Page 51 of All For You Duet

I fall over laughing. God, I needed a day like this, back with my friends and not thinking about Redix Dean every damn hour.

I make it until five o’clock until it hurts again. Sipping another beer beside Jameson, I watch a cute couple walking by.

They’re teenagers, clearly in love. The smiles lighting up their faces brings it all back. Me and Redix. Particularly on this beach. Our beach. The one that went from our haven to our hell.

“Hey, Bryant, where’d you go?” Jameson nudges me.

“What?” I can’t take my eyes off the couple.

“I was telling you the good news. The one about the surveillance footage I found.”

That gets my attention. “What is it?”

“You mentioned a man with a parrot on his T-shirt, right?”

“That’s what Natalie remembers before she blacked out.”

“Well, I got a guy in a parrot T-shirt. I found it on some liquor store surveillance recorded last month.”

“Which store?” My pulse climbs, hope rushing through my chest with this major break in the case.

“The one off Pope Avenue.” Jameson tsks. “But you can’t see his face. Just the shirt. It wasn’t the right angle.”

“Fuck.” Hope leaves with my exhale. “Everyone goes to that liquor store. That’s like finding a drunk needle in a glass bottle haystack.”

“But it’s a lead. The first one we’ve had, so you’re welcome.”

“Sorry. You’re right.” I clink my beer to his. “Good catch.”

“Looks like we’ll be spending time at the liquor store.”

“Looks like we’re hunting parrots.”

I chew on this lead while I kiss Penny and Nina goodbye and while me and the guys pack up our gear. Throwing sandy tents in the back of Jameson’s Jeep, I notice dark clouds rolling in.

“Shit, the bottom is gonna fall out.”

“Did you ride your bike over?”

“Yeah.” I point to it locked up next to others.

“Throw it in. I’ll take you home.”

Thoughts of should I or shouldn’t I date Jameson have me biting my lip all the way to my place.

What if he’s the one?

What if I’ve been so blind to other men because Redix Dean has kept me in the dark for so long?

The one-night stands I have? I’ll only let a man fuck me from behind so I can close my eyes and imagine Redix instead. He’s the only man I feel safe with, the only one I really want. If I imagine him, I can come.

Yep, that toxic habit needs to stop.

I glance at Jameson.

“Something on your mind, Bryant?”

He knows my dilemma. The man is wicked smart. I don’t answer while he pulls into my parking lot and helps me with my bike. Not that I need it; I just want more time to consider my next move. Jameson doesn’t give me long. After I lock up my bike, he steps me back, gently pressing me against the grill of his Jeep.

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