We both managed to smile as if our meeting for the first time in years wasn’t awkward and gave each other a quick hug. My nose burned in his presence, and I understood why the moment he let go of me, already lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. Once he inhaled a few, I could see the calmness overtake the shakes that plagued him a moment ago. “So…” he said.
“So…” I replied, still surprised that this pale twig in front of me was the same kid that grew up beside me. His eyes didn’t seem as bright as they once were and he had heavy bags beneath them, tinged a light bluish-gray. On the bright side, he wasn’t drunk. Yet.
He repositioned the beat up back bag on his shoulder. “How you doing?” I asked, motioning for him to follow me to my truck. “I tried calling but couldn’t get through.”
He shrugged and took another drag. “Yeah. Guess they finally cut me off. I’m just trying to survive man. Sure would help if the people in my life would stop screwing me over. Did you find out who the bitch mom is yet?” he asked as we both climbed into the truck.
There it was again. That sharp twinge in my chest every time I thought of ratting out Mel. I really wished I could stop doing that. In fact, I’d love it if I could just shut down the feelings I had for her completely. “Uh…” I dragged out, my brain and tongue still trying to decide on a course of action. “Nope. Not yet. You can just do your part of the test tomorrow and head back home. It’ll probably take a few weeks to compare your DNA to the one they have on file for the baby. Guess I’ll have to start emailing you though, huh?”
Yeah, I was still lying about that, too. There was no DNA on file. I just didn’t want Mel and Brad to show up at the clinic at the same time. Why the hell I was sticking my head out to protect a girl that deserved everything that was coming to her, I couldn’t figure. And from what I’d been told, Mel still hadn’t taken Jake in to give his sample. It was like she was waiting me out or something, hoping my claim of having Brad challenge her in court was just a bluff.
“Already trying to get rid of me?” he jested, but I could hear the disappointment in his voice.
“No man, not at all. I’d love to spend a few days with you sometime and catch up, but I’m staying over at Matt’s apartment while I’m here. I don’t have the money to stay in a hotel and I don’t think it’d be right for both of us imposing on Matt while this is going on. You know?”
“Yeah, I get it,” he said quietly. “So is there some place I can crash for the night, or am I pitching a tent in the back of your truck here?”
I let out a few soft chuckles. “Why? You got a tent in that pack?”
“Not really.”
“That’s too bad because you might prefer one. Matt said you could crash on the sofa for tonight, but it’s an old hand-me-down, so don’t be expecting the Ritz or anything.”
Matt huffed and bitterly replied, “I wouldn’t even expect the Holiday Inn in this town.” I couldn’t help but nod my head to that. “Sure wish we still had my grandmother’s house. What did you say she did with it?”
“She sold all her assets. Don’t know why yet. What people I’ve asked about it so far either don’t know or won’t share.”
“These people are jerks. Can’t believe I had to come back here. Can’t believe my damn grandmother screwed me over to begin with.”
I didn’t have anything to say that, so I remained quiet the rest of the drive. Matt was already home for the evening, and he gave Brad as quick of a hug as I did. I could tell just by reading his face that he didn’t like the visual version of this Brad either. He looked so deteriorated.
“You’re welcome to stay for the night, but you’ll have to smoke outside.” Brad didn’t even have a cigarette burning so I guess Matt got a good whiff of the stench, too.
“That’s fine man, thanks.” He crashed down in the middle of the sofa and I shook my head at myself as he kicked his feet up on the coffee table. Growing up in the house that he did, he knew it was rude to do that in another person’s home. At least not before they offered it. “So what’s the plan?”
Matt didn’t have any other chairs or barstools in the house, so we were forced to either stand or squeeze in on each side of him. I took a seat but Matt headed to the kitchen and pretended to mess around, eventually leaning over the counter to look out at us.
“You’re scheduled over at the clinic tomorrow at eleven. Some woman named Barbara will take care of you. Then you can hop back on that bus and head home. No reason for you to stay in this town any longer than you have to.”
