Page 11 of Trust Me
I laugh and fill him in on our evening of shooting pool. I leave out the tequila part and the part where Maddox drove me home. Will may be the brother I’m the closest to, but he’s still my older brother. I’m wrapping up the story when the back door opens again. Jake steps out in his uniform and sits down in an empty patio chair.
“Heard you guys were out here,” Jake says.
“Heard you let your little sister kick your ass in pool again,” Will smarts off.
“Screw you! She cheated!” Will and I have a good laugh at his tone and instant defensiveness.
Mom pokes her head out of the door, holding a bag of food for Jake to take on the road, hollering for us to come in for dinner. I help her gather up the food in the kitchen and take it to the dining room, where Maddox is standing in the entryway talking to my dad. He looks amazing in his uniform. The way the material conforms to his big body, curving tightly against his toned muscles. I could stand here and drink in the sight of him all night.
Maddox looks up and makes eye contact with me. I wish I knew what he was thinking. I can never tell. Is he remembering last night? Is he embarrassed or feeling guilty? Has he been thinking about the kiss all day like I have? He gives me his lopsided grin, the one I consider flirty. I return it with my own before he turns his attention back to my dad.
Jake comes into the dining room carrying a big bag of food and leans down to kiss Brooklyn. “Who’s your favorite uncle, Bean?”
She doesn’t even have time to reply before Will yells, “Hey!” Brooklyn giggles at her uncles’ back-and-forth teasing. He leans down and gives her another kiss on the crown of her head. I hear her softly mumble, “You are my favowite, Uncle Jake,” followed by a little giggle.
“That’s what I thought. Bye, Bean. I love you.” He turns and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out the front door, Maddox trailing quietly behind. And just like that, he’s gone. Those two minutes I spent looking at him, being with him in the same room, and I’ll be thinking about him for the rest of the night.
Brooklyn dives into her lasagna like she hasn’t eaten all day. I know that’s not true because I caught my mom sneaking her snacks from the counter all day long when she thought I wasn’t looking. All in all, today was a pretty enjoyable day and evening. It’s a smaller dinner since Jake and Nate are both working, and no one brought friends this week. I love spending time with my family and am so glad we are close so Brooklyn gets to experience this.
As I drive home with Brooklyn trying not to fall asleep in the back seat, I wonder what my dreams will bring me tonight. Will they be filled with those chocolate eyes I can’t seem to forget? I have a feeling my dreams will definitely be sweet tonight.
Chapter 8
Maddox
I climb into the squad car with Jake on Tuesday morning, still reeling three days later from the kiss Saturday night with Avery. When Jake wanted to stop by his parents’ house on Sunday night to grab some food, I was conflicted as hell. I wanted to see Avery so badly, yet I didn’t want to risk her being able to see how much that kiss really impacted me and sent my head spinning, leaving a wave of confusion and lust in its wake.
“Hey, you never told me how it went with the girl Saturday night,” he asks.
“I didn’t go home with her,” I mumble.
He looks at me, wide-eyed and full of surprise. “What? She was hot with big boobs and was ready to show you a good time.”
“I know that. I’ve been there before with her, Jake. I ended up taking your sister home.” The words left my mouth before I considered their meaning to a guy like Jake. I quickly look at himas rage fills his face, turning it an ugly shade of red.
“You better explain ‘taking my sister home’ right now,” he growls through firmly clenched teeth.
I throw my hands up in the air as if waving the surrender flag. “No, no, no. I mean just that. After you left, she and Holly got drunk off tequila shots, so I drove each of them home. That’s it. End of story.” He didn’t need to know that was, in fact, not the end of the story.
“Oh. Good. For a minute there, I was about to drag you out of this car and beat the living shit out of you.” Well, now I feel like an even bigger pile of crap. I can’t tell him I think his sister is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I made out with her in her doorway like a horny teenager.
Fuck!I’ve done it twice. I am the world’s worst friend.
I change the subject back to the reason we are climbing into the car. Work. Patrol. Safety. Our Tuesday morning is fairly busy with routine traffic stops, so the morning passes pretty quickly. As lunchtime rolls around, Jake says he needs to run by the bakery to pick up some goodies his mom has for him. We pull the squad car into an available spot along the street and head inside thebakery. It smells delicious. But then I smell the one scent I can pick out anywhere. Vanilla. Not just any vanilla, but a very specific vanilla. I turn to see Avery sitting with her mom at one of the small tables in the back, eating a sandwich. She must be on her lunch break.
She looks up and our gazes meet. Jake is already walking over to her to give her a big hug, followed quickly by a hug to his mom. I quietly stroll up behind them, making myself look busy by checking out the treats in the display case.
Elizabeth walks up to me and gives me a big motherly hug. She kisses me on the cheek and gives me a warm smile. “I’m glad you and Jake could stop by for a few moments on Sunday night,” she says. “I always feel better knowing you both are eating a good meal every now and then.”
“I appreciate you feeding me every once in a while, Mrs. S. I’ve never had bad food when it comes from your place.” I can’t tell her, the whole time I was standing in her house, I was pretending not to be thinking about the one girl who is now sitting in front of me. Avery looks over at me and gives me a small smile. Her cheeks redden a little, and I can tell she’s embarrassed. I wonder what just went through her mind. She goes back to talking with Jake and I turn my attentionback to Mrs. Stevens.
Mrs. Stevens gives me a sly smile that makes me feel like she can see inside my soul and read my thoughts. I start to sweat a little, pulling on my collared uniform shirt. She leans in and whispers, “Nothing would make me happier.” She pulls back, gives me another kiss on the cheek, and walks away toward the back of the bakery. I don’t know what to say or do. What the hell does she mean? Nothing would make her happier. Me and Avery? My mind is all over the damn place.
Jake slaps me on my back and we head back toward the front. He hollers a goodbye over his shoulder at his mom and heads outside. As I’m getting ready to head through the door, I turn back toward Avery. She’s watching me. Our eyes lock for a brief moment and it makes my heart stop. Her eyes are the first thing I think of every morning and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep. And now I’m thinking about that kiss. The most perfectly amazing kiss. I’ve thought of nothing else since it happened Saturday night. As if sensing where my thoughts are, Avery reaches up and lightly touches her lips like she did Saturday night after the kiss. I give her a little smile and head out the door. Oh, yeah, she’s thinking of it too.
*****
I’m heading home after work on Thursday when I remember my fridge is completely bare. I don’t even have beer, which is unacceptable. So I make a quick left at the next stoplight and head toward the market. I walk the aisles with my cart, grabbing a few things here and there. I’m not a big cook, but I enjoy using the grill. So I load up on steaks, burgers, dogs, and chops. I make a quick trip down the produce aisle for some potatoes and other items, and then head back toward the bread aisle for buns. As I turn the corner, I come face-to-face with Drake. He hasn’t noticed me yet, but I can tell he’s in a heated discussion with someone. A girl. Shit, not just any girl. Avery.
