Chapter 6 Dean
DEAN
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
SherriffMike Finch: Jackie, are you still keeping those raccoons as pets?
Comments:
Marjorie Brown: Plead the Fifth, Jackie. You ain’t gotta tell him shit!
Mollie Wilson: But she’s admitted it before. Can you use group comments as evidence?
Marjorie Brown: I’ve broken plenty of laws in my youth. They can and will do whatever it takes! Delete those posts, Jackie!
SherriffMike Finch: Dammit, Marjorie. This wasn’t your attitude when I helped you change your tire.
Marjorie Brown: You weren’t sniffing out arrests then.
SherriffMike Finch: A few months ago, Hugh was telling people to run over tourists and he’s free. I just wanted pictures!
Jackie Anne: OH, in that case, yes!
The beer in my hands was barely cold and tasted terrible. Clyde had said this place was one of the best in town, but both of us felt like we’d been scammed.
Clearly this place was trying to be like all the other popular bars. I normally didn’t mind that, but they had a limited stock, and the bartender clearly didn’t know what they were doing.
“Well, it’s at least some kind of beer,” Clyde said with a sigh. “You try to give a new place a shot and this is what you get.”
I could barely hear him and had to stare to make out what he was saying, but I nodded anyway.
Clyde had lost the remainder of his hair over the years, but he still had the same personality. After graduating, I wound up reaching out to him for freelance work. He’d taken me under his wing ever since.
I’d learned a lot from him over the years, including how to make connections. He’d been the one to tell me to shoot my shot at working with Wren, and that had gone well for me. After Dad was gone, he was the closest thing I had to a father, and I valued that more than anything.
I still worked with him a lot. Between the two of us, we’d garnered a respected reputation among anyone looking to build or renovate. When an office complex was announced out in Knoxville, he’d called me to ask if I would be willing to travel. I said yes, and here I was.
“At least the job went well,” I said. I was having a hard time cutting up like I usually did, and I had for months.
Ever since leaving Strawberry Springs, I’d been in a rut with everything, it seemed. I thought it would wear off over the weeks, but it didn’t. Clyde had noticed and grown worried. Mom had too on our weekly calls.
I had half a mind to think that Clyde invited me out to try to get me out of it. I didn’t know how it was going to go.
“You know,” Clyde said, taking another swig of his beer, “if something is . . . changing with your body, you can tell me. No matter how embarrassing.”
I blinked. “I’m not a teenager, Clyde. What kind of question is that?”
“Your mom wanted me to ask.” Mom had called Clyde? She must have been really worried. “And plenty of things can change even when you’re young. It might be a receding hairline. Maybe . . . things don’t stay up anymore.”
I’d jerked off. I knew that wasn’t an issue.
“No, none of that is happening. I swear I’m fine. What about work? What’s coming up?”
“Oh, yeah. Get me talking about work. That’s normal for you.” He rolled his eyes, but considered it. “Fine, we have a few more jobs in the future.”
That, at the very least, made me feel something.
What I did earned me good money. I was lucky enough to never have to worry about paying rent, and I usually found a way to give any extras to Mom.
She never complained to me about her finances after I moved out, but she had her own bills, and I wanted to help her.
She usually said no, so I found sneaky ways to do it.
The last time I’d helped her out, she’d threatened to hit me with a mop if I did it again. I’d have to figure out some way to pass on the luck.
“I’m your guy.”
“I know, kid. But you can’t live off of work. You need fun. Usually you always find that for yourself, but lately you come in and go home. That ain’t normal.”
He was right. The main way I had fun was finding a beautiful woman to spend the night with, but I also dabbled in other things, like hanging out at bars or playing poker whenever I got the chance. I hadn’t done any of that, choosing to distract myself with work more than anything else.
That ended tonight.
This wasn’t the kind of bar that had people playing cards in the corner. Nor was it the kind of place that had a pool table. It was all for dancing, and most people here were looking to meet someone else.
I surveyed everyone in the bar and my eyes immediately found a bachelorette party attendee staring in my direction.
She had light blonde hair and blue eyes so bright I could see them from across the room.
I’d had a lot of good luck with women at these kinds of parties, as they were always down to have a good time.
Never with the bride-to-be, though. That would always be off-limits.
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Clyde said.
I was broken out of my trance. “I don’t mean to cut our night short.”
