Desperate Chances (17 page)

I raised my eyebrows speculatively. “Oh really, like what?”

“Well, you make one hell of a Chicken Parmigiana,” she offered and I snapped my fingers.

“There you go! If rock star doesn’t pan out, I have a future as a one-cook wonder!”

Maysie clicked her tongue in exasperation. “Don’t be so down on yourself. I have no doubt that you’ll figure something out.”

“You sound like my mom,” I said, meaning it as a compliment. My mother was an eternal optimist. Maysie was a lot like her in that respect.

“Mrs. Abrams is a smart, smart lady. And her chocolate chip cookies are like crack,” Maysie retorted.

“That they are. I’m sure she’ll have some waiting for me when we get back to Bakersville,” I said, my voice trailing off. I shook my head and stared out across the courtyard. “Damn. We’re going back to Bakersville. This time next week we’ll be home. That’s kind of weird.”

Maysie cocked her head to the side looking thoughtful. “Weird? Why is that?”

“I’m just not the same guy who left all those years ago to become a rock star,” I muttered.

Maysie put her arm around my shoulder and leaned into me. “None of you are. But it’s not like you haven’t been back. This isn’t any different.”

I looked over at Jordan’s fiancé and grimaced. “It’s different this time and you know it.”

Maysie looked confused.

“Because it could be for good,” I explained.

“Bakersville isn’t such a bad place to be. Your parents are there. You have roots and family and friends,” Maysie said, ever the optimist.

“Yeah and my parents are still living in the house I grew up in. And my high school gym teacher still lives down the road. And the girl I lost my virginity to still works at the dentist’s office in town.”

My parents and my gym teacher weren’t the only ones that lived in Bakersville. There were other people I’d be coming home to. Other situations I’d have to deal with.

Being on the road and away from it all made it easier to handle. The occasional weekend visit was bearable because I was able to leave again. Because
she
would be gone after a few days.

Living back in Bakersville would force Gracie and I to co-exist.

I wasn’t sure what that would mean for us. For me.

For my fucking sanity.

“Maybe I should look for my white picket fence,” I mused, giving her a cheeky grin. She bumped her shoulder with mine.

“Why not? You deserve it.”

“Yeah, well you and Piper make it look easy. For the rest of us, not so much.”

“You and Sophie could have that, you know. If it’s what you want,” Maysie pointed out and I shrugged. Sometimes no response was the best response. Otherwise you ended up saying things better left unsaid.

Maysie looked like she wanted to push the issue, but she changed the subject. “Well, since we’re sitting here talking about white picket fences and all, Jordan and I set a wedding date.”

I grinned at her and let out a whoop. “Finally! Took you guys long enough!”

Maysie’s eyes brightened. “Yeah, I just told the girls tonight. We’re getting married on August 20
th
. Now I just have to figure out everything else. We don’t want anything big and elaborate. Just something small with the people we care about.”

I put my arm around her and gave her a sideways hug. “That’s great, Mays. You know anything you need, I’m your man.”

“Thanks, Mitch. That means a lot. You, Cole, and Garrett have become like family to me. Blood doesn’t mean everything,” Maysie remarked with a sad smile.

Jordan had mentioned years ago that Maysie had a strained relationship with her family. I didn’t know the particulars because it wasn’t any of my business. But any parent who could turn their back on their own kid was a piece of shit in my book. I was definitely lucky in the parental department.

Maysie was a good girl. I had been surprised when she and Jordan had gotten together. Mostly because of the manner they had hooked up. It was unlike Jordan to cheat and we had all been shocked as hell to learn he had stepped out on his long-term girlfriend Olivia with Maysie.

But it was soon obvious that Jordan was over the moon crazy for Maysie. None of us had really liked Olivia to begin with, so we were more than happy to see that bitch go.

And with Maysie came her friends.

I remembered the first time Maysie had come to one of our shows. She showed up with Riley, Gracie, and Vivian. At first I dismissed them as stuck up college chicks. Being a townie, I was used to having the Rinard crowd look down their noses at me just because I lived in Bakersville and didn’t go to school.

They all had that preppy, too-good-for-everyone vibe that I hadn’t wanted anything to do with. Even if they were all pretty damn hot. Particularly the petite blonde with legs for miles.

I had noticed Gracie immediately. She had been wearing this short yellow dress with white polka dots. She seemed more suited for a picnic than a rock show. She drank some sort of cocktail, which she pounded faster than a dude.

And when she danced, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I stood up on the stage, playing my music, and my entire focus had been on the crazy sorority chick wiggling her ass in the audience. Gracie was beautiful. She was loud, screaming, and jumping up and down. I dug how she was completely uninhibited. But she was also shitfaced drunk. Which I was soon to learn was a pattern with her. At first it didn’t bother me.

Later it became a bigger problem than I had realized.

“Of course we’re family. The crazy, dysfunctional kind, but family nonetheless,” I said.

“That’s the best kind,” Maysie smiled.

We sat side by side for a while, neither of us talking.

“Are you happy with Sophie?” Maysie asked out of the blue.

“Huh?” I blinked in surprise.

“I mean, do you see yourself together for the long-term?” Maysie went on.

