Jolene
“How long have you been drivin’ around with glass stuck to your ass?” I demanded.
He pulled out of my parents’ driveway. “Only a few hours. I forgot there was glass in here, honestly.”
Dumbfounded, I stared at him. “You are completely crazy.” I picked a few chunks of glass out of the cupholder, tossing them into the floor.
“How did the window wind up shattered?”
“We kinda got into a tussle and I slammed him against the truck.”
I shook my head. “Y’all are both gonna lose your jobs for actin’ like that,” I pointed out.
“Nah.” He pulled into the gas station. “I already talked to the chief.”
As he stopped at the industrial vacuum, I hopped out of the truck.
“I can vacuum it out. Get back in the truck.”
Why are you so damn bossy?
“I wanna help!”
He leaned down to my eye level. “You are half fuckin’ dressed and there is snow on the damn ground. Get. Your. Ass. In. The. Truck.”
I looked down at my oversized t-shirt, pajama shorts, and insulated boots.
I am fully dressed. I’m not dressed great, but I am dressed.
I folded my arms stubbornly. “I’m dressed fine,” I shot back. “And I want to help.”
“You can get in the truck, or I can put you in the truck,” he threatened.
Putting my hands on my hips, I called his bluff. “I don’t have to listen to you, bro. I’m a grown woman.”
In one quick swoop, I was laying over his shoulder.
“Put me down!”
He opened the passenger door. “I am!” He dropped me on the seat. “Stay,” he told me before slamming the door.
“I’m not a fuckin’ dog, Dakota!” I shouted at him through the open driver’s door.
Ignoring me, he shoved quarters into the vacuum cleaner. The machine sputtered a bit before waking up but eventually found a rhythm. He dragged the hose to where he needed it to be, the sudden sound of glass being sucked up, filling the cab.
Missed a spot.
He slid his seat forward and backward, making sure he got every nook and cranny. He finished fairly quickly; the only remaining evidence of their “riff” was the Glad Force Flex taped to the window frame.
We drove back to my parent’s house in silence, neither of us sure of what to say.
It’s safe to say that our little rendezvous in the mountains fucked our friendship all the way up.
He parked in his spot like he’d done a thousand times before. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I twisted in my seat to face him. “Comin’ inside?”
He stared straight ahead. “Nah, I’m gonna head home. I have to work tomorrow.”
“Okay. Stay safe.” I opened the door.
“Always. Tell your parents I said goodnight.”
I nodded my head before climbing out. “Okay.” When he didn’t turn to look at me, I shut the door.
I held back tears as I walked to the porch.
In the last four days, I’d lost my fiancé and two of my best friends.
And I have no idea where the fuck to go from here.
Dakota
Cassie’s car was still in my garage.
Why did I think for even a split second that she would make this easy.
I walked through the side door to find three boxes next to the kitchen island.
Maybe she decided to act like she has some sense.
“Dak, is that you?” she called out from upstairs.
Who else would it be?
“Yes.”
She appeared at the top of the stairs wearing Christmas pajamas.
At least she has clothes on this time.
“I’m tryin’ to pack. I just have a lot of stuff,” she whimpered.
“Okay. It’s gettin’ late. Just finish tomorrow while I’m at work.”
Her eyes lit up. “Okay, thank you.”
As I climbed the staircase, I refused to look at her. When I reached the top, she reached out for me. “Can we please talk?”
I do not want to talk to you.
“I’m goin’ to bed. I have to work tomorrow,” I spoke brusquely. “You can sleep in the guest room, downstairs, or outside.”
She nodded tearfully.
A small part of me felt bad for treating her so harshly but the rational part of me knew she deserved it.
I walked past her into my bedroom.
“Can we talk about it a different time?” she asked, her voice full of hope.
“I don’t know, Cass,” I answered truthfully.
“Okay.”
I closed the door.
You have no reason to feel bad about this, Dakota.
I walked into the bathroom, eager to finally get my ass into a shower.
While I waited for the water to heat up, I poured myself some whiskey from the brand-new bottle Jace had given me as a best man gift.
I should have busted him upside the head with the bottle.
I turned up my glass, the warm drink burning the whole way down.
The burning means you’re too alert. Better have another.
I poured another, chugging it all the way back before stripping down to get in the shower. The water was scalding hot, just the way I prefer it.
Just like the hot tub at the cabin.
The thought of the hot tub made me think of Lena.
Her dripping, curvy body leaned back against the side of the tub, her wet tank top melted against her skin, her body trembling as she came for me.
My cock grew harder and harder the more I thought about it.
