15. Chapter 15
These last couple of weeks since the wedding have been extremely busy. Every spare second I’ve spent editing the images for the couple. It should take me one more week to finish them. After a shift at the flower shop and a few hours sitting at my computer, my stomach grunts for food. Neither of the men in this house interrupt me, respecting my need to get this work done.
I decide to brave the kitchen, where Cole is going through the refrigerator. This is the first time I’ve seen him since the cemetery, and he looks rough. His normally styled golden hair is sticking up, the skin under his eyes is puffy and dark, and his body sags in defeat. He doesn’t hear me walk in, and he jumps when he turns and sees me there.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I say to him politely but coldly. He won’t get more from me until he apologizes for his actions. I at least deserve some insight into what’s going through his head. I remember Foster’s words about giving him a break, so I’m not openly hostile.
He grunts and takes a drink from the bottle he pulled out of the fridge, completely ignoring me. I do the same as I rummage through the cupboards, looking for a snack to take up to my room with me. I settle on a bag of chips.
Cole clears his throat, and I look up at him, raising my brow and waiting for him to say whatever is on his mind. “Sorry about how I acted at the cemetery,” he says quietly.
I wait for more but he takes another sip of his drink. “No problem. I practically ambushed you all.”
“It’s not okay, but life is fucked up right now, and I took it out on you. I can’t right now, but I’d like it if we could talk sometime.”
“I would too,” I agree, though I’m not so sure. Part of me wants to walk away from Cole and not look back. I’m not sure I have enough forgiveness left in me for the man.
Talon’s arrival saves me from further awkwardness. “Kitten, I’ve been looking for you.”
I hold out my hands, “here I am.”
He looks between Cole and me, “I see. I have tickets to a concert tonight. A friend’s band is performing in the city. I thought we could go and have a night out. I need to come up for air.”
“Sounds like fun. How much time do I have to get ready?”
“Two hours. Is that enough time?”
I look down at my faded hoodie and sagging sweatpants. “Just enough.”
I shove a handful of my chips in my mouth and chew quickly while both men laugh at me. I wash them down with a drink of water.
Talon waits until I’m done before pulling me into his arms and kissing my lips. From behind me, I hear Cole make a low noise in his throat before he stomps out of the room. When I pull away from Talon, I roll my eyes.
“What’s his problem?”
“Jealousy.”
I shake my head, “No way.”
“Oh, yes, way. He’ll eventually pull his head out of his ass. I hope.” Talon lets me go, turns me, then slaps my ass to get me to go. “Now, go get ready.”
I comply with a smile.
I’d assumed this concert would be in a club venue in the city, like the Machine Shop where I’d watched Talon play, but this larger theater holds a few thousand. We’re here to see a popular indie rock band whose drummer is Talon’s friend. I even like a few of their songs. We stand in a roped-off VIP section in front of the main stage. Talon’s wearing a cap that hides his eyes and the top half of his face so he won’t be recognized.
I stand on my tiptoes to reach his ear, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with a hat on.”
“I’ve gotten used to them over the years. They’re not my style, but they’re a necessity.”
There’s still so much I don’t know about how he spent our six years apart. He’s talked a little about his addiction, his marriage, and rehab, but I know next to nothing about how it was for him to be a part of one of the biggest rock bands.
He turns me around and wraps his arms around me from behind. The last opening act has finished their set, and the stage is being set up for the headliner.
“Thank you for coming out with me tonight on short notice. I’ve really wanted to get you alone, and I couldn’t pass on the tickets when Sam contacted me,” he murmurs in my ear.
While he talks, his breath tickles my ear and neck, making me shiver. I feel him smile then he kisses my neck, making the goosebumps worse.
“I’d never turn down the opportunity to spend time with you,” I say, not sure he hears me until his arms tighten around me. I lay my hands over his and squeeze. I feel cherished in his arms as we watch the show. It’s been years since I’ve enjoyed live music, and I’d forgotten how freeing it feels.
When the show’s over, we grab some carry-out from a local diner, and Talon drives us to the property where his huge house is being built. The basement has finished being dug out, and it’s amazing to see what this mansion is footprint will be.
Talon puts his car in park, leaving the headlights on, and grabs the bag with our food.
“Come on,” he says, and I follow him out of the car and around to the hood. He sets our food down and opens it up. He hands me the container with my club sandwich and fries before taking his food and a plastic fork and sitting on the hood. He pats the spot next to him.
“What if I scratch your hood?” I ask.
“Then I’ll have it fixed. Sit your ass down.”
So, I do and dig into my food. We’re quiet while we eat, looking across the land and the lake beyond. I imagine what his dream home will look like when it’s completed.
When we’ve both finished eating, Talon takes our trash, throws it in the bag, and puts it in the car. Afterwards he stands in front of me, and I spread my thighs ao he can step in between, The skirt I’m wearing, a short, leather one that made his eyes bug out of his head when he first seen it, rides up and I feel the heat of his body through my panties.
“We shouldn’t do this out here,” I tell him with a whisper, although my hands clutch at his shirt.
“I’m not doing anything, you deviant,” he says with a chuckle.
And then he kisses me. Just a light pressure of his lips, but I need more. I use my hold on his t-shirt to tug him in closer, stroking my tongue inside his mouth. The kiss turns rough as I rub myself on Talon’s hardness, and he groans in my mouth.
