26. No Fucking Way
twenty-six
Liz
W\hen Jack and I finally manage to pull ourselves off of each other, I figure I better head back to the inn and get started on my day. The place isn’t going to run itself.
Well, it probably could run itself—especially with hardly any guests there.
But still.
Once I have all my clothes on, I walk over to Jack who has his back to me. A giant scar on his right shoulder gets my attention. With his tattoos, it isn’t super noticeable unless I’m right up on it. I take my finger and trace over the raised skin, making him instantly tense up.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“Old battle wounds,” he says, turning around so that I can’t see it anymore.
I’m sure there’s a story there, but he doesn’t seem like he wants to talk about it. So, for now, I’ll let it go.
I still find it hard to believe that I stayed the night with him last night. Who knew the two of us would have so much chemistry under all of our animosity? After the fun we had last night and feeling his hard cock pressing into me this morning, I knew I had to take another ride on that train.
Literally.
And it was just as good as the first time.
I wouldn’t mind doing it again, but I don’t want to seem too eager. Thankfully, he reads my mind.
“When can I see you again?” He asks, taking my face in his hands.
“When do you want to see me again?”
“Well, as much as I would love to say tonight, I’m on call. So how about tomorrow?”
I smile at him. “Sounds good.”
He leans down to give me a soft kiss. Without thinking about it, I pull him closer and deepen it.
Just for a second.
When I pull away, he says, “You know, I really don’t want to go work with a boner.”
“Now, you can think about me,” I tease.
“Oh, Liz, I’m going to be doing that anyway.”
I manage to pull myself away and head downstairs. Apparently, I don’t realize how early everyone at the auto shop comes to work because I’m greeted by my brother at the bottom of the stairs.
We both look at each other with wide eyes.
“Good morning, Dylan,” I greet and try to walk away without anything further.
I should know better.
Dylan says, “Hold on there, little lady. Do you want to tell me why you are coming downstairs from Jack’s apartment with that just fucked look?”
“Just fucked? What does that mean?”
“Sex hair. Same clothes as yesterday. Satisfied look on your face.”
I grab his arm and tug him into Jack’s office so that no one else sees us. “Yes, something happened between Jack and I last night, but I really am not ready for that to become public knowledge right now, so can you help me get out of here?”
He points down one of the hallways. “There’s a back door that way. It’ll lead to a small yard. Just go through the gate, and you’ll be back on Main Street.”
“You’re the best,” I say, pinching one of his cheeks.
Now, I just need to hope that no one else in town sees me.
The rest of my day passes in a blur. I decide to do some deep cleaning at the inn, and it keeps me pretty well occupied—although my thoughts are still occupied by Jack.
I’m not quite sure where we stand, but he said he wanted to continue where we left off, and something about that makes me excited. So, I guess I’m just going with it.
I’m in the middle of thinking about all the ways Jack can fuck me when I hear a voice call from the lobby.
“Hello?”
I put down the rag I’ve been using to wipe down a baseboard and head to see who it is.
Hopefully, it’s someone wanting to check in.
But when I round the corner, I see Veronica standing at the desk.
Even better.
No matter what, my sister looks like she just stepped out of a magazine.
“Ronnie?”
“Hey, beautiful!”
She runs over and wraps her arms around me.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m in town for a day, and I thought I would stop by and stay with my favorite sister.”
I laugh. “You probably say that to all your sisters.”
“You know what? I really don’t.” She smiles. “Now, I’m starving. What kind of junk food do you have in this place?”
We spend the next thirty minutes, raiding the kitchen and making a snack tray to take upstairs with us. Junk food goes perfectly with all of the trashy TV we are about to watch.
When we are both in our PJs and sitting on the bed, she looks at me and says, “So, a little birdy told me that you had some fun last night with a sexy mechanic.”
My mouth hangs open at her words. “Who—Who told you?” Before she can answer, I mutter, “I’m going to kill Dylan.”
“Do you think he’s told the whole damn family?”
She shakes her head. “I doubt it. He only told me because I stopped to see him first, and the fact that he was hiding a secret was written all over his face.”
“How?”
“It’s a twin thing. But tell me all about it! Was it amazing? Was he amazing?”
I let out a heavy sigh, knowing there’s no way she’s going to let any of this go. “It was the best I’ve ever had.”
“Aha! I knew it! I knew that whole big-muscled thing would come in handy.”
“Yeah, we had some fun.”
“Did I tell you I figured out where I recognized him from?”
“I didn’t know you thought you recognized him,” I reply, taking a bit of frozen pizza.
“Yeah. I thought something about him looked familiar, but I could never quite put my finger on it. But last week, I was in Miami, and I finally figured it out.”
“Miami?” I ask. “What the hell does Miami have to do with Jack?”
“You don’t know? He hasn’t said anything to you?”
“Ronnie, what the hell are you talking about?”
“Well, you know that guy, Brent? The one that I see whenever I head to Miami?”
“Sure,” I lie because I’m unable to keep up with all of the men Ronnie dates. “Let’s stop taking pit stops. Get to the point.”
“Brent is really into the whole UFC thing, so he insists that we watch all the fights. They were talking about the heavyweight championship and who had won it in years past, and none other than Jack popped up on the screen.”
I let out a loud laugh. “No way! Jack wasn’t a UFC fighter,” I say, unable to take her seriously.
“Maybe Jack wasn’t. But Jackson Barnett was.”
“Who?”
She pulls out her phone and types something into the search engine. After scrolling for a moment, she hands it to me.
I look down at the phone and see a large muscular man in nothing but shorts who looks like he’s gearing up for a fight. He has a buzz haircut and no beard, but there’s no question.
It’s Jack.
Those green eyes and tattoos are unmistakable.
“What the hell?” I ask. “Jack was a UFC fighter?”
“Yep.”
“Why isn’t he one now?”
She pops a chip into her mouth. “I asked Brent that same question. I guess that Jack got pretty badly hurt.”
“During a fight?”
She shakes her head. “Motorcycle accident. He and some friends were out racing on a dirt track one day, and Jack lost control. He had to have major reconstructive surgery, and doctors told him he couldn’t fight anymore. Plus, there was some question as to whether he was on drugs at the time.”
“So, why move to Lilly Leaf Falls? It’s not like it’s anywhere near Miami.”
“I have no idea, but I guess when you fall from grace, you want to get away from the scene of the accident.”
Don’t I know it?
It kind of hurts my feelings that Jack didn’t say anything to me about this. I get that everyone has their secrets, but I spilled mine to him. That would have been a great time for him to share that maybe we went through the same type of thing.
Is there more to the story?
Why did he change his name?
Is Jack his real name or Jackson?
What else don’t I know about him?