Chapter 19 Rush
RUSH
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve never second-guessed anything in my life. Not like I am this morning, about what I did last night.
I know I can’t entirely blame it on the alcohol. I’ve sent plenty of girls pictures of my dick while stone-cold sober. But last night I didn’t just send a photo of my dick to some girl I met at a club or on a dating app. I sent a photo of my dick to Nora.
The woman I’ve been harboring feelings for, who I kissed the other night.
The woman I can’t stop thinking about, who is my oldest brother’s ex.
The woman I know Freddie has feelings for too—even if he doesn’t say it.
I’ve seen the way he looks at her, with that look of need. My brother loves to be needed. And maybe Tommy and I reap the benefits of that too. I don’t need anyone to take care of me, and Tommy doesn’t either, but it’s nice to have someone you can count on, someone you know has your back.
I’ve never felt afraid to talk to a woman. I’ve never had a problem talking to women, in general, so why do I feel so nervous about walking into the damn hair salon and just…asking Nora out?
Seriously, did Tommy spike my pancakes or something?
All the signs are there—
We kissed. We might have been drunk, but it still happened.
Then there was the whole dirty picture thing—which, okay, maybe that wasn’t meant for me, but if not for me, then for who?
Surely she didn’t send it to Tommy or Freddie, or…Brett?
Though I can’t rule the last one out completely because Brett is the one who has actually dated her, and while Nora has always seemed like a good girl on the surface, I get the feeling that she could be vindictive too, if pressed.
Like if she found her boyfriend in bed with another woman…
I’ll admit I’m not just coming here to get my hair cut—though it does need it—and to ask Nora on a date. I’m coming to offer an olive branch. A fresh start.
Because something tells me we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, and I don’t like feeling out of the loop. And I definitely feel out of the loop right now, where Nora and I are concerned.
On my way home from picking up my dad from the airport, he told me he actually ran into Brett—who was headed off on some last-minute show thing that had a cancellation.
Normally, I wouldn’t care what kind of television bullshit Brett is doing, but the fact that Dad saw him physically at the airport told me something very important.
Brett is going to be out of town for at least a few days, which means the house is empty, which means Nora can go over there and get her shit without worrying about running into him.
Which is exactly what I plan to tell her. Or more like offer to help. I know she won’t be able to move everything herself, and her stuff sure won’t fit in just the back of her little Toyota.
Which is why I intend to drive her over there myself in my SUV and help her move her shit to our house. I haven’t really discussed it with Freddie or Tommy, and I know I should, but—I prefer to ask forgiveness rather than permission.
And knowing how much Freddie likes to take care of people, I’d wager it’s a safe bet he won’t make Nora pack her shit and leave.
The only one I really have to worry about is Tommy. I know he’s a creature of routine, and having someone new in his space is sometimes upsetting to him, but it’s not like he doesn’t know Nora.
Still, it wouldn’t be a forever thing. Just a temporary thing until Nora gets back on her feet and gets over my asshole brother.
Which I will gladly help with, if she lets me…
I slide my hands into my pockets and open the door, glancing in the space. “Be right there!” a voice calls, but it’s not Nora’s. It’s someone else. Familiar, but…
“Rush? Hey.” Nora’s friend, the dark-haired one with the sarcastic tongue—Abby, I think—waves at me.
“Hey,” I say casually as she smirks.
“Let me guess, you’re here for Nora?”
I furrow my eyebrows. “Yeah, how did you know?”
Abby chuckles. “Lucky guess.”
I see a guy walk out from the back, his jacket on and looking like he’s ready to go to the club by the way his hair is styled and he’s dressed in leather.
“Nora isn’t here right now,” she says as the guy waves and says he’ll see Abby tomorrow. Another woman comes out from the back with a basket of towels, her gaze flashing at me.
“Rush Sterling?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
The woman looks me up and down and Abby shoos her away.
“Don’t stare, Krystal, it’s impolite,” she says as Krystal mutters something.
Abby crosses her arms.
“So…what time is she coming back?” I ask. “Nora, I mean.”
Abby glances me over. “She’s not. She’s done for the day.”
My eyebrows furrow and I frown. “Oh.”
Shit, I hadn’t thought about that. I’d assumed she worked until four, at least that was what my mom said when I asked about the shop’s hours—under the guise I needed a haircut, and knowing my mother frequents the place.
And maybe I actually do need a haircut, but still.
“But,” Abby says, twisting her lips, “I could call her back…”
“You’d do that?” I ask, hearing the desperation in my own voice.
