“You warmed it up for me.” She winked and fixed the oversized sunglasses propped in her fiery red hair.
“But no. I didn’t even get a last name,” I explained. My stomach soured remembering his face as I walked away.
There had been a magic to the night that I couldn’t wrap my mind around, let alone explain. It would sound hokey if I tried to. But when he spoke about the song Roxanne, I felt like he could see right into my past. When he held my hand for every person to see, I felt proud. And when he spoke about his parents, I felt … like I would disappoint him. He was so hopeful but I couldn’t be enough for him when I had a whole life here to maintain.
We had only just met. It didn’t make sense.
I wasn’t sure how we’d even fit together. And that was getting ahead of myself. These two seemed perfectly comfortable with who they were meant to be. Ever since I left the Iron Wraiths, it was like I was trying to find my place. All I knew was that I couldn’t screw up the life that I had built up. I wouldn’t go back to my old life.
“It sounded like you had a connection?” Suzie asked on my left. Hers went flying next and hit so hard a chunk of the target flew off. Gretchen and I exchanged a look. “I used to do this behind the trailer park for fun.” She shrugged.
“Remind me not to mess with you,” Gretchen teased to my right.
“You wouldn’t dream of it.” Suzie winked. Her short hair had grown into a chic bob that only made her electric green eyes pop more.
“Come on. Tell us more, tell us more.” Gretchen flicked out her hand, gesturing me to go on.
If I was honest about the connection I felt with these two, they might push me to do something I just wasn’t ready for. I loved them but I didn’t have time for anything else in my life. Not when I had to work so hard to show Green Valley and the Lodge that I was no longer a biker chick. Getting involved with anyone sounded about as fun as chasing headless chickens. But I knew Gretch and so I had to give her something.
“He had this amazingly sexy accent,” I said.
“Oh, what sort of accent?” Suzie asked.
“New York? I’ve always found New Yorkers sort of sexy,” Gretchen said.
“No. Australian,” I said.
The other two women made a sound of awe.
“That’s all you know about him? He’s Australian? Maybe he’s a Hemsworth or like a cousin,” Suzie said excitedly.
“He was damn good looking enough to be,” I said. “He’s fit. A confident dancer. A gentleman. Hotter than a summer day with no AC. He had sun-bleached dark-blond hair and blue eyes like I’ve never seen. And his front teeth stuck out which shouldn’t be adorable but was. Nothing about him was my type. But damn, he was a fantastic kisser.”
I squished up my face when I realized what I said. They were both looking at me like Iwasa headless chicken.
“You made out?” Suzie nodded and fist-bumped me. “Nice.”
“A little,” I said coyly. More like our mouths introduced our souls to each other but I was definitely not about to say that.
“Did you get very far?” Gretchen asked with a grin.
Suzie shimmied her shoulders sexily.
“We only made out for a minute while we danced. And then the rest you know.”
I held back how much we learned without knowing anything at all. His love for his best friend and his parents was written all over his open face. His emotions were always right out there. He was earnest and had no shame. I almost flushed when I thought of him singing to me. He was charming and thoughtful. But he was like a secret treasure I found that I wanted to keep just for me. I wanted to turn it over and play with it at night when I was free to think about him.
“You don’t have to explain.” Suzie put her hand on my shoulder. “Not to him. Not to us. If you wanted to leave, then you had that right. You owed him nothing.”
Gretchen nodded. I agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment. But it wasn’t like that. I felt too much too soon. Life wasn’t a freaking fairy tale. And nobody would ever cast me as the leading lady. Twenty-four hours had gone by since I’d left him and I still hadn’t stopped thinking about the way he kissed me. He shouldn’t be allowed to kiss like that. It messed with my brain. I shook my head and picked up the next axe.
“I met a guy in a bar before. All these years later and I’m still recovering,” I said.
I had intended it as a joke but a shadow passed over Gretchen’s face. We had all dated Jethro Winston at some point, some of us longer than others, that’s what formed the Scorned Women’s Society. It was never a point of contention between us, more a sisterhood in bad choices. But Gretchen knew more about my life with the Iron Wraiths and we never talked about it.
I quickly added, “I just didn’t want to make something more of one summer night. It happened so fast and it’s over now.”
And there was the truth of it. Even if I had met an incredible man, the timing wasn’t right. Neither was the distance. He didn’t see me as I really was.
