AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Don’t worry, dude. The only woman I want is the one I came with.
Ginger wasn’t wrong about our group of friends, however. Even with me away, we were close enough we’d fall back into familiar patterns. The six of us had been thick as thieves all during school, though Bristol and I had been the only official couple.
“And the group’s growing,” Ginger added. “Now, there’s Luna and Trevor.” She leaned her head on the shoulder of the guy beside her. “My husband.”
I gave him a chin lift, recognizing him now. While he hadn’t been in our circle, we’d gone to high school together. He’d been into robotics, and I thought his dad owned a construction company or something. With his tan and tall, muscled frame and sun-streaked hair, he sure looked as if he might work in that field. And tonight, Ginger had stars in her eyes when she looked at him, which meant he was a good guy in my book.
“Good to see you,” I said, smiling. “Welcome to our hell-raising group.”
“Eh, not so much hell-raising anymore,” Ginger scoffed. “We’ve all mellowed—except for you, Mr. Speed Demon.”
“You’d probably be surprised by how mellow I am, actually,” I confessed while we turned toward the table and walked over to the others. I immediately bee-lined toward Bristol, coming up behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist—a habit I would never bother to break. I’d be doing it a lot more if I had my way. Coming up to Bristol, wrapping my arms around her, hugging her to me, was natural. For both of us it seemed. She never missed a beat while she talked to Sadie. Triumph exploded through me when she snuggled back into me. A small victory but I’d take it.
She tipped her head to look up at me, and fuck, I wanted to kiss her.
“I ordered you a beer,” she told me. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Perfect.”
“So…” Barke gestured back and forth between the two of us with the neck of his own beer. “You two are back together?”
“No,” Bristol said immediately when I would have answeredhell, yes, we are.Realistically,we weren’t there yet.
“We’re working on it,” I amended.
“Huh,” he commented, his tone a little skeptical. “Okay.”
“Just leave it,” Sadie told him, “or he’ll make you explainourrelationship.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” I asked.
“Oh, hey, isn’t that our song?” Barke hedged, putting down his drink and dragging Sadie to the dance floor. She laughed and tried to resist and stay with us. He was having no part of that, lifting her up and carrying her, while she laughed. God, I missed my friends.
Out on the parquet floor, Sadie settled right into his arms while he said something to her and she shook her head. In a way, they reminded me of Bristol and me. They loved each other, but something kept them apart. I hoped they could bridge that gap, because I sure intended to eliminate the barrier between Bristol and me.
Fourteen
Axel
“This place is nice. Being here with everyone, too,” I said after Barke absconded with Sadie onto the dance floor. Luna and Oakley had followed suit, and a few minutes ago, Trevor and Ginger had seen someone else they knew over by the bar, leaving Bristol and me alone.
The moment was perfect, though, holding Bristol against my body in the dim bar, the strains ofThe Dancewinding around us and bringing back memories of what was. Times when we didn’t know what would come, how we’d say goodbye, everything shattered around us. God, back then, I’d been so idealistic. So clueless about life.
Trying to chase away the echoes of heartbreak, I took a sip of my beer and looked around the bar. “It’s good hanging out with friends. I’ve missed everyone. Thanks for coming out with me.”
Melting further into me, she leaned her head back against my shoulder and angled her head to look up at me. I fought the strong, almost overpowering urge to lean forward, just a little, and press my lips over hers. Fuck, I craved it. I needed her. I missed us. Bristol was my everything, and I’d been so fucking stupid. So, so stupid.
“Everyone’s missed you, too, you know? You left and never came back.”
“I couldn’t. It…it was too much. I’m back now.”
She made a small disbelieving sound. “Only because you were forced to.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Of all the things forced on me the past six years, this one was what I’d dreaded most. It was the most important, most needed trip, though. It no longer irritated me that I’d been sent home for the fundraiser when I had race prep to do. This is where I needed to be. Though our relationship was still jacked and off the rails, I hadn’t felt as much peace in six years. Being near Bristol the past two days drove home how wrong I’d been and how right we were. There had still been my mom’s medical bills and treatments, but we could have figured that out.
I’d left behind nearly everything important to me, abandoned here in Cherish Cove. Since I left, I’d had my career. Only my career. I’d chased my empty dreams, and it had been the ride of my life so far, but it wasn’t enough. I missed the people I loved. Without the people I cared about most, my days had been hollow. It wasn’t just Bristol I missed, though she owned the biggest part of me. It was all my friends and my family.
