Page 75 of Something Good
“Did you talk to Jason? Did you ask him why he hooked me up with Julio for that job?”
I thought back to the night I’d found out about the Salgados and the confrontation I’d had with Jason after. “He said he came over to your house the day after the breakup with the intention of confronting you, but in his words, you were a ‘mess.’ He wouldn’t tell me what you said though. He said that was between you and me.”
He looked across the dog park, but his eyes were unfocused, as if he was looking back rather than seeing what was right in front of him. “Those days after we broke up were some of the darkest of my life. The day Jason came over was just the start of it. I didn’t eat for days. Didn’t leave the house. Almost lost my job at Walmart. I’d let you go. I’d done what I thought was the right thing for you. But I’d ripped my own heart out in the process.”
He took my hand in his again, this time clasping it firmly as if he could convince me of his sincerity with the force of his grip. When his eyes flicked back up to mine, there was a fire in them I didn’t think I’d ever seen before. “I was so goddammed in love with you, Will. Losing you, no matter how right I thought I’d been in doing it, was the worst pain I’d ever experienced. Nothing else after that mattered. At least not until Jimmy came into our room sobbing because he thought I was truly losing it. That was the only thing that convinced me to pull my shit together, to get out of bed and keep pushing forward.”
Fighting tears, I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against his and breathing him in. The sounds of dogs barking and people talking faded until it was just him and me and nothing else. I wanted desperately to kiss him. To hold him. To rewrite our history into something better.
“I don’t know what happens next. I feel like there’s something here between us, but I don’t want us to hurt each other again.”
He kissed me then, just the briefest brush of his lips against mine, there and gone in a flash. Yet, somehow, that ghost of a kiss embedded itself so deep inside me that no matter what happened between us going forward, its imprint would always remain, like a fingerprint on my soul.
“I feel it too. I want you, Will. I want a second chance. I’ll take better care of your heart this time…if you’ll let me.”
“I’m scared.” My voice barely rose above a whisper.
“Me too.”
43
SAMMY
The buzzof Will’s phone interrupted the moment. While he answered the call, I took a moment to center myself. Talking about that time in my life was hard, not only because of the way breaking up with him had devastated me but also because I didn’t really like who I was at that time. I didn’t like to think about what an unapologetic asshole I’d been, especially to Will and Jimmy. These days, I wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine, but I was at least a lot more conscious of how I treated people. I’d worked hard to get to where I was in a lot of ways, and I didn’t like to look back.
Will whistled at Goldie, who came bounding over with her tongue hanging out and tail wagging. “Truck’s done,” he said without looking at me. While he clipped Goldie’s leash back on, I swept our half-eaten croissants into the bag and picked up our now-empty coffee cups.
We walked the three blocks back to the shop in silence, lost in our thoughts. His hand brushed against mine a couple of times, and I itched to lace his fingers with mine, but after the conversation we’d just had, I didn’t know where we stood. It felt like we’d cleared the air in some ways, and while it seemedlike a step in the right direction, I thought we were probably still a way off from mending all the cracks I’d created when I’d broken up with him. I thought he had a better understanding of why I’d done it, but understanding didn’t necessarily give way to forgiveness, and I figured we still had some work to do before we’d reach that point.
When our hands brushed a fourth time, I thoughtfuck itand grabbed his hand. He didn’t look at me, but he didn’t pull away either, and I thought I saw the ghost of a smile tease the corners of his mouth.
Progress.
We stepped into the reception area of Julio’s shop, and I didn’t miss the glint in the older man’s eyes as he clocked Will’s hand in mind. I released him so he could settle the bill for the tire, then got Goldie some water and gave her a good scratch. I’d never had a pet before, had never wanted the responsibility, but damned if I wasn’t falling a little bit in love with this one.
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I walked Will out to his truck, but I ignored it in favor of giving all my attention to him. “Thanks for your help today.”
“No need to thank me. It meant I got to spend extra time with you.” I’d never get tired of making him blush. As much as I loved his beard, I wished it didn’t hide the way his cheeks flushed when I was flirty with him. “Can I kiss you?”
“You weren’t so polite this morning,” Will challenged with a twinkle in his eye.
“As I recall, I did ask you if you were sure. You were the one who told me to take what I wanted.”
I stepped forward until we were pressed together, our bodies touching from chests to thighs. Because we were standing outside Julio’s shop in broad daylight, I kept the roll of my hips subtle, but the darkening of his eyes and the swipe of his tongueacross his lips told me he’d felt the length of my erection pressed against him.
“I did. And it still applies. Take what you want, Sammy.”
I placed both hands on either side of his face and pulled him to me, capturing his mouth with mine. I slid my tongue inside his mouth, tasting coffee and the faint hint of buttery croissant. Teasing his tongue with mine, I angled his head so I could sink deeper into him, savoring the feel of his beard against my skin.
Before the kiss could get out of hand, I pulled away. “Tell me you’ll let me see you again.”
His forehead wrinkled. “What? Like a date?”
The corner of my mouth turned up involuntarily. He was so damn cute. “I guess you could call it that, yeah.” I took his hand in mine, loving the way it felt. “I want us to get to know each other again. I want to know who you arenow.”
His confusion slowly transformed into a shy smile. “Yeah, alright. I want to know you too.”
“I’ll text you later, and we can figure it out, okay?”
