Chapter 17
Brooks
It’s after midnight when my phone finally pings with a new message.
Aspen: Hey bossman. You stillll up??
Me: Yep. Need a ride?
Aspen: If you don’t mind.
Me: Stay put. I’ll be there in 10.
Aspen: Thanks
I hop off my couch and head straight to my truck. I wouldn’t say I’ve been waiting for this text all night, but I’m definitely usually asleep by now if that says anything.
Aspen looked good when she left her cabin.
Too good for any of the boys in this town.
I know that because I’ve watched most of ’em do the most idiotic things you could think of over and over again.
Another curse of living in a small town: no one forgets anything.
Can’t think of a single one of them that would be good enough for her.
I pull up in front of Roadside in no time.
Aspen is standing out front with Jasmine, the both of them laughing.
Watching Aspen laugh is becoming one of my new favorite activities.
Her entire face lights up every single time.
It’s almost as if she’s letting herself be happy for the first time ever.
Like she’s surprised that she’s laughing. It’s cute.
“You ladies need a ride?” I yell once I’ve rolled the window down on my truck.
“Just me. Jazz here has plans,” Aspen explains with a giggle and a hiccup. Looks like I’ll be handling drunk Aspen tonight. This should be fun.
“Yep. A certain bartender is taking me home tonight. Lucky him,” Jazz says as she gives Aspen a hug.
“Well, you be careful, Jasmine. And call if you need anything.”
“Got it, bossman. You just worry about getting my girl here home safe. She had all the boys at the bar buying her drinks.”
Jasmine helps Aspen into my truck, and I clench my jaw thinking about all those boys trying to get Aspen’s attention. I wonder if she liked any of them. It’s not my business, but something inside me really wants to know.
“That’s not true,” Aspen says with a slight slur. “It was one boy buying me a few drinks. You bought the rest!”
Jasmine laughs. “That’s true. Alright, you two have a good night.” She winks before she shuts the door. I’m not sure exactly what that wink was supposed to mean, but I’m choosing to ignore it.
“So, first night out and already got people buying you drinks?” I ask as I pull back onto the main road.
I want to know who it was so I can tell her how he’s not good enough for her.
That’s what I should do for Zach’s sake.
He wouldn’t want his friends messing around with Aspen.
Not when he’s still trying to convince her to give him another chance.
“It was one person. And he was nice. Not pushy at all. We had a few drinks and danced a little.”
My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I picture someone putting their hands on her. “Hmm. That sounds fun. Who was it?”
The question comes out before I can stop myself. I just need to know.
“His name was Dawson. I didn’t catch his last name.”
“Tall? Blond hair?”
She sighs. “Yeah. You know him?”
“Yeah. He’s a nice kid.” Unfortunately, he is actually nice, and I can’t think of a single thing to say to make her not like him.
“Well, that’s good. Maybe nice will be a good change for me.”
My knuckles are practically white from how tightly I’m gripping the wheel. What the hell is wrong with me? “You gonna see him again?”
She shrugs. “He got my number, so I guess we’ll see.”
“Right. That’s good. I’m happy for you.” That’s a lie, but I can’t figure out why I’m actually not happy for her.
She deserves better than Zach. He didn’t treat her right.
Dawson comes from a good family. I have no doubt he’d be nothing but respectful to Aspen.
But it still doesn’t sit right with me. It’s almost as if.
. . I’m jealous. But no. No, that can’t be it.
Her phone pings from where she’s holding it in her lap. She looks at it and immediately groans and leans her head back against the seat. “Oh my god!”
“Everything alright?”
“No offense, but your son is the most annoying man I’ve ever met in my life. Why can’t he just leave me alone? Hasn’t he done enough?”
“Did he text you?” I ask, trying to get some context before I answer her, although I’m not sure she’s actually looking for an answer from me.
“Yes. You wanna hear this shit? ‘Are you trying to hook up with one of my friends?’ Like that’s any of his business.”
She starts typing on her phone. I know she’s probably not sober enough for this conversation, but I’m also not going to stop her. She finishes typing, and her phone chimes almost immediately after.
“Ok, I told him it’s none of his business, and he said, ‘It is my business, but if you need to hook up with someone to get back at me, I understand. I’ll still keep waiting for you.’ He understands? What the hell?”
She starts typing again, but this time it’s accompanied by an evil cackle, and I feel like I should be concerned now. “Hey, what are you saying back?”
“I’m saying ‘good. I’ll send you a pic of me riding someone else’s dick since you’re so understanding.’”
Great. Now, I’m picturing her with him. What the fuck is wrong with me? Both Calloway men cannot be immature assholes to this woman. “Aspen, did you send that?”
“Hell yeah, I did.”
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter.
Her phone pings again. “Oh my god. He’s laying it on thick tonight. ‘I deserve that, Aspen. I deserve all the bad things you want to do to me. But that won’t stop me from loving you.’ Why won’t he take no for an answer?”
“I don’t know. I guess he doesn’t want to lose you.” I feel bad for Zach. He does seem to be trying. If he didn’t love her, I would’ve thought he would’ve given up by now. Unfortunately, his trying seems to be too little too late for Aspen.
“He’s already lost me. I’m not changing my mind.”
She starts typing something, and curiosity gets the better of me. “What’d you say back?”
“I told him to lose my number.” Then she turns her phone off. Guess she’s done with the conversation.
I park the truck in front of my house and turn off the engine. I lean back in my seat and turn my head toward Aspen. She does the same to me.
“You ok?”
She sighs. “Yeah. I’m never getting back with him. I just wish he would understand that and let me move on.”
“I’m sorry. I can talk to him again if you want me to,” I offer, even though he hasn’t listened to me yet.
“No, no. I don’t want to put you in the middle of this.”