“Eh, it’s not so bad I guess. Didn’t mind it too much growing up.”
I think he got caught up in a daze after that because he was silent for a bit. Matt and I exchanged a few choice facial expressions, most of which clearly said, Dude…what the hell happened to this guy?
“Have you eaten?” I kind of hated to ask, seeing as how I would probably have to pay to feed his ass, but the guy was so damn skinny I wondered how often he got a decent meal in him.
“Nah. Bus made an official stop once along the way but it was just at some gas station.”
“I was thinking about going to T-Bone Jim’s tonight for that all-you-can-eat buffet. Want to come along? My treat.”
“Yeah, I guess. So long as we can hit up a bar afterwards. I need a drink.”
I could tell just by the way Matt dipped his head that he was rolling his eyes. I agreed with him, but I kept a straight face. I hated to support his addiction, but at the same time, I didn’t want him to lose it while he was in town. These people didn’t need another reason to hate him. And for Mel’s sake, I certainly didn’t want his drunk ass learning she was still in town. He didn’t mention her very often, but I could tell by all the commentary since their break up that she was still a pretty sore wound.
“All right. We can head over to Lucky’s later. You in Matt?” I called across the room.
We had already discussed this earlier, so I knew he would say yes and pretend like Lucky’s was where we always went. Again, I didn’t want him and Mel to face off. The guy had been through enough without having to relive that drama. It was bad enough we’d have to deal with her in a legal sense when the time came.
I figured all-you-can-eat was the way to go, and as I watched Brad devour plate after plate as if he hadn’t eaten in the past month, I was right to choose it. The food wasn’t all that great, but it was quantity we needed right now. At the very least, Brad would go back to Houston with a full stomach. What the hell he spent his parents’ inheritance on all these years was beyond me. I was beginning to think he’d never even worked a day since he left. That would certainly explain how he went through his money so quickly, and why he was so desperate to get his hands on whatever his grandmother had left.
And that desperation worried me a little. Men did stupid things when they were A) desperate and B) drunk.
Lucky’s Bar was probably the biggest dive the town had to offer. The building itself was rundown. That phrase termites holding hands came to mind, but to me it looked like even the termites had given up on trying to support the structure. One good wind storm and this building would probably come tumbling down. Surprisingly, the clientele didn’t look that different from Sully’s, but the prices were a bit cheaper and they didn’t run a kitchen. Out of habit, I aimed for the far chair at the corner table.
We ordered a round of beers from the waitress. For a while we were all quiet, just watching the room around us move with life. I semi-scanned the room, but it held no interest for me.
“So Brad,” Matt said, “what have you been up to?”
“Eh, little bit of this, little bit of that.”
Little bit of nothing, most likely.
He continued gawking at these two girls at the opposite end of the room instead of acknowledging us, which was fine by me. I don’t know why, maybe it was the annoyance I built up towards him this past week, but I really wasn’t in the mood to catch up on his post high school life story. I kind of figured he couldn’t remember most of it anyways.
“Hey. Shane,” Brad called. “Isn’t she that Amber chick you were banging in high school?”
A quick gaze in the direction he was looking turned my stomach. Long blonde hair, eyes the color of amber – hence the name – and a tight tank and short cutoffs that left nothing to the imagination. Definitely Amber. “Yep,” I said monotonously, taking a long swig from my glass.
I practically choked on my beer when Brad yelled out her name. I wanted to kick him right there, but she had already turned her confused gaze our way. Not surprisingly, a slouchy Brad with grown-out hair didn’t ring a bell, but when she glanced over my way, her face lit up and she sashayed her way towards us.
Fuck.
Matt f**king chuckled, keeping his mouth pressed firmly shut. I muttered my curse aloud. Brad just leaned back against the wall and made no attempt to hide the way his eyes were memorizing every inch of her braless tank top. Jesus. In high school, that used to excite me too, but she only did it around me, not where the whole freaking world could take in the view. I liked my women sexy, but I preferred they didn’t flash their goods to anyone but me, even if we weren’t exclusive.
