It was clear she was a bit hurt when he turned her down, but he was glad to see that she didn’t seem upset with him.
Grant shrugged. “Is there any coffee, Nana?”
“Oh, you shouldn’t be drinking coffee this late. You’ve slept the day away, and if you want any chance of quickly getting on a normal sleep cycle, you need to skip caffeine. Tea is better. Tiffany brought us some cherry cobbler. Isn’t that sweet of her?”
“Very.” Grant shook his head.
“I’ve got it warming in the oven now. Let me go check it and I’ll put on a pot of tea.” Nana struggled to get out of her recliner.
Tiffany hopped up. “Oh, you relax. I’ll do that.”
Nana sunk back down into her chair. “Oh, thank you, sweetheart. You’re such a thoughtful girl. Isn’t she, Grant?”
“Indeed, she is, Nana.” Grant rose from the chair. “Don’t worry about the tea, Tiffany. I can take care of that myself.” He followed her into the kitchen.
“I just got your texts,” he told her once they were in the kitchen. “Sorry I didn’t see them earlier.”
“No problem. I was embarrassed that I sent so many. I must seem like a needy freak.”
“Nah, not at all.” Grant reached into the cabinet and pulled out the coffee and the small French press that he bought Nana for Christmas one year. She’d never used it, but she always told him how much she loved it.
“Ooh, I’m telling Nana that you’re making coffee and not tea.” Tiffany made her way to the doorway as though she were going to tell.
Grant grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back into the kitchen. “You better not or I’ll breathe in your face with my hangover breath.”
Tiffany giggled. “Ugh, not that. I can already smell it from here.” She waved her hand in front of her face before grabbing the potholder from a hook on the wall and opening the oven door. “It’s nice and bubbly.” She pulled it out and placed it on the counter. She then filled the tea pot and placed it on the burner while Grant scooped the coffee into the press.
“Hey, thanks.”
“You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do. I figure I’m partially responsible for that hangover.”
<
br /> “I’d say you’re more than partially responsible. I had to get drunk just so I could live with the embarrassment of ordering woo woos.” He rolled his eyes.
Tiffany bumped him in the hip. “Oh, shut up. You had more than your fair share of sips of them, though. You know they’re good.”
Grant grinned at her. “Okay, I’ll admit I liked it a little bit.”
“Just a little bit?”
“Okay, more than a little bit.” He smiled.
She smiled and bit her lip, and he was sure they weren’t just talking about woo woos anymore, and if he didn’t have dragon breath now, he would have pulled her to him and kissed her again.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lottie
Lottie heard the mail truck drive up, and without even slipping on her shoes, she bolted out the door.
“Wait! Wait! Don’t leave yet. I’ve got a letter.” She waved it over her head.
The mail woman smiled and waved, waiting for Lottie. “You haven’t missed a day.”
“I almost missed today!” Lottie panted, the taste of the envelope seal lingering on her tongue.
“How much longer is he gone?”
“One more week.” Lottie smiled.
“I bet you’ll be happy to have him home again.” The mail woman tucked the letter in her sack, nodded, and drove off.
Lottie watched her drive away, her heart sinking at the speed of truck.
Home again.
The last lunch they’d had together and the few letters she’d gotten from David left her wondering about that. She was no closer to knowing what it was he wanted than she was the night he’d showed up and ruined her date. She wrote David a letter every day, mailing two letters on Monday to make up for Sunday. She’d received three. Beth didn’t approve. Whenever she mentioned David, Beth would purse her lips and raise a brow.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t ask him straight out before he left.”
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