9. Dane
Chapter 9
Dane
Goddamn fucking Lennox.
I knew he lived in the San Diego area, but I sure as hell didn’t expect to see him in my bar in Coronado. I thought maybe he lived in Oceanside or Escondido, places I’d never see his ass.
“How do you know Lennox Sanders? And more importantly, why the fuck do you hate him?”
I glanced up at my friend with a raised brow.
Lieutenant Javier Cruz, my co-pilot, and Weapon Systems Officer, grinned at me as he waited for the story. His dark hair was buzz cut and his light brown eyes flickered with amusement. He was a chick magnet through and through with that grin full of perfectly straight white teeth.
“I went to high school with him.”
His eyes bugged out. “Is that why you were at the Super Bowl? Why haven’t you ever mentioned it?”
I looked up from where I was trying to decide which shot to take. I knew Javy had my back, literally, but this wasn’t the place with the object of my bitterness lurking around.
“I was there with my dad. Not to see him. And why would I mention someone I dislike?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Javy smirked. “You have some intense hatred for the guy, and if I have to help you hide a body, I need to know why.”
I didn’t want to rehash my childhood with Lennox. Just thinking about all that shit still infuriated me weeks after seeing him after all those years.
“Nothing to tell,” I grunted, smacking the cue ball and missing my shot. “He’s just an asshole who used to be my best friend.”
“But he knows Daniel?”
I filled my lungs with all the air I could, then released it. “Unfortunately. The fucker volunteers at the Youth Center. And my kid happens to love him.”
Javy blew out a whistle. “That’s rough man. Does Camille know?”
“Yep. And she likes the fucker too.”
He laughed as he circled the table. “You did too. Once.”
“I was stupid. And I won’t make that mistake again.”
Straightening, I glanced over my shoulder, hoping the attention whore was gone. But that would be too easy. There he stood signing autographs for a group of women.
My gaze caught on what he was doing. Focusing my eyes, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Then again, maybe I did.
Lennox was bent over signing a busty brunette’s tit.
Growling at his asinine behavior, I turned back to the table. It had been years since I ended our friendship, but he still had the ability to push every button I had without even trying.
The loud crack of Javy’s shot echoed through the room, drawing my attention away from him. If I could have gotten away with beating the shit out of Lennox, I would have done it. But the hookup artist was too famous around here and I’d be in a metric ton of trouble if I did.
And how would I explain it to Daniel.
Running a hand over my short hair, I reached for my beer. Even though the bottle was empty, I tried to drain the last few drops before Javy’s hand landed on my shoulder.
“I’m getting another beer. Want one?”
“Yeah. I do.”
He chuckled and made his way to the bar as I focused on the spattered array of solids and stripes.
I circled the table to find my next shot just as Lennox’s booming laugh echoed through the bar. Looking up, I found the asshole with his arms slung around not one woman, but two. And as they turned to leave, he glanced back my way and winked.
Instinct took over as I gave him double middle fingers like the teenager I was.
Lennox laughed and turned to head out the door with both women.
As I watched him go, a buried emotion arose. No matter how much I hated him, I could still see a sliver of the Lennox who used to come to my house every day after school.
My best friend that lived at my house more than his own.
The kid who substituted my parents for his own.
The teenage football star who later dominated my father’s attention.
No matter how much I tried to push it away, I was swallowed by the memory of the night we graduated from high school.
“Hey. I wanna swim,” Lennox slurred as we stumbled up the driveway to my house. He was heavy as fuck as he leaned on me.
“I don’t think it ' s a good idea.”
“ Why not? We swim all the time.”
I snorted. “Not drunk. What if you throw up in the water?”
Lennox laughed hysterically. “Why does it matter? I already pee in there.”
I stopped walking and shoved him down. “You asshole.”
He found that even funnier as he rolled around on the side lawn of my house. I was sure he was gonna hurl any minute, just from laughing.
When he could breathe again, he looked up at me with the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.
“I’m kidding. God, Dalloway, calm your tits.”
“Fucker,” I spat, reaching down to pull him up.
When we were upright, I slipped my arm around his waist and his arm went over my shoulders. We were three steps in before I wanted to kill him again.
