Sixteen - Rad
Ten minutes later, I return to the familiar alley with my newly acquired gift in my hands, smiling at Callum’s bored expression.
“Okay,” I say, breathlessly fanning my face with my free hand. Jesus. I haven’t run in years, and I guess it shows. “Now, I’m not empty-handed.”
“Rad,” he says sternly, stiffening my spine.
“What?”
“You can’t just march into the restaurant, hand her a bouquet of tulips, and expect her to forgive you.”
Ah, Callum, the cricket on my shoulder whispering logic into my ear. Always full of reason and concern, guiding me on the right path. But not today. I don’t need the right path this Saturday evening. No. I need River, a thorough discussion of forgiveness, and her pussy in my mouth. Yeah, everything in that order, too.
“Sorry, bro,” I say, clapping him on the shoulder. “There’s nothing stopping me from marching in there and winning her back one flower at a time.” Callum’s face drops in defeat, and his eyes roll toward the star-filled sky with a loud, long-drawn-out groan.
“Christ,” Callum curses, knowing he’s lost this battle with me. “If you piss her off, it’s all on you. Then you can tell the other two why she’s making our lives a living hell.” He gives me a pointed look, leaning against his bike with interest. He can pretend all day long that he doesn’t want me to do this, but I can see it in his eyes. Excitement sparks there for the first time in years.
“You don’t want to join?” I wiggle my brows, earning a scoff in return.
“She’ll bury us alive. Better you than me,” he grumbles, pulling his phone from his pocket.
“I’ll be back soon,” I say with a confident grin. I straighten out my shirt, double-checking the tulips in my hands and counting all twelve of the pink and white blossoms beaming under the streetlamp above. “Please, let this work,” I softly beg, staring at the bright orbs twinkling in the darkened sky above me. It’s all I have right now.
Something deep festers inside me, guiding me through the ornate doors of the restaurant with the name Cherry Blossom hovering above the entrance in golden letters. The intense need to sit beside River and soak her presence in has me bursting into the eatery like a bat out of hell.
I heave a breath, glimpsing the intricate decorations adorning the walls. The light atmosphere envelops me in a hug, pushing away the urgency I had waltzing in. Soft music filled with harps and violins floats through the air.
“Sir.” I raise a brow, turning to stare at the man beside me with his nose in the air. Wrinkles drag down his cheeks and forehead as he scowls, raking his gaze over my attire, and he scoffs. “You do not meet our dress code. I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he says, pointing toward the door with a haughty attitude I don’t quite like.
“Nah, that’s okay,” I say with a grin, digging into my pockets. “I can’t leave yet, bro. I have a girl to win back. You see her over there?” I ask, pointing toward the back of the crowded space where she sits with Mr. Handsy, snacking on delicious-looking sushi. When he should want to snack on my delicious Pretty Girl, looking like a full damn meal in her dress.
God damn. Up close and personal, she looks hotter than from across the street. Back in Central City, my girl would never be caught dead in a tight-fitting dress. Not to mention the makeup. But I guess she has that privilege now that she works for her brothers and has created this entire empire. My Pretty Girl sure has made something phenomenal out of herself, and I couldn’t be more damn proud of her. I’ll show her in the upcoming weeks that I’m all into this repair and refresh service she’s offering. And other things if she wants.
“A tragedy,” he mutters under his breath, following my finger. “But you’re still not appropriately dressed. Our attire requires suit jackets and closed-toe shoes.”
I huff, digging into my back pocket and pulling out my wallet. “I’ll pay you five-hundred bucks to turn the other cheek,” I say, waving the green under his greedy little nose. Instantly he perks up, watching the money like a pocket watch in front of his face. Yes, doorman, get hypnotized by the green in front of your face. Let me in! I want to beg and plead, but I know in this town money talks.
He peers around at the rest of the crowd, snatching the money from my fingers. “Then, Welcome, Mister…”
“Ashton Radcliffe the Third, my guy,” I say, patting his shoulder with an eager clap. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m on a mission to get my girl back.” I saunter away without a backward glance, darting toward the quaint little table located in the back. The further I walk through the tables and booths, the dimmer the lights become, and I squint until I get to my destination.
My fingers turn white around the stems of the bouquet when the fucker my girl is with raises his gaze to mine. A cocky smile pulls at his lips when we lock stares, and I’m eager to punch the sureness from his damn body—over and over. He hasn’t faced the mighty Rad rage yet, but he’s about to meet the bull if he doesn’t stop touching my girl. With more confidence than I feel, I wink at him, nodding in greeting.
