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I stifle a laugh and tuck my phone in my pocket. “Sorry, I need to go.”
“Was that your new boyfriend?”
“For fuck’s sake,” I groan, rolling my eyes. “No, it was my brother and his fiancé.” I toss the vibrator into the box, setting it off again. Fuck it, I give up. I pick up the buzzing box and begin to walk to my car. “Bye, Troy.”
Thankfully, he doesn’t chase after me and I’m able to make it into my car safely. Driving away, I look into my rearview mirror, finding him with his hands stuffed in his jacket, head hung low. I could take the easy route and stay. If I want a chance to do more, be more, then I need to get my shit together. I can’t do that here, not when the one person who can fix me is in Coal’s Lake.
axl
?. . .?
February 10th
Myles and Tristan are getting married today, so I won’t be able to avoid Beth. I’ve already prepared myself that she might come to the wedding on another man’s arm. As selfish as it is, the thought of her with someone else has my stomach in knots. It’s my own fucking fault for letting her go without letting her explain.
The catering staff is short tonight. Now that the majority of our guests are checked in at the front desk, I’m slipping into the wedding reception to help serve and bus tables. If the bar is busy, I’ll slide in and barback to help, but I’d like to avoid being stuck somewhere that’ll force me to see her.
I’m not even a foot in the door when I spot Beth talking with her parents by the bar. She’s wearing a crimson strapless dress that lands at her knees. It’s fitted, showing off her perfect hips and ass. It’s just my luck that she looks absolutely gorgeous the first time I see her since she left.
In the middle of talking to her family, Beth does a double take when she spots me. She excuses herself and makes her waythrough the crowd. Dinner service should start in the next ten to fifteen minutes, so I have an easy out if things get awkward. I don’t want to see her with her new boyfriend, or with any man for that matter. As much as I hate to admit it, I want her, even if she was never supposed to be mine.
Beth’s hips sway a bit more than her usual stride. I’m not sure if it’s her heels or if she’s putting on a show for me. I do my best to hide my smile but a small smirk still escapes. I know damn well I won’t be able to keep my eyes—or anything else—off her tonight. The closer she gets, the more my palms itch to touch her.
“Hey,” she breathes, my eyes falling to her soft smile. She nervously chews on her bottom lip that matches the red of her dress. Staring too long, I quickly snap my gaze to meet her eyes. When I don’t say anything, she teases, “You know, you could’ve been on the guest list as my date, instead of crashing my brother’s wedding.”
“Sorry, I have to work tonight.” I lean in, brush a kiss to her cheek, and whisper, “But you look incredible.” Her breath catches and I fucking love that I can do that to her. As I pull back, all the colour is gone from her lust-filled eyes. She’s looking at me as if she could devour me whole. I want to tell her that I missed her, that I’m done with this toxic shit we’re doing, that I want her to be mine. I take a quick survey around the room and assess I have less time than I thought before the DJ introduces the newlyweds.
Beth grips the back of my neck and keeps me close. “I’m sorry, Ax,” she whispers, her lips brushing my ear. “Can we talk?”
I don’t even know what she’s sorry about. Worse, I don’t care. I’m moments away from finding a dark corner, fucking her hard and fast until her pussy is clenched around my cock asshe comes for me. “We have seven minutes. Seven and a half if we’re lucky.” It’s better to round down with her.
Taking her hand in mine, I pull her to the side storage closet by the bar. We both know the inevitable—fucking at her brother’s wedding was always in the cards for us. The moment the closet door shuts, I ask the one thing I’ve been avoiding since I saw her, “Is he here?”
“He?” Beth pauses for a moment and laughs. “Fuck, Ax, no!” She shakes her head. “I’ve only seen him once since I saw you.”
Shit. Is he still in the picture?
Beth reaches for me but I take a step back. “Once?”
She closes the distance but leaves a couple inches between us. An amused smile tugs at her lips. “Yes. Once. He showed up at my apartment unannounced as I was packing my car to come home.”
“Coal’s isn’t your home, Beth.”
“It is until May,” she counters. “I came to the wedding solo.”
There’s no fuckboy. She’s here… but does she want me? I tuck away a stray tendril behind her ear. “I wanted to chase after you,” I admit.
“I’m glad you didn’t. You deserve to be chased, Ax. Let me be the one to do it.”
My time is limited. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds us. “I have to get through dinner service. As soon as it’s over, I’ll come find you.”
She lifts up onto her toes—even with her impossibly high heels—to press her forehead to mine. “Not if I find you first.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”
Beth kisses me, but unlike the fire I’m used to, this is soft, almost delicate. “I’m sorry I didn’t fight for you.” As we pull apart, she adds, “Stay with me tonight? Fuck me. Don’t fuck me. I don’t care. My head is a mess—fuck,I’ma mess—but I want to talk about this when we’re not in a closet. Just know there’s no one else. I’m here for you; just you… if you’ll have me. I don’t want whatever this friends with benefits thing is. Not anymore. I want—”
“Beth, I'm crazy about you. Of course I’ll go home with you tonight. We can talk about it after the wedding. But first…” I need her more than I need to breathe right now.
