Chapter 2 #2
A tiny smile popped onto her lips. “Congrats on the dog. But why did you stop coming around? My parents are practically heartbroken. They feel like they lost two sons at once.”
That put a jolt through me. “Really?”
“Absolutely. They’ve been moping for months wondering why both of you up and quit on them at the same time.”
“I didn’t quit on them. It just didn’t feel right to keep showing up for Sunday dinners.” I tapped my foot against the leg of the table on repeat. “Plus… no one said I should.”
“Well, let me extend an official invitation to every future Sunday dinner from here on out. But don’t let me pressure you. Maybe it’s not as much fun to hang out with just me and the fam.”
The bar was noisy, but I tuned it all out to pay attention to her.
“That’s not it at all, Rissy.” How could I tell her that those family meals had been a lifeline for me? A connection to something I didn’t have in my own life. “I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate for me to keep coming.”
A tiny smile landed on her lips. “You know you’re family, right?”
And that right there might be half the trouble. I hadn’t known if they’d still want me around.
I tapped her foot under the table. “I’ll come around if y’all really want me to.”
She laughed, “Don’t make me beg.”
A warm glow settled in my chest. It felt good to be wanted. “Are you still working at the Red Oak Market? I haven’t seen you there lately.”
For a few years straight, I’d turned Wednesday night into my grocery shopping night because I always knew I’d run into Marissa there.
Marissa worked at the grocery store part-time in addition to the fancy gig that came with her university degree. Or at least, I thought she still worked there. I’d gone in quite a few times on Wednesday nights lately hoping to run into her by accident, but I hadn’t seen her there in a long time.
For a while it was a weekly occurrence. We had a standing date in the canned food aisle.
Every time I went in, we’d chat and catch up for a few minutes.
But right after Matt left town, Marissa had disappeared.
I’d gone in every other night of the week looking for her, but somehow I always missed whatever shift she was on.
“Oh, yeah. They switched me to mornings. I’ve missed seeing you there.”
Mornings.
“Yeah, me too. No wonder I stopped running into you.” I worked days, so I’d never considered going grocery shopping in the morning. But I would have if it meant I got to see her sweet ass.
Sitting here with Marissa felt right, like we were slipping straight back into the comfortable familiarity we’d always had with each other. And I was glad to see that she was no longer crying.
She gave me a tiny smile. “It’s good seeing you again, Sawyer.”
“Yeah.”
“I guess I probably look like a mess right now. I should slip into the bathroom and try to do something about my makeup. Is it all messed up?”
Damn. That was a trick question. Marissa was and always would be the most beautiful woman in the room, at least to me. But right now, even I could admit that she looked like a hot mess. At the same time, I remembered hearing that women didn’t always want to hear the truth.
After thinking about it for a second, I said, “Naw. You look gorgeous as always, girl. But your makeup might be a little smudged. You look like a Valentine’s raccoon.”
She gave me a beaming grin and swatted my arm.
“That’s what I love about you, Sawyer. You always tell it like it is.”
Without another word she stood up, slipping off to the bathroom.
I watched her ass swish away, while I told my dick to rein it in.
A few minutes later she came back out, looking more like herself.
Gone was the updo. And her smudged mascara. In their place was the fresh-faced girl I’d always known.
She plopped her sweet ass down across from me and said, “Why are you here, anyway, Sawyer? Don’t you have a hot date for Valentine’s Day?”
“Naw. I was just fixing a tap line for the guys, then heading home to my dog. I haven’t had much luck with the ladies lately.”
Marissa scoffed. “You having trouble with the ladies? Why don’t I believe that?”
I couldn’t tell her that the trouble was that none of the ladies were her.
“Maybe cupid missed my grumpy ass.”
“I guess we’re both part of the single for life club,” she cocked her head. “What happened with Avery? I thought you two were a big thing.”
That jolted me. Everyone in town had thought that for a while. It still grated on me how that had turned out.
“Naw. I mean, she might have wanted that. I actually hadn’t known how young she was when I asked her out.” The girl had been in her mid-twenties. That was way too young for my comfort level. I was thirty-six, and I wanted someone mature in my life. Someone like Rissy.
“I used to think I was too young for you.”
“You? Maybe when we were kids. But now…” I let that hang in the air while she looked at me with somber eyes.