“It’s fine. I brought you here to talk about how you were doing, and you seem to be back to normal. Enjoy your night with her.”
That was one of the things that I enjoyed about Clyde. He never told me how I should live my life. Mom expected me to have some amazing love story just like she did with Dad. Clyde cared that I was happy.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“Make it up to me by being yourself next time I see you.” He rapped his knuckles on the table before finishing his beer and heading out.
I took a breath and looked back at the woman that I had been eyeing. She was still looking at me and giggled when my eyes met hers again.
Usually I would try to strike up some kind of conversation before heading in to do anything else. Tonight, I wasn’t in the mood for talking. Obviously, that hadn’t gone well for me. I tilted my head, gesturing toward the hallway where the restrooms were, hoping she would get the hint.
She turned and said something to her friends before heading in that very direction.
I didn’t waste time. The second I was near her, I pulled her in for a kiss. I wouldn’t mind going pretty far in this bar, and then I could take her back to the hotel and enjoy the rest of my night.
I didn’t need to know her name or anything else about her.
But as my lips slid over hers, my mind went somewhere else. Suddenly, I wasn’t in a bar anymore. I was back in the Treasure Trove with Grace.
This woman didn’t kiss like her, and her breathy moans were over the top. They didn’t feel real like Grace’s had. Normally, my body would be responding the instant that I laid my hands on someone else, especially when it had been this long.
But there was nothing. No part of me was interested in her.
And that was when I pulled away.
The woman in front of me got the wrong idea. “Please tell me you have an apartment or a hotel.”
I tried to think about it. I tried imagining her light-colored hair spilled over my pillow. Tried to imagine going further with anyone other than Grace.
And my dick somehow got softer.
“I need to go.” I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of my mouth.
Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. “But—”
“Sorry, you’re very beautiful, but I’m not into it.”
She wasn’t deterred. “I can make you be into it.” She pulled me back in for a kiss, her hand drifting downward.
This time, I pushed her away. “No, I don’t think you will.”
Her brow furrowed and I could tell she was starting to get offended. I needed to get out of here before I broke another one’s heart.
“Have a nice night, ma’am.”
I left the bar in a rush. I told Clyde that I would try to have fun tonight, but obviously that wasn’t happening. Instead of going somewhere else where I might be able to play pool or some cards, I drove straight to the hotel.
Mom had wanted me to call her to catch up, more than likely because she was so worried. I could try to placate her while ignoring my actual problems.
“Dean?” Mom asked when I called. “You’re calling me at a decent hour?”
“Don’t sound so shocked,” I said.
“You haven’t called me before ten since you discovered the other sex.”
“Shouldn’t you be happy? You hate it when I go out to the bars.”
“You have me there. I just worry.”
“You have nothing to worry about.” That was a lie, but I tried to make sure she knew I was all right ever since we’d gotten the call that Dad was gone.
“How is the job?”
“Good. Busy. I got out late and was too tired to hang out with anyone.”
She hummed. “Usually you always have energy.”
“Maybe I’m getting old.”
“Save it. You’re under thirty. Are you sure—”
“Did you watch the last Love Island episode?” I changed the subject to something I knew she would love to talk about. “Who cheated on who?”
Mom sighed and I knew she wouldn’t be deterred. “Is something wrong with you? Did Clyde talk to you?”
“I can’t believe you called him. Yes, he did. Well, he tried to.”
“I know how it can be with boys. I thought maybe you’d talk to a fellow guy about it.”
“Seriously, there are no changes. I’m good.”
“You do know that I can tell when you’re lying, right?”
“Yes, I do. Can you please let me get away with it for a little bit?”
She went silent. “It’s not hurting you?”
“No.”
“Then, fine.” She heaved out a long sigh. “Let’s talk about Love Island then. You know I have thoughts about it.”
As I listened to her talk about all the people who were fighting for love on that show, I wound up on Instagram.
And I found myself typing in “Grace Day” into the bar. It wasn’t an incredibly uncommon name, but I was able to find her just from the profile picture alone.
Her account was private, which made me almost curse.
I half listened to Mom, but I also stared at Grace’s profile. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I’d never been like this over a woman before.
I shook myself out of it. This would end the longer I was away from her. As long as it stayed that way, I would be fine.
Nothing good would come of reaching out.