Tug (13 page)

D
rew and I enter Brady’s house in the morning. It’s quiet, but I know Tori’s here because her car is in the driveway. He takes his bag upstairs. I go to the kitchen and see Tori sitting in a chair on the back deck¸ staring out into the ocean. Her sad face worries me, and I go out to check on her.

“Where is everyone?”

She turns her head and smiles, rubbing her arms likes she’s cold, only it’s eighty outside, which means she’s upset. “Brady’s at rehearsal, and Liv and Harrison are at the Center.”

“That’s some view, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

I lean against the railing and study her briefly. “What’s wrong?”

Her shoulders sag. She toys with the hem of her shorts. I wait. “I come out here sometimes to be close to her.”

She doesn’t need to say her name for me to know she’s talking about Mona.

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want any of us to be sorry anymore. Davey tells me every time I see him. I try to remember something good came out of that day. A life was lost and one was found. Davey got straight, and located his son. I know he’ll never get over what happened, even though I’ve forgiven him.”

I find it hard to forgive him, but that’s my issue to get past. He’s a decent guy, and it’s probably time for me to stop blaming him for my actions. “I think it’s hard on all of us.”

“I know.” Her gaze travels to the staircase that leads to the beach below. “I’ve even thought about having the stairs replaced. Stupid, right?”

Her falling down those stairs was the start of my downward spiral, and I’m not fond of them, either. I kneel in front of her and grab both her hands.

“I’m no one to judge. Do what brings you peace.”

“Don’t mind me. I’m an emotional wreck from this pregnancy.” She pulls her hands away and stands up. “You don’t look so hot yourself. What’s up?”

Drew comes through the slider before I’m forced to spill about the source of my agony.

“Hey, kiddo. Did you have a good time?”

“The best, except Uncle Tug’s girlfriend went all crazy at dinner because the waitress spilled drinks on her. She called me an F-word brat and asked if I was retarded.”

“Oh, really?” Tori gives me a stern look. “What else?”

“Davey tossed her out of the restaurant. That part was cool.”

Tori laughs. “I see. Why don’t you go inside and get a snack, and I’ll be in in a minute.”

“Adult conversation time,” Drew whines.

“Yes, now go.”

Once Drew is inside, I say, “Don’t freak out.”

“Surprisingly, I’m not. I can tell you feel bad by how bent you look. Girlfriend, huh?”

“Kind of.”

“Uh, she either is or isn’t.”

If I tell her the truth, I’m going to get a lecture, but hell, if I say Larissa’s my girlfriend, I’ll still get a lecture.

“It’s a business arrangement,” I admit.

“You might want to elaborate.” She sits back down in the chair, and I know there’s no getting out of this.

“The board isn’t happy with my behavior. It looks good to be out with a ‘girlfriend’ for dinner a few nights a week.”

Her mouth opens as she stares at me in shock. “You’re totally kidding me, right? Is there a camera somewhere? Are we on some reality show?”

Now that she’s put it that way, the arrangement does seem pretty comical. “I’m dead serious.”

“So you don’t have any feelings for this girl?” I shake my head. “Then why do you look so down?”

“Maria was the waitress,” I mumble, and look away.

“Oh. Brady told me they hired her. That must have been awkward.”

“You have no idea, but she was ready to throw down when Larissa laid into Drew.”

“I’m liking Maria more and more.”

I smile big — too big — and she notices.

“Oh, and I’m guessing so do you.”

“Doesn’t matter. Dating her won’t exactly make the board happy.”

Her forehead crinkles. “Can I be frank?”

“Mmmm, I’d prefer you be Tori. You’d make a rather ugly guy.”

“Oh, my Tug is so back. Look, I could lecture you on this being a stunt your mother would’ve pulled, but I’m guessing you’ve already considered that.” I nod. “You know what I miss most about you?”

“I’m dying to know, seriously. I’m on pins and needles here.”

Tori shakes her head. “Aside from your often obnoxious sense of humor, you were always the one to do whatever you wanted, and you were never afraid to stand up to anyone who got in your way. Brady was always the pleaser. You’ve never been a follower. Why start now?’

That’s an easy one to answer. Brady put me in charge of Gibson Capital. “I don’t want to let Brady down.”

“If you truly like Maria and the board has an issue with it, I think Brady would be the first one to back you.”

I realize she’s right. Brady, of all people, wouldn’t want me to live a lie. “You’re pretty great.”

“You aren’t so bad yourself. Now, you have a ton of ass-kissing to do with Maria, and no offense, but I hope she makes it painful.”

I cover my heart with my hands. “I’m hurt. I thought we were friends again.”

“We are, but you’ll appreciate her so much more if she makes you work for it.”

I sit in the chair next to her and put my feet on the table. “I can’t believe you’re encouraging me to date a hooker.”

“Why not?” Tori shoves my feet from the table. “She’ll fit right into this crazy family of ours. We aren’t exactly traditional. What harm can throwing a hooker in the mix do? Besides, she could be anything, and as long as she makes you smile like you are now, I’ll encourage you to do whatever it takes to keep her.”

“What if she was a dog?” I ask, my expression completely serious.

“You mean if she was ugly, or, like, an actual canine bitch?”

With a straight face I answer, “Canine bitch.”

“But she makes you happy?”

I nod. “Extremely.”

Her lips twist as she thinks of a reply. She tries not to laugh. “Then I’d say give her a bone and make her howl.”

“You’re so twisted, Tor.”

“Hey, you brought animals into this conversation. It takes twisted to know twisted.”