She sighed. “When I was a teenager, four years felt like a billion. And now it seems like nothing.”
“Yeah…” My voice was husky and low as her eyes caught mine again, refusing to let me go.
For the longest time I’d thought of Rissy as Matt’s adorable little kid sister.
Then at some point she’d grown up and damn…
she’d turned into a woman that I couldn’t get off my mind or out of my heart.
She’d grown into her curves and ever since then I’d spent a thousand sleepless nights fantasizing about what I could do to her if I ever got her in my bed.
The mood between us changed, and an electric charge filled the air. I drifted my boot under the table until I made soft contact with her shoe.
“Fuck that guy, whoever it is that stood you up tonight.” Then I went out on a wild limb.
“Rissy, I’m in a serious date deficit. And it being Valentine’s and all, I think I’m going to die of a broken heart if a pretty young thing like you refuses to spend the evening with me.
You think your date would mind if I steal you for the night? ”
That earned me a laugh. And a sharp kick.
“Seriously. I’m fine. Thanks for the offer of a pity-date, Sawyer, but I’d rather spend the rest of the evening in my jammies drip-feeding ice cream into my veins.”
“That sounds awesome. And maybe we can watch a depressing drama while we’re at it.
One where everyone dies, ideally. I keep my jammies in my truck so I can join you.
But we might need to hit the grocery store for some ice cream before they close.
We’ve got exactly five minutes before eight p.m. Isn’t that when Red Oak Market closes? ”
Her cute little lips formed a tiny smile.
“No way, Sawyer. I would never get into my pajamas with you. If we had a sleepover, I couldn’t trust you for a second. I’d be liable to wake up with toothpaste all over my face.”
I can’t believe she still remembers that.
Now I was the one chuckling. “You can’t hold that against me. I was only sixteen.”
“Well, I was twelve! You know what that was like waking up to find out that my older brother’s hot friend had drawn pictures on my face while I slept?”
Did she just call me hot?
Now it was like old time’s sake between us. We’d always had a comfortably flirty banter. The kind that had driven Matt crazy.
I let out a snort, even as my dick activated in my jeans. “For your information, I only drew the flower on your cheek. Your brother was responsible for everything else.”
He’d covered her face in toothpaste and taken a polaroid for good measure.
The tiny slip of her smile turned into a grin, and I knew I’d succeeded in the first step of my mission. Tonight wouldn’t be an ultimate disaster for her.
There was still time to redeem Valentine’s Day.
“What do you say we get out of here and hit the Bear Den?” I asked. “We can drink too much and sing depressing break-up songs during karaoke hour. If we’re lucky, we could get kicked out for bad harmonizing. Max might even ban us for life.”
Marissa laughed and tossed her hair back, that gorgeous sparkle coming back into her eye that I was used to seeing. She still looked like a weepy, red-eyed woman, but at least now she was laughing about it.
“No way,” she shook her head. “If I do anything tonight, I need to throw some axes. I’ve got some anger to burn off.”
“That’s my girl,” I drawled. “In that case, will you be my Valentine, Marissa Miranda Myers? I need a beautiful date for the Ozark Axe House tonight.”
She gave me a tiny smile, her voice quiet and soft. “If you’d said that to me ten years ago, I might have married you on the spot, Sawyer.”
A warm glow settled between us while I waited for her answer.
Slipping back into Rissy’s life felt comfortable. Too comfortable. It was probably why Matt had always guarded her from me. Even though I’d never admitted that she made my heart sing, he’d been smart enough that I’m sure he’d picked up on the truth along the way.
“You want to take me out tonight? I’ll let you.”
It wasn’t a real date. It couldn’t be. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the hell out of spending some time with this girl.
Matt and I used to go to the axe house all the time, and of course, Marissa used to tag along and watch us. I’d even taught her how to throw an axe when she got old enough to hold one up. But she’d never been good at it.
It would feel like old time’s sake, minus the ever-present chaperone cock-blocking me from this fine woman.
She got to her feet, swiped at her eyes one more time, and let me guide her out of the bar with my hand snugged against her back.
Was I making a mistake? Fuck yeah, I was.
Spending an evening with Marissa could lead to all the wrong decisions. I didn’t want to betray my best friend by taking his little sister out… but I couldn’t leave her here crying by herself either. My heart wouldn’t let me.
Sorry, Matt.