“I believe you’re in my seat,” I say, pointing in his direction.
Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome has the audacity to laugh at me, waving a hand to the unoccupied chair next to River. Even better. I don’t need to sit across from her and play footsie; I need to be beside her, luring her in with my manly musk.
Shit. Discreetly, I sniff myself and recoil. If I had more time to get ready for this stalking adventure, I would have prepared a little better. Earlier, I pounded the drums to beat my damn frustrations away. And unfortunately, it shows with the stench coming from beneath my armpits. No wonder Mr. Doorman didn’t want to let me in. I’m ripe as hell.
“Take a seat,” he says in a smooth voice full of generosity.
“No! What the fuck!” River hisses at the same time, glaring in the direction of her date. Ha. If he’s not careful, I really am going to win her over and steal her away from him. But only after she stabs him in the dick to assert her dominance.
“For you, Pretty Girl,” I beam, presenting her with the vibrant tulips, even bowing a little to prove to my queen that she’s important.
“Wow! What a gentleman,” the man says, folding his hands under his chin with stars in his eyes, watching closely as I take a seat. “So, you must be one of the exes I’ve heard so many wonderful things about.”
“Rocco, I swear to God,” River mumbles, taking the flowers with a tight smile and setting them beside her on the table.
“Well, I suppose that’s me. Just depends on what you’ve heard about me. Charming, irresistible…”
“Annoying,” River gripes, slapping her palm across my lips. “What exactly are you doing here, Rad?” She raises a brow when I grin beneath her hand, basking in the feel of her flesh against mine. “This is a private dinner. No one invited you.” Her glare intensifies tenfold, lighting me from the inside out. Holy hell. I forgot how damn sexy her glares were. I’m going to—fuck, too late. Not now, Little Rad , I grumble to myself.
“Fascinating. I’m Rocco, by the way. It’s wonderful to meet you.” Reaching across the table, we clasp hands and shake in greeting. Rocco’s dark, devilish eyes twinkle in the low light with mischief when we separate, and he places his chin in his hand.
“Ashton Radcliffe,” I say through the gag over my mouth, grinning wildly when River huffs and pulls her hand away, wiping it on a napkin to remove my spit. “Great to meet you too. So, are you two…” Holding out the last word, I point between the two of them. A stark ray of hope flashes inside me when Rocco chuckles, turning a shade of red.
“Will you excuse us?” River asks sharply, jumping to her feet.
“By all means,” I say with a cocky grin, sitting back and expecting him to take the hint and leave the table.
“Idiot,” River mumbles.
“Oh God,” I yelp when her thin fingers grab the top of my ear and yank me out of my chair. “Pretty Girl,” I groan, grabbing hold of her wrist and trying to yank her hand from me.
“Excuse us, Rocco. I need to square some things away with Rad here before we finish our dinner,” she says in a sickeningly sweet tone, yanking me forward.
“Take your time, Doll! We’ve got all night,” he calls, waving us along.
“Pretty Girl, I swear!” I groan, hunching over as she drags me through the restaurant with no shame and throws me outside.
“You swear what? Rad!” she shouts, throwing her arms all around.
“I just…”
“You just what?” she shouts, pointing a manicured nail straight into my chest. “What the hell are you doing here? I don’t—” Her eyes lock on someone behind me, and she groans. “You, too?”
“In my defense, he-he dragged me into this,” Callum stutters, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Liar,” I hiss in his direction between clenched teeth. “Don’t let him lie to you, Pretty Girl. He came all on his own with little to no convincing.” I raise a brow when Callum flips me off with a grunt, kicking a foot at the ground.
River pinches the bridge of her nose, stepping back from us. “Just explain this to me. Why are you two here?”
“Ask him,” Callum says softly, eyeing River with hooded eyes. He watches her every damn move, just like I thought he would.
“Ashton,” she hisses my full name, making my heart leap from my chest when she glares at me again.
“Well, fuck! Pretty Girl. I saw that man at your house, and you look like that,” I say, waving a hand up and down her body.
“Like what?” she asks through gritted teeth. “And having a man at my house is none of your damn business! None of my life is your fucking business!” she shouts angrily, turning redder and redder by the second. “You lost that right when you left.”
