Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Rhett
I never thought that walking away from Shane would hurt as much as it did.
It wasn’t like we were dating or had been sleeping together for long.
But there was something about him I couldn’t shake.
I thought one night with him would help curb my craving but it only intensified these feelings.
I wanted more out of this. I didn’t want just sex. Not anymore.
That attraction for him had always been there.
It wasn’t like I was much older anyway. I ended up getting Brady’s mom pregnant when we were in high school.
Her parents weren’t happy, seeing as she had just turned sixteen.
But when he was born, that anger and disappointment was long forgotten as we stared at his chubby little face.
I had never loved something as much since.
When I rejoined Manny and Kyle, they were talking about a football game. I had watched it with them but at the moment, I couldn’t remember a single thing about the game. And that had been a couple of days ago.
“You good, Rhett?” Manny asked, taking a long swig of his beer.
“I…” I looked around us, my muscles twitching over my bones. “I think I’m gonna head out.”
“Really? Why?” both of them asked at the same time.
“Got some work to do back at the bar.” I threw a twenty on the table, muttered a goodbye, and left Coffee Beans & Love.
When I was out in the cool evening air, the downtown surrounding me was bustling with people. It was Saturday night and early, so they were probably going out for dinner or to a bar.
“Are you leaving because of me?”
I stumbled over my feet, almost falling flat on my face. When I composed myself, I turned around to find Shane standing at the entrance to the alley between the buildings.
“No. I’m leaving because I have work to do.”
“Right.” Shane came toward me, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Did you want to go on a date? With me?”
I stared at him. “Why?”
He grunted, rolling his eyes. “I know you think I still have feelings for Brady. I’m not going to say I don’t because I really don’t know how I feel.
But right now, I want to go on a date. We can go see a movie, pig out on popcorn and other junk food.
” He looked down at his phone. “There’s some movies starting in half an hour.
” He walked past me and stopped about a foot away.
“I don’t expect anything else to happen tonight.
I just want to see a movie with a guy I happen to like. ”
“We’re not fucking tonight.” If we were going to go on a date, it would be just that. Sex could make it dangerous for us, especially when I saw the way he looked at my son. He still longed for him, and I was man enough to admit that it made me jealous.
“That’s fine.” Shane shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I just want to hang out with you. Sex doesn’t have to be on the table.”
“Okay.” I nodded, closing the distance between us. “Any good movies playing?”
“There’s a few,” he answered, his eyes twinkling that I agreed to go see a movie with him. “What are you interested in seeing?”
“I’m willing to see anything really.” As long as I get to spend time with you went unsaid.
Going on a date with Shane was something that I never thought would actually happen. I had meant what I said when I told him that I didn’t want to have sex tonight. We needed to move forward. And sex wouldn’t help that.
“There’s some really good action movies out right now,” Shane said, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Sounds good.”
There was a movie theater close by, just a few blocks from Coffee Beans & Love.
Without even talking about it, we decided to walk.
Shane fell in line beside me, his hand brushing mine every so often.
Getting a sense of bravery, I closed my fingers around his and held his hand tightly in mine.
He looked up at me, questions dancing in his eyes. I shrugged, giving him a small smile.
He returned that smile and gave my hand a squeeze. I had a moment of fear, thinking that he would actually let go of my hand, push me away, and cancel the movie. But he didn’t.
“I was wondering if you’d be interested in starting over. This date could be like we had just met,” Shane suggested, shrugging.
“So that means we never had sex.”
Shane laughed, shaking his head. “No, that means we get to do it for the first time again.”
I grinned, liking the sound of that.
Shane’s laugh deepened, sending a flutter through my stomach.
I enjoyed making him laugh. I also enjoyed when he smiled.
It lit up his face, as cliché as that sounded, and made everything right in this world, seem almost nonexistent.
He was kind, passionate, a hard worker, and I could easily fall for him.
“I thought about what you said.” Shane coughed. “About Brady I mean.” He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I do still have feelings for him, but I don’t think it’s the way you assume I do. He’s my best friend. Noah and Presley are as well. They’re my family.”
“I can understand that. Manny and Kyle are my best friends, so I feel the same toward them. Even though they drive me fucking crazy half the time.”
“I’m the one who told Brady to go for it with Cam.”
My head whipped around. “Really?”
Shane nodded. “He went out for dinner by himself and saw Cam looking at him. I told Brady to go for it and to have some fun.”
“And look what happened. My son found the man of his dreams.” I liked Cam from the very beginning. Met him years ago when he approached me about teaming up for some of our businesses. At first, I had no idea he was fucking my boy.
“He did and I hope to find my own some day,” Shane said softly.
“Look, I…Fuck it.” I tugged Shane’s hand, spinning him around until he crashed into my front. Slamming my mouth down hard on his, I gave his bottom lip a gentle bite.
He moaned, slipping his tongue between my lips. He latched on to my shirt, pulling me even closer.
“Slow down, baby boy.” I broke the kiss, placing a soft peck on his forehead. “I didn’t mean to do that, but I wanted you to know that I’m here. I’m just here.”
He nodded, looking up at me with lust in his eyes and a rosy tint to his cheeks. “I’m here too.”
“Good.” I pulled away from Shane. “Now let’s go see that movie.”