“Listen, before this conversation takes a turn for the worse, I just wanted you to know I really appreciated the letter. It meant a lot, even if we can’t work things out. I’d really like to leave things between us on the best note possible, if we can. It would be nice to walk away from this knowing we can at least have some great memories intact and move past the anger. You deserve to be happy, with someone who will love you in a way I never can.”
Blowing out her breath like she was releasing air slowly from a balloon, she leaned her head against the doorjamb. “And what if I can’t get over you? Where does that leave me?”
This time I did touch her, running my thumb lightly over her cheek. “You will. Trust me. When you meet the right guy, you aren’t even going to remember my name.”
She leaned into my touch, placing her hand over the back of mine, holding it there tightly. “You’re wrong, Six. I’ll never forget you. You’ll always be the one that got away.” Turning her head, she placed a kiss inside my palm. “I love you,” she whispered, her tears falling rapidly. “I hope someday you can forgive me.”
I didn’t know what to say, wishing I could tell her she was forgiven right now, so she could find the relief she was seeking, but we’d both know it was a lie. The bitter pangs over the loss of my child held strong in my heart. It would be something that would take me a long time to get over—if ever.
“Take care, Sarah,” I said, pulling my hand away. Without waiting for her to reply, I turned and walked back to my car. I knew she was still standing there watching me as I climbed inside, but I didn’t look back.
It was time to leave Sarah and the past behind, and I did, turning the wheel as I drove to meet Brooklyn, my future.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Brooklyn
Six was already waiting for me when Bailey and I pulled into the parking lot near the row of fast food joints. “Pull over there next to him,” I directed her. “We always stay toward the back of the lot to avoid attention.”
Bailey giggled. “You two are both so cloak and dagger all the time. Shoot, I’d do Brandon in a parking space next to the building. I don’t care who sees or hears us.”
“I know,” I replied, rolling my eyes, because I knew she wasn’t kidding. But then what did she really have to hide? I’d wager that most of the male student population of the school already knew what she looked like without any clothes on; and judging from some of the wild parties she’d been to, I was pretty certain plenty of girls had seen her naked with some of those guys, as well. I hadn’t even attended any of those parties and had seen more than I ever wanted to in pictures. Apparently being drunk meant public sex was okay, because everyone was too drunk to care.
It was a good thing Bailey was comfortable in her own skin, because there’d been more naked pictures of her passed around the school than there were probably pictures in the yearbook. She was not at all shy. Whereas I would’ve been mortified by something like that, she was the kind of person who grabbed the phone and said, “Let me see! Oh that one! Ha, ha, ha! You should see this one,” and would proceed to drag out her own phone and show you another.
Yes, the two of us definitely differed in that manner. Six was the only person I ever wanted seeing me naked. Period.
“You two have fun. I’m going inside to eat. You want me to grab you something?” Bailey asked as soon as she’d parked.
“Yeah, just something little, like cheese sticks or jalapeno poppers with some sauce.”
“I’m on it!”
“Thanks,” I replied as we both climbed out. I shut the door and hurried around to the passenger side of Six’s car. “Hey!” I smiled as I slid into the seat and shut the door. Just seeing him made me feel better. There was something about having him close by that simply made me feel happy, like all was right with the world.
He didn’t smile back though, and I felt my smile slip away.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my heart rate gathering speed, and suddenly I was worried.
“Nothing,” he said, slipping his hands on either side of my face and drawing me to him. Pressing his lips to mine, he kissed me hard, deeply, not releasing his hold on me at all as he plundered my mouth.
My hands sought his face out, too, running over his cheeks before sliding around to the back of his neck and up into his hair. Pulling apart a few millimeters, just to catch our breath, we dove back into the kiss, again.
As usual, my reaction to him was instantaneous. My body combusted in a flurry of both swirling heat, exploding at my heart and sinking in circling trails to pool low in my belly, and the prickles of icy goose bumps that raced rampant over my skin. It felt like every single cell that made me was in love with Six. If my body were to burst into a billion individual molecules, every single one would recognize him and love him as greatly as the whole of my being.
Suddenly, I wanted to skip the rest of school for the day and stay lost in his arms. I was tired of all these snatched moments and hiding our relationship. I wanted to share it with the world! I wanted everyone to know about this amazing thing that was happening. Everything about Six made me feel like I was coming apart at the seams, my feelings growing stronger and stronger until I felt like I wouldn’t be able to contain them much longer. People were going to find out, anyway. Couldn’t they see it on my face? In the language of my body? I was in love—glorious love—with him! I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
Breaking away slightly, he leaned his forehead against mine, staring at me, his warm heavy breaths caressing my already overly sensitive skin.
“What brought all that on?” I asked, relishing the action of his thumbs rubbing over my cheeks.
“I just needed you to know that I love you—more than anything.” His words made my heart both soar and feel like it was plummeting. Something was different about him. He seemed sad.
“Has something happened I should know about?” I asked, searching his eyes. Something was definitely off.
Sighing, he released me and leaned back in the driver’s seat. “I got something unexpected, today.”