I think I’m already in the middle of this, but I don’t say that to her. “Well, I’m here if you need anything.”
She gives me a soft smile. “You know what I would love?”
“What?” I ask carefully, worried about what she’s about to say. I hope she doesn’t ask me for something I can’t give her, because the way she’s looking at me right now with sleepy eyes and a shy smile, I might just try to give it to her anyway.
“I would love a bath.”
I chuckle. That I can do. “You wanna use my tub?”
“Can I? I promise I won’t take too long.”
“Come on, darlin’. You take as long as you need.”
I open my door and climb out of the truck. Aspen attempts to get out but ends up practically falling out of the open door. Luckily, I’m right there to catch her. “Easy does it.”
She laughs and hiccups, so I sling my arm around her waist and help her to the house. I open the door and help her inside.
“Mmmm, your house always smells so good,” she tells me after I’ve shut the door and started us down the hall to my bathroom and the big clawfoot tub.
“Oh yeah? What’s it smell like?” I guess I never notice the smell of my own home, but I’m glad to know it’s not bad.
“It smells like you mixed with something sweet.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. All spicy and manly.” She giggles.
“Well, I’m glad you like it.” If I’m not mistaken, she might be drunkenly flirting with me. While I know that what she’s saying probably doesn’t mean anything, it still makes me feel something I shouldn’t. Not for her.
I lead her through my room and into my bathroom.
“Wow, this is beautiful,” she says as she releases herself from my grip and spins around, taking in the whole bathroom.
I went all out when I did the renovations for this house.
I wanted it to be perfect in case one day I did decide to bring a woman into my life permanently.
I wasn’t looking for a bachelor pad. I wanted a home, and that’s exactly what I got.
The bathroom has his and hers sinks and a giant shower with a seat and a rain shower head.
A clawfoot tub that’s big enough to fit me and potentially another person in it is off to the side of the shower, and that’s where I head to turn the water on.
I dump a ton of bubbles into the running water and watch it start to fill up.
“Oh god,” I hear her say from behind me.
I stand and turn around to face her. “What’s wrong? Are you ok?”
“I’m fine. I’m fine. I just realized…”
“What?” I ask, trying to figure out what I missed.
“It’s just, you’re wearing sweatpants,” she whines and points to my gray sweatpants.
“And that’s a problem for you?”
“Well, yeah. Kinda.” She says this like I should know why my sweatpants are a problem. I think she’s forgetting it was well after midnight when she called me to come get her. I don’t typically lounge around in my jeans.
“Care to enlighten me on why?” I ask.
“Because they look hot as fuck.”
“What?” I manage to choke out.
“Yeah, look. I can practically see your…”
I look down and see that she’s gesturing to my dick. I turn to face the mirror and realize that you can, in fact, see the outline of my package. “I never noticed that before.”
“Yeah, well...”
“Would you be more comfortable if I changed?” I ask.
“I’d be more comfortable if you… never mind. No. Don’t change.”
I raise my eyebrows at her, curious about what she stopped herself from saying.
“Alright, well, the bath is almost ready. I’ll leave you to it. Do you need anything?”
“Um, can I have some water?”
I nod and excuse myself. I need to get out of there before I say or do something we’d both regret. She’s drunk. She doesn’t know what she’s saying. But I’m completely sober and way older than her. I should know better.
I distract myself by going to the kitchen and getting her some ice water and ibuprofen.
I give myself a minute in the kitchen to get my head on straight.
It feels like I have a crush, which is something I haven’t experienced in like twenty years.
It’s a foreign feeling, and I absolutely cannot be feeling like this for my son’s ex-girlfriend.
I’m supposed to be helping her out. Giving her a job and a place to stay because of my idiot son.
Not wondering what her lips would feel like.
After my brain and my body calm the fuck down, I force myself to head back to the bathroom and give Aspen her water. Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have offered up my bathtub when I’ve been having inappropriate thoughts about her recently. It’s almost as if I want to torture myself.
The bathroom door is cracked open just a little bit, so I knock to make sure she’s not naked.
“Aspen? I’ve got your water. Can I come in?”
“Yeah. I’m covered.”
I walk into the bathroom, and the first thing I see is a small pile of her clothes on the floor. It’s impossible to miss the black lace thong sitting right on top. Dammit. Maybe I should’ve changed out of these sweatpants. It’s going to be hard to hide what’s currently stirring to life in my pants.
I look up and realize that when she said she was covered, she meant just barely and only by bubbles in the bathtub.
“Ah, shit. Sorry. I didn’t realize you were already in the tub.”
She smiles at me, and I wonder if she wanted me to find her like this. “It’s ok. I don’t mind.”
She reaches her soapy hand out for the glass of water. I also hand her the pills.
“Here. Take these. They’ll help you in the morning.”
“Thank you.” She pops them in her mouth and takes a big sip of water. I do not watch her throat bob as she swallows them. No. I definitely don’t do that.
I need to get out of here immediately.
“Alright, I’ll leave you to it. You can use that towel right there. Just yell if you need anything.”
I turn to leave, but before I make it to the door, she stops me. “Brooks?”
“Hmm?”
“Can we forget about this conversation in the morning? My sober mind will understand that it’s not appropriate to be checking out my boss and be humiliated.”
She looks at me with her big eyes and rosy cheeks, her skin glistening from the water.
I chuckle at her question and also at my out-of-control thoughts. “Afraid not, darlin’. It’s not every day I’ve got a beautiful woman telling me I look ‘hot as fuck.’”
She groans. “Fine. But I still get to keep my job, right?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t say a word to HR.”
“Do we have HR?”
“Sure don’t. Enjoy your bath, Aspen.”
She giggles as I shut the door, leaving her alone. I head back to my living room and try not to think about the naked woman in my bathtub. Unfortunately, I fail miserably.