Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
ERIKA
Who was at the door at nine-thirty on a Friday night?
A barely five-foot-tall woman with wild curly black hair and olive skin held a bottle of chardonnay and two wine glasses. “Hey. I’m Tonya.”
“Do we know each other?”
“Not yet.” Her voice had a bit of an accent. Maybe Spanish? As she stepped into the porch light, golden fairy tinsel woven into her hair glittered.
“If you’re here to ply me with wine and politely suggest I stay away from Josh Hurst, let’s fast-forward to the part where I say I’m leaving town. I’m not competition.”
She threw her head back and laughed—full-body, no-apologies laughter that shook with pure delight. “God, no. That man is way too tightly wound for me. I prefer my Latino man—open book, zero repression, and very generous in bed.”
Tonya sobered just enough to grin. “However, I do think the women of this town should feel a little threatened.” Her gaze flicked over me, amused and assessing.
“By you. That’s why I’m here. I had to meet the woman who’s got Josh all cranked up.
I haven’t seen him this alive since the day I met him four years ago. ”
“We bring out the pissy in each other.”
“I think it’s good for him to have someone get in his face and not kiss his ass or try to seduce him. Although, I wonder if he might want you to do both to him. I’m Dante’s fiancé. He’d say girlfriend, but he’s going to marry me next year. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
“I haven’t seen Dante since I got back. What has he been up to?” I peeked around outside, expecting him to be in the driveway.
“He and Josh went out after dinner. They go up to the quarry and shoot the shit. Sometimes they play video games at Josh’s house afterward. Did you know Dante is a sheriff’s deputy now?”
“An officer?” I made a mind blown sign by my head. “Last time I saw him, he was a permanent resident in detention for shooting off his mouth or selling vapes in the bathroom. It’s nice that he and Josh are still good friends.”
“I figured us girls could shoot our own shit. I need to know everything you’ve got on Dante from high school—like him selling stuff in the bathroom.”
I pushed open the door to let her in. “Come on in. Vinny is watching a movie. We can sit in the kitchen unless you want to watch Cars with him.”
“Do you have a bottle opener?” Tonya waggled her eyebrows.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Pretty sure.”
“I’ve got a bottle of red in case you don’t like chardonnay and a full bottle of whiskey.”
“We’re most definitely shooting whiskey.”
Two shots in and a lot of talk about Dante in high school later I asked, “Josh wound too tight? Are you sure we’re talking about the same Josh? That’s not the guy I remember.”
“I heard he had a real come-to-Jesus moment back in college. He crashed his car, got a DUI, spent a few nights in jail. Actually, I think he was in jail a few times before that for drunk fighting here in town. Ever since his crash, he’s been the picture of responsibility.
He barely drinks, won’t even speed, goes to church every Sunday and Bible study when he can.
He’s always helping somebody with something.
At first, I assumed it was just good optics for his business. Now, I think it’s who he really is.”
“You’re saying he became an upstanding citizen and a saint since I knew him?”
“Saint might be pushing it.” Tonya snorted a laugh and gave her head a slow shake. “He keeps his bedroom roster top secret, but the way he parades that pretty butt around, you’d think he was charging admission to stare.”
“You looked?”
“What straight girl wouldn’t? I don’t want to touch his complicated, screwed up ass, mind you.
He started dating that Milly woman a month or two ago.
I have no clue what she brings to their relationship.
” She shrugged. “Maybe she can suck a golf ball through a garden hose. Doesn’t matter to me, but for some reason Dante despises her.
You know that man can see the best in everyone, but she’s on his permanent shit list.”
I didn’t want to be this interested in Josh’s love life. But I was.
Tonya waved her glass at me. “Tell me about you. Are you seeing someone? Engaged? Divorced?”
“I was seeing someone, but he cheated on me while I was down here, something I don’t think is new. We broke up.” I stared at my glass. “I’m not that upset over it. I knew he wasn’t good for me. What grosses me out is him sleeping with another girl in my bed.”
Her face scrunched up. “Burn the mattresses, girl. That’s disgusting.”
“I should. He won’t quit texting me. It’s as if he thinks we’re still together.”
“How about we crack the wine?” She held up the corkscrew.
“Let’s do it.” I smiled and nodded.
* * *
JOSH
Dante rubbed his chin and sighed as he read an incoming text. He shifted on the rock next to me.