“What?” Tiny, liquid tendrils of fear began to creep around my heart, squeezing it as they turned to ice.
Shifting, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a letter. “I’m going to show this to you—not to hurt you or upset you, but so you know the truth about everything. I don’t want there being any secrets between us.” He extended it out to me and I took it.
“What is it?” I asked, trepidation continuing to fill me.
“It’s a letter from my ex, Sarah.”
This couldn’t be a good thing—not at all. Settling back in my seat I tried not to let panic overtake me as I pulled the papers inside from the envelope. Opening it, I began reading the words written.
A painful knot began forming in my throat as I read Sarah’s tortured words, begging Six to forgive her and come back. But when she spoke of lying naked in his arms and how he used to make love to her anywhere and everywhere, I started shaking. Sarah had lived the life with him that I wanted now. She’d had him in every way possible. She’d carried his child—all things that I would come second to. Six had told me he loved her. Suddenly, I felt like the intruder to their happy ending. Sarah wanted him back. She wanted to make it right. She wanted to heal the scars inside him, something I could never do.
Lifting my head, I couldn’t help the single tear that escaped as I looked at him. “What are you going to do?” I asked, dropping the letter back into his lap, not wanting to touch it any longer than I had to. It was like poison to my soul.
“It’s already done,” he replied, his eyes never leaving mine. “I went to see her as soon as I read it.”
I went to see her as soon as I read it. His words struck me like hot iron. He was still in love with her. That was it. He was here to tell me thank you for the time we spent together, but he was going back to her. It didn’t really surprise me. He’d built a life with her already. I was just some teenager he’d passed the time wi
th. I believed he loved me, but there was no way I could compete with a history like that.
Tears fell faster and I didn’t try to stop them. “So, you’re going back to her then?” I had to force the words out.
He snorted. “What? No! Did you not just hear what I told you? I said I love you—you, Brooklyn—more than anything!”
I stared at him, the rays of hope again beginning to bloom in my chest. “I . . . I thought you were trying to break the news that you’re leaving me, gently.”
Grabbing my face, he laughed and briefly kissed me, again. “No! You silly girl.” His hands slid down grasping both of my arms around the wrist and lifting them. “You see these hands?” he asked and I nodded. “These hands are what holds my heart. It’s yours to do with what you please. I’m not going anywhere.”
I couldn’t hold back the stupid sob that blubbered out me, relief infusing my being, as he kissed each of my hands before linking his fingers with mine.
“I went to see Sarah. I thanked her for the letter and told her it made things better between us for her to apologize, but that I couldn’t come back. I told her there wasn’t any way I could get past what had happened. And then, I told her the rest of the truth about the girl I was interested in before her and how she was finally in my life. I told her how I’d never known love between two people could feel so good, and while I’d been faithful to her while I was with her, you were the one I always wanted.”
My eyes widened as he spoke, my love for him growing and blossoming even stronger inside me. “You said all that? Really?”
Smiling, he kissed the back of my hand. “Really. You’re the only girl I want—ever. I’m hoping you feel the same.”
Something akin to a half-cry, half-laugh, escaped me as I removed my hands from his and placed my arms around his neck. “There’s no doubt in my mind. I feel the same. I promise you.”
Another heated kiss followed and this time, as our mouths tangled together, I reveled in knowing his love for me was so strong.
“Wait!” I said, breaking away. “There’s something else I need to say.”
“What?” he asked, seeming surprised.
“I’m tired of hiding and sneaking around. Let’s just be normal and put this relationship out there.” I searched his eyes as I spoke, looking for relief, but saw alarm, instead.
“Sweetheart, as much as I’d love that, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I get what you’re saying, but damn . . . if your dad found out and decided to be an ass about it, it would kill me to not be able to see you at all. I have no problem with taking the small snatched moments we get, together, if it means I get to keep seeing you in some capacity. Let’s keep things quiet, for now, and see how it goes.”
I sighed heavily, disappointed, but understanding where he was coming from. “I can’t wait until we can be a normal couple.”
Chuckling, he kissed me, again. “It’ll happen. I promise.”
“Not soon enough,” I muttered and he laughed.
“I completely agree.”
***
There it was, sitting on the edge of the kitchen counter next to Dad’s briefcase. Glancing around, I didn’t see him or my mom anywhere. Quickly, I grabbed the phone and ducked into the powder room, locking the door. I punched in the four-digit code, entering it wrong the first time because I was shaking so badly. I hurriedly entered it, again.
The device unlocked and I skipped over to the recent calls list. Scrolling down and searching for the date, praying that the calls hadn’t been deleted. Dad did a lot of business by phone, but thankfully it appeared that most of the calls on his phone were just from Rhonda, sprinkled with a few from my mom.
Due to the situation with Tommy, I hadn’t approached her about Dad’s affair. I figured it was best not the rock the boat and wake a sleeping giant.
Slowing when I reached that Sunday Six had overheard him, I found the call that matched the appropriate time frame. Rhonda. No surprises there. Rhonda was his accomplice. Taking my phone out, I snapped a picture of the time-stamped call. I slid my phone back in my pocket before flipping over to his text messages from Rhonda.
