2. Darren
DARREN
It takes no time at all to find out where Katie is. She and my little sister, Dot, have been best friends since they were in kindergarten. All I had to do was call Dot and learn that they’re both at some dive bar in Southeast Austin, a little over an hour away.
Dot assured me that all was fine, and that Katie had a bit too much to drink. Their hotel is nearby and they’ll call an Uber when they’re ready to go home.
This information should have placated me.
I should have been able to go back to bed, falling asleep quickly after a long day of exhausting physical labor.
But no. Unable to distract myself from the thought of Katie and now my little sister getting drunk in an unfamiliar place so late at night, I had to get out of bed.
Then I got dressed, grabbed the keys to my truck, and headed out the door.
On the drive over there, I replayed my conversation with Katie again and again.
I can’t stop thinking about it. Since I kissed her all those years ago, nothing has ever compared.
I’ve tried to get her out of my head but there’s no use.
She’s always been everything to me, and any connection I’ve tried to make with another woman — the few women I’ve been with since the night we kissed — has felt empty and dull.
No kiss ever measured up to the one we shared. I remember it vividly. The taste of birthday cake icing on her lips, the way her long eyelashes fluttered against my cheek. The involuntary sigh of pleasure that escaped her mouth as mine met hers.
It was her first.
And I selfishly claimed it, knowing I couldn’t give her everything she wanted.
Tonight, I think she just told me that she still has another first waiting to be claimed.
How the hell is it possible that she’s still a virgin?
She went away to college and then came back, she’s had years to meet someone or even multiple someones.
And don’t tell me there wouldn’t be a line of suitors willing to rid her of her virginity.
I don’t understand how a woman who looks like sin on two legs, curves as far as the eye can see, makes it to her current age without having sex.
But I know that the thought of it is driving me insane with need. Just like any thought of Katie being with other men has always driven me insane with jealousy.
Before she hung up, Katie also told me another thing. Something I hope is true and not just a drunken fabrication.
She told me that she used to be in love with me.
And if that’s the truth, then it means she’s capable of loving me. She used to love me. Which means that maybe she could love me again.
That gives me hope. Crazy, foolish hope.
I wasn’t ready for the things Katie made me feel back then. I was a scared kid.
But I’m ready now.
When I get to the bar, at first I’m worried that they’ve already left. Then I see Dot, who is currently dancing on the table with a beer in one hand while men whoop and cheer.
Only the fact that I’m still looking for Katie could prevent me from going into big brother mode and yanking Dot down from the table. I feel a jolt of brotherly protectiveness for a moment but then my eyes go back to scanning the nearby people, looking for Katie’s signature red hair.
I find it next to the jukebox. The beautiful girl that haunts my dreams is currently leaning against the wall, her eyes closed as though she’s in pain.
“Katie!”
I rush forward, reaching for her. Her eyes open and she frowns at me.
“I already paid rent this month,” she says, her words running together but still intelligible. “So you can get your dumb gorgeous face out of mine.”
“You think I’m gorgeous?” I grin.
“Shut up.”
“Can you stand up?”
“What kind of question is that?” Katie snaps, pushing off of the wall. She teeters dangerously in her cowboy boots, then falls forward into me. Her curves press against my body and I hold her up, looking around the crowd. Dot is chatting with friends now.
“Come on,” I tell Katie. “Let’s tell your friends you’re leaving for the night.”
“What? No.”
“You’re drunk.”
“Am not. I haven’t drankened anything in hours.”
“You’re aware you just said drankened, right?”
She frowns and I sigh, guiding her through the crowd, careful to let her lean on my arms for support so she doesn’t fall down.
“I’ll never allow you to get this drunk again,” I tell her in a low voice.
“ Allow me? You might own the roof over my head but that doesn’t mean you’re in charge of everything I do.”
“Well maybe I should be. You sound like you’ve had a whole bottle of liquor.”
“Look at us. Squabbling like an old married couple. We should just tie the knot and make it official, don’t you think?”
Oh, I think so.
The idea of putting a ring on Katie’s finger and planting my seed in her belly has never been more appealing than right now, knowing the new information that she confessed over the phone.
She was in love with me. She’s a virgin. I could be her first and only. She could bear my children and my last name, too.
We make it to Dot and her friends. She looks at me in confusion, then to Katie.
“Katie! What happened?”
“Darren’s theory is that I’m drunk.”
“As much as it pains me to say this, I agree with my brother.”
Dot looks at me with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you here? I told you we’ve got it covered.”
“She’s even drunker than when she called me,” I reply accusingly.
Dot looks at Katie.
“Katie, what the hell? Have you been sneaking drinks?”
“Of course not,” Katie says, her voice nearly as wobbly as her legs. “Just the strawberry lemonade.”
Beside Dot, a woman that I can only describe as pointy smirks at Katie.
“Non-alcoholic strawberry lemonade?” I ask, looking between Dot and Katie.
“I…uh…” Dot glances at Pointy Woman. “You’ve been getting the rounds. It’s non-alcoholic, right?”
Pointy Woman shrugs, still smirking. I think she knows exactly what she did tonight – got Katie drunk on purpose for some damn reason. Probably jealousy.
“We’re leaving,” I tell Katie.
“I want to stay!” Katie argues.
Dot shakes her head.
“Go on,” Dot says to Katie. “Darren will make sure you get home safe. You have to work tomorrow anyway, right? It’s probably better if you drive home tonight instead of heading back to the hotel with us.”
I agree.
Vehemently.
And not just because this curvy goddess is currently pressed against me, provoking a hard-on in my jeans that threatens to become obvious very soon if I don’t get it under control.
Dot looks at me.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “Don’t blame Katie. She doesn’t even drink normally. I think this whole thing was a misunderstanding.”
I look at Pointy Woman. I doubt it was a misunderstanding at all, more like a cruel trick.
If a man did this to Katie, I’d probably have him laid out on the sidewalk outside by now with a bloody nose.
But I don’t believe in hitting women, so I just give her the nastiest look I can muster. Her eyes widen, and she backs away.
“Let’s go,” I mutter to Katie.
She tries to take a step, and if I weren’t already holding onto her, she’d hit the floor right now. Instead, I pick her up and cradle her in my arms before carrying her out of the bar, to the safety of my warm truck.