Wanting Reed (Break Me) BOOK 2 (43 page)

Tommy is like a mosquito on fly paper when it comes to bars and beer, so we headed to Fenway Park. Since it’s an alley filled with bars and restaurants, he can have a field day picking wherever he wants to go. We stop at Jillian’s to play some pool, which conveniently isn’t too far from Newbury Street where we dropped off Elle and Juju. I feel like I’m on high alert wanting to make sure they are safe. I’m not sure why; it’s just a feeling I have.

“I see now why you fell for her. She’s a...damn… she’s a good-looking girl.” Tommy grins before taking a pull of his beer.

“Yeah,” I say as I break the rack and watch the balls scatter across the table. My heart hurts thinking about how much I love her. “Shit, Tommy, it took me twenty-five years to find her, and I almost lost her.”

“I’m not surprised. You’ve always liked to put everything on the line, hoping for the cards to go your way.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, man,” I reply sarcastically, jabbing his arm as I grab my beer off the table and finish it.

“Dude, you need to hear the straight-up truth once in a while,” he says, taking his stick and rubbing some blue chalk on it.

“Yeah, I
need
another beer. You’re killing my mood with all this talk about me being a fuck up.” I chuckle.

“Get me a Heiney.” He laughs.

It’s Tuesday night, and Jillian’s is not busy. People are just getting off work, and college students are coming in for happy hour. I order a couple of beers and head back to Tommy who’s now watching sports highlights from a flat screen TV. As I hand him a beer, my thoughts drift to Elle. I wonder how she’s doing with Juju. I know my sister and how she loves to shop, so I hope she is going easy on my doll.

“I see you beefed up a little. Practice going good?” Tommy glances over, raising his beer to his lips.

“Yeah. No problems, man. I feel good. Both my knee and arm feel great.” I smile, throwing back my beer.

“Speaking of problems, have you contacted your buddy Jerry at all?”

“No.” I frown, throwing him a quick glance.
Shit. That’s been the last thing on my mind.
“I’ve been focusing on so many other things,” I say.

“Thought so,” Tommy replies, flicking his eyes away from the screen. “Does a black Suburban ring a bell?”

“Fuck.” I grab the back of my neck. “Yeah, I remember riding in a really fucking comfortable black Suburban with leather seats with a shattered arm and my hands in cuffs.”

“I saw it around the neighborhood. Stuck out like a sore thumb. Tinted windows and shiny, silver rims. I knew something was up when it was tailing us the day we took Momma to the hospital for an appointment.”

“Shit,” I fume. It feels like I’m falling into the same shit again. I’ve got to break this nasty habit. “Did you see anyone when you flew out here?”

“No, but they could’ve switched rides. I wouldn’t recognize anyone other than Jerry, so if someone did tag along, I wouldn’t know. Oh, and that cheese head Caleb.” He laughs, grabbing his pool stick and heads back to the table.

I laugh, but it feels like I just got hit with a bag of cement. Setting my beer on the bar, I join Tommy at the pool table. The possibility that someone could have been so close to hurting Momma, Juju or Tommy makes me angrier than hell. I know how Jerry is with his promises, with me anyway, since I haven’t been able to follow through with any of them. I don’t blame him for not trusting me because of my past, but I fucking mean it now. I regret not calling him sooner. “What about Momma? She’s safe, right?” Damn. She should have made the trip. I thought my problems had finally vanished, but you can never say that with Jerry. I remember his threat about coming up to Boston, but I doubt he’ll do it because I can’t see him here in this cold weather.

“Momma is good. Your dad has been coming around, and your uncles are staying with her. You have nothing to worry about,” he says in a reassuring voice.

Shit. Dad.
I would have never dreamt in a million fucking years that Dad would come back around and that Momma would even allow him back into her home. If she can forgive, I guess it is about time I do. My chirping phone jolts me from my thoughts that I’m not in the state of mind to address.
There I go putting off shit again.
I pull out my phone from my back pocket and scan my calls. Seeing her name and picture pop up instantly puts other ideas in my mind, like red lacy things, garters and red heels. Yeah, since we’ve gotten back together, that’s all I’ve been wishing for. I don’t think I’ve ever told her that my favorite color is red.

