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“We were young. For me, sex was new. Sometimes, when I looked at you, it was almost painful how much I wanted you.”
He understood that. He’d felt the same way back then. Hell, he’d felt that way since bumping into her two weeks ago. He went to bed every night with a physical ache caused by longing.
“You had to be home by midnight, but we were a little late.”
Chloe nodded. “We were a lot late. I used the hidden key under the mat in the backyard, thinking I could sneak in through the back door in the kitchen.
“But Mama Lewis was sitting there, waiting for you. I was surprised that she didn’t yell at us. Whenever I pissed my dad off, the whole neighborhood knew. He’d cuss me up one side and down the other, then finish it off with a punch or two.”
Chloe winced. “My mother never hit me or my brothers. And she said yelling was never a good way to express an opinion.”
“Yeah. She just looked at us and said she was disappointed. She explained how worried she’d been that we’d been in an accident. How much it would kill her to lose you. I swear I felt way worse after that conversation than I ever did when my dad yelled at me.”
“Punishment through guilt and disappointment,” Chloe said. “I totally intend to use it with my kids. It’s very effective.”
They laughed together quietly. Then Chloe sobered up. “You came back that night. You knew where we hid the key.”
Blake nodded. “When I got back to my apartment, the neighbor was waiting for me. Said my dad had been arrested for getting into a fight. I figured he’d gotten drunk and punched some guy at a bar. It had happened before and the cops just made him sleep it off in the drunk tank, then sent him home the next day. The neighbor said this time was different. He said my dad was in real trouble and he needed money for bail. I dug through all my hiding spots, but I could only come up with about fifty bucks. I didn’t have anyone else to ask.”
“You didn’t ask.” There was no tone of accusation, just the statement of fact. He hadn’t asked. He’d simply taken.
Blake blew out a long breath, then decided fuck it. He’d gone this far. It was time to say it all. “You’re right. I didn’t. I got back to your place. All the lights were out. Everybody was asleep. I used the key and I swear to you, I was going to sneak up to your room to see if you could loan me money, but…”
“But?” she prompted.
“I’d have to tell you why I needed it and I didn’t want you to know my dad was a drunk loser in jail.”
“Why not?”
“I was embarrassed. You were the best thing that had ever happened to me and the entire time we dated, I knew I didn’t deserve you.”
Chloe scowled. “That’s bullshit.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “I was a stupid nineteen-year-old kid. I’m not saying I was the sharpest tool in the shed. All I had going for me was my Harley, a lousy dead-end job in a sub shop and my pride. None of those things seemed like enough to keep a girl like you interested. I was in love with you, Chloe, and terrified of fucking everything up. Which I did anyway.”
“So you walked into the house…” she began.
“Your mother’s purse was on the kitchen table. Stealing wasn’t exactly a new thing for me. I rifled through her wallet and found a couple hundred bucks. I was about to leave when I remembered the silver platter in the hutch in the dining room and I grabbed it too. And then I ran. You know, I’ve been wondering. How did you all know it was me who took the money?”
“You’d tucked some of those rose petals in your pocket before we left the shed. A few of them must have fallen out. I wouldn’t have thought anything about it because you’d been in the kitchen when Mama found us sneaking in. But there were a couple by the hutch as well.”
“Guess it’s a good thing I became a cop. I clearly suck at covering my tracks as a thief.”
Chloe smiled at his joke. “What happened after you left?”
“All hell broke loose.”
“What do you mean?”
“I waited for the pawn shop to open the next morning. Took in your mom’s platter and got a few hundred bucks for it. Then I went to the police station and bailed my dad out. I was stressing out over how I was going to find the money to buy the platter back. It was worth more than I realized. Anyway, my dad was in deep shit with some shady guys. He’d agreed to deliver some package, but he didn’t.”
“What was in the package?”
“Drugs. Never figured out if he sold them himself or had one hell of a party, but the package was gone and the guys wanted it or the money it would have brought in sales. They confronted my dad in the parking lot of a bar. Gave him a pretty good beat down. They took off when the cops showed up, but not before they told Dad he had twenty-four hours to produce the drugs or the money.”
