Page 42 of Broken Boundaries

“Thanks for the ride,” she says once I park in front of my house. “Both of them.”

“No problem.”

She starts heading toward her cabin. “I guess I’m gonna go massage my butt. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I’m pretty proud of myself for being able to hold in the urge to offer my services with her butt massage. Instead of making a fool out of myself, I nod and give her a small wave while I wait to make sure she gets inside her cabin.

Once I’m inside my own house, I let my guilt consume me. My son asked me to talk to Aspen on his behalf, and instead, I’ve done nothing but form a crush on her. Maybe I am a shitty father. Maybe he’s right to keep his distance from me. Maybe I am the problem.

CHAPTER 16

Aspen

“Yes! This is perfect!” Jazz squeals with excitement as I do a twirl in the outfit she selected for me tonight.

“Are you sure about this?” I ask, looking down at the short jean shorts and the cropped fringe tank top she loaned to me.

“A hundred percent. You’re gonna be the hottest thing that has ever walked into Roadside.”

I turn and look at myself in the mirror. I do look kinda hot, and most importantly, I feel good. Tonight is all about fun for me, though. I’m not looking for any random hookups or anything like that. I’m just going out with my new friend and enjoying my new town. That’s all. If someone wants to flirt with me… well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

“Alright, let’s go!”

I follow her out of my cabin and turn to lock the door when I hear tires crunching on gravel. Brooks hops out of his truck and walks toward us.

“Where’re you ladies headed tonight?” he asks. His eyes slowly travel down my body, taking in my outfit. He doesn’t try to hide that he’s checking me out, and it makes my stomach flutter. I like his eyes on me, though I’ll never admit that to anyone.

“Roadside, Boss,” Jazz answers.

“Ah.” He nods. “Should be a fun crowd tonight. Be careful. And if you need a ride, call me. Doesn’t matter what time, alright?”

He looks me dead in the eyes and waits for me to agree. “Alright, thank you.”

He nods again. “Good. Have fun, you two.”

He turns and walks into his house while Jazz and I pile into my car.

“Oh my god, that was so freaking hot!”

“What was?” I ask as I head down the drive.

“Are you kidding me? The way he looked at you! I don’t know how your panties didn’t melt off right then.”

“How did he look at me?” I ask, wanting to make sure I didn’t make up what I saw in my head.

“Like he wanted to devour you. Lick, suck, fuck. All of the above.”

My cheeks heat at her words. Just thinking of Brooks doing any of that gets me all sorts of hot, but it’ll never happen. Ever. I’m too young for him, and even if I weren’t, he has Zach to worry about. I doubt his son would appreciate him messing with his ex.

“No, he didn’t,” I tell her.

“Girl, he did. I saw it with my own two eyes, and I have 20/20 vision.” A laugh bursts out of me. “So, we’re gonna go to the bar, have a few drinky-drinks, and flirt with a few boys. Then you’re gonna call Brooks to come pick us up and let him take you home if you get my drift.”

“Not gonna happen, Jazz. I already told you. There will be no hooking up between Brooks and me.”

“Girl, I have read this book. Forced proximity. Forbidden. Age gap. It’s lining up perfectly. The sooner you admit it, the sooner you can have fun.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, but the death grip on my steering wheel says otherwise. If I knew it didn’t have the potential to ruin everything, I would possibly consider something with Brooks. But I can’t.