I thought of a hundred answers that very simple question.

“No,” I said without hesitation. Shit. Where had that come from? I had never given much thought about my future with Sophie. I didn’t think about where we’d be next month, let alone “long-term.”

“I don’t know why I just said that,” I said, feeling like an ass. Maysie would undoubtedly think I was a raging douchebag. What kind of guy dates a girl for a year and then when asked if he could see himself with said girl in the future, says
no?

The douchebaggy kind.

Because if I felt that way I shouldn’t be with Sophie. End of discussion.

I thought of how things were when we returned to the hotel room tonight. How cold and distant I felt.

Sophie had to have felt it. Of course she did. She wasn’t an idiot.

Why were we together?

The answer didn’t seem so simple anymore.

Sure, Sophie was safe. Sophie was constant.

Sophie had been there when I needed someone to be.

I had been terrified of being alone. Because if I was alone, there would have been a good chance I’d crawl on hands and knees back to Gracie, begging her to love me. And I had been trying to hold onto some semblance of pride.

Warm fucking milk.

Maysie didn’t look surprised by my confession. She didn’t look at me in disappointment or disgust either, which was good for my already deteriorating self-esteem. She stood up and shoved her hands into her pockets. “I think this break from being on the road will be good for everyone. Maybe you should take that time to figure out your long-term.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a decent idea,” I agreed.

Maysie shivered. “Okay, I’m going back in before I turn into a Popsicle. Thanks for the chat, Mitch.”

“Sure thing. Anytime, Mays.”

I sat outside for another hour after Maysie left.
Maybe you should take that time to figure out your long-term.

She was right.

That’s exactly what I was going to do.

“L
et me be what you need. Please,” I begged her. I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t get inside of her. We weren’t even naked. Gracie had pushed my jeans down over my ass and her panties still dangled from her left ankle. She was on her back underneath me, panting and ready.

Her face was red from my stubble, her lips swollen from my teeth. She was gorgeous.

She had shown up at my hotel room door and everything had happened so fast. The next thing I knew we were kissing. Goddamn, we were kissing. It was like we were going to devour each other.

Then her shirt came off and I finally tasted those amazing tits. I had dreamed about Gracie’s breasts. Imagined a thousand times what they’d feel like. I just didn’t think I’d ever have the chance. Because we were just friends.

Only ever friends.

For years I had been relegated to that place where a guy’s ego goes to die. The friend zone.

But then she showed up tonight and let me touch her. And kiss her. And now here I was, with my cock between her legs and she was having doubts. I should have expected it. Gracie was messy. She was complicated. She was absolutely everything I had ever, could ever want.

Gracie reached up and cupped my face in her hands. “You’re always so patient with me, Mitch. Why? Why haven’t you run in the other direction? Most people would, you know.”

How could she not know? Hadn’t I made it obvious a million times already?

I grabbed her hand and softly kissed the palm, letting my lips linger. Then I looked down at her and told her the words I had always wanted her to hear.

“Because I love you, Gracie. God, I love you.”

Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head.

I kissed her salty lips. “I love you,” I whispered against her mouth.

She wrapped her legs around my waist and arched her back. I slipped inside her. Not all the way. Just enough to know that I never wanted to be anywhere else. I could live and die between her legs and go a happy man.

“Please, Mitch,” she begged and I wasn’t going to prolong this for either of us. We had waited long enough.

I pushed inside her, shuddering as she took all of me. “I love you, Gracie,” I groaned as I adjusted to the feel of her.

“I will always love you,” I gasped as we started to move together. Gracie’s fingers dug into my back and I kissed the line of her neck. I didn’t care that she didn’t say it back. I’d say it enough for both of us. “There will never be anyone for me but you.”

I couldn’t stop telling her all the things that had been locked away in my heart for years. Now that she was here, underneath me, completely open, I wanted to give her the world.

She lifted her hips to meet my thrusts and I could barely hang on. I was toppling over a very steep cliff and I wanted to take her with me.

“Mitch!” she screamed as I came.

I sat up in bed, my heart hammering in my chest and experiencing the most uncomfortable case of morning wood that I could ever remember having.

I ran my hand through my sweaty hair and tried to breathe normally.

I looked over at Sophie. She was still asleep, thank god. So I slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and stepped under the spray. I braced myself against the tiled wall and let the water slide over my skin.

Then I wrapped my hand around my dick and pumped. Hard. Rough. Through gritted teeth.

I imagined Gracie’s face when I fucked her. Her head thrown back, her blonde hair spread out over my pillow. I thought about how it felt to slide my cock inside of her. How tight she was and I gripped myself tighter. I tried to be quiet as I jerked off with the image of Gracie Cook haunting me.

Then I came violently. I trembled as I emptied myself onto the cold, wet tile floor. I whispered Gracie’s name as I struggled to stay on my feet.

All the while my girlfriend slept in the next room.

“Y
ou’re not eating enough. It’s obvious I can’t trust you to take care of yourself, Gracie,” my mother scolded, separating the food on my plate into three distinct piles.

I was almost expecting her to pick up a spoonful and use the airplane method to get me to eat.