Rough Love (Tannen Boys 1)

I guide her toward the parking lot, my hand grazing along the small of her back. She heads to her car, looking over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you at Hank’s?”

I nod, not sure what I’ve gotten myself into.

In the quiet parking lot, Cooper’s voice sounds as loud as gunfire as he asks a question that makes my heart stop. “Coach B? Are you taking my mom on a date?”

Allyson’s jaw drops, and I shake my head subtly at her, telling her I’ve got this because she does not know the minefield she’s walking in to.

“No, buddy. Just dinner between old friends. No dating or dating.” Michelle and Allyson both look confused, but Cooper and Liam giggle before running for Michelle’s sedan.

“I’ll get the boys to school in the morning. Have a good night,” Michelle virtually sing-songs, making me wonder just how much Allyson has told her about our past. Or if she’s in the habit of pawning her friend off for God knows what with random guys. Not that I think Allyson’s into that.

Hell, I have no idea what Allyson’s into now. But I sure as fuck want to find out.

Michelle gets the boys loaded and pulls out, leaving Allyson and me alone in the now-dark parking lot. The moon shines down on us, and I can’t decide if she’s going to back out or go through with the dinner plans.

This is the opposite of what I want, I try to tell myself, willing ice through my veins. But it sounds like a distant echo through the thrumming of my racing heartbeat.

Drawn to her even as I fight it, I brush a lock of her soft blonde hair back, slipping it behind her ear. It feels natural but oddly unfamiliar at the same time. My voice is gravelly as I give her an out I’m only half-praying she doesn’t take. “We can just skip it if you’re not up to it.”

She licks her lips, and I steel myself, not allowing myself to imagine chasing her tongue the way I’d love to. I grind my teeth, awaiting her verdict.

“No, dinner sounds . . .” she says, her voice a bit breathy. She shakes her head and my stomach drops, knowing she’s going to bail. “It sounds good. Let’s do it.”

Well, shit. I wasn’t expecting that.

Coach football. Avoid Allyson.

Fuck that. Or maybe fuck her?

Shit, I’m in so much damn trouble here, mad at the old Allyson and intrigued by the new one.

Chapter 9

Bruce

Chewing up the last bits of the post-practice cinnamon mint I popped on the way over, I look around. Hank’s is hopping for a Thursday night. It’s mostly a hole in the wall dive bar, but for locals, there’s nothing better than its worn pleather, greasy food, and overpoured drinks. There’s a whole bunch of people in the back, hovering around the three pool tables, more than a few folks on the wood floor dancing around to the twang of a Luke Bryan tune, and another group crowded around the bar.

“Uh, do you see a table?” Allyson asks. It sounds like she’s hoping there’s not one and we can just call this a bust and cut the night short.

But now that we’re here, I want to be. I have so many questions, so many answers I need, so much I want to know about everything that’s happened since I last saw Allyson.

Something tells me that’s a long story that would answer so much about who she is, and I want every little juicy morsel of it. Not to revel in whatever has turned her into this shadow self that runs hot and cold, but because once upon a time, she was the person I knew best, and it stings that maybe I don’t know her at all now.

I grab her hand, tiny in my huge paw, ignoring the tingles that shoot up my arm to drag her through the crowd. In the back corner, there’s a table that no one likes because it’s a little too close to the kitchen. It’s empty, just as I hoped. I hold an arm out, gesturing for her to sit. I’m an asshole, but I’m a gentleman too. She sits and I follow, plopping down across from her. But the table’s a bit small and my knees bump Allyson’s.

“Ow!” she cries out.

“Shit, sorry,” I mumble, moving my chair a bit, which puts me closer to her side.

Her smile is small. “I forgot how big you are.” Her cheeks flush hot instantly as she hears her own words and filthy, dirty thoughts run through my mind. Dozens of ideas of ways to make that pink tint spread over her entire body as I remind her just how large I am . . . everywhere.

“Ouch, you know how to hurt a guy’s feelings,” I joke instead, keeping it light.