AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I chewed on my lip. What was I even doing bothering her? She’d made it clear she didn’t want to talk and we’d remain above board. I’d swung out to the bars to hook up, not chase the hottest girl on earth who’d turned me down. The bartender placed a dark beer that looked like a porter on the bartop. I gladly accepted and passed over some cash.
I took a sip, my foot thump, thump, thumping on the leg of the barstool. Maybe I should finish this and get out of here.
“Hey,” Sam said softly.
The seriousness in her dark eyes snared me on the spot. I didn’t know why Sam had always drawn me in. She was ten years older, and it wasn’t like she and I had ever spent a lot of time together—I’d been a kid and her kid sister’s best friend. However, Sam’s presence calmed me like a lazy summer day.
Back then, being around her was this intoxicating combination of peace, fascination, and attraction I’d never quite been able to find with anyone else.
“Just because I’m not chatty doesn’t mean you can’t talk,” she said. “My hobbies consist of working out and watching documentaries about old men looking for lost treasure. I’m not the best for engaging conversations.”
Not true in the slightest.
She held so many secrets I desperately wanted to know, but I understood what she’d placed on the table. We could talk as long as I didn’t dig too deep.
My phone dinged, and I glanced at the screen. Nina, with another pic of our friends at the tavern together. My stomach twisted into knots. I should’ve told her I’d run into Sam—this wasn’t the sort of information I should withhold.
“Is that…” she started, her voice ragged. “Fuck, never mind. Not my business.”
“Nina?” I showed her the pic. “Yeah, and the rest of our crew.”
Had it been ten years since she’d seen her sister too? Her folks? None of them would talk about Sam, so I had no idea, but the idea settled in my stomach like stale diner coffee.
“She’s so grown up,” Sam said. The strangled tone and how she balled her hands into fists until the knuckles turned white gave her away. Whatever had happened had affected her in a big way. “I mean, so are you.”
“Yeah, that tends to happen in a decade.”
Quiet settled between us again, but this wasn’t the sort I could punch through. Sam stared back at her Coke, her shoulders bunched like she prepared to bolt. I didn’t want her to leave, though. As much as I longed to know why she’d disappeared, I wanted to be around her even more.
“I’m not going to push, okay?” I stated bluntly. She swung her gaze my way, surprise painting her features. I shrugged. “Look, yes, I’m curious, but we also haven’t seen each other in ages. I’d like to just hang out for now.”
“This you trying to get me for that drink still? Damn, you’re persistent.” A half grin lifted her lips, and relief settled over me that she’d seemed to relax.
“It’s one of my best qualities,” I said, waggling my brows. “And you’re here drinking with me, aren’t you? I’d say goal accomplished.”
“So why the city?” she asked. The question took me by surprise, since she hadn’t been doing a lot of pushing conversation thus far.
Hell, it was clear with how shattered-glass guarded she was that if I wanted to make any headway with her, I’d have to bleed a little bit.
“Needed to get the hell out.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “You know, the usual—found my trainer with his dick buried in my girlfriend.” As much as I tried for nonchalance, I hadn’t been able to shake the bitterness from my tone. Not yet. Hopefully that would shift in the future, but as it stood, a whole lot of me still felt stripped raw with not enough varnish to protect myself.
“Well, fuck,” Sam cursed low, her brows drawing together and her gaze dark. “How long did you and your trainer work together?”
My heart thumped a little harder. I didn’t know how she pieced together I was more wrecked over losing my trainer, but somehow she had. “From the start. Chaz should’ve been my ride or die. Instead, the fucker screwed me over. Well—screwed Allie.”
“How long were you and Allie together?” Sam asked.
“Question for a question,” I challenged before clarifying. “About relationships.”
She wrinkled her nose and took a sip from her Coke. “Fine. Fire away.”
“A year, but it was a miserable year. Don’t know why I clung on as long as I did, because she sure as hell hadn’t been worth the wasted time.” My palm was cool around my beer, and the cushion of the barstool comfortable.
My chest throbbed at talking about everything I’d run away from, even though I’d rehashed the story with friends and family a million times. Sam’s quietness let the truth sink in a little deeper, though. That I was still sliced up from it all, no matter how much I cracked jokes or acted tough.
“Because you’re dedicated,” she said.
I swallowed hard. Damn, how easily she saw through me. That was rare. I’d met enough people who didn’t bother looking past the surface to understand as much. “I think I deserve at least a solid question for that.”
