25. JOSH
JOSH
April was sleeping peacefully when I woke up.
I tossed on some basketball shorts and a shirt, scribbled a note, and went for a run.
Despite it being sunrise, the air was already thick and sticky thanks to the late-July heat.
The kind that matted your hair to your head and made sweat bead down your back just stepping outside.
My mind was playing last night on repeat, and I needed to figure out how, and if, we’d crossed one too many lines.
I’d slept with her. I craved her. I wanted nothing more than to make her scream my name as she came undone, and what was worse, I wanted more. Hence the reason I needed to clear my head. Fake dating didn’t have real strings and sex was more like a rope than a string.
The entire night I’d laid there listening to her shallow breathing and watching her chest rise and fall.
I wanted so badly to hold on to her. Something about the similarity of her childhood to mine and never seeming to be good enough no matter what I accomplished, had me seeing her in a different light.
Understanding how misunderstood she was and how much of an ass I’d been to her.
A car horn blared behind me, making nearly jump into the hedges of a lawn.
“Watch where you run!” A guy yelled out the window, speeding past me.
Clutching my chest, I flipped him off before leaning over to catch my breath. Fuck, I felt out of shape this morning.
Since I was familiar with the area, I knew April’s grandparent’s cottage wasn’t far from Main Street.
It’d probably be nice if I picked April up one of those fancy lattes she liked.
I jogged through the streets lined with a mix of cottages that could pass as main houses, then some smaller cottages that appeared original with some peeling paint, worn fences, and grass that was just a touch too long.
Main Street looked the same as it did last summer when I was here.
The storefronts were vibrant and inviting with big planters filled with brightly colored flowers.
Signs were propped up outside advertising sales or “best breakfast” in town.
FYI, not wrong. The guys went last year, and something about that eggs benny was perfection.
Maybe I’d ask April if she wanted to grab a bite before we headed home.
Passing the General Store and the pizzeria, I made my way into Ma’s Bakery.
The smell was overwhelmingly sweet with fresh baked goods and roasted coffee.
My stomach grumbled as I took my place in line behind a young googly-eyed couple that were a little too giddy for six a.m. I wondered about their story, how long had they been together?
Was it their first morning after? That’s always an interesting one.
I thought about my own mixed feelings about today.
The last thing I wanted to do was complicate our situationship with sex, but fuck.
I couldn’t hold back. It was combustible between us and I think we both needed the relief.
At least, that was what I was telling myself.
Maybe we could make this a friends with benefits thing?
Our deal was only just beginning and I doubted we could take sex off the table now, although if she wanted to, I’d respect that decision. Even if it gave me blue balls.
The couple ahead of me cleared their throats, snapping me back into reality. They were both staring at me.
“Hi?” I waved awkwardly.
“Josh Davidson?” the guy asked nervously.
“Yeah.”
He grinned. “I told you.”
She glared at him like oooh whoopie. I had to hide the smile threatening to show.
“What are you doing up here?”
Changing the subject, I asked. “You want me to sign something?”
He patted himself down. “Shit. I don’t have anything.”
“No worries.” I nodded.
“How about a pic?” the guy asked cautiously.
“Sure.”
He quickly fished his phone from his pocket and snapped a couple of pictures.
Then they placed their orders and stood clutching each other while they waited.
My eyes wandered through the menu, debating between the breakfast bites, a blend egg and cheese with tomatoes rolled into a puff pastry, or a cinnamon roll.
Tough call. Not being able to decide, I went with two of each.
Breakfast and a snack. I ordered my usual dark-roast black coffee and April a latte.
“Josh?” a familiar woman’s voice called from behind me. Shoot.
Millie, Jake’s wife, was standing there with her eldest daughter, Aubree, who looked more and more like her every time I saw them. I reached over and gave her a hug, and Aubree a high five. “Hey.”
I nervously looked around to see if Jake was with her. Usually where she is, he is, unless we’re playing. “Jake with you?”
“Nah. Left him home with the twins. Aubree had dance class and we thought we’d grab a few treats before heading home.
” I breathed a sigh of relief as she twirled the long blonde strands of Aubree’s ponytail.
She suddenly looked very serious. “Jake didn’t say you were coming up.
Is everyone here? Because if he springs another guy’s night on me, I might kill him. ”
“Mommy, don’t say that!” Aubree said.
Millie shook her head and chuckled. “I’m just teasing, honey. Mommy would never hurt Daddy.”
She shot me a side-eye that had me chuckling under my breath. She redirected her attention from Aubree, back on to me, eyeing the two drinks and bag of goodies. I felt my cheeks flush as I hadn’t said anything to anyone from the team about my little arrangement with April.
“I’m here with a friend.” I hesitated long enough for her to grin.
“Are you staying for the weekend?”
“No. We leave soon,” I added far too quickly.
“Why don’t you stop by before you go? We can throw some chicken on the grill.”
It didn’t sound like a bad idea to be honest. I wasn’t quite ready to part ways with April after this morning and this gave us a bit more reason to stay together. “I’ll ask April.”
Her eyes lit up. “April?”
Shit. That was a slip. I meant to call April and ask her before I said who it was I was with. Just in case.
“Like April, April. The physiotherapist?”
It’s not like I could deny it, especially if we were going to go to their place. “That’s the one.”
Millie let out a coy smile. “Check with her and I’ll tell Jake to start cleaning.”
I let out a deep laugh. “Jake cleans?”
“Just cause he’s a billionaire doesn’t mean he can’t clean.”
“Alrighty then.” I laughed.
“Mom.” Aubree tugged on Millie’s arm. “I’m hungry.”
She shot me an I gotta go look. “I’ll text Jake and let him know.”
“Sure,” I said, hoping that April wouldn’t be upset about the turn of events.
The walk back to the cottage took longer than I expected since I was balancing beverages and food. The house was still quiet as I made my way around to the little bunkhouse.