“Why was he arrested?”
Blake snorted, the sound betraying a bitterness he didn’t like to show. “Even bloodied, my dad was a mean drunk. He took a swing at one of the cops. When they ran his name through the system, they found out he had some outstanding warrants. The second I sprung him from jail, he started making plans.”
“What kind of plans?”
A rumble of thunder distracted them. Blake looked up at the sky. Afternoon was quickly turning to dusk and dark clouds were forming. Apparently the weathermen had been right. A storm was coming. They’d need to head back to the bike soon or risk getting wet. As it was, Blake wasn’t sure they’d make it to the city before the rain started falling.
“Can we finish this at your place?”
Chloe looked up as well. He got the sense she wanted to finish what they’d started, but even she could see that wasn’t going to happen here. “Sure.”
Her tone gave him no hint to her feelings. Blake stood then offered her a hand. He didn’t release it as they started walking back to his Harley. She didn’t try to pull away. It gave him hope.
The ride back to Chloe’s place felt less peaceful than the trip to the lake. For one thing, Blake couldn’t put the bad memories away. Dredging up the past bothered him more than he’d expected. For years, he’d felt on top of his game, certain he’d kicked all the crap from his childhood to the curb. Clearly, he hadn’t.
Secondly, the rain hadn’t held off. They’d just made it to the city limits when the sky opened up. By the time they reached Chloe’s apartment, they were drenched from head to toe. He halfway expected her to tell him to take a hike. The afternoon by the lake had taken its toll and now they were cold and wet.
Instead, she pulled off her helmet, laughing as she lifted her face to the rain. “That was incredible. I couldn’t decide if I was having fun or scared out of my wits. How could you see the road? That was a deluge.”
He looked at her, raindrops sliding down her rosy cheeks, and felt like a two-ton truck had hit him. He grasped her face in his hands and, heedless of the storm that continued to pound down on them, he kissed her.
Chloe didn’t resist. She simply wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Their tongues tangled as he ran his fingers through her hair. She pressed her chest closer to his, sharing her body warmth. He had no idea how long they stood on the city sidewalk, letting the rain pummel them as they kissed, but Blake could have stayed there forever.
Finally, common sense reared and he took a step back. “I know I said that motorcycle bag is waterproof, but we probably shouldn’t tempt fate. You’ve got some expensive equipment in there.”
She nodded as he unhooked the bag and threw the strap over his shoulder. She carried their helmets, leading the way upstairs to her apartment.
“You can put that bag over there.” She pointed to the corner of her studio. “I’ll go grab some towels from the bathroom.”
Blake set the bag down then hovered by the door. He was dripping all over her hardwood floors.
Chloe was back within seconds with an armload of fluffy towels. “Why are you standing there?”
He gestured at the puddle forming around his feet. “Didn’t want to ruin your floor.”
Chloe shrugged. “It’s just water. It’ll dry. Here.” She held out a towel.
He crossed the room and took it from her. He ran it over his hair and face, then started undoing the buttons of his shirt. Chloe watched, making no move to stop him. Once he’d shrugged the clinging cotton off, she was there, rubbing all the water away with a towel.
When she finished, Blake reached for the hem of her t-shirt and tugged it over her head. Then he dried her as well. She sucked in a soft breath when he reached around her, unhooking her bra and adding it to the pile of wet clothing at their feet. He took his time, drying her breasts, loving the way her cold nipples budded even more at his touch.
Chloe reached for the button on his jeans and slowly slid the zipper down. He toed off his boots, chuckling as Chloe cursed in her struggles to strip the wet denim away. She followed the stubborn material down, kneeling before him as she gestured for him to lift one foot, then the other. She peeled off his socks as well.
She made no attempt to rise. “Still go commando, I see.”
He cupped her face in his palm, forcing her to look at him. “You’re beautiful.”
