| |
The man has lost his mind. I pull my jeans up and tug the sweater I had on last night over my head. He needs to get some food in him to soak up all the liquor. Once he gets awake and is thinking clearly, he’ll get over whatever this is. Last night was perfect. Too good to be true. What are the odds of reconnecting with my high school boyfriend and things still burning bright as they did back then if not hotter? I can’t afford to be impulsive.
The idea of Roane and I getting together after all these years is an attractive fantasy, but he can’t know that we’d even be compatible or want the same things. Sure, I’d love to move here, but I need time to figure things out, and I can’t just go hopping into a relationship with the first guy I’ve fucked since Sam. I try to push Sam back out of my head. I do need to move out of our apartment, but I can’t depend on Roane to save me. That’s not fair. The last thing I want is him and his club going after Sam and getting into a world of trouble. I’m not bringing my troubles to their door. I’m a big girl. I’ve gotten this far on my own.
Roane comes out of the bathroom with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. “I’ll be ready in a few.”
“Take your time.” Part of me wishes I could pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist and that I could disappear with Roane. Nothing in my life has ever been easy. I don’t expect it start now. I sit on the edge of the bed and try not to imagine a life with Roane. A life where I’m his woman and I get to see my sister whenever I want to. I gave up on that fantasy years ago. That was child’s play.
“Ready?” He shrugs his leather vest and jacket on.
“Mhmm.” I get to my feet and slide my heels back on. Roane is staring at me like he wants to kiss me, but he doesn’t make a move. Maybe he is finally coming to his senses about this. I follow him downstairs. Remnants of last night’s party are scattered about along with random bodies on couches. Some are even on top of the pool tables and on the floor. We maneuver around them careful not to make too much noise.
When we get outside, he pulls his keys out and hits the unlock button on his truck. Like a gentleman he opens the passenger side door for me. I wait for him to get in the driver’s side feeling like I did when we went on our first date. Nervous but excited. I was fifteen and he had recently gotten his driver’s license. My Mom agreed to let him take me to the movies. It was such a big deal. It was my first time alone with a boy in a car. My first time going to the movies without the supervision of my sister.
Roane drives us to the drive-thru of Suzi’s Hamburgers. I get an order of biscuits and gravy and he orders a BLT sandwich. “Hope you don’t mind if we take breakfast to my place, I need to check on the shop.”
“Shop?”
“Yeah. I have a tattoo place.”
“I had no idea. That’s really cool.” He was always a talented artist so I shouldn’t be surprised he makes a living from it.
“It’s all right. So what do you do in Cleveland?”
“Hair. I’m a color specialist.”
“You enjoy it?”
“It’s a job.”
“That’s a no.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s fun. I hate being on my feet all day.”
“You could come work for me.”
“And what would that entail?”
“Answering the phone, keeping the place clean. Ordering supplies.”
“You’re serious?”
“I need someone.”
I shake my head. “You’re just saying that.”
“Wouldn’t ever lie to you.” He holds my gaze, and something tells me that no he wouldn’t. Roane is a good guy under that tough man exterior. We pull into a parking lot and he shuts the truck off and hurries around to open my door. He’s laying it on thick. Then again Roane was always sweet with me.
We go up a set of stairs connected to the back of a brick building. Roane unlocks the door and invites me inside to his apartment. It’s more like a studio apartment. Entering behind him, he shows me to the kitchen that sits off the left. All nice stainless-steel appliances. The living room takes up the center of the room, housing a black leather sofa, a flat screen Tv, and a black and white portrait of I am assuming his motorcycle. There’s some weights to the right along with two doors I assume lead to the bedroom and bathroom. It’s clean and nice. Not that expected it to be a shithole. I know that some guys tend to be pigs when living on their own.
“Make yourself comfortable. You can eat at the counter or on the couch. I don’t have room for a dining table. I’ve got to run downstairs to the shop. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Don’t you want to eat?”
“I’ll take it with me.” He grabs his sandwich and leaves me on my own.
I take my food over to the couch and switch the Tv on. I don’t know how long he’ll be down there. I settle in on the cushions. He said he had been married and that she cheated on him. I can’t imagine anyone doing that to him. She must be an idiot. I crumble my biscuits and pour the white gravy over them and dig in.
I stop flicking through the channels on HGTv. I love watching the flea market swap stuff. I throw my trash away, kick my shoes off, and get comfy on the couch with a pillow and throw that was hanging on the back.
“You like that shit?” Roane questions, startling me. I must’ve dozed off.
I sit up as he rounds the couch and pulls my feet up to slide in under them. Wiping my eyes, I whisper yawn, “Yeah, I do. I don’t know I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Decorate?”
“Yeah. Refurbish furniture, paint. I don’t know. It seems like it’d be fun to do.”
“You’re hired.”
“For what? Stop trying to make up jobs for me.”
“I need my place fixed up.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s bare. I don’t know I need some color. The touch of a woman.” His fingers strum my ankle.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I do. I just...Roane, you can’t really expect me to I don’t know hop right into being with you, like there hasn’t been fifteen years between us.”
“I’m not asking. While you were sleeping, I got that name I wanted. As we speak, some brothers from the Cleveland chapter are packing your shit into a moving van and driving it down later today. Your stuff will be here tomorrow.”
My mouth is on the floor. “You did what?”
“You heard me.”
“You mean here as in this city or here as in this spot?”
Roane slides me forward into his lap. “I’m saying, I never much believed in fate until last night. You’re here because it’s where you’ve always belonged. I’m not taking any chances. You’re not slipping through my fingers a second time, baby doll.”
“You’re insane. I can’t just move in with you, Roane.”
“Says who?”
“Me!”
“Take a chance on me, Jules.” His lips claim mine and I melt into him. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but Roane was right. I do feel something for him. I always have. He was my first love.
This is it. My chance at a fresh start. It’s completely mad, but life is too short, and I’ve wasted too much time playing it safe. Doing what I thought was right.