Elle: Where are you?

Reed: Jillian’s. How about u? Did you shop til you dropped?

Elle: Not yet. Your sis is killing me.

Reed: Can’t have that. Let me rescue u.

Elle: I wish. She’s discovered another sale!

Reed: Damn. Call me if u need me!

Elle: I will. ;) love u.

Reed: Love u doll.

I slide the phone back into my pocket and refocus. I can’t remember what I was doing before she called. I just want to pick her up and get her home.

“Yo, did you hear me?” Tommy taps my shoulder with the stick. “Your turn.”

“Oh, shit. Sorry,” I say. Adjusting my pool stick, I inspect my target and set myself up for the shot. My mind is not on the game anymore. My brain is focusing on Elle and all the things in my life that I’ve fixed and the things that still need fixing. I got Elle back, but there is still that uncertainty with Jerry and now Dad has made an entrance. At some point, I’m going to have to deal with that and get past all the hurt he caused Momma, Juju and me. Life is so fucking hard. One day my life is not going to involve me trying to shove a square peg into a round hole. The pieces will fall into place for me. I just have to work at it, and it will happen. I have to accept my fate. I follow the line of the stick as I take aim at the ball. “Number two ball in the side pocket,” I call out. It falls in.

“Nice shot.”

Holy shit
. I jerk my gaze to my right when I hear the sound of that fucker’s voice, the douche who tried to swoop in on Elle while I was MIA. I haven’t had words with him since the night at the club. I should kick his ass for interfering with Elle and me, but it doesn’t matter now. Elle and I are together, and it looks like Tyler has gotten himself a piece. I straighten up and squint at the blonde at his side. Phoebe. Yeah, that’s her name. Party girl. Almost had her. Now, I’m glad I didn’t. Tommy stands at the other end of the table, nursing his beer and waiting for me to introduce the guy who tried to keep Elle away from me, but I’m not feeling friendly right now. Tyler glances around the bar and then back at me. He’s obviously looking for Elle. My anger is boiling just beneath the surface, making my skin heat.

“She’s not here,” I answer the question burning in his brain. He’s pissing me off now, but I have to keep my anger in check. Shit. That’s all I ever do with the men in Elle’s life. Between Jace and Tyler, I’m ready to explode with all this pent-up rage. I take a deep, calming breath and slowly bring my anger under control and return to the pool game.

“I just wanted to kind of clear the air about some things,” Tyler says, handing Phoebe some money and asking her to grab a couple of beers at the bar. She smiles as she passes me. I nod, watching her walk away and waiting for my anger to subside before I look at Tyler again. He leans one shoulder against the wall, folding his arms across his chest. Suddenly, I’m not in the mood to talk. I just want to finish this game, have a few more beers and pick up Elle, but now I have to listen to his explanation for why he did what he did. I know why he fucking did it. I flick my gaze back over at him before I line up my stick for my next shot.

“Not necessary,” I challenge. “I know the reasons why you wanted me to stay away from Elle. You wanted her.”

“I wanted her to stop hurting,” he replies, annoyed. “You didn’t see her at the airport that day. The day you were a fucking no show.” He steps away from the wall and places his hands on the edge of the table. “I knew you weren’t going to come back for her. I saw the look in her eyes when she walked away from me that day. I couldn’t leave her there.”

Fury rolls up my back and invades every fucking living cell in my body. “Dude,” I seethe, throwing the stick onto the table. “There are reasons why I couldn’t make it back here, and I’m not going to waste my breath explaining them to you. All that matters is that Elle knows the truth, end of story.”

“I get that. Just know that what happened between Elle and me was bound to happen. I wanted it, and she wanted it. I know she did, but then you came out of the woodwork and fucked it all up again. I never pushed her, though it was the fucking hardest thing I ever had to do. I couldn’t confuse or hurt her more. You had already put her through enough,” he says, raking his hands through his hair and glaring at me like he wants to blow a hole through my head.

I wince at the images of Elle and Tyler together, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I couldn’t control myself with her, and I don’t expect any other guy to either. I can’t think about that shit anymore. It’s over, and she’s with me now.

“Well, shit, you must have been suffering from a severe fucking case of blue balls considering you’re now keeping company with Phoebe.” I laugh, shifting my focus to Phoebe at the bar.

