This Regret

Thinking about it for a minute, I realize he’s right. I don’t even know what they’re talking about and I really have no reason to go over there and start a dramatic scene. For all I know, they’re not even fighting. Maybe he’s just worried about Jax.

“Fine.”

While I have Kade alone for a minute, I somehow decide this is the perfect time to ask the question I’ve wanted to ask for years. So, I take a deep breath and blurt it out before I can stop myself. “Do you ever wonder about Kellan? It’s been eight years, Kade.”

His jaw clenches as he turns his head away. “Every f**king day.” He turns back to face me, his eyes hard with hate and pain. “He made his choice though. He decided to leave us. If he cared, then he would be here.”

“Yeah.” I swallow back the lump in my throat at the memory of that day. Just hours after the news of Adric’s death, we got a phone call from Dale, telling us they found Kellan’s car smashed up on the side of the road but there was no sign of him. We haven’t heard from him since and it’s been killing me every day. “You’re probably right.”

“I am right,” he mutters.

A few minutes later, Nathan is back in his Jeep and speeding off and away from the park.

“What was that all about?” I ask as Jen walks back over and reaches for Jax.

She rubs her hand over Jax’s head before kissing his cheek. “Oh it was nothing. Apparently, he made dinner and was wondering if I was going to come home to eat it before it gets cold. I must’ve left my cellphone in my Jeep.” She smiles at Kade and me before grabbing Jax’s diaper bag. “I’ll see you guys this weekend for the company picnic.”

Kade gives Jax a high five and slaps Jen on the butt, causing her to jump. “Okay. He better have prepared something f**king great to interrupt our game of frisbee. I was kicking your ass.”

Jen laughs. “You lost the frisbee, remember, genius? So really, I won.” She leans in so I can give both her and Jax a hug. “Bye, sweetie.”

“Okay, bye,” I say unsure, getting a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Enjoy your dinner.”

As soon as Jen is out of sight, Kade grabs me by my ass and pulls my body against his. “I have somewhere I want to take you.” He kisses my neck, before bringing his lips up to meet mine.

I let out a moan as he sucks my bottom lip in between his teeth and softly nibbles it. It doesn’t take long before I find my hands caressing his chest getting lost in him again.

“Oh yeah?” I question while pushing my hands under his shirt and over his hard ni**les. “Are you finally going to ask me out on a date?” I tease.

He picks me up, with my chest pressed against his and sets me up against the tree. “Nope.” He trails kisses up my neck while running his hands over my inner thigh teasing me. “Even better than that. A tattoo shop.” His hand stops on my crotch, running his fingers over the thin fabric of my leggings, while biting my ear. “You’ve been wanting a tattoo for as long as I can remember. I found a cool little place about fifteen minutes out of town and I heard they do the best work.”

Leaning my neck back, I reach out grabbing his erection that has been poking me for the last five minutes. “Does the idea of me getting a tattoo turn you on or something? I would be careful with that thing and where you point it.” I give it a little tap and giggle.

He presses his forehead against mine while biting his bottom lip. “Mm . . . I love it when you grab me like that. Maybe next time we can be naked.”

“Who said it’s that easy to get me in bed?” I reach up and unbutton the top of his black shirt. “I don’t just give my goods up to anyone. They have to be really special.” I place my hand on his and press it harder against me, rubbing it over my moist crotch, his fingers becoming desperate. “I think I will take that tattoo though.”

I pull away, slap his chest and start heading for his truck.

“Next time you do that, I’m going to f**k you where we are and you’re going to wish you gave in sooner.”

He runs to catch up with me.

I lean against his silver truck and brush my hair behind my ear. “Slow down there, buddy. I’m not so sure I like the idea of sleeping with my friend. This is only supposed to be a little bit of fun. Having sex gets complicated.”

He leans over me with his hand on the side of his truck. “Maybe with time we won’t be friends.” He pulls the passenger door open and places his hand on my butt, giving me a boost inside. Then he closes the door and leans into the window. “I’m already starting to like you just a little bit more than before.”

Surprisingly, so am I . . .

Chapter Five

Phoenix

I can’t believe I just agreed to run off and get a tattoo. My leg is starting to bounce from the nerves that are flowing through my body and I can’t seem to stop fidgeting.

Kade must be able to tell because I see a tiny smirk he’s been trying with little effort to hide.

Yes, I’ve been wanting a tattoo since I was like . . . twelve, but I definitely wasn’t expecting today to be the day that I would finally break down and get it. I guess a part of me knows I’ve been kind of putting it off because of Adric. The one thing in life Adric said he was going to do was open his own shop and give some badass tattoos. Even though I always laughed when he said it, I always believed it was true and he would always be the one giving me my first tattoo. Sadly, I was wrong.

After Kade has finally had enough of my crazy leg, his hand reaches over and grips my thigh, stopping it from its nervous bounce. “Somebody seems nervous.” He runs his fingers up my thigh before lightly running his fingertips over my crotch, causing me to squirm. “Or should I say excited?”

I pick his hand up with a scowl on my face before setting it down on his own lap. “You’re making me nervous, dammit.” I press my head against the back of the seat trying my hardest not to laugh. “But excited? Not so much.”

I look over and the stunned look on his face says, that’s something he’s never heard from a girls lips before.

He places his hand over his heart with a small smirk on his face. “Ouch. That hurts a little.”

He pulls the truck up to the tattoo shop, parks and kills the engine. He unbuckles his seatbelt and leans over to unbuckle mine. “You may say you’re not excited, but from the feel of something else, I would say you are.” His warm breath tickles my neck as he brushes his lips over my ear. “You can’t argue the fact that I make you wet.” My face flushes and I clench in all the right places.