“Hey Dalloway, I don’t pee in the pool. Much.”
I laughed and tried to shove him off. But he tightened his arm around my neck and stayed glued to me. He had no idea what that did to me. And I’d never be able to tell him how I really felt about him. But sometimes when he looked at me, I thought he might be saying something else.
“Hey, Dalloway? You got a Baby Ruth?”
I scrunched up my face. “No, megaphone. Why?”
Lennox laughed, then pulled my head to his mouth, attempting to whisper in my ear. Shivers ripped through my body as his forehead rested on the side of my head, and his warm breath ghosted over my ear. He nuzzled into my hair before he spoke.
“We can put it in the pool. It looks like a turd.”
I started laughing, and I lost my precarious balance, sending both of us to the ground. I fell on him, suddenly hyperaware of his proximity. As we laughed, our bodies pressed together, a nd a whole new level of sensations filled my body that I couldn’t handle. He was my best friend, and I loved him with every atom in my body. And even though he’d been by my side most of my life, he didn’t know how badly I ached for him. I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew he was the only one I wanted.
I rolled off him and onto my back. His arm was stretched out behind my neck. I wanted to curl up and put my head on his chest. But that was stupid. This was Lennox.
“Come on, dumbass,” I said, getting to my feet. “We gotta go before the neighbors call the police.”
Bending over, I reached for his arms and pulled him up. He’d had way more to drink than I did, and I had to make sure he didn’t get hurt. My dad would kill me if he was injured. Lennox was his favorite. He was gonna be a football star, just like him.
“Get up,” I groaned, pulling him to his feet. He was heavy as fuck.
“Why do you take such good care of me, Dalloway? My parents don’t. They kicked me out.”
I fucking hated his parents. But before I could stop myself, I just blurted it out. “Cause I love you, dumbass.”
Lennox stood and wobbled before grinning at me. “I love you too, smartass.”
I laughed and started us off again toward the back gate.
“Remember, you gotta be quiet.”
As I pulled him through the pool gate, his bodyweight weighed down on my shoulders as he clung to me, unable to walk straight.
We’d been to a graduation party and decided to walk home. The last thing we needed was for him to get caught for underage drinking and lose his scholarship. We had plans to go to college together, and I wouldn’t let him fuck it up, even though I knew my father would pay his tuition if he did.
He loved Lennox.
We all did.
But when he started singing, I knew we were in trouble. He was the worst and he was loud.
“Shhh, fucker,” I hissed. “You’re gonna get us busted.”
Lennox laughed like it was the funniest thing ever. So I slapped my hand over his mouth and pressed him back against the gate.
We were so close, my chest pressed to his.
Hitched breathing, warm skin on warm skin.
I stared into his glassy green eyes as he looked back at me. We were frozen in that moment as he snaked an arm around my waist to hold me close.
I could feel his erection next to mine as we stared at each other, hearts pounding a mile a minute.
He’d stopped laughing, so I pulled my hand away but didn’t back off.
Lennox looked into my eyes, then down to my lips. I swallowed hard, and he watched my throat bob. Was this the moment I could tell him how I felt?
Maybe. But I could ruin us too.
Before I could process another thought, Lennox wrapped his hand around my neck and pulled my head to his.
This was happening.
Javy elbowed me, jolting me from the memory as he handed me my beer.
“Thanks,” I muttered, then chugged the entire bottle. When I was finished, I sat the bottle down. He handed me another one, and I tossed it back too.
Javy leaned against the table. “For someone who doesn’t matter, you sure are bent out of shape.”
I burped, the faint hint of a slight buzz beginning to form. “Not bent out of shape. He just pisses me off, that’s all. And I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay. Do you wanna play, or have you had enough for tonight?”
I sighed, the anger beginning to ebb. Being pissed was exhausting, and I wasn’t used to expending this much energy on emotional reactions.
“Let’s go. I’m ready to get my dick sucked. No take homes.”
Javy grinned. “Yes, that.”
Like the good wingman he was, he took my empty bottles and put them on the table.
“We need to go to a club. And dance.”
As we walked out, I pushed all thoughts of Lennox Sanders out of my head. It had only been a few weeks, and I was already over dealing with him.