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The soft cotton of Nero’s shirt bunched beneath my fingers and instead of pushing him away, I pulled him to me. Our mouths crashed in a fiery collision of lips, tongues, and teeth. Desire and need consumed me.
My body went limp against the wall as Nero continued his assault. He lifted my leg, steadying me, his hand slipped beneath my skirt. He cupped my ass, squeezing a handful.
I fumbled with his buttons, popping one after another, before dipping my hands into his shirt and feeling the slight patch of hair on his warm chest. I combed my fingers down, memories of our first time flooding back.
He awakened things inside me I didn’t even know were dormant. More memories slammed into me, but these weren’t sex and sunshine. These were dark and sad and lonely.
Nero had his chance, and he blew it.
“Stop,” I said firmly, even though my body was whole-heartedly disagreeing with my head.
His entire body froze. His eyes were practically black as they took me in. “Lanes.”
I shook my head. I could easily forget about Damian and fall into Nero’s charm. Let him take me completely right here in this closet just like my body desperately wanted. But my heart… it still hurt.
“My date’s waiting for me.” I stepped out of the closet. I straightened my skirt and prayed to the heavens I didn’t look as disheveled as I felt. With a deep breath, I walked away from Nero and didn’t look back.
Sparks shot out of the piece of metal I was working on. I pretty much had the frame completed for Albert and just needed to get the last few pieces into place. I was way ahead of schedule. I’d been spending all of my free time in my shop. It helped that my nights had been free since getting back from Philly. And tonight, I needed a distraction. After seeing Lainey with a guy who wasn’t me got under my skin in a way I have never experienced before.
I glanced at my phone and noticed a notification. Maybe Lanes texted me. I scooped my phone up and clicked into my texts, only to be instantly disappointed.
A one-night stand from a few months ago wanted to meet up. I deleted the text, but not without blocking the number first. I didn’t need my past to remind me of who I was.
I took my welding mask off and wiped a rag down my face. I needed a beer. There was only one place in town that always had a cold beer waiting for me. I grabbed my keys and headed out.
The parking lot to the VFW was nothing more than gravel and an open invitation to park wherever the hell you could fit. I pulled next to Albert's truck and headed inside. The inside wasn’t much better than the outside. Wood paneling lined the far-right wall and large square mirrors hung evenly spaced as if it would create the illusion the place was bigger than it actually was. A row of tables and chairs lined the wall and were used for various events.
Right now, they were empty. The far-left wall was filled with military memorabilia, pictures of those who served and were no longer with us. Gramps’ picture was amongst them. The back wall was one long bar lined with stools and more wood paneling behind it. To the right, a few random slot machines that paid out nothing but helped pass the time. Ron Noah, Brady’s ex-alcoholic father, sat at one of those machines, nursing a can of ginger ale.
The usuals were at the bar, as I knew they would be.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” Ray, Lainey’s dad and Desert Storm vet said to Albert and Teddy, a forty-eight-year-old Iraq war vet.
I approached with apprehension. I barely stayed long enough with other woman to even remember their name, let alone deal with their parents. This was another reason why Lainey was different. But it also reinforced my reason for leaving her.
If I stayed, I would have been setting us up for failure, and I wouldn’t just hurt her; I would hurt her family and my family. We had too many ties in this community. A failed attempt at dating would divide the masses. I’d put all my money on them taking Lainey’s side.
“Albert won’t shut up about the display you two are working on,” Ray said, dragging me away from my intrusive thoughts.
The tension I was carrying eased. A slight smile touched my lips. Ray had no idea what had happened between me and his daughter.
“I’ve barely said two words about it,” Albert countered. He was in a pair of black coveralls over his typical flannel, and his muddy boots told me he had come here straight from the farm.
Teddy laughed. “More than you usually say.”
I headed behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of beer out of the fridge before sitting on one of the open stools. “I was just working on it. Thought I’d take a break and stop down here to see how everyone’s doing.”
It wasn’t lost on me that the people I called friends, people I was closest to, were almost all double my age. The reality was my two closest friends had met their wives in college, and after graduation, they’d gotten married and started families. I was the perpetually single best friend, and it was a title I had embraced, but it also meant that random guy weekends were a thing of the past. Especially since they both lived in different parts of the country now.
“Heart’s still pumping, dick’s still working,” Teddy said, pushing his sleeves up and revealing the American flag tattoo on his forearm with the name and death date of one of his brothers-in-arms.
“How about you?” Albert eyed me. “Your dick fall off yet?” He gave a subtle nod, silently letting me know my secret was safe with him.
I looked down at my crotch. “Nope, very much still there.” It had been locked away since Lainey. And for the first time in my life, I had no desire to change that.
Ron got up from the slot machine and walked to the middle of the room before stopping and glancing slowly from one side to the other.
“You okay, Ron?” Ray called to him.
