Chapter 7

Andre

As I was leaving MacKellar Cove Inn, a car was returning. I knew Joelle was in that car, but I couldn’t turn around and go after her without being a huge creep. It was bad enough I was half-stalking the woman.

Molly was waiting for me when I got home, letting me know how she felt about me going out without her when she flicked her tail in my direction and went to her bed in the living room instead of following me to bed.

“Fine. You can be that way,” I told her, scratching her head anyway and getting a swipe for my affection.

I chuckled and headed to bed after a quick stop in the bathroom. I stripped out of my clothes, keeping my boxer briefs on in case Molly decided to join me in the middle of the night. I learned early on she didn’t quite understand personal space and claws are sharp.

I punched my pillow and tried to figure out what Sebastian wasn’t telling me about Joelle. He wasn’t helpful with his evasive words and zero explanation.

Was she on the run?

He said she wasn’t in danger.

But he made it sound like she wouldn’t be open to dating. Gavin was the opposite, which confused me even more.

The woman stole my tee and said it smelled good. That wasn’t a woman who was hiding from a relationship. Or not a relationship.

I wanted to find what my parents had. What my siblings both had. What I thought I had before I moved back to MacKellar Cove but left behind when my family needed me. I wanted a forever person who would always be there for me. Molly was great, but there were limitations to a feline companion.

Yes, I was thinking about sex.

Sex with Joelle. Her curves had me hard as I brought them up in my mind. I grabbed my cock and squeezed. Joelle was shy about her figure, hiding herself in those clothes she wore, but she was gorgeous. She made me want to unwrap those stuffy outfits and reveal all the suppleness underneath. Like when I bumped into her in town wearing that dress that hugged her body. All her curves and softness and beauty on display.

I stroked hard, unable to stop myself from imagining what it would be like to see all of her. My hips bounced with the image my mind conjured up, fucking my hand. I imagined her tits bouncing in my face as I pressed into her tightness.

“Fuck,” I grunted, grabbing a tissue just before I let go. I came hard, my mind picturing Joelle as I did.

I cleaned up the best I could with a tissue and went to the bathroom to do a better job.

Molly glared at me from her bed, but she meowed.

“Don’t be like that. Come on,” I told her.

She meowed again, then jumped up and chirped as she followed me back to bed. She curled up on her pillow and waited for me to join her, putting her paw on my face when I did.

“Love you, too,” I told her, kissing her toe beans.

She meowed back, then put her head down and closed her eyes.

Funny cat.

Before I could close my eyes and join Molly, my phone beeped with a new alert. I didn’t recognize the tone, so I grabbed it to check that there wasn’t something wrong.

Book Boyfriends Wanted.

I had a new match. Someone named FinallyFree. Weird name. I clicked through her profile and laughed at some of the things she said.

~No cheaters. If you’re going to cheat, just ignore me. If you think appearance matters more than connection, ignore me. If you are brave enough to reach out, I’ll be surprised. ~

I couldn’t ignore her. She made me laugh without even meeting her. Her profile was brand new, but I figured that gave me a better than usual chance of striking up a conversation.

GrassIsGreener

I’m not sure if I’m brave or not, but I had to reach out. How are you?

FinallyFree

Are you a bot?

GrassIsGreener

Not a bot. An actual human male. Are you a bot?

FinallyFree

Nope.

GrassIsGreener

So what are you free from?

FinallyFree

Being controlled. Doing what others tell me to do. I’m not up for that.

GrassIsGreener

Sometimes it can be really fun to have someone tell you what to do.

FinallyFree

I’ve never… Are you talking about sex?

GrassIsGreener

LOL. Yep.

FinallyFree

Oh. Well. I don’t know what to say to that.

GrassIsGreener

I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. Being controlled sucks. It’s not how a good relationship should be. Happy you’re done with that.

FinallyFree

I am, too. Life is better this way.

GrassIsGreener

I agree.

I waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t reply. A few minutes later, I saw she’d gone offline.

But she made me smile. And forget about Joelle for long enough that I started to fade. I put my phone down, ready to sleep.

* * *

I didn’t go back to MacKellar Cove Inn the next day, or the day after. I told myself it was because I was working, but that was only part of it. I felt like an idiot if I kept chasing Joelle. Especially when Sebastian made it seem like I should give her space.

I traded a few more messages with FinallyFree and was surprised when she asked if I wanted to meet for a drink. Unwilling to pass up a chance to meet a woman who made me laugh, I agreed and was on my way to O’Kelley’s at six on Wednesday night, hoping the woman I was meeting would be just as easy to talk to in person as she was on the app.

The bar was busy but not crowded. I took a seat at the bar, asking Jonathan for a beer. Hudson wasn’t