I’ve missed this girl so much it hurts. Things happen for a reason, and maybe Tori and I needed a giant test of our friendship to force me to move on. “This was perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She gets up from the table. “Why don’t you stay for dinner? It’ll be nice to have you around.”

“I would, but I have some ass-kissing to do.”

We go inside, and I hug both Tori and Drew goodbye. It’s nice to leave my brother’s house feeling content rather than contempt.

While I wait in the long line at the border, I call Larissa.

“Hey, tiger,” she purrs into the phone.

“We need to talk.”

“Okay. About what?”

I pull in a deep breath and mentally prep for the impending argument. “This arrangement isn’t working for me.”

“Oh, come on. Is this about your nephew? I overreacted, but I’m sorry.”

“It’s not working out, period. You’ll be paid half the contracted amount, and we’ll go our separate ways.”

“It was working out fine when I was sucking your cock.”

It would be true if I weren’t thinking about someone else while she did it. I don’t volunteer that information. “Now it isn’t.”

“It’s that waitress.”

“What waitress?”

“You don’t play dumb well, Aidan Hunter. I saw how she looked at you with those big dreamy eyes. And you looked at her exactly the same way. You want her, but she can’t make you look good. Think about how dumping me for common trash will go over in the press.”

“I’m ending a business arrangement. Dumping you implies you were actually my girlfriend.”

“You know what? Screw you, Aidan.”

“You already did,” I shoot back, and with that she ends the call. Remarkably, our conversation went better than I’d expected.

I make another call to Davey, who informs me Maria is off at eight. He also warns me not to hurt her or he’ll kick my ass, which I don’t doubt. Davey’s a crazy motherfucker. He did time for manslaughter after he caught some guy assaulting his girlfriend, which is how he ended up a raging alcoholic. Needless to say, he’s not a guy I want to piss off.

After I shower and change, I drive to the restaurant and wait out front for Maria to come outside.

A
t eight, I remove my apron, clock out and gather my things. I’m exhausted, as another waitress called out sick tonight, and I had to pick up the slack. All I want to do is shower and remove the smell of food from my skin, and then crawl in bed and sleep until noon tomorrow.

“You heading out?” Davey asks.

“Yep. Please tell me you have interviews tomorrow.”

“Five tomorrow and five the next day,” he says, wiggling five fingers in the air.

“I’m off tomorrow, but no bimbos, right?”

His deep laugh makes me smile. “None. I promise.”

“Thank, God. I’ll see you later. Goodnight.”

The warm Santa Ana wind caresses my skin when I step outside. I turn down the street where my car is parked and see Tug walking across the street toward me.

“Wait up,” he calls out.

I stop, and my stomach performs somersaults, my palms sweat, and worse, my heart aches.

“Davey’s inside,” I tell him and continue walking.

His soft smile is adorable. I should run. “I’m not here for Davey.”

“Oh.”

“I was hoping we could talk. I’d like to start over with you. Maybe we can be friends.”

He used a similar line before, and I foolishly fell for it.

“I can’t stay. I have to pick up Javier from the sitter and get to bed. He has school tomorrow.”

“I’ll go with you,” he offers, his voice shaky. Is he nervous?

“I don’t know.” Why didn’t I say
hell, no
? I’m angry, or I should be, but there’s a side to him that draws me in, a kind, funny side that’s impossible to resist.

“Okay. It’s cool.” He shifts on his feet, giving me a moment to change my mind. When I don’t, he turns in silence and strolls away from me.

“Wait.” This may be the worst decision I’ve ever made, but part of me believes this is a guy I could be friends with. Who am I kidding? We skipped the friend phase entirely, but I’m curious what he has to say. “You can follow me. That way you have a car if I need to send you packing.”

His lips curl into a smile so sweet, I melt. “Deal.”

W
e park at my apartment, and Tug takes my hand as we walk towards my sitter’s, who lives in the same complex. He smells earthy, and clean—masculine, the scent familiar, only attached to a memory I don’t want to think about, and now that I am, I regret agreeing to let him come home with me. I release his hand when we reach the stairs to Del’s apartment and knock softly on the door.

Del answers, wearing a loosely tied bathrobe. She opens the door without shame, even when she sees Tug. We worked at the club together. A lack of modesty is a job requirement, but I wish she’d try to cover her breasts before they fall out of the robe in front of Tug. I’m positive her not doing so is intentional. Del’s a whore and not just in the literal sense of the word.

“Hey, he’s in the back bedroom,” she says quietly as we step inside.

“Thank you.” She eyes Tug, batting her lashes. “Oh, this is my friend, Tug.”

As I glance at Tug, I expect him to be staring at her chest, but he seems uninterested.

“Aidan,” he corrects me, and extends his hand.

There are very few people he allows to call him Tug. The nickname is obviously reserved for people he cares about. His allowing me to use it delights me.

“Hi. I’m Delfina, but you can call me Del.” Her giggle is over-the-top as she shakes his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Del,” Tug says politely. “I recognize you from the club.”

He releases her hand. Her cheeks turn a fierce shade of red, and she turns away.

“I’ll go get him,” I tell the two of them.

“I’ll go with you,” Tug offers, following behind me.

We enter the bedroom, and Javier is passed out on the bed. I gather up his things and hear Tug.

“It’s okay, buddy. I got you.”

I turn to see him picking Javier up from the bed. Javier mumbles something and throws his arms around Tug’s neck. He nestles his little face against Tug’s chest, and I smile.