Naomi finished her drink while we talked, but declined my offer to buy her another, looking toward her friend, who was now hanging all over Numbers. She didn’t seem to be monitoring how much she was drinking, so I supposed it was a good thing Naomi was. Someone needed to be responsible for making sure they got home safe.
The strangest thing happened as we talked. I felt an awakening of the same intense physical attraction I’d felt for her the night we first met. Maybe it was because I was finally letting go of my anger, allowing myself to see a different side of her. She wasn’t just the bad guy in my story, and remembering this enabled the growth of such a strong desire that I was overwhelmed by it. It suddenly flared bigger than I could even explain, and hard to suppress. But I had to, right? I couldn’t do a one-eighty on her so suddenly, especially not while she was talking to me about our son.
“Do you want to see a picture from Halloween last year?’ she offered. “He went as Captain America.”
“Of course, I do,” I said, even though I only had the vaguest idea of who that even was.
Naomi pulled out her phone and leaned in closer to show me pictures of our son wearing a dark blue bodysuit with red and white strips on his stomach and a white star in the center of his chest.
Even with a helmet covering half his face, I could see he looked notably younger, and it amazed me how much he’d changed in less than a year.
She swiped through the photos she’d taken.
I smiled at the sight of Gavin striking superhero poses with a stoic look on his face.
Then, from behind Naomi, a man I didn’t know came up to the bar and waved his arm to get Ink’s attention. He bumped into Naomi, knocking her forward until she nearly fell off the barstool.
Reaching out, I grasped both of her arms, steadying her. Anger surged, and I wanted to tell off the man who’d carelessly almost knocked her off the stool.
Then she let out a light, breathy laugh as her eyes met mine.
In that moment, all my negative emotion washed away. The heat of anger transformed into something entirely different.
She was so close to me now, with only a few inches separating our faces, and her eyes darkened slightly as she looked at me, her breathing becoming rapid.
Hot passion bloomed inside of me as her tongue darted out, wetting her lips. I wanted to taste her, to see if she was as sweet as I remembered…I started to close the distance between us, giving in to my growing need. But just before our lips met, I felt Naomi stiffen where my hands still held her. The look in her eyes changed, and I could have sworn I saw regret there as I pulled away, making sure she was steady on her stool before I let her go.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s just complicated…”
“I get it,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure if I really did. All I knew was that I wanted her. Now that I had really forgiven her, it was all I could think about. Didn’t she feel this connection between us? This heat?
“I better go,” she said, tucking her phone back into her purse. “Gavin and I have school tomorrow.”
“Right. Of course.” I was trying to act normal, like I wasn’t just publicly rejected, but my voice betrayed my disappointment.
At least, Naomi acted like she didn’t notice. “I’ll see you around.”
I hated how awkward things had turned as she walked away to collect her drunk friend. It felt like we were never going to be on the same page. My eyes stayed on her as she talked to Angel, and I was surprised when the women handed over her keys but didn’t follow Naomi toward the door.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I followed her, despite the failed kiss attempt. “Hey, is everything okay?” I asked once we were outside. “Your friend’s staying here?”
“Yeah. She told me to take her car home and she’d get a ride later. I tried to talk her into coming with me, but…” She shifted her weight, biting her lower lip.
It made my blood run hot to see her do that, but I tried to focus on what she was saying.
“Am I a bad person for leaving?” she asked. “It’s just...it’s almost midnight and this is my night off. I don’t want to stay out too late.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “Nothing’s going to happen here. My club brothers won’t let anything happen to her. Trust me.”
“I do,” she said, the tension seemed leave her body as her shoulders relaxed. “I think she’s determined to find a guy to take her home tonight, to be honest.”
“Well, I don’t think she’ll have a problem finding that,” I said, thinking about the guys who were gathered around her inside. “She seems to have a knack for holding a man’s attention.”
Naomi laughed. “You have no idea.” She turned and started to walk away.
I called out, unwilling to leave things weird between us, “Hey, we’re okay, right?” I asked. Not the most eloquent way of phrasing the question, but she understood.
“Yeah. Better than okay.” Sincerity showed in her eyes.
I felt better. As much as I wanted her, I also didn’t want this to have a bad impact on our co-parenting relationship.
Maybe she was right. Maybe this was complicated.
I stayed outside for a moment, watching her as she walked to Angel’s car. Once she slid in behind the wheel, I went back into the bar, ready to drink away my feelings for this woman. It was the only way I could think of to deal with wanting what I couldn’t have.