≈ ≈ ≈
I drove all over Franklin and didn’t find Payton or her car, so I was forced to give up and go back to Collinsville. I had to face it. It had been hours since I talked to her and if she followed through with her threat to sleep with someone else, I was already too late. The deed was done.
I pulled into the parking lot of the county line pool hall on my way back into Collinsville and decided a beer or two or twelve might help take my mind off what happened with Payton. I walked in and two of my buddies were hanging out in the back corner as usual. “Hawke! Get your ass back here, you son of a bitch.”
I walked to where my old gang sat and slid into an open chair next to Justin Walls. “Where the hell have you been all summer?”
I shrugged. “Ah, around.”
Luke Mason leaned back in his chair. “I’ll tell you where Hawke’s been since he won’t. He’s been between the legs of the sweetest piece of ass I’ve ever seen. I get hard just thinking about that East Franklin girl.”
One warning. That was all I was willing to give and that was only because I considered these guys friends. “Shut up, I’m not gonna let you talk trash about her like that. She’s not like the others.”
“Look at how whipped he is. Her stuff must be damn good.”
I stood up and the chair behind me fell backwards making a crashing sound on the concrete floor. “I warned you, Luke.”
He held his hands up signaling his white flag. “Easy, Hawke. I was just screwing with you. I had no idea you were that serious about the chick.”
Luke hadn’t said anything I wouldn’t have...before Payton, that is. “Sorry, Dude. It hasn’t been a great night.”
“Then, you need a beer.” Luke got up from the table and came back with a fresh pitcher. “Have a drink on me.”
“Thanks.” I filled the frosty beer mug in front of me, but didn’t wait for the head to go down before taking the first big swig.
“What’s up with you? Got lady problems?”
Lady problems didn’t even begin to describe what I had going on. “Me and Payton are having a little trouble, but it’ll be cool. No worries” These weren’t the kind of guys you confided in with your innermost thoughts or your relationship problems so I left it at that.
It was two hours and eight draft beers later and I had heard the complete rundown of every girl Luke and Justin had done over the entire summer. I welcomed the beer buzz I had gotten. It helped tune out their chatter while temporarily helping me forget my breakup with Payton...until Samantha Hodges walked through the door and I remembered Payton’s angry words. ‘Go find that slut, Samantha, and maybe you can screw her tonight. I bet she’d love to have your next baby.’
I turned my head from her hoping she wouldn’t notice me, but Luke hollered out to invite her over to join us at our table. “Sam, bring your fine ass over here.”
She walked over and I stared into my beer without looking up at her, but I could feel her eyes all over me. “What’s up, guys?”
“Just catching up with Hawke since he’s been hyberdating that East Franklin chick.”
“Yeah, how’s that working out for you?”
Luke laughed and told Samantha, “He says there’s trouble in paradise. Maybe you could help him out a little.”
Without warning, Samantha sat across my lap and put her arm around me. “Nick knows I’m always willing to help him out.”
I strained to distance myself from her. “Thanks, but I’m good.”
She scooted across my lap so that she was sitting on my crotch instead of my legs. “You don’t look like you’re doing good. You look drunk and hard up and I can do something about that.”
I pushed against her, at least what I thought felt like pushing, but she didn’t budge as she leaned in and kissed me hard. Luke and Justin yelped and hooted, but I managed to push her back enough to unlock my mouth from hers.
“You need to get off of me, now.”
She twisted toward the entrance to the pool hall and then back to me. “Kiss me again.”
“I didn’t want to kiss you the first time and it’s definitely not happening again. You seriously need to get up before I toss you on your ass.”
She reached around my shoulders and locked her lips onto mine again for a desperate kiss. I grabbed her face and pushed her away. “What the hell, Samantha!”
I angrily shoved back from the table and grabbed her by the waist to force her off my lap. “Off, now.”
I stood to ensure she didn’t sit back down in my lap and caught a glimpse of Payton going out the front door. “Dammit.”
I ran for the door as fast as I could after having eight beers. I saw Payton walking toward her car and I called out to her. “Payton, please stop.”
27 Everything
Payton
My heart suddenly felt cold and the center began to crack and shatter like a sheet of ice when it can no longer withstand the pressure being pushed against it.
I shouldn’t have come here, but I stupidly wanted to see him so we could talk.
“Payton, please stop.”
I stopped, but not because I planned on listening to anything he had to say. I was the one that was going to do the talking. I turned around and began to clap my hands. “Bravo, Nick. You deserve a round of applause for your performance this summer. You really had me believing you loved me, so take a bow.”
“It’s not like that,” he slurred in his drunkenness. “I love you with all of my heart.”
The bastard was trashed so I couldn’t even enjoy letting him have a piece of my mind because he would never remember it anyway. He reached for my arm but I jerked from his touch. “We haven’t been broken up five hours and you were already making out with that slut.”
“I wasn’t. She sat on my lap and started kissing me. I told her to stop.”
“So, you’re the victim, again?”
He put his hands in his hair and pressed the sides of his head. “I don’t know how to make you understand. I don’t want Samantha. I never wanted her, even before you came along.”
“So, you’ve never slept with her?”
He didn’t deny it and it hurt like hell. “I can’t change you.”
“But can’t you see you already have? I’ve done some terrible things in the past but how can you hold that stuff against me when it all happened before you came into my life? You are my ray of light in this dark world. I wasn’t looking for anything like you, but you have been such a beautiful surprise.”