I deflated a little, ducking my head. “I know, I know,” I muttered. I pushed at my food some more and then stood up. “I’m going up to my room, if that’s all right. I’m a little tired, and I have a lot of unpacking to do.”
I left the dining room before either of them could respond. I paused in the hallway, though, listening to their reactions.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Trethan said, sounding upset. “I didn’t mean for things to end up like that.”
“I know you didn’t,” Dad said, and even from the hallway, I could hear the warm note in his voice, the concern that he had for Trethan. “Are you all right?”
There was a slight pause. “I’ve been better,” he said. “But I’ll be fine. I should get out of your hair, though. Maybe you should go talk to her. Vanessa isn’t the kind of girl to stew over something like this. Maybe once I’ve left, you can get back to your family dinner.”
Dad sighed. “I wouldn’t have invited you over here if I knew the two of you couldn’t even stand to be in the same room with each other anymore. Not that I’m blaming you. Or her, for that matter. I just don’t understand what happened between the two of you.”
“That’s probably for the best,” Trethan said, and I could hear his chair screech a little as he stood up. “Like I said, I should probably just get out of here. I’m sorry I ruined your night.”
“You didn’t ruin it,” Dad protested, and I could hear him standing as well. Time to get moving upstairs to my room, unless I wanted them to know I’d been eavesdropping on them.
But I couldn’t drag myself away yet, wondering what was coming next.
“You’ve made a lot of changes over the past few years, Trethan. Don’t forget about that. Vanessa might take a little while to realize that, but she will realize it.” He paused. “Remember, if there’s ever anything you need to talk about, or you need any help, you know where to find me.”
“Yeah,” Trethan said, sounding emotional. “Thanks, John.”
I retreated to my room, still puzzling through the whole thing. I couldn’t believe no one had told me that Trethan’s father had died. I hadn’t realized that Dad and Trethan were so tight now, but I supposed that Trethan’s dad’s death had probably brought them closer in some ways.
And, I hadn’t realized how much my feelings were still tied up in Trethan. I felt guilty for not having been there to help him after his dad died. I felt guilty for causing a scene that night and making him feel like he was unwanted, but that wasn’t fair to me. This was my home, and I shouldn’t have to defend myself and my choices here.
I fell back on the bed, my mind whirling. Trethan had always been able to work me up into a frenzy, and it would seem that tonight was no different at all.
That was one thing that hadn’t changed since I’d left, at least.
Chapter Five
Trethan
I set another empty pint glass down on the bar and waited patiently for the bartender to pour me another. The Roasted Bison wasn’t very busy on a Sunday evening, but it was still lively enough to be a worthwhile place to go to.
A few women spun on the dance floor in time to the music, but none of them caught my eye. I sighed and turned back to my beer. It was the only thing in here holding my interest tonight. I couldn’t stop thinking about Vanessa.
“Hey man, how are you feeling?” Jeff asked from behind the bar, reaching out to tap the counter next to me to make sure I knew he was talking to me.
I looked up at him and shrugged. “I’m fine, man,” I said.
He gave me a sympathetic look and shook his head, wiping his hands off as he moved on to pour the next order. “Rough week, eh? I get that. Just don’t go too far down the spiral.”
I rolled my eyes, but I knew he was just looking out for me. I nodded at him. “I’ll behave myself, I promise.”
He looked like he wanted to say something more, but customers waited for him at the other end of the bar.
After one last look at me, he moved down to take their order.
I watched the women again, trying to force myself to feel interested in one of them. It had been a few weeks now since I’d gotten laid, and I knew I needed a good fuck. If nothing else, it would help me sleep a little better. But none of the women here tonight got a rise out of me, no matter how much they gyrated their hips and tossed their hair.
In disgust, I turned back to my beer, not sure what was wrong with me.
Unbidden, Vanessa’s face swam before my eyes yet again. It wasn’t the face of the young, teenaged girl who had left town a few years ago to pursue her university education. This was the new face, the one I’d seen just the previous night. Her black hair was long now, rather than that bob she’d favored through high school. She’d been wearing a green dress that I knew I’d seen her in before, but her curves had filled out, and the dress flowed around her now in a way that it never had before, accentuating her narrow waist.
I could feel my member stir a little just at these thoughts, and it wasn’t even like I was thinking of something particularly sexy. Except that Vanessa was always, somehow, sexy.
I felt embarrassed by the very thought and took a deep swallow of my beer, trying not to choke on it. Then, I cast my gaze back over the bar, trying to find some sort of distraction, but nothing came to my rescue. She’d looked so damn good at dinner that I couldn’t seem to keep my thoughts away from the gutter. Finally, something grabbed me from my nefarious thoughts and pulled me back to my ever-lonely reality.