“Got to go into work?” I hugged myself against a gust of frigid wind, somewhat hopeful he needed to go.
He held up a finger while he made a call. “Did you text that right, mi amor?” There was a pause. “I’m on my way. I’ll get you.” He hung up. “So, uh, Tonya went over to see Erika. They—”
“What? They don’t even know each other,” I interrupted.
“Sounds like they do now. Knowing Tonya, she probably wanted details about me in my wild days. They’re a few bottles in and likely wasted. Can you drop me off at Erika’s place? I’ll drive Tonya’s car home. Glad you drove. Makes things easier.”
My heart thudded hard when I pulled into the Chomping farm driveway twenty-three minutes later.
The place felt hollow now that Roland had gotten rid of the animals.
Five or six years ago, there’d been goats, a working chicken coop, a mean duck that nipped my ankles the second I got out of the car, and a Great Pyrenees.
One by one, as they fell ill, he let them go instead of fighting to keep them alive.
When I asked why, he gave a vague answer that sounded like money might have been the problem.
It was a strange choice for a vet—and a sad one.
Dante didn’t even knock at the green front door. He walked in as if he lived there.
I followed behind, alert for an Erika attack. Vinny lay asleep on the sofa, his mouth slightly open. The home screen of Cars flashed across the large TV mounted above the fireplace. Popcorn had spilled on Vinny and across the carpet.
Dante whispered, “Heads up, they drank a whole bottle of whiskey.”
Nothing got Erika drunk faster than whiskey shots.
Tonya sauntered to Dante with a goofy grin. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “You always said not to drive if I had more than a glass.”
“You did good.” He kissed her again. “Can you walk?”
“I’m great.”
“You’re silly when you drink too much.” Dante chuckled. His eyes filled with adoration as he wiped hair away from her eyes.
Tonya tossed her long, black hair, causing her to stumble. “You love it. I’m going to do all kinds of things to you.”
“If you can stay awake until we get home, I’ll let you.” Dante picked her up. “I got you. Where’s your drinking buddy?”
She waved in the direction of the kitchen.
Dante gave me a double eyebrow raise.
“I’ll check on her,” I promised. “See you two later.” I took a few deep breaths on my walk to the kitchen, but it did nothing to settle my dread.
Erika placed two wine glasses near the sink. Her hair had been thrown up into a bun that had half fallen out. Yet, her movements seemed controlled. Maybe she held her alcohol better now than in high school.
Despite the emotional wreckage between us, my stomach knotted.
Those jeans should’ve been illegal. I recognized them as the pair she wore when she marched onto the baseball field and tore into me about my pants.
In that moment, I had realized something that scared the hell out of me: falling for her again would take no effort at all.
I’d known it when I sabotaged us the first time. If I hadn’t fucked it up on purpose, maybe none of this would feel so impossible now.
If I truly cared about Milly, I wouldn’t be reacting to Erika like this.
The guilt settled heavy in my chest. With Milly, there was comfort in the lack of surprise and a sense of doing the right thing.
But there was never this volatile mix of dread, anticipation, and electric pull that made me feel like one wrong step could blow everything apart.
And the worst part was knowing I might be the one to light the fuse out of an inability to resist.
Erika’s eyes were glazed when they slid my way.
A silly smile lit up her face, which was a huge red flag.
I’d met drunk Erika a time or two—it’s the South; what else did we have to do on the weekends in high school in the middle of farm country other than drink?
Drunk Erika talked a lot and turned dangerously touchy feely.
“If it isn’t Dr. Hot Ass himself?” she said.
Uh oh. “You think my ass is hot?”
She wavered but caught herself on the counter. “Those baseball pants make a woman want to squeezy touch.”
“Even you?” I put an arm around her waist and guided her out of the kitchen.
“Esss-pecially me.” She giggled and reached around to squeeze my butt.
I jumped even though her squeeze wasn’t very hard.
“So squeezy…but not squishy,” she slurred.
“Tight butt.” She laughed hard. “Might even want to lick around to the front of that tight ass, but why should I when I know I won’t be your one and only?
” She took a fistful of my shirt front to pull my face down so close that I could smell the whiskey on her breath.
“I’m a girl who believes in royalty…no, loyalty.
Like monograms…no, monogamous. Yeah, that. ”
“Do you want me to be monogamous with you?” I disentangled my shirt. The imagery of her licking around to my front killed me.
“Don’t know if you can.” She gave me a fake serious look.