AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll wait in the living room.”
I left before we could say more. I needed to get the hell out of her bedroom because no matter how many times I told myself we had no business being more than friends, my body wasn’t on board. Being surrounded by all the shit in her bedroom was like throwing fuel on the fire. I wasn’t going to sit my ass on her bed and watch her pack clothes. Hell, if I had my way, she wouldn’t be wearing clothes this weekend because we’d spend the whole time in my bedroom, but that wasn’t what this was about. This was about her and reminding her who she could be without anyone telling her who she needed to be.
And that included me.
15
JANE
Sitting at the bar,I smiled at Ritz who was telling a story I had a hard time believing, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t have to be believable if it was this funny.
“I’m guessin’ maybe a quarter of that story was true,” Race said, and Becs laughed beside him.
Ritz smirked and settled his gaze on me. “What do you think, Jane?”
My eyebrows lifted when he asked me specifically. I glanced at Tank, who shrugged, but he was grinning, and it was obvious he was having a good time. So was I, which surprised me, considering the last time I hung out here, I didn’t feel like I belonged.
Except when I was with Tank.
“About the story?” I asked.
Becs snorted. “No, about his credibility.”
My eyes shifted between Ritz and Becs and finally settled on Ritz. “I think the story was really funny.”
“Do you think it was true?”
“Absolutely not.”
I laughed when everyone else did, but all of our heads turned toward the hallway leading into the bar area when we heard a deep voice.
“You figured him out quick, Jane.”
I smiled while watching Bear and Josie walk toward our little group. Josie slid onto the stool beside mine. “Wasn’t really that hard, was it?”
I laughed and shook my head. “I guess not.”
Josie leaned back against the bar. “Where’s Rachel tonight?”
Studying her, I listened to Bear and Tank start talking, but I was more interested in Josie. She seemed out of place here. Not as out of place as I felt, but she wasn’t who I expected to meet when I thought about the guys in the club. However, I’d been proven wrong by all the girls I’d met so far. Josie was beautiful with her blond hair and curvy figure, neither of which I had or would ever have, but that wasn’t what made her attractive. It was her confidence, and that wasn’t something I could fake. I’d spent so many years trying to be someone I wasn’t that I didn’t recognize who I was anymore, and I was about to marry someone I barely knew. What I did know was that I would be invisible. I wouldn’t be Jane. I would be Richard’s wife, his children’s stepmother, and the woman who looked the other way when he found another woman he’d rather spend time with. She wouldn’t be someone he would marry because she wouldn’t fit in his world, but she would be interesting and exciting, everything I couldn’t be. I would be dependable and dutiful until the person who lived within me would eventually be lost forever.
Josie reached out and laid her hand on my arm. “Jane, are you okay?”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. What did you ask?”
She smiled softly. “I asked where Rachel is tonight?”
“Oh.” I returned her smile. “She’s with her boyfriend.”
Josie glanced toward Ritz who stood across from where she sat before meeting my eyes again. “I didn’t realize she was seeing someone.”
“Yeah, for a while now.” She nodded, and I continued. “So how did you and Bear meet?”
Bear must’ve heard me because he dropped his arm to wrap around her shoulders. She didn’t even flinch. It was almost as if it was so natural for his arm to be there, like he was an extension of her in a way that she didn’t need to acknowledge.
“It’s a long story, but Becs actually introduced us.”
“So you were friends with Becs first?”