Reading through, I didn’t see anything that really implicated anything about Tommy or an affair, most of the texts being business related or talking about meeting to eat lunch. I did notice that the thread had been recently deleted, however.
“Helen? Have you seen my phone?” My dad’s voice floated down the hall.
“Oh, no, no, no!” I said under my breath, quickly turning it off. I glanced around the room helplessly as if it might provide an answer.
“I haven’t,” my mom replied from somewhere else in the house. “Where’d you leave it?”
“I thought I set it on the counter next to my briefcase. I came home and set it down and went to the bathroom, and then I went into my office. I didn’t move it, though.”
Setting the phone on the edge of the sink, I flushed the toilet and ran my hands under the faucet before stepping out. My dad turned to look at me. “You left your phone on the sink in the bathroom,” I said in what I hoped was a nonchalant sounding tone. Shaking the excess water off my dripping hands, I proceeded to wipe them dry on my jeans.
“Good grief, Brooklyn,” my dad complained. “I swear you act like you were raised in the ghetto. How many times do I have to remind you to dry your hands on the damn towel? That’s what it’s there for. Go get a rag and wipe up these walls before they spot.”
Brushing past him, I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face as I moved toward the kitchen to retrieve a cleaning rag. Successfully diverted. This was one time when my dad’s obsessiveness had worked in my favor. I quickly wiped off the water spots on the walls and floors and then I hurried to my room.
Got it! I texted to Dee Dee.
Everything go okay? She texted back.
Yeah.
Good. I’ll take care of things from here. U stay out of it. U hear me? I want U safe!
I will.I replied.Love U.
Love U 2.
Exiting my messages, I deleted the thread and then deleted the picture. Who knew what would happen from here? But for now, it was out of my hands, and that was just fine with me.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Six
Pushing the speed limit, I raced my Jag back through town from the strip into the suburbs of Henley. Tonight’s show seemed to drag on forever, especially knowing that Brooklyn was waiting for me at Bailey’s pool house.
She didn’t know it, but after the night I’d shared with her on stage, I’d never danced that routine, again. It seemed a good place to end that act, with the special memory of finally hooking up with the girl I wanted. I’d talked to Randy and he agreed to let me learn a new choreographed solo that didn’t require me to bring anyone on stage with me.
I’d also been pondering different options for work, lately. While Brooklyn had never complained about my working for Leathers, I couldn’t imagine it was the kind of job a girl wanted for her boyfriend. Sure, I enjoyed it, who wouldn’t? Women screaming and cheering for you like crazy every time you walk out on stage—it could definitely go to the head. But I wanted Brooklyn more than I wanted any of that. At the end of the day, she was the one I wanted to come home to; so I’d do whatever made her comfortable.
Inked Edges was completely tapped out on hours at the moment. There was no way I could pick up more there, unless my uncle retired or someone quit. I didn’t see either happening any time soon.
The downside to leaving Leathers was that I made good money there. I’d saved almost every penny of it in hopes of buying Inked Edges. If I quit working there, it would take a lot longer for my dream of owning my own shop to become a reality.
Turning down Bailey’s street, I parked a few houses down the road, straddling the property lines of two adjacent homes, so if anyone became curious about my car, it would leave a question about whose house the car was actually parked in front of. Locking up, I jogged toward the residence Brandon had sho
wn me. He’d been here several times to spend the night in the pool house with Bailey. This was my first time.
I punched the key code into the gate and it slowly swung open. Slipping inside, I ran up the private drive and around the left of the house. Opening the side gate, I entered into the backyard. A large pool, surrounded by plush deck chairs, sparkled in the moonlight.
Quietly, I moved toward the pool house, knocking on the door.
“Hey, you!” Brooklyn said as she opened it, smiling wide. Immediately, it was as if everything inside me relaxed and I didn’t have a care in the world. Just standing next to her made me feel . . . peace.
“Hey, yourself,” I replied with a grin, my eyes drifting over the simple scoop neck t-shirt and shorts she was wearing. I thought she looked like a million bucks.
“Get in here!” Grabbing my shirt, she pulled me inside, closing the door behind me and standing on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I’ve missed you.”
My hands slid naturally around her waist. “I’ve missed you, too.” Mouth descending, my lips captured hers and a soft groan escaped me at the contact—the same old sparks igniting between us. It was funny how she made me feel like no one else ever had. But then, again, I loved her like I’d never loved anyone.
“You owe me five bucks,” Brandon’s voice interrupted and Brooklyn and I broke apart. I hadn’t even noticed anyone else in the room. Glancing around, I saw Bailey and him watching us, the two of them sitting on the couch, cuddled together.
Bailey sighed. “You were right. They didn’t even make it a foot past the door before they started making out.” Uncurling, Bailey dug into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out some cash, handing it to Brandon.
Quirking an eyebrow, I stared at him. “Is this how you’re making your money these days? Betting on us?”
Laughing, he shook his head. “No, but I’d probably make a bundle if I did. You two are so predictable.”