Stout (Men of Lovibond 2)

“Yeah.”

“Wednesday? Thursday? Friday?”

“Not Wednesday.” I had a business meeting with a client in Tuscaloosa that day.

“Today?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve seen Adelyn every day this week with the exception of one.”

“What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is you have a girlfriend, and you didn’t tell me.”

I knew she was going to do this. “Adelyn is not my girlfriend.”

“You don’t see a woman every day unless she’s something to you. And I can promise you this: she thinks she’s something to you.”

“She is. We’re friends.”

“With benefits?”

There’s been some minor flirtation. That’s it. “No.”

“Would you like for there to be? And please answer with your head. Don’t allow any appendages to speak on your behalf.”

“I like Adelyn but I feel like pursuing something romantic or sexual could ruin our friendship.” I don’t even know if she’s dated since Martin. It’s possible he may have ruined any chance for her to have a normal relationship.

“You’re not sleeping with her because you like her?” God, that makes me sound like a pussy.

I look toward the living room to make sure the guys aren’t listening. Porter wouldn’t get finished ragging on me if he overheard any part of this conversation. “As dumb as that sounds, yeah.”

“It’s not dumb, Ollie.”

“She’s had a rough past with men. I’m not sure where her head is when it comes to dating.”

“I wasn’t under the impression she’d be scared off by you. Everything she said made me think the opposite.”

“You think she’d be open to pursuing something with me?”

“This is what I know: she lit up like a candle when she talked about you.”

I’ve had multiple flings since Eden. But I didn’t go into a single one with intentions of becoming more than sex and a good time.

I don’t think that’s an option with Adelyn. She needs solid. Substantial. Secure. It’s what she deserves after the things she went through with that abusive asshole. But am I able to offer more than sex and a good time?

“It would be thoughtless of me to pursue something fleeting with Adelyn. She’ll want more.”

“It’s been three years since Eden broke your heart. Maybe it’s time you give love another chance.”

I see what my sister and Tap have. They’re happy. Moving forward with their lives. Preparing to start their family. Don’t I want something like that? A partner in life? The other half of my soul?

“I need time to think about it.”

“You care about her, little brother. Admit it.”

I’m saved from confirming or denying Lawry’s theory by a waddling pregnant woman. “Y’all, my water just broke.”

“Oh my God.” Lawry squeals like a little girl. “Baby’s coming?”

A puddle collects on the floor at Bridgette’s feet. Gross. “Oh, yeah. I’m not peeing on myself. This is definitely happening.”

“Warren. Get in here. Your wife’s water just broke.”

He bolts into the kitchen with Tap and Porter behind him. His eyes are fucking huge. “You’re sure, baby?”

“This isn’t my first time to give birth. Trust me. I’m sure.”

Warren rustles the top of Tripp’s hair. “Hear that, son? You’re getting your baby brother tonight.”

A wife. Third baby on the way. Warren’s happy.

A wife. First baby almost in the works. Tap’s happy.

No wife but a secret girlfriend. Goofy smile plastered across his face. Porter’s happy.

Feels like I’m being left behind. But am I ready to trade the life I have now for a chance at that kind of happiness? Like the stability and selfless love I see in Mom and Dad? I don’t know.

I don’t fucking know.

* * *

I’m standing at my kitchen window peeking out at Adelyn’s place when I can’t help but notice the car pulling out of her drive. Hard not to notice when you’ve been watching your neighbor’s property since six on a Sunday morning because you want to know who spent the night at her house last night.

Well, fuck me. It’s a man.

Who the hell is he? Boyfriend she failed to mention? Date? Fuck buddy? Friend? Sure as shit ain’t Maurice based on what I know about him.

I’m . . . fuck. I don’t know what I am.

Confused? Definitely.

Curious? Absolutely.

Covetous? Fuck, yes.

I know I am because I’m seething as I imagine all the things that went on at my neighbor’s last night. Pissed it wasn’t me with her.

My phone pings and flashes a notification. It’s from her.

Come over for brunch?

Fuck. Her spend-the-night company hasn’t been gone five minutes and she’s inviting me over.

Like a loyal dog, I want to go to her.

But I’m not.

Busy.

She needs to call some other friend over if she wants to chat about her night of hot sex. This friend doesn’t want to hear it.

OK. Maybe later if you’re hungry. The bug is biting.

The baking bug is biting and she’s reaching out to me. Because. I’m. Her. Friend. She entrusted me with her darkest secret. And here I am being a total dick to her because I’m angry I wasn’t the one inside her last night.

Fuck my feelings. She needs someone. And she’s asking for me.

On my way.

She motions for me to enter when I tap on the glass pane of her patio door. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

I analyze the spread of baked goods to survey the damage. Seems minimal so far but what triggered it?

Did the man who stayed here last night hurt her?

“Everything okay?” Dumb question. She’s baking so it clearly isn’t.

She uses a roller to flatten and spread the dough on her marble island. “Oliver. I am a fucked-up individual. You should probably run away from me as fast as possible.”

What the hell? “What’s going on?”

“Chad came over last night. Tommy’s best friend who was in the accident with him. He’s had some kind of religious rev

elation and decided it’s time to forgive the drunk driver who killed Tommy.” Okay. But why did he stay the night?

She stops rolling the pin and stares at the dough. “I feel so betrayed. So alone.”

She stands motionless for a moment before picking up the dough and forming it into a ball in her hands. “My parents believe it isn’t our job to judge him. We’re supposed to show mercy and forgiveness. But I don’t want to forgive him. I want to hate him. Jill, Chad, and I all understood that. We felt the same.”

“Who’s Jill?”

“Tommy’s fiancée. One of my two best friends.”

Adelyn flattens the dough and goes to work on it with the rolling pin again. “He wants to go see him in prison. And he wants me to go with him.” I’m still questioning why this guy stayed the night. And maybe there’s a way to ask without coming off looking like an asshole.

“He came to town specifically for that? To go see the guy?” Sounds like a safe enough way to find out what went on over here last night. Unless she tells me something I don’t want to hear.

“Yeah. He and his wife drove in from Florida last night.” Oh. Missed. Seeing. The. Wife. My bad.

“What do you want?”

“Not to go see my brother’s killer.”

“Then don’t.”

“Right after the sentencing, I had this very clear picture of his face in my mind. But as time passed, that image has become fuzzier. Sometimes I try to recall what he looks like, and I can if I try really hard, but I like not having a clear vision of him. It makes him look less human and more like the monster he is.”

“I get it.” Sadly, not all those convicted of crimes are monsters, but I can definitely see why she feels that way.

She stops rolling the dough and her eyes meet mine. “Again, you’re the one who understands me and where I’m coming from.”

“I do.” There’s so much pain in her eyes. Agony. I want to make it better for her. But I have no idea how to do that.

She looks down at her therapy. “I’ve totally fucked this up. It won’t be edible. How ’bout waffles instead?” She looks up at me and I am nearly blindsided by her sorrow and disappointment. But then her small smile makes an appearance, and I’m more than transfixed. Waffles. She wants to make me waffles.