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I clapped my hands. “Yes! Owen Listers, in the flesh, on his hands and knees, looking for coins that fell out of people’s pockets. When he got to me and I cleared my throat he nearly jumped out of his skin. Then he was terrified that I would report him and he’d go to jail. Anyway, that’s how we met. We didn’t date until after high school when I ran into him at a bar. He ordered me a drink and said ‘This is to make sure you’ll never tell anyone.’ As hush money goes it all felt pretty innocent. That’s seriously the whole story, until he cheated.”
“He had no idea what he had.”
“You’re sweet. You’re also probably right. Noticing things wasn’t really Owen’s...thing. Until he met her. It wasn’t at a coin convention. It was at an overeaters anonymous group. Honestly, Hugh, he was as skinny as a rail. I have no idea what to make of all that. But now, just to keep you from laughing at me anymore, it’s your turn. Tell me what’s behind that door.” I point behind him.
Hugh laces his hands behind his head. “I think I have one more condition first,” he says.
CHAPTER TEN: HUGH MADDOX
I just can’t wait anymore. Better to know where you stand, is what my dad always said. You can always file someone’s reaction, good or bad, under “Good to know.” Whatever happens next is going to be good to know.
“I’m having a really hard time not coming over there and kissing you,” I say, watching her face for any twitch or tell that will show me that I’m overstepping and she’s about to run screaming into the hills.
“You don’t say,” she says, a beautiful flush creeping out of her collar onto her throat and cheeks.
“Oh, I do say. But here’s the thing. This is not a normal situation. You don’t owe me anything, even though I’ve sheltered you, fed you, made you laugh, listened to your stories...hey, am I forgetting anything?”
“You gave me some whiskey.”
“Thanks, I also gave you some whiskey. Oh, and I’m also about to give you the story of a lifetime. But still, I uphold, that you might not owe me anything. Maybe not even a kiss. But I think I’ve earned it. I don’t really want to just come over there and take it, though.” Actually, that’s exactly what I want to do, but I’m enjoying this more, and now the blush has spread to her whole face and she’s biting her lower lip in a way that is making me insane.
“What do you want, then? What do you suggest?”
“I suggest that you come over here.” I rap on the tabletop with my knuckles. “And then you kiss me. That way I’ll know you want it as much as I do. Or I can pretend.” There we go. Whatever happens next will be Good To Know.
Sam pushes back her chair and stands up. She swivels over to me like she’s in a movie that an ex-boyfriend is watching, leans over, runs her fingers through my hair, and kisses me softly. It’s enough to satisfy our agreement, so I start to pull away. She tightens her grip in my hair and holds me still, forcing my lips open and darting her tongue in and out once. Then she lets go, steps back, folds her arms, winks, and says, “This better be a good story.”
I’m so hard that I’m trembling. I’m sure she can see it. Hell, she probably felt it. If she had sat in my lap I probably would have exploded, leaving a smoking crater where my table used to be.
Time to keep my word. I’m about to show her something that I have never showed anyone.
“You can’t record any of this, okay?” I say when I get to the door.
“Of course, Hugh.” Hearing her say my name gives me a nice little shiver. I want to hear it again.
I take a key out of my pocket and unlock the door. Taking a deep breath, I open the door, step through, and turn on the light. Then I stand aside and let her in.
She walks through the door and takes a few moments to walk to the opposite wall where my middleweight belt is hanging. She turns back and looks at me. “I knew it was you,” she says. “Right away I knew that you were familiar, but I finally figured it out.”
“When?”
She looks down, then looks up at me with upturned eyes without raising her head. “Last night when I saw you out on the deck with the bag.”
I swallow hard. The hair on my neck stands up. I suddenly feel like I am nothing but the real estate between my legs. “You saw that, huh? What exactly did you see?”
“You. You were working pretty hard.” She turns back to the belt. “Do you ever wear it?”
“Ha! Yep, I put it on every time I’m out in the woods. When you and Jarom showed up it was an off day.”
“Hugh?”
“Yes?”
“You know what I’m going to ask you, don’t you?”
“Probably. Most people probably have the same questions for me.”
She nods. I can still taste the kiss on my lips. Her waist is so tiny I know I could get both of my hands around it. Her curves make me wish I knew how to paint. Knowing that she came from the city makes me want to renounce everything I’m doing out here and go back with her, but there’s just no way. There’s just too much darkness and rot inside of me to go back.