“It is what it is. You know, like that thing you had with Mindy over the summer. It was the talk at the center. Looks like you forget your humble beginnings,” he replies sarcastically.

Shit.
That was so long ago that I completely forgot about it. I barely remember a damn detail from that night. It meant nothing, but that shit will always come back to bite me. I can’t change the past. I can only change who I am now.

“Yeah, it meant nothing,” I counter, locking eyes with him.

“Exactly. Just a way to pass the time until the next one. I understand.” He chuckles sarcastically.

“Who’s your friend?” Tommy interjects, leaning his stick up against the wall.

“Not sure if
friend
is the right term to be using,” Tyler retorts, taking the beer that Phoebe hands him when she returns. “We have a mutual friend.” He smiles at Phoebe. Thanking her for the beer, he takes a long pull.

“So much for fucking clearing the air.” I laugh under my breath.

“Call it what you want, man. I just had to say my peace.” Tyler looks between Tommy and me. “I’m Tyler by the way,” he states, without extending his hand.

“Yeah,” Tommy answers. “I’ve heard all about you.”

“Good things, I hope,” Tyler replies sarcastically.

“Except for the cock block,” Tommy says with a frown.

“Like I said, I was protecting her.”

“And trying to get some play,” I counter.

Smirking, Tyler throws his head back and slides his hands into the pocket of his jeans.

“My feelings for Elle run deeper than that, douche,” he grits. “I made a move long before your ass got in the picture, but she made her feelings known. I didn’t cross that boundary because I didn’t want to damage what we had. Her needs will always come first with me, even if it means she chooses you again. I’ll take her friendship, if it means having her in my life.”

I’ve got to hand it to this guy. Even though he tried to make a play for Elle, he was man enough to walk away and give her space to make her own decision. It takes a strong man to let someone like her slip away. I’m just glad that he let her slip back to me.

“Anyways, tell Elle I’ll give her a call,” Tyler finishes as Phoebe wraps her arm around his and smiles. I’m not sure how serious he is with her, but it seems like she is a little smitten with him. Not that I’m worried. He needs to refocus his energy on something or someone else since I’m back and Elle’s with me.

“Yeah,” I reply absently as I watch them walk away. It will be a cold day in hell if I do any favors for him, but then again, he is Elle’s best friend, and I know how strongly she feels about him. Grabbing my beer, I finish it and ask Tommy to get me another one.

I texted Elle an hour later from the bar while I downed another beer. She hasn’t called for me to pick her up, and Tommy’s worried that Juju may have maxed out his credit card. There’s a little more activity at the bar, and all the pool tables are occupied. I’m not in the mood to wait around to play another game and would much rather nurse my beer at the bar.

“Dude, aren’t you worried?” I ask, fidgeting with my phone and hoping she will text me back.

“Nah, your sis is a champ when it comes to shopping. It’s your girl I’m worried about.” He chuckles, throwing back his beer.

“Thanks. I can always count on you to ease my mind.”

“Hey.”

I can’t mistake that voice for anything, anywhere as I turn around on my stool. I could listen to her all day and all night and never get enough of it. At one point, I may have not had another chance to hear it again, but I fought my way back to her. It warms me from the inside out when I turn in the direction of her voice. I drink in her features: her hazel eyes, her perfect lips and her long, silky hair. She looks amazing in a pair of snug blue jeans and a white V-neck sweater that hugs every delicious curve of her body. I’m hurting, and my dick is already feeling her presence.

“Doll, you had me worrying over here,” I say as she strolls over to position herself between my legs as I grab her for a hug. I slide my hands under her sweater. I love the feel of her satin-soft, warm skin. Half a day away from her and I can’t deal. It makes me wonder how I lasted all those months without her. I kiss her. She smiles over my lips and gently nips on my bottom lip.

“I couldn’t wait any longer to see my man,” she whispers. “How ‘bout you?” she teases.

“Yes... I’ve been imagining you getting all kinds of kinky all day in my head,” I groan, brushing her hair away from her neck.

“Well, I’m here now,” she barely whispers as I watch goose bumps prickle her skin.

“I like what I do to you,” I say, nipping at her neck.