“She’s working here. I think maybe you should go home.”
The new waitress Mike had been talking about was the girl I had never gotten over. “I’m good, Hunter. There are no hard feelings between us. I let that shit go a long time ago, so there really isn’t a problem. Now if you tell me Trent King is out there somewhere then we may just have a slight problem.” I pushed past my brother and stepped out into the loud bar. Glancing over at the table, I saw Felice talking with the guys, so I walked back to the table, sat down beside Felice, and ordered another beer.
Chapter Twelve
Hope
Ihad just returned frommy break and was going to be following one of the girls on the floor for the rest of the night. She had already gone over things with me in the back and told me just to stick close to her. We stopped at the end of the bar waiting for Mike to give us our section, and that was when I saw him. All six feet of hard muscle. One look at him and I instantly knew I had made a mistake. I had left him on the word of my father—no other reason. Honestly all I knew was what my father had told me the dreaded message said, but I hadn’t heard it for myself, hadn’t heard how he sounded. I had seen that he had come back home, but he wouldn’t even look in the direction of my house. I had gone to see him, but he refused to come to the door, and after he had left, I had tried calling him for weeks with no answer. Occasionally, our home phone would ring, my father claiming it was the wrong number. I was beginning to wonder if the last three years hadn’t been a punishment of sorts, for leaving him without speaking to him, leaving me in a horrid relationship only to now find myself single and no further ahead.
While I was waiting for Ashley, I kept watch on him. He looked so good, dressed in dark jeans and a white button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up showing off his muscular forearms. I wondered if he still wore the same Calvin Klein cologne that he wore when we had dated. The scent of that cologne had been firmly imprinted in my brain. The bubble I was in burst in my face as I watched a brunette walk over to the table and sit down beside him, Carter placing his arm around her and pulling her into him.
I couldn’t help the jealousy that coursed through me. I looked her over from head to toe. She was dressed in business attire, her buttons down her shirt open enough that you could see just the top of her black bra, her breasts spilling over the edge, her black dress pants fitting snuggly. She was full-figured, and she fit right against Carter, who seemed to really like her; he had wrapped her in his arms and hadn’t let her go yet. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from them. When he finally released his hold on her, he leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss on the cheek and then she got up and walked away.
“Hope, are you paying attention?” Mike’s voice rang out. I jumped and tore my eyes away from Carter. Both Mike and Ashley were standing in front of me, a little annoyance written on their faces.
“Sorry. Yes.” I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a small smile. “I thought I saw someone I knew for a minute.” Mike continued. This time he had my attention for another whole five or six minutes, and as his voice started to drone on and on, I found myself looking over his shoulder, my eyes locking on Carter. His blue eyes seemed to dance against the lights of the bar. Soon that same girl was back; she placed her hand on his shoulder, whispering something in his ear. I was struck with another pang of jealousy when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him to allow her to lean between his legs. I thought I was going to implode.
As the night went on, the guys who had been there with Carter eventually left, one by one. Then he moved and sat in front of the bar talking with Mike, the girl planted between his legs. I did my best to keep out of his sight. I wasn’t sure what I was even doing here now. I guess I figured we would see one another, and things would go back to the way they had been. At least that was what I had been hoping for. However, now I didn’t even want him to know I was working here.
As the night went on, I threw myself into my work. We were stationed in a different area than the one Carter was in, and I had done my best to forget that he was even there. After we had finished our last break, I went to grab a glass of water from behind the bar, and that was when I noticed Carter and that women had left. I breathed out a sigh of relief, but not without a couple of tears escaping too.
Carter
Hunter had been right;it was Hope. Even though I had wanted to get her attention, I knew she was completely off limits. So instead I turned my attention to the woman who had been hanging off me all night. The more I had to drink, the better Felice was beginning to look, and at least I wouldn’t be walking out of here alone. That was the last thing I would want Hope to see. I had let Felice sit nestled between my legs all night, her scent eventually driving me crazy, as my hand sat on the flat of her stomach and her ass rested against my cock.
“Come on, man, I’m taking you home.” Hunter had stood beside me, his coat on, waiting for me to hop to.
“Man, I’m fine. I’ll get home.”
“Have you forgotten that you have an exam tomorrow? Let’s go.”
“Fuck, Dad, I said I’m fine.” I gave him a shove.
“I’ll take him home, Hunter, it’s fine.” Felice stood and placed her hand on the side of his face, standing up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. My brother glared at me as he said good night to Felice.
After Hunter had left, she turned to me and ran her hand over my cheek. “What do you say, big boy, how about we get you home?” She leaned in and teased my lips with hers.
“May be a good idea,” I said, sucking her bottom lip into my mouth.
As we walked home, all I could think of was running my fingers through that soft blonde hair, looking into those blue eyes, and holding on to that perfect little body that should have been mine. Regret, of not banging on her front door and speaking with her the night I returned, was starting to eat at me again.
“Carter, this way, babe.” Having walked right past our building, I smiled and turned back, heading up the front stairs. We took the elevator and walked down the hall toward our apartments. I waited while she got her key from her purse. She slid the key into the lock and turned toward me. “Why don’t you come in for a while?” She ran her hand down my chest. “Have a nightcap,” she whispered in my ear.
“You do know that nothing is going to happen between us, right?” I said, reading her eyes.
“I do.” She swallowed hard, a look of disappointment coming over her face.
I followed her inside her apartment and watched her walk down the hall. “Help yourself. There is beer in the fridge,” she said, throwing her purse and coat down on the table.
I took a beer from the fridge, opened it, wandered into her living room, and sat down on her couch, leaning my head back. As I closed my eyes, the only thing I saw was Hope. I was pretty sure she was going to haunt me forever, just like she had for the past three years. I replayed over and over in my mind exactly how I felt when I had seen her that night with him. I had wanted to approach her tonight, wanted to pull her in my arms and get one more chance to hold her tight.
“Open your eyes, big boy,” I heard Felice’s voice drawl.
She finally came into focus. She was wearing a long silk bathrobe that hung open, and to my surprise, she was completely naked underneath. I felt myself harden at the sight before me. She walked over, the silk bathrobe teasing me as she walked with the occasional peek at her breasts. She didn’t wait. She straddled my lap, pulling the bathrobe open and sitting with her tits in my face. “Someone’s a little excited,” she mewed, grinding down on me.
“Felice, did you not hear...” she held her finger up to my lips, shushing me.
“I think you need this, Carter. We both need this.” She started unbuttoning my shirt until it was completely open. She raked her nails down my chest and popped the button on my jeans. She then grabbed my hand and placed it on her breast. “Touch me.”