“What’s in it for me?” Abby says with a grin, and I freeze.
“That depends…what uh…what do you want, Abby?”
She taps her fingernail on her lips, seemingly lost in thought. Then she speaks. “Two tickets to the Lansing game Friday.”
“Done,” I say without a second thought.
“Really? That easy?”
I shrug. “I’ll put them at will call for you.”
She slides her phone out of her back pocket, and doesn’t look at me as she texts her friend.
“You really here for a haircut, Rush?” she asks. I note Krystal’s glances every so often, as if she’s trying to hide her eavesdropping.
I’ve never been one to consider myself a private person, so I don’t think anything of it when I say, “Yes. And no.”
Abby laughs. “Least you’re honest. But I have to tell you…” She looks up from her phone. “You aren’t the only Sterling that’s trying to romance her, you know. And you’re not the only Sterling who’s been here, today.”
I freeze at her words.
What?
Is Brett…is he trying to get her back?
No, I would’ve heard that. Someone would have heard that…
“Who else has been here today?” I ask carefully.
Abby smirks at me. “Tommy.”
Tommy?
Abby smugly bounces on her heels. “Mhmm. Caught them sucking each other’s face when I came in this morning. Gotta say, I never saw that one coming. You…yeah. I could see that a mile away, but—”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, taking a step closer to Abby as jealousy stings my chest.
Tommy and Nora…kissed?
What the fuck?
I think back to this morning, to his excitement. The girl he was all flustered over…is Nora? Since when did Tommy—
And then Abby’s words fall on me. She could see me a mile away…
“I mean, you’re Rush Sterling. You aren’t exactly covert.”
I cross my arms. “And just what is that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“Nothing. I’m just letting you know you’ve got some competition, that’s all.” She grins. “So you may want to step up your game.”
A chime sounds on her phone, and she chuckles. “Would you look at that? Nora says she can be back here in twenty.” She smiles at me. “Too bad the shop closes in twenty minutes…”
I growl, my fists balling at my sides, and Abby laughs. She just laughs like it’s funny.
“Although, I’m sure Nora is perfectly capable of locking up on her own,” she says, and my mouth falls open.
Abby played me. And too well, I might add. Because I fell into that too easily.
Seems Nora Brighton is my weakness in more ways than one.
Krystal heads for the coat rack, flashing a knowing smile. “Nice to meet you,” she says.
I nod. “Likewise.”
When she leaves, it’s just Abby and me.
The air between us is thick with tension.
“What are your intentions with my best friend, Rush? Because if this is just some hookup thing for you—”
“It’s not,” I say defensively. Abby doesn’t beat around the bush, and that’s something I have to respect. Just like I know she’s not acting this way because she has a problem with me, she’s doing it because she cares about her friend. About Nora.
And that is something I respect the hell out of. Because I also care about Nora.
And I would be the same way if the situation were reversed.
I think about her question. What are my intentions?
I know how I feel about Nora. How she makes me feel like everything is different and new and how she shakes up my world.
She has since the moment I saw her, and so I kept those feelings close to the chest and took it out on the ice.
But no one other than Freddie has ever known how I felt, so no one has ever asked me.
“I just want to talk to her, Abby. Talking isn’t a crime.”
Abby sighs, looking me up and down. “No, it’s not, but I think we both know you don’t just want to talk, Rush.”
“You’re right,” I tell her, because there’s no point in hiding the truth.
I don’t think she’d believe me if I lied, anyway.
“I want Nora. I won’t lie about that. But Nora’s not just some hookup to me.
She’s more than that. But I’m not going to push her into something she doesn’t want, believe me.
That’s why I just want to talk. Tell her where I stand. Let her tell me what she wants.”
Abby twists her lips. “And if she says she doesn’t want you?”
I sigh, my shoulders slumping. It’s a possibility. I know that. What happened between us hardly constitutes a relationship.
But still, there’s a sliver of hope inside me that I’m right. That my gut is right and there is something more there, between us.
But if she doesn’t want me…
“If she doesn’t want to pursue me or this thing between us—” I run a hand through my hair nervously. “I’ll leave her the fuck alone, and I’ll never bring it up again.”
Abby nods. “Good.” She looks at her phone, then to the door. “Have a seat. She’ll be here soon.”
I do as she asks and she sets to cleaning up her station, and sure enough, it feels like no time has passed when Nora arrives.
“Rush…” she says, the surprise in her voice evident. I lean my elbows over my knees, leaning over to look up at her.