Swallowing hard, I take in the rage she exudes. My damn heart hurts when she looks between the two of us. This is not how I saw this going. I guess I should have expected it, though. We’re not exactly on good terms right now. I have a lot of making up to do before she’ll jump into my arms again.
“I’m sorry, Pretty Girl,” I say softly. “I…”
“Just because you’re fucking sorry doesn’t mean you have the right to follow me out. This is my private time. I’ve lived without you assfaces for years now. Do you think I’m just going to open my arms and invite you back in?” she asks with moisture blooming in her eyes.
“No.” I shake my head. “That’s not what I expected at all,” I say seriously, taking a step forward. Gripping River’s chin between my thumb and forefinger, I force her to stare into my earnest eyes and really see what I’m saying. “I am sorry. I will prove to you how sorry I am over and over again. I will be your damn tail, following you on all your dates and outings. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, River. That I left you. That I left our fucking baby. That you had to do all this yourself.” Tears burn the back of my eyes when she stares up at me with those wide, moss-green eyes filled to the brim with much-deserved anger. “I’ll never give up on you,” I whisper. “Not again.”
River pulls back, anger twisting her face. “Just leave me alone. I’m your damn boss. Not your girlfriend. Not your romantic interest,” she chokes, bringing a fist to her lips. “I’m going back inside and…”
“Here you go, Doll,” Rocco says, emerging from the door with a grim expression. Handing her a Styrofoam box, he kisses the top of her head with affection, keeping his eyes firmly locked on us. “We’ll postpone this to another time.” Looking between me and Cal he frowns, shaking his head. “Take care of my girl, yeah?” He raises his brow, taking a step away. “Call me later.” With one last wave, Rocco disappears into the shadows, leaving the three of us.
“Wait!” River shouts, turning on her heel and groaning when Rocco’s sports car speeds down the road, leaving her behind. “Well, there goes my ride. And my phone. And my damn purse. This is just great!” she shouts in frustration, clutching the take-home box.
“Who is h-he, Little Star?” Callum asks softly, bringing her attention back to him. Almost.
Her eyes fall to the ground, and she shakes her head, refusing to look at him. There’s something so broken between them, worse than all of us. She can’t even stand to be alone with or look at him.
“Come on, Pretty Girl! Spill the beans. Is that your boyfriend, too? Are we adding him to the firehose brigade? There’s always more room for cocks, I guess. Is he nice? Is he hung…”
“He’s not my fucking boyfriend, you assface!” she shouts, her voice echoing off the surrounding buildings and filling the air with her rage. “Do you think I’ve had a fucking second to have any sort of relationship these past few years?” Her gorgeous chest heaves when she covers her mouth with her fingers and shakes her head like she didn’t mean to yell that. “You think I had any time to date while finishing college, raising a baby, being an intern, and then running my own department?” Pain encases my chest when the first tear falls, and she growls out with frustration, curling her fingers. “I barely had time to think, let alone chase dick.”
“We’re-we’re sorry,” Callum whispers, stepping toward her with a twisted-up expression, dripping with the grief I feel pouring through me.
We weren’t there for her. At all. We fucking abandoned her when she needed us most. Not only did she soar through the clouds, she fucking flew higher than the sun and achieved her goals. Just like we did ours. But the worst part about it is we didn’t do it together like we had planned. We promised to bring her with us and help her start a new life with us out here. We failed her. Miserably.
“You’re sorry?” River asks, shaking her head.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, Pretty Girl. We both are. Aren’t we, Callum?” My eyes snap in his direction, catching the emotions building in his gray eyes.
“Yeah-yeah, I am sorry. I’ve regretted a lot of things in my life, Little Star. But there’s one scene that plays in my mind over and over again, riddled with regret. It’s the night I came to your apartment and saw him there with you. I couldn’t hear anything that was said. But I watched him kiss you. And I ran. I ran so far away that I tried to force the memory of you out of my mind.” Callum runs a hand down his face and shakes his head. Grief flashes across his face at the woman that he lost in a moment of fear and misunderstanding. “I’ve never been able to admit to anyone that I regretted running. I didn’t really know what was going on, and it kills me that I never stopped to really think about what was happening right in front of me.” Callum’s breath shutters in his chest. Quickly, he averts his eyes from her as she silently stands on the sidewalk, clenching and unclenching her fists. “But I see the mistake I made now. If I had just stopped and not let my emotions take over and thought logically about what was happening, I wouldn’t have left.”
