20. Johnny
JOHNNY
“His truck’s gone,” I gasp, out of breath as I walk back in from of the parking lot, stomping the snow off my shoes and onto the mat. “Shit. I don’t…I don’t know what to do.”
After he ran off, I gave him a minute, thinking he needed some air.
But after another minute, my chest was so damn tight.
I never should have let him walk out that door.
Watching him punch a man for me was the most exhilarating thing in my life.
I even went to a racetrack once and heard the cars roaring around me and thought that was the most exciting thing in the world.
It wasn’t.
This was.
And now he’s gone.
I heard what Bob was saying. Even from the other end of the bar, he wasn’t quiet about it.
The cold sweat still lingers from his words.
I pushed it down, stayed put, not wanting to add fuel to the fire.
That’s the thing about being with someone who isn’t out; there’s a constant ache in your chest. You have to hide in the shadows even when every fiber of your being is telling you to go rescue the man you love.
He always says he’s not as strong as I am.
He doesn’t see that it couldn’t be further from the truth.
If I was as strong as he was, I would have been down there backing him up.
But when I saw his fist fly, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. And I just let him walk out the door.
“Go,” Sandy says. “Find him and see if he’s okay.”
I take a step toward the door. “Fuck. I can’t leave the bar.”
“We’ll get it closed up,” Rich says as he looks at Sandy. “And one of us will stay here in case he comes back.”
My nose burns. “You sure?”
“Go, Johnny. He doesn’t need to be alone right now, regardless of what he might think.”
Dammit, she’s right.
“Okay. Thank ya’ll. I’ll call the bar in an hour if I can’t find him and see if he came back.”
“You’ve always had our backs, Johnny,” Rich says. “Let us have yours.”
I race out of the bar and sprint the couple of blocks to my car through the snow. I don’t know where he is, I don’t know what he’s doing, but I am determined to find him.
My mind is racing faster than the wiper blades on my windshield.
I don’t have a damn clue where he is.
I replay every conversation we’ve ever had that included a location.
No way he’d go back to the arena. Maybe he’s at Millie’s trying to swallow down the pain with pecan pancakes?
I make the turn onto St. Paul Avenue and start heading toward the diner, but I hesitate, thinking he probably wouldn’t want to be around people.
I wrack my brain harder than Bear Bryant drawing up a play to lead the Crimson Tide to win the Iron Bowl—the way he had all the pressure on him before a game with that much history behind it—people up north here may not understand the rich history of my football team, the history of—
I freeze. Holy shit. I look both ways before whipping my car around, driving as fast as I can to the one place I know he has a history.
After a few minutes driving down Wisconsin Ave, I finally see a lonely strip mall that looks out of place among the historic buildings surrounding it. And, in the parking lot, a truck.
His truck
I can’t pull up next to it fast enough.
Sprinting through the snow, I tap on the window.
He looks stunned, broken, tears streaming down his face.
I don’t even bother to ask, opening the door and pulling him in tight.
He doesn’t hesitate, wrapping his arms around me like he’s falling from a tree and I’m the branch he’s grasping to for dear life.
“J-Johnny,” he says through sobs. “How…how did you know where to find me?”
“I remember everything you say, boss.”
He chuckles, his smile actually reaching his eyes. “You ever gonna stop calling me that?”
“Never. Now scoot over so I can get in.”
He moves across the bench seat as I close the door behind me.
“My anger got the best of me…again. I couldn’t help it. I’m so sorry I punched him.”
“I’m not. Bastard deserved it.”
“You…you heard what he said?”
I wince. “He wasn’t being subtle about it. I’m sorry I didn’t come over sooner; I didn’t want to egg him on.”
“Bob is a piece of work. And he’s not welcome in our bar anymore.”
My heart flips in my stomach. “Our bar, huh?”
He shrugs, his lips twisting into a crooked smile. “Unless you plan on going somewhere after what happened tonight?”
“Now why the hell would I do that? Here I got my very own flannel Prince Charming defending my honor. Not to mention…you are the one who keeps running.” I palm his cheek, melting as he leans into it.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but there’s nowhere you can run or hide that I won’t find you.
In case you missed the memo, Walter, you’re mine. ”
His eyes go wide, his brows nearly at his hairline. “I’m…I’m yours?”
“Yeah.”
“But what…what if—”
“No,” I say, my voice firm. “There are no buts. No what ifs. You’re mine, and I’m yours.
I’ve always been someone who’s been sure of what I want.
I knew I wanted you the minute I walked into the bar.
The moment you over-served Bethany’s drink.
The instant you slammed that terribly poured beer on the bar in front of me, I knew you were mine.
But the moment when you angry kissed me after you fired me?
That’s the moment I knew I wanted you forever.
The moment I knew without a doubt in my mind I was in love with you. ”
A single tear runs down his face, mirroring the snowflakes melting down the windshield. “What if I told you—”
“Walt, you don’t have to say it back. I just wanted to—”
“No,” he interrupts me this time, his voice soft and deep, hitting so low in my belly I nearly melt like a damn snowflake myself.
“I…I’m trying to be better about saying what I feel.
And if I’m being honest, I knew it from the damn minute you walked through that door and rang that damn bell that I didn’t want anyone else. I love you, Johnny.”
I cradle the back of his neck, crashing my lips against his.
He grips my shoulders, scooting closer as we open to each other, our tongues not colliding, but doing a dance we’ve become quite familiar with.
Like the steps have always been there waiting to guide us across the dance floor if we ever gave our feelings a chance to lead.
He leans in further, and I pin him down on the seat, getting ready to straddle his hips when—
BEEP!
We both pull back and laugh our assess off at my damn elbow accidentally honking the horn.
“I guess that was probably for the best.” The last of his laughter softens into a smile. “Something tells me we would have gotten arrested for indecent exposure and lewd behavior had the police walked up.”
“You’re probably right. I wasn’t planning on stopping until I showed you just how much I loved you.” I clutch my stomach after laughing so hard. “Speaking of the police…you worried Bob’s gonna do anything?”
Walt’s jaw clenches before he shakes his head. “Bob? Hell no. That man has more unpaid parking tickets than Wisconsin has dairy cows. If he goes down to file a report, all he’ll face is a hefty fine.”
I snort. “Fucking Bob.”
“Exactly,” he says as his forehead wrinkles. “Hey, I hate to ask you this since I ran out, but…did you happen to close up the bar?”
“Rich and Sandy hung around to make sure everyone paid their tabs and locked up. I’m supposed to call them here in a few to check in to see if you came back.”
“Your friends are good people.” He smiles. “Good people we should head back and say thanks to so they can get home before the snow picks up.”
“Yep. I’ll meet you there. Let’s get out of here and make sure your bar’s still standing.”
“Our bar, Johnny. If you want it to be?”
I choke back the tears that’ve been ready to fall all night. “Yeah, boss. I’d like that.”
I open the door, step out into the snow, watching him scoot back into the driver’s seat as I hesitate closing it.
“Hey, you know the great thing about interrupted kisses?”
He narrows his brows. “What’s that?”
“You get to pick back up later right where you left off.”