Page 32 of Beckon

“Both. But I kissed him first. It was like something just came over me and I wouldn’t be able to draw another breath if I didn’t do it, so, I did.”

Tami stopped short of telling her mother that he took control of that kiss, and it gave her very naughty thoughts. They shared a lot, but no way would they share that. There were lines and while many social cues may go over her head, she wasn’t that socially inept.

But her mother’s smile spoke volumes about her understanding.

“I recognize that look, you know. That’s the look of a woman toeing the edge of love, just waiting to leap over the side with her arms wide.”

Before Tami had a chance to deny her mother’s true words, her phone rang. It was Jean from work, it was her night off, so she wondered why she was calling. “Hey Jean, what’s up?”

“Hey, Tami, sorry to bother you, but I just got a ride request fromyour man. Do you want the address he’s at, or do you want me to handle it?”

Chandler.

Since they were a very small local operation, they each had accounts they’d take rides for any time and no one would be upset about it. Since she’d taken so many from Chandler’s account, they all called him her man. She never corrected them, because he was, kind of. They hadn’t given it a label yet.

“Give me the information and I’ll go get him.”

Her stomach lurched when Jean rattled off the address of a dive bar. Tami believed him when he said he didn’t have a drinking problem.

Heck, she had gone through a month where she’d done the same. To an outsider she would’ve appeared to be a raging alcoholic, so she gave him the benefit of the doubt.

It still hurt that he was at a bar and needed a ride when he had a car. That meant he wasn’t in any shape to drive it. Tami really needed to evaluate some things before she let him in deeper. If he really did have a problem, she didn’t know if she could be in a relationship with him.

And while this was the first time the address had been a bar since they’d met that first night a few months back, it still raised her guard ever so slightly… just in case.

She hung up and turned to her mother. “Chandler needs a ride. You’ve got Chester?”

“You don’t even need to ask, sweetheart. Oh, and don’t forget to invite him to the wedding this time. We’ve already booked his room.”

Tami nodded as she snagged her keys and headed to her car. After the engine fired to life, she tapped the Queen on the head and watched her bobble. “What am I going to do if he really has a drinking problem, Queen Elizabeth? I don’t know if that’s something I can move past.”

Driving to the bar took less than fifteen minutes, but her mind wasn’t on the road and she made a few errors that could’ve been costly if there had been any traffic.

Shaking her head as she entered the parking lot, she cleared her mind. She wouldn’t treat this any different from any other ride. Routine helped her deal with emotions so that’s what she did.

However, when Chandler looked down at his phone then up at her with a surprised smile, it felt like an entire flock of birds were flapping around her stomach.

Chandler wasn’t alone and both men approached the driver’s side of her car. The other man pulled the door and got in, while Chandler leaned in her open window and just stared at her like he couldn’t see enough of her.

The faint scent of beer came from Chandler and Tami cleared her throat. “You should get in so I can take you home.”

Chandler’s smile never faltered. “You look beautiful tonight, Tami,” he said as he pushed up and went around the car. She noticed him eyeing the front seat, but it was full. Including Chester’s booster seat which she always moved to the front before picking up passengers.

She breathed a sigh of relief when they were both securely in the back seat, and they were moving. It was a much-needed distraction. Needing to focus on the road, she could tune out her disappointment.

“Drop me off first please, pretty lady,” his friend slurred as he rattled off an address.

She nodded to him through the rearview window, not that he could see. But she saw the scowl Chandler threw his way.

Tami wasn’t a mean or snarky person by nature, but something about this night was bubbling up inside her. “I thought you were going to a meeting tonight? I didn’t know they held those in a bar.”

It was obvious by the look that galloped across his dark eyes her words hit their mark. She immediately regretted it. Before she could apologize, his drunk friend stage-whispered across the back seat.

“Oh, shit. This is really her.”

“Yes, dumbass,” he said to his friend before turning his eyes to the mirror. “I thought it was your night off?”

“Obviously.” She really hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but she was nervous, and well…

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