AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know you’re awake,” Carter’s voice whispers into my ear sometime later.
He isn’t wrong, but I won’t give him anything, even if he’s completely taken me by surprise and snuck up on me.
“I asked your brother for your number, but I’m only going to send you one message.” He runs a hand down my hair, and I relish the way it feels. “I’m going to make sure you have my number, Avery. When you’re ready, my offer stands. I want to take you out. I want to re-do that night. You deserve so much more than that, but I’ll wait until you’re ready for me to give it to you.”
I wait, hoping I’ll be able to hear him leave. I should have known better, though. He doesn’t move, and he doesn’t take his hand away from my hair. At least, not for a few long moments. Then he sighs and leans down so that his mouth touches my ear.
“One day, Ms. James. One day, you’ll give me a chance to make it right.” Carter presses his lips to mine in a hesitant and gentle kiss. When he finally pulls away, he takes a piece of my heart with him.
The door closes a few seconds after that, and I finally take a deep breath.
“Well, shit. If you don’t take him, I’m sure there are a hundred women who wouldn’t mind having him.”
“Shut up.” I grunt. “Of course you’d say that. You’re over here trying to hook me up with him and shit in the middle of the night.”
“Actually.” Deacon sits down on the edge of the couch and pulls my feet into his lap. “He showed up at the club to ask for it, and you know that wasn’t the easiest of roads. We’ve got two little sistersandparents who would love to see you settled off with the first loser they could.” He grunts when I kick him in response. “Stop that, or I’ll dump your ass on the ground.”
When I stop trying to hurt him, Deacon pats my foot and leans back against the cushions.
“He stepped into the middle of a bar fight, unexpectedly, and took a hit that had been meant for me. I mean, I knew he could take a hit since he got drafted into the NFL, but damn. After his played for years, the rumor was that he became a cop, I didn’t think he could handle that much heat. The least I could do is give him your number.” Deacon whistles. “Then I spied on him with you, and he didn’t even hesitate. Man’s got charm, gotta give him that. Why won’t you give him a chance to apologize?”
“Zip it, Deac,” I snap irately, wanting him to have my side. Not encourage me to give Carter a chance. “He’s hotter than my curling iron when I stab myself in the back of the head with it. And twice as dangerous.”
“That doesn’t mean you should sit back and let him pass you by. You never know, Avery. Maybe he’s exactly what you need.”
Deacon’s words echo in my mind, and as I fall back asleep on the couch, I think about what it would be like to let Carter in.
“No, thanks,” I mutter drowsily, fading off. “His dick wasn’tthatbig.”
13
AVERY
Lack of sex can do very strange things to a woman. Even I can recognize the crazy and irrational way that I’ve started to act.
The only reprieve, seriously, the only one I find at all from the constant and chaotic torture on my libido, is teaching. Surrounded by twenty people constantly asking for help or for answers to problems they can solve on their own, or listening to them squabble amongst themselves… that’s about the only time of the day I feel any bit of relief.
“You still haven’t answered his text?” Chris sticks his head into my classroom at lunch, and I groan at the unwanted intrusion into my thoughts.
“No.”
I glare at him like it is his fault I can’t get any. Then he walks in with two bags of Taco Bell and a smile on his face that declares he isn’t going anywhere. That, and he has on his favorite superhero scrubs, which he only wears when he feels like he has to ‘do battle’ with something. I guess I’m his chosen opponent for the day.
While I stare at the food, he needlessly exclaims, “I brought tacos!” He plops the bag down and sits on my desk, ignoring the stack of papers that now live under his ass.
He reaches into the bag and hands me some of the deliciousness, smiling even wider when I dive right in without even saying thanks.
“Shut it,” I snap. “You don’t get an opinion. Not when you’re the only one getting anything good nowadays.”
Chris rolls his eyes, crosses his legs, and eats his lunch in companionable silence. For thirty whole seconds at least, that’s all I get out of him.
“You know you’re doing this to yourself, right?” He holds up a taco-filled hand when I open my mouth to chew him out. “You really are. A hot guy wants to take you out. To apologize. To give you what you so desperately want. And he even put the ball in your court, gave you the power in this situation. But you won’t give him a shot.”
I finish my fourth taco, refusing to acknowledge the fact that he has a point. But I can’t escape the knowing look on his face. Chris, more than anyone else, knows about the walls I put up and why I put them there. He knows the dangers of getting close.
Finally, after I can’t think of any other way to handle him, I settle on the truth. “What do you want me to say?”
“To me?” Chris inspects his fingers, clearly enjoying his position of superiority in the current situation. “Nothing. I think you should pick up your phone and tell Carter that you’ll let him take you to dinner.”