I can’t tell if the tears falling down River’s face are from anger or sadness. Her body doesn’t move, standing stock still watching as Callum continues to war with himself.
Angrily running her tongue over her top teeth, she shakes her head. “Why? Why the fuck are you guys doing this to me now?” River’s eyes look between the two of us, searching our faces for the truth that she’s heard from us in the past few days. I’m not sure what she sees when she looks at us, but I hope she sees that there’s nothing but honesty behind our eyes.
“Because it’s time that we set everything straight,” I say, stepping forward again and putting my palm on her cheek. Whether she wants to admit it or not, her entire body shudders when our flesh meets. “I think it’s time all of us sat down and talked. You know we didn’t sign the restraining orders. We had no idea about Lyric. It’s time, River. For our future. Whether we return to what we were before and start fresh. Or whether it’s too late to fix what we broke. We need to have a discussion and figure out what happened and why it happened the way it did.”
Once again, those big green eyes look up at me with continuous amounts of moisture pooling in them and running down her cheeks. I can’t tell what’s going through my Pretty Girl’s head, but I know at some point I’m going to get an ear full. My heart pounds when she gives me a tight smile, stepping back from my embrace.
“Okay,” she says with a resigned sigh. “But not tonight. I know we have a lot to talk about. I’m so fucking angry at you guys. But I deserve an explanation from all four of you. For now, can someone take me home?”
“Yeah, Little Star. I’ll take you home,” Callum says, waving a hand for River to follow him.
“Hey, wait! You’re my ride,” I say, sprinting after them as Callum hands River my helmet.
A smile blossoms across my face when she stares down at the helmet like it’s the bane of her existence. Her nose crinkles, and she shakes her head.
“There’s no way in hell you’re getting me on this deathtrap.” She shakes her head when I advance on her, pulling the helmet from her hands and plopping it over her head, nestling the straps under her chin. Ah, just like old times. “Rad,” she warns with a growl, reaching to take the helmet off again.
My fingers wrap around her wrist, stopping her from removing it. “No, Pretty Girl. Do you remember what I said before?” She shakes her head, frowning at me. “It was when you were about to get on my dirt bike. Do you remember that? You didn’t want to because you thought I was going to drop you. Callum’s got you, babe.”
“I won’t let-let anything happen to you, Little Star.” He eyes her up and down, taking in her trembling fingers and flaring nostrils.
“I swear to God, Callum. If I die on the back of this moving deathtrap, I will come back to haunt you,” River says through clenched teeth, glaring down at his motorcycle.
For the first time in a long time, a genuine smile crosses Callum’s lips. It’s like a breath of fresh air fills his lungs, and he can breathe for the first time in forever.
“Don’t worry, Pretty Girl. He’s got you. You just have to hang on tight,” I say, patting the back seat as Callum climbs on and scoots forward.
River stares down at the empty seat contemplating her options. Moving from foot to foot, she shakes her head and backs away.
I snort at her discomfort. Putting my hands on her hips, I suck in a breath. The feel of her warmth beneath me does funny things to my insides, and butterflies take flight in my stomach. Gently, I help River straddle the bike, biting my lip when her dress rides up her delicious thighs.
“I swear I’m flashing the entire world right now,” she grumbles to herself, pulling her tiny dress down. Gently, she places her hands on Callum’s shoulders with trembling fingers. “I should’ve just called a ride.”
“Now, now, Pretty Girl. You’re going to fall off if you keep your hands on his shoulders. Right here,” I say, pointing to Callum’s waist, noticing his shoulders bunch when I drag her hands around him and secure them at his front, forcing her chest against his back. “There! Now, you won’t fall off. Just stay like that and lean into my boy Callum. And you’ll be as good as new.”
“You-you ready?” Callum asks, peeking behind him as River tightens her hold on him and nervously nods.
“Hold on to your ass, Pretty Girl. He’s about to take off.” And with that, Callum and my Pretty Girl ride off into the moonlight, slowly making their way downtown and out toward the mansions we live in.
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I begin the long trek back to the band house. Sure, I could walk a few blocks and make it to my normal house, grab my keys, and drive my car back there. But I decide a nice, long, relaxing walk could do me some good. Besides, it gives Callum time to get over his fear and talk to River a little bit more. Because I have a feeling that in the next week or so, change is on the horizon.