14. Sparrow
Pulling down Jack’s driveway, I’m second guessing having him babysit tonight. Cam and Skye wanted me to go out to dinner with them at High Society. King reluctantly had to go in when his bartender didn’t show up. Even though I’m stressed about leaving the kids, I’m excited to see King’s bar.
Parking in front of the house, I turn to the kids in the backseat. “Are you sure you guys will be okay staying with Papa Jack?” The kids have made great strides in accepting their newfound family. Jack became Papa Jack this week when he stopped by the house and brought the kids bikes.
“Yep! Papa Jack said he was going to play games with us and make us pizzas!” Loch responds as she is unbuckling herself.
“We’ll be good, Mom. Are we going to Dad’s tomorrow?” Telle asks me.
“Yes, we're going there tomorrow.” Since we all had the flu, it’s been hard to get the kids to want to go back to our rental. I was confused by the schoolhouse at first, but it’s actually the perfect set up.
Walking up to the house, the door opens before I can knock. “There they are!” Jack opens up the door wider and after giving him a hug, the kids run off. Jack’s house is tucked back in the woods and overlooks the river, making it a fun place for the kids to play.
“You doing okay, Sparrow?”
“Oh, yeah. We’re good. The kids are adjusting well here, so I’m happy.” And that’s the truth; the kids love it here. It’s not just because their dad is here. They love to be outdoors playing, and there are a lot of wide-open places to explore here.
“That’s great, but I asked how you are doing?”
I hate talking about me, it’s my least favorite topic. I could talk about the kids or my work all day, but ask me a personal question and I clam up.
“I’m taking it one day at a time. For the most part, I’m good. I didn’t think I was going to love Michigan, but I do.”
Jack starts laughing before he responds. “I’ll ask you again when you have your first winter up here. It’s beautiful, but it can be brutal.”
Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be leaving the house when the snow hits.
“Well, I’ll let you get to dinner. Thank you for bringing me my grandkids.” He gives me a quick hug and I’m walking back to my car. I need to look into getting a new, used car. This one has been on its last leg for a few years now.
Walking into High Society, I’m greeted by a rustic, open wide space. High top tables sit in the middle of the room, booths along one wall, and a long bar situated on the back wall. Spotting Cam and Skye in a corner booth, I make my way over to them.
Sitting down, I take in my best friend. I guessed that she was pregnant, but Skye doesn’t want anyone to talk about it. She has had two miscarriages already, and she is terrified to get excited about this baby.
“Hey, guys. Sorry if I’m late. I dropped the kids off at Jack’s for the night.”
“And you’re second guessing that and are going to be worried all night,” Skye responds from across from me.
My best friend knows me well, I am nervous. Not because I think Jack is incapable of taking care of them, but because I don’t like when they aren’t with me. Loche went to her first sleepover this year for a friend's birthday, but I was called in the middle of the night to come pick her up. By the time I got to the house, Loche had worked herself into a panic attack.
We’ve paused sleepovers until further notice.
Spotting King from the corner of my eye, I watch him work from the safety of the booth. Like every other day, he captures my attention. His jeans hug his ass, making it look amazing; yeah, women check out men’s asses if they look good. His black High Society T-shirt brings details to his chest and arm muscles. And his tattoos…those look pretty good too.
“Something interesting up there?” Skye asks as she starts laughing.
“Shut up,” I mumble.
“You planning on letting him off the hook anytime soon?" This comes from Cam, but I don’t have a chance to respond to him. A woman walks up to the bar, leans across it, and grabs a hold of King’s T-shirt before kissing him.
Before I understand what I’m doing, I’m out of the booth with Cam and Skye calling after me. Making it to the bar, I crouch under the divider and stop next to King. The floozy is still leaning across the bar, to my annoyance.
“Can I help you?” the woman annoyingly barks out.
“I was wondering the same thing,” I reply back.
“What?”
“Well, I didn’t know if you were a touch blind, or if it was because you didn’t have the highest IQ. You see the name across his knuckles? That’s my name. So, if I were you, I would never kiss this man again.”
King grabs a hold of my hand and pulls me through the bar, down a hallway, and into an office. I’m so mad at myself for losing my cool, but c’mon. I’m tattooed all over this man’s body. King slams the door behind us, and I start to get worried that I crossed a line back there.
“Listen, I’m sorry if that was your girlfriend or something.” I rush out.
“Stop talking,” King demands.
“Excuse me?” Okay, I’m starting to lose my patience now.
“Bird.”
“King.” I parrot back. This was a mistake, I should’ve stayed home with the kids, had a pizza and movie night. I definitely shouldn’t have come up here where I have to witness what King does every night. I’m sure plenty of women throw themselves at him.
“Were you jealous?”