“Oh. My. God,” she sang, each word hitting a different note. I tried to look friendly, but my smile felt more like a grimace. She leaned in and threw her arms around my neck, forcing a hug on me that took way too long for her to break. Not wanting to lead her on, I merely patted her back with one hand, refusing to really embrace her.
“Hey, Amber,” I said politely, ignoring the silent laughter as Matt tried to hide himself behind his beer.
She pulled back but kept one of her arms slinked behind my shoulders, fingernails already stroking the nape of my neck. “Why didn’t you tell me you were back in town?”
“Honestly, it never occurred to me that anyone would still be here.”
“Shit, Shane. Give a girl a call to find out! My number hasn’t changed all these years.” Her red-coated fingernail poked my chest, her eyes playfully narrowing at me. “But yours has, hasn’t it?”
And this would be the exact reason why I changed my number. Girls I didn’t want any more still attempting to claw their way into my jeans. “Yeah, sorry about that. I lost my phone awhile back so I lost all my numbers. Then I had a stalker, so if you hadn’t called me within that window, I no longer have your number.”
“Well, here, let me give it to you again, baby.”
I cried out a hey when she dipped her hand beneath the table and into my front pocket, but that wasn’t what made me jump – that was because her other hand gave me a quick squeeze through my jeans. Matt burst out laughing. I’m sure Brad had a huge smile too, but I was too distracted to look. I removed her more questionable hand and she desisted as she whipped out my phone with the other. “Jesus, Amber. Could you not?”
Hardly fazed by my remark, she typed her number into my phone and replied, “Please. I remember what you like.” Handing it back to me, she leaned in and whispered, “And an audience never bothered you before.”
I knew what she was referring to…that one night where we met a bunch of people in her crowd down by the lake. Lakefront, campfire, full moon…alcohol. And yeah, we had sex out there that night, but everyone was so damn drunk no one even noticed what we were doing. Or at least didn’t remember anything by morning. And she was the one that stripped herself naked, not me.
“Actually, I’m not big on audiences. That was always your thing.”
“I’ll watch,” Brad declared with a wide smile, his eyes glued to her ass.
Oddly enough, Amber joined me in shooting him a death glare. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t enough to keep her attention away. Turning back, she used her sexy voice to say, “Well, when you’re ready to call it a night and wanna play under the safety of the sheets, just give me a ring, baby.”
She winked and let her fingertips drag down my arm as she walked away, swinging her ass side to side so far she could’ve rang a bell between her thighs. I sighed and shook my head. Did I seriously want that at one point? I knew I was only looking for a distraction back then, but damn. I was just glad I never slept with her after she’d already been with every guy in town.
I reactivated my phone and deleted the number she just added.
“What the hell are you doing man? She wants you to take her home and f**k her till she pukes.”
My lips curled downward at the thought. Guess I wasn’t into easy anymore. “I’ll pass, thanks. You want her, you go.”
Brad gulped the rest of his beer and slammed it down. “You don’t have to offer that piece of ass to me twice.”
I shook my head – the moron actually left us to order another beer beside her at the bar.
“Dude. Not cool. Don’t encourage him. We both know she’s not going to let him touch her. The man looks nasty right now. Smells nasty too.”
“Sad thing is, there was a time when she would’ve gladly f**ked him. Amber never did like Mel, and she would’ve screwed Brad just for sport.”
“That’s because Amber knew who you really wanted, and it wasn’t her.” Resuming his chuckling, he added, “You didn’t call out Melanie’s name while you screwed her, did you?”
“Hell, no.” I’d never called out any of their names during sex. Not a single one. I’d be lying if I said my mind didn’t stray a few times to think of Mel while I was sleeping with someone else, so the last thing I wanted to do was incriminate myself.