Chapter 3 #2
I quickly looked away as I knelt down and opened the cabinets under her sink. I reached up and turned on the water, then waited for some sign of the leak. As soon as I spotted it, I turned off the water and opened my toolbox.
Mia toyed with the hem of her off-white sweater and asked, “Do you think you can fix it?”
“Yeah.” I glanced up at her. “Looks like it’s just a loose slip nut.”
“Oh, that’s great.”
I grabbed a wrench, then started tightening the nut to the tailpiece. “When’s Camden gettin’ back?”
“Oh, you know him. It could be tonight, or it could be three days from now. I never know until he walks through that door.”
I knew Camden’s career was important to him, but I could never imagine putting it above Mia. It just didn’t make any fucking sense to me. I glanced up at her, noting that same nervous smile from when we were kids, and it was all I could do to keep my dick in check.
It was a problem that I’d become accustomed to over the years, especially back when we were teenagers. Sitting close at a game or a movie, the slight brush of her hand across my thigh, or even the simple scent of her perfume would be enough to set me on edge, and she fucking knew it.
There were times she’d torment the hell out of me.
Just like she did back in high school when I took her out for a ride on my motorcycle. I could remember it like it was yesterday ...
I finally got my old Yamaha up and running and was itching to take her out for a ride. I rode around the block a couple of times, making sure she was road-ready, and then set out to find Mia.
As usual, she wasn’t hard to locate. It was the middle of summer, and like most summer days, she was in the backyard laying out in one of her skimpy bikinis. She looked half-asleep when I peeked my head over the fence and shouted, “Throw on some jeans. We’re going for a ride.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Get on some damn clothes!”
I went back to my bike and wiped her down, and it wasn’t long before Mia finally came waltzing up, looking smoking hot in a bikini top and jeans. A smile crossed her face as she asked, “Are you seriously going to take me for a ride?”
“Hell, yeah.” I offered her my spare helmet. “Unless you’re chicken.”
“Chicken? I’m not chicken.”
“We’ll see about that.”
I slipped on my helmet, then helped Mia get on behind me. Seconds later, she wound her arms tightly around me, and we were whipping out onto the main road. Mia squealed in my ear when I eased the throttle back, picking up speed as we left our small subdivision and headed down an old country road.
There was no way to describe how good it felt to be on that motorcycle back then. It was freedom like I’d never known, and I was tasting it for the first time. It meant everything to have Mia there sharing that moment with me.
She threw her hands up in the air and screamed, “Faster!”
I gave the throttle a little more gas, and it wasn’t long before she was shouting, “Whoo-hoo! Yeah, baby!”
We rode a little longer, and then I pulled off near a creek bed where we could stretch our legs and walk a bit.
As soon as we parked, Mia jumped off the bike, removed her helmet, and threw her hands up in the air as she spun around.
I got off my bike to join her, and the next thing I knew, she was in my arms with her legs wrapped around me. “That was amazing!”
“You liked it, huh?”
“Liked it? I loved it!”
The words had barely left her lips before her mouth was on mine, and she was kissing me, and I was kissing her back. It was difficult to explain what that moment felt like for me.
Something about Mia made me feel like I could do anything, be anything.
In her arms, I felt so alive—like I was exactly where I was meant to be.
Her fingers tangled in my hair as I delved deeper into her mouth, and when she inched closer, pressing her warm body against me, I could feel her heart beating next to mine.
We were so caught up in the moment that neither of us thought about the consequences of our actions. We weren’t thinking about Camden or the future or even five minutes from that moment. We were just relishing the feeling of being in each other’s arms.
Sadly, it wasn’t a moment that lasted long.
Mia placed her hand on my chest and gently pushed me back as she whispered, “Thatch, we have to stop. This isn’t right.”
“Feels pretty right to me.”
“What about Camden?”
“What about him?”
She shook her head. “Don’t do that.”
“Camden will understand.”
“Understand what exactly?” Mia cocked her eyebrow. “Because the way I see it, this kiss doesn’t change anything. It was just a kiss between friends.”
“Between friends, huh?”