“Well…I mean, how desperate does a person need to be? I was just stating the obvious.”
Liar.
King steps closer to me, making me step back until I hit the door. Without thinking, I reach out and grab ahold of his shirt. One kiss wouldn’t kill me. But I know that I wouldn’t be able to stop at just one kiss. Like it has a mind of its own, my hand moves underneath his shirt. The feel of his solid abs makes my hormones want to keep exploring, but my brain overrides those pesky hormones.
“Oh, Bird.” King closes his eyes before they open back up and he stabs me with his stare. “I want to kiss you, but once I do, you're mine again.”
Screw it, I’ll freak out about this later.
“Who was that woman?” That answer will sway my decision.
“Ace’s latest conquest. I’m assuming she thinks that if she makes him jealous with me, he'll want her back.”
Staring in his eyes, all I see shining back at me is the truth. So, I say the only thing I can. “Kiss me, King.”
He wastes no time pulling me in flush with his body. King searches my face before bending down and slowly capturing my lips. The kiss quickly turns heated when he picks me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist. Gripping the back of my neck, angling my head where he wants it, he starts kissing down my neck while I dig my nails into his shoulders.
We pull apart from each other, breathless. Not to sound sappy, but that kiss is the kind they make those emotional songs about. There has never been anyone like Kingston Bluff, that kiss sealed my fate.
“God damn, I’ve fucking missed you, Bird.” King pants out.
“Now what?” The doubt is creeping in fast, and I need him to say something to make it go away.
“Now, we're together. And we're going to be together until the day I leave this Earth. You are going to let me love you like I’ve wanted to do for the last eight years. And now you are going to nod your head, give me another kiss, and then as much as I don’t want to, I’m the only bartender tonight.”
Well, who am I to argue?
I’m tired of fighting my feelings for this man. He’s here, in front of me, offering me the one thing that I’ve wanted for years. I’m tired. I’m tired of having to be so strong. Of the daily struggle of life, and I just want…him.
Crashing my lips to his, I start to unwrap my legs. King slowly lowers me to the ground, but he doesn’t release me. Softly, he tells me, “I love you, Sparrow. There hasn’t been a day that I haven’t loved you.”
He releases me, but once he has the door open, he grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers. His grip is tight, like he is afraid if he lets go, I’ll disappear. Following him behind the bar, I cringe because there is a line of people waiting to be served. Cam is on the other end, pouring beers.
I step up to the first person and get their order. I’ve waited tables and bartended on the side for years, this is nothing. King’s fingers graze my lower back as he gets the next order. We continue to work through the orders side by side for the next twenty minutes until everyone is served.
“What do you want for dinner, Bird?” King whispers in my ear as he plays with a strand of my hair.
“A cheeseburger. Fries,” I tell him without thinking.
“Well done. No pickles.”
“You remember?” I say in awe. How does this man remember how I like my cheeseburgers?
“I remember everything, my Bird.” King kisses me on the temple before entering my order.
After dinner, I stay at the bar as long as I could before I felt like I was going to fall asleep, but I can’t do it anymore.
“King, I’m going to head home. I’m falling asleep.” Cam took Skye home close to an hour ago. For some reason, I thought I could make it until close.
“Okay, Bird. Let me walk you out,” King tells me as he walks around the bar. Taking a look around, there are only a handful of people left in the bar. I guess King trusts these people for a few minutes.
Walking out into the dark night, King wraps his arm around me, pulling me into his side. “You and the kids are still coming over tomorrow, right?” he asks me as we reach my car.
“Yeah, I just have to pick the kids up in the morning, and then we're going to head over. Unless that’s too early.”
“Nope. That’s perfect. Plan on staying the night,” he tells me with a smirk on his face.
“We’ll see about that. We need to ease the kids into this, they’ve had a lot of changes in a short period of time.”
“Whatever you say, I’ll do. But I’m not going anywhere, and we established that you aren’t either.” After I yawn, King wraps me in his arms. “Text me when you get home. And when you get inside. Maybe you should just go to my house.”
“I’ll be fine, King. I’ll text you in a couple of minutes.”
The drive only takes a few minutes, and I’m walking into the empty house. I don’t do well with being alone. You would think that I would relish in having the night to myself, but it’s the complete opposite. I’ve been so busy for so many years, that when there's actually down time, I feel like I’m doing something wrong.
After getting ready for bed, I take advantage of the kids being gone and climb into Loch’s bed. I would rather her be home, but I’m not going to let a good bed go to waste. I hope I’m not making a mistake letting King in, but this is King. My King.
He’s always been the one I wanted. The only one that made sense in my soul. And he’s here, wanting us to be a family.
I would be stupid to not let this perfect man love me.