Chapter 21 Rae
RAE
Arogue autumn wind blew through the back porch, ruffling my papers.
I had three business names typed up, with an equal number of marketable ideas that could be used to help a few spots around the town of Macon.
One was Nora’s parents’ store, which I was saving for last because I knew Nora would have to be the one to express the findings to them.
Her mother was too proud to hear any of it from me, but there were some easy tweaks that could be done to fix the signage and window displays.
My parent’s diner was also on my list, but for now I didn’t want to touch anything, simply because they were so focused on the new delivery service.
They would need a little bit of time to test it to see if it was effective at all.
Then there was the coffee shop, where Rachel worked.
I had managed to get in touch with the owner and had even arranged a meeting in a week’s time.
Ideas were flowing for the first time since arriving back home.
My setup in the backyard was finally paying off, and I was busy enough that I had completely forgotten about the planned sleepover with Davis for a while.
The order he had delivered the night before about sleeping over still thrummed inside me like a chord being plucked repeatedly.
I wanted to go; my body was alive and ached to be touched in ways that it seemed only Davis could.
I liked that with him it wasn’t just sex.
It was sexual—hot, dangerous, taboo. With my previous partners, we’d kiss, maybe fool around for a few minutes, but then it was just sex: guy on top, me faking an orgasm on bottom.
Sex was never as hot or insatiable, which only reminded me how Davis had handled my inexperience yesterday.
My face flushed, remembering how he’d gently tipped my head and didn’t allow me to make a fool of myself.
Instead he’d talked deviously dark in my ear, leaving scorch marks along my memories.
His words still burned in my stomach, making it flutter every few seconds.
I never even knew it was possible to play sexually and drag out pleasure in the different ways he did.
It was another layer to him that made me crave him.
But I was hesitant still and knew I would need to talk through a few things with Nora, especially after our purge session.
Right on cue, my back door slid open, and my best friend popped her head out.
“Hey, I was going to call you!” I called, setting my things to the side.
She sauntered onto the porch and plopped down. “Were you going to tell me about the man who was caught skulking around your house last night?”
Oh crap.
“That’s what I thought. I know it was Davis Brenton, and he came from around the back of the house, which is where your bedroom is.”
She waited, as the trees swayed above us, singing a silent song.
“Spill it.”
Heaving a breath, I launched into what had happened, trying to remain somewhat tactful by leaving out the juicy details of how filthy Davis Brenton turned out to be.
“So, you’re going for a sleepover?” Her dark brow raised, critically, making me feel insecure.
Pausing, I tipped my head back and looked at the blue sky. I hadn’t answered this question out loud yet, but if I was going to be honest with anyone, it was going to be with her.
“I want to.”
She leaned forward and grabbed my attention. “Then I think you need to come clean with him.”
“Clean?” I tilted my head, like I didn’t know what she was talking about.
“As in the teenage obsession, and the fact that you saw him having sex with someone when you thought he’d invited you there to declare his undying love for you.”
Oh, that. I hated how tainted the truth made my hormones feel. They had on major Davis blinders, definitely. My vagina didn’t give a flying fuck what happened four years ago, just as long as Davis made us feel more of what he did last night.
I balked, sitting back. “Where is this coming from?”
“Rae, just listen. I know you really well, and I know when you’re starting to fall for the guy that’s been sweet to you, or whatever the case may be.
You’re falling for him, and you’re going to get hurt if you don’t just rip the Band Aid off.
You need to tell him, and more than that—you need closure with what happened. ”
My face heated as I tugged at a loose string.
“Why don’t you want to?” she asked, as though she truly didn’t know—but she had to, especially after running from her new neighbor. She knew.
“Same reason you ran from Colson Hayes.”
Nora blanched, rolling her eyes. “I’m not falling for him, though. You are totally falling for Davis.”
“The past can just stay where it is.” I waved the air aside, as if it were as simple as that.
“Rae…”
“What if he pulls the plug the second he realizes?”
She scoffed. “No, he doesn’t get to. He hurt you—remember? He owes you. You were an innocent teenager with a crush, and then he crushed you. You owe it to yourself to put all this out in the open and get healing from it, otherwise it will just be painful down the road.”
Shaking my head, I stared down at my lap. “I just want to leave it, all of it. My hurt, the fact that he embarrassed me…”
“That’s not just your decision to make. You owe him the truth, but only because you’re developing feelings for him. It’s not fair to have this creep up in your relationship later.”
I stood, suddenly too frustrated to have this conversation with her. Sometimes the past just needed to be left exactly where it was. It would do absolutely no good to tell him that I was his stalker, much less that he had demolished my heart four years ago.
Walking back into the house, I tried to push past the pain, but deep down, I knew she was right.
Still mulling over whether I was going to stay at Davis’s didn’t change the fact that there were still orders to be picked up.
So, that afternoon, I walked into the restaurant and started packing the delivery orders.
There were only three, not including Davis’s order, so it would keep me busy for a little while.
I was looking through a few slips and orders when Carl popped up beside me.
“Is this the mountain order?”
I nodded, still too raw to talk after my meeting with Nora.
Carl examined the tickets and then clicked his tongue when he focused on the last name.
“Is this smart?”
I cringed, hating that he was acting this way. The complete opposite from my dad, except my father had no clue what had driven me from Macon four years ago. Still, Carl’s observation and commentary was riding too close to the nerve that Nora’s opinion had rattled.
“It’s an order, and my parents need the money,” I muttered, keeping my eyes on the inventory list.
“But it’s late. Maybe you should wait.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Rae, you’re not being smart.” He sighed, and I turned to face him.
“What does that even mean? I’m doing exactly what my parents asked me to.” My voice held an edge that could cut if people got too close.
Carl watched me with a pitying expression.
“I’m just saying, kiddo—you need to be careful; you’re just going to end up getting hurt.”
“Then let me get hurt,” I snapped, turning away from him.
Between the two of them, my decision to go to Davis’s was shaky at best, but maybe I needed to go, just to clear the air.
Perhaps that would be the first step in this relationship—so I knew I had steady ground to stand on and there wouldn’t be any secrets between us.
Decision made. I’d go just as soon as I was done with the deliveries, but not to sleep…just to confess.