“That’s right. Really, really good friends, now and forever.” She slipped on her helmet and added, “I don’t ever want that to change, so we’ve got to forget this ever happened. It’s the only way.”
“And what if I don’t want to forget?”
“Forget what?” She gave me a playful smile. “Come on, Thatch. Let’s head back before you get mad at me for being right, considering I’m right, and you know it.”
I was trying to shake the knot building in the pit of my stomach when I felt Mia’s hand on my shoulder. “You okay down there?”
“Yeah.” I gave the wrench one last turn, then said, “Turn on the water, and let’s see if that did the trick.”
After several minutes, Mia knelt down next to me. “Well?”
“I think you’re good.”
“That’s great! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, Thatch,” she said as we both stood up
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Well, it’s a big deal to me.” She gave me one of her looks—the one where I knew she had something on her mind but said nothing.
Instead, she reached over and grabbed a loaf of bread wrapped in foil, then offered it to me.
“I made some of your favorite lemon poppy-seed bread. I thought you might like to take some home with you.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.” She smiled as she handed it to me. “Anyway, it was really good to see you.”
“Right back at ya.” Eager to get going, I grabbed my things and started out of the kitchen. “You have a good one.”
I was walking down the hall when Camden stepped through the front door with several bags of luggage in his hands. As soon as he spotted me coming towards him, he stopped dead in his tracks. “Thatch, what are you doing here?”
“I was helping Mia out with the sink.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah—something you should’ve done before you left.”
“It wasn’t broken when I left.”
“Like you would’ve known if it was.”
I wasn’t always so curt with him. There were times when I could have an actual conversation with my brother, but today, I wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit.
So, without saying anything more, I continued past him and out the door.
I tossed my tools in one saddlebag and the loaf of bread in the other, then seconds later, I hopped on my Harley and started the engine.
I glanced up at the porch and found Camden standing in the doorway with a somber expression on his face.
There was a time when I hated my brother. I wanted to rip his heart right out of his fucking chest and watch him bleed for taking Mia from me.
But I didn’t hate him anymore. I knew Mia was a great catch. I also knew he hadn’t done anything I wouldn’t have done myself when he pursued her. I gave him a slight nod, then pulled out of his driveway and onto the main road.
On the way back to the clubhouse, I found myself thinking about Mia and what she’d said about Camden and his traveling. I wanted to believe that his business trips were legit and that he wasn’t screwing around, but being gone all the time, he didn’t make it easy.
Don’t get me wrong.
They seemed to have a good thing. Camden doted on Mia and gave her plenty of nice things. They had a big house, fancy cars, and all that bullshit, but I had a feeling neither of them were as happy as they seemed.
Not that it was any of my concern.
I might’ve loved Mia, but she’d made her choice a long time ago, and it wasn’t me. She’d made that point loud and clear the second she sent me that fucking Dear John letter while deployed in Haiti.
Hell, even after all these years, I could still remember every word of that fucking letter without even looking at it:
Dear Thatch,
I’m sorry I haven’t written or called, and I’m even more sorry that I missed seeing you when you were home on leave. There’s no excuse—at least not a good one. I’ve been such a coward, but only because I don’t want to lose you.
I care so much about you, Thatch. You’re my best friend—You’re more than my best friend, and you have been for years. I’ve shared so much of my life with you, and I want to be able to share this with you, but at the same time, I don’t want to hurt you.
Camden has asked me to marry him, and I’ve accepted his proposal. We plan to get married as soon as we graduate. I truly hope we will have your blessing.
Please remember that you mean a great deal to your brother and me, and no matter what happens, we always want you to be a part of our lives. We will forever be the three amigos. I just happen to be engaged to one of you.
I love you, Thatch. We both do.
Take care of yourself,
Love always, Mia
I never blamed Mia for choosing Camden. He was the safe bet. He had more to offer and could give her the life she’d always wanted—the one she deserved. I’d like to think I could’ve given her those things, too, but as I looked back on the life I’d lived, I wasn’t so sure.
Not that it mattered.
Mia had made her choice, and I’d made mine.
Having my heart broken once was enough for me, and I’d be damned if I ever let it happen again.