I pull myself away from him, panting. “We need to talk,” I say.
He reluctantly lets me go and gets on the car next to me, putting his arm around me and scooting me into his side.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asks.
“You.”
“I’m not that exciting.”
I raise my eyebrow at him, “No, you’re only an internationally known rockstar.”
He shrugs, “It’s not really that big of a deal. Not as much as I thought it would be.”
“Really? The concerts, fans, and groupies weren’t a big deal?”
“Not when I came back down from the high and realized none of things really mattered. No one cared about who I really was. Mia tried, but I pushed her away. She didn’t really see me anyway. She saw what she wanted to.”
“Are you sure you want to go back to that life?”
“Performing was one of my favorite rushes. Our fans are the best. Now that I’ve taken a step back and become healthy, I can see so much clearer. I want to do it again on my terms, with someone beside me who cares.”
He looks down at me. I can barely see his eyes, but I know they’re trying to tell me something. “I love you, Blake Knox. I’m pretty sure I loved you before, but I was too fucking stupid to appreciate it. Now I promise not to let you down.”
My breath catches, but I don’t hold back the truth that I’d realized myself.
“I love you too, Talon Ward. I won’t let you let me down.”
And there, on the hood of a black Corvette, life changed again.
My date with Talon ends with a sweet kiss at my bedroom door before he turns and walks down the hall to his bedroom. He doesn’t push for more, and I’m surprised and a little disappointed. I get changed into my pajamas and lay in bed, but sleep doesn’t come quickly. My mind is busy trying to understand what has happened in my life in the last few months.
I’ve gone from drowning in bills and feeling completely alone to living in a literal mansion with not one but two boyfriends who love me. I’d be lying to myself if I said I didn’t have a load of fears about trusting these men with my heart again, but I can’t make myself pull back now. I’m all in and have to hope that trusting them again isn’t a mistake.
After tossing and turning for over an hour, I finally fall asleep. When I wake up late the next morning, I’m grateful I don’t have a shift at the flower shop. I’ve cut my hours because I’m picking up more photography gigs. Today, though, I’m taking a day off from everything and recharging.
When I get downstairs, I find Foster drinking a nasty-looking smoothie in the kitchen. He tips it up to me in a silent question. I shake my head and pour myself a bowl of cereal I sit at the counter with it and scroll on my phone.
“How was last night?” Foster asks.
I look up and smile, “Good.”
He winks, “I bet. What’s the plan for today?”
“Nothing. I want a day of absolutely nothing.”
“Sounds wonderful. Can I join you?”
My smile widens, “Of course. Pool day?”
“Meet you out there.”
I finish my food, clean up my dishes, and then rush upstairs to change into my bikini and grab a towel. Foster is already in the water when I get outside to the patio. I set my stuff down on a lounger and step into the water. He’s waiting for me when I sink down and pulls me into his body. His arms wrap underneath me, his hands cupping my ass. My arms twine around my neck, and my legs around his waist.
He kisses me and flexes his fingers, digging them into the flesh of my ass. I’m pinned up against the concrete side of the pool, and I can feel his erection through his swim shorts and my bathing suit. It kills me to, because I’m really liking where this is going, but I pull my mouth away from Foster.
“Whats wrong?” he asks, breath fanning against my lips.
“Nothing. I was hoping to talk.”
He grunts, “You want to talk? About what?”
“You.”
“Why me?”
“The last time we tried a relationship, I knew next to nothing about you. I’d like to approach it differently this time.”
He blows out a long breath, then lets me go and walks away from me and out of the pool.
“Hey, where are you going?” I call to him.
He doesn’t answer. He just walks over to a shed off to the side of the patio and pulls out two bed-like floats. He brings them into the pool and settles the pink one in front of me, “Get on.”
I slide myself up and lay down as he gets on his green one, then reaches for my hand to connect us. “Okay, pretty girl. I’m an open book. Ask away.”
“How did you pivot from hockey player to insanely popular nutritionist and fitness guru?”
“It took months for me to get over losing my hockey career, though if I’m being honest, I knew it was a long shot anyway. I didn’t have the talent Cole did, but I’d hoped to at least get to play through college while I figured my shit out. I considered going into sports medicine, but it didn’t fit me.
Before my injury, I’d gotten into what foods were best for athletes and had developed a diet for me and Cole while we were training. He’s the one who pushed me in that direction and then hired me after I graduated. The fitness and social media angle came about from a girlfriend I had briefly in my senior year. She was an aspiring influencer and talked me into joining her. I succeeded at it quickly, and she didn’t. That didn’t go over well, and she kicked me to the curb.”
“Did you have a lot of girlfriends?” I don’t know why I ask that. It’s none of my business, but my mouth acts without permission. “I always imagined you the same as high school, flitting from girl to girl.”
He grimaces, “College was a lot like high school. I was focused on the future and not interested in anything serious. I dated a few women here and there, but hardly more than that. Building and maintaining my career took a lot of energy. Plus, watching Cole with Hannah, I knew I wanted nothing to do with that. He was so miserable all the time, and I have no idea how he never realized it.”
I slide off my float and pull him out of the pool. We both grab our towels and dry off before Foster asks, “What now?”
“Talking time is over,” I tell him as I walk back into the house. Foster is right behind me as I walk through the stairs and up to my room, where we spend the rest of the afternoon.