I shouldn’t be thinking of her like this. I had already made the decision that we would forget it ever happened, but as I replayed it all in my head, my balls started to ache at the thought of her. Before I realized what I was doing, I started stroking myself. Irritation overcame me as I fisted my dick, the grip nowhere near as amazing as her tight pussy.
Or her skillful mouth.
“Fuck, that mouth…” I moaned, jacking myself faster.
Her tonsils tightening around me…
With a jolt, I erupted, covering Cassie’s expensive shampoo and conditioner bottles with a thick ribbon of cum. “Fuck!”
You have got to let this go. It was an incredibly vulnerable time and neither of us were thinkin’ straight.
“It would never have happened under normal circumstances,” I reminded myself.
And it will never happen again.
The smell of bacon filled my nostrils.
Jace is cookin’ breakfast?
I opened my eyes, panicking for a moment as I took in my surroundings. The events of the last few days came flooding back to me.
The wedding, the cabin, the snow, Dakota…
“I need to check on Dakota,” I muttered to myself. Grabbing my phone off the nightstand, I unplugged the fluorescent orange charger.
Seven missed calls from Jace, three texts from him, and one picture message from Cassie.
What could she possibly be sending me pictures of?
I tapped the notification, and my screen lit up with a picture of a shirtless Dakota sleeping peacefully in their bed. The angle of the picture made it clear that she was in bed next to him. She had captioned the picture, “Can we make up, too?”
Seems like he got over her boning his bestie pretty quickly.
Disgusted, I put my phone back on the nightstand.
No point in texting him. She seems to have him covered.
Annoyed for reasons that I couldn’t pin down, I climbed out of bed. “That explains what ‘and, yeah’ means,” I grumbled to myself.
I slid my feet in my slippers and shuffled down the stairs.
The smell of breakfast grew stronger as I reached the bottom. Unsurprisingly, I found mama at the stove and daddy sitting at the kitchen table.
“Good mornin’, Lee Lee!” he greeted me cheerfully as he took a sip of coffee.
“Mornin’.” I gave him a one-armed hug.
“How’d you sleep, punkin’?” Mama asked as she poured me a cup of coffee.
“Like a rock,” I admitted. Mama started beaming. “I’m so glad. I’m making omelets before your daddy goes out to feed the animals. Want one?”
I didn’t but I knew it would worry her if I declined. “Yes, ma’am, thank you.” I sat down next to my daddy, picking up the newspaper he had discarded on the table.
“Any interesting happenings in town?” I asked as I unfolded it.
Besides my own.
“The Roberts’ boy got arrested again for drivin’ drunk. His mugshot is on page three.”
They may as well just keep him at the jail house. He gets arrested twice a month.
“His mama is so fed up with him. She was in the bank last week talkin’ about it,” I informed him. From the stove, Mama shook her head. “Arlene is so sweet. I hate it for her.”
I nodded in agreement.
The mention of work reminded me I didn’t have my car.
Dak said he would take me to get it this weekend, but he will probably be with Cassie…
“Hey, Dad, can you recommend a good towing company? Or a hauling company? I want to get my car brought back from the mountains.”
“I thought Dak was gonna take you back this weekend?” Mama interjected.
Lord, forgive me for this lie I’m about to tell.
“He thinks he’s gonna have to work,” I fibbed.
“I’ll call Jim over at Miles Towing and Recovery and get it here today,” Dad promised.
Daddy for the win, as always.
“Thanks, Dad.”
Mama sat a plate down in front of each of us. “Y’all, eat up. Lee, Jace’s mama called here last night.”
I nearly choked on my coffee. “What did she say?” I sputtered. She patted me on the back. “She just wanted to check on you. She said she had tried to call you a few times.”
I didn’t even check my missed calls yesterday when I cut my phone on.
“I have had my phone off,” I explained. “I just didn’t want to relive it over and over again.”
Mama nodded sympathetically. “I understand, honey. She said she would check in on you later.”
“Lee, did I tell you Milkshake had her calf?” My daddy deliberately changed the subject.
Thanks, Dad.
“No, sir! I want to see it when we are done eatin’!”
He smiled. He had never admitted it, but I knew he enjoyed that I loved our animals as much as he did.
“You have to put clothes on first because it’s cold, but we can go after that.”
Smiling, I took a bite of my omelet.
I’ve missed my mama’s cookin’.
Eating at that farmer’s speed, Dad finished before me. “I’m gonna go call Jim at Miles. Go change when you finish, and we will go see Milkshake.”
With a mouthful of bacon, I gave him a thumbs up.
Cassie may have Jace and Dakota, but I’ve got a baby cow.