“Any update on the gig?” he asks, reading my mind.
“Not yet. But should be soon.”
A grunt is his only response, and then he and Asher are chatting it up. I knew they’d get along easy. They’re both annoyingly charming and too goddamn handsome for their own good. Birds of a feather.
Before they can get into measuring dick sizes, I let my mind wander, absentmindedly stirring the straw in my drink with my eyes on the TV screen above the bar.
Amanda Parks.
Young, I correct myself.
I’ll never get used to that.
The last time I saw her, I had my car loaded up to head to college and she was standing in my best friend’s driveway, waving me off with tears in her eyes. She probably felt like I was a second son.
I, on the other hand, had very different feelings about her.
I met her son, David, when I was a senior in high school. He was a sophomore, and I watched him get bullied from the sidelines for a week too long before I stepped in and called an end to it. I had respect at our high school — mostly because I hadn’t learned to tame my temper yet, and when I blew up? Well, it wasn’t pretty.
I took David under my wing after that, and the more we hung out, the more I liked the kid. He was smart, funny, and he had goals, the same way I did.
Of course, when I stayed the night with him for the first time, I realized why.
His father was a piece of shit alcoholic, and I watched more nights than I wanted as he got belligerent and verbally abused my best friend. David took it in stride, always saying that wasn’t his real dad, that he’d be better in the morning when he was sober. I didn’t believe him, but it wasn’t my place to judge.
Besides, it wasn’t his father I gave a shit about.
The first time I laid eyes on Amanda, she was bent over in the garden they had in the front yard, the knees of her jeans muddy, tank top sticking to her curves as she pruned and pulled out weeds. She’d smiled so big at me the first time we met, nearly knocking me on my ass with her beauty. I was eighteen and as horny as I’d ever been in my life, and she might as well have been my sexual awakening.
Of course, that was just the first impression.
The more time I spent at the Parks’ residence, the more protective I felt over Amanda and David both. I hated Josh, David’s dad, and I had to physically restrain myself at times from launching into a fight I wasn’t welcome in.
He got ballsier as time went on, no longer caring if he left bruises on Amanda’s arms, or got sick on himself right in front of his son. He was a mess. He was a monster.
I wanted to kill him.
I knew that wasn’t an option, so I put effort into what I could do. I kept David busy, got him a job at the grocery store I worked at, took him out on the weekends, invited him to stay at my house when I knew he needed a break. But I also checked in on Amanda, whether she knew it or not. I’d spend nights and sometimes entire weekends there, making sure she was safe and helping around the house since I knew her husband never would.
She was too good for him. She deserved more.
And yet, for some reason I’d never understand, she stayed.
My phone buzzing in my pocket wakes me from the daydream, along with a hearty laugh shared between Asher and Dane. I peel my phone out of my pocket and frown at the number on the screen.
“Hello?” I answer cautiously.
“Well, hello, Doctor Weston.”
The voice is friendly, teasing, but I still can’t place it. I frown. “May I ask who I’m speaking to?”
“May I ask who I’m speaking to,” the voice mocks, and then there’s a laugh — a laugh I’d know anywhere, no matter how many years it’s been since I’ve heard it.
“David?!”
“That’s Doctor Parks to you.”
“Wait… really?”
He scoffs. “Hell no. I look terrible in scrubs. In tech, I get to wear sweatpants and no shirt if I want.”
I chuckle, remembering how dedicated he was to learning code when we were kids. “Sounds like I made the wrong career choice.”
“I tried to tell you.” There’s a soft laugh and then a pause. “Hey, I’m sorry to bug you, it sounds like you’re out somewhere but… could I talk to you for just a quick minute?”
“Of course. One sec.”
I nod to Asher and Dane, gesturing to the phone and disappearing out the front door of the bar as they continue talking.
“Man, I have to admit, feels a little like talking to a ghost,” I say once I’m outside. “I’ve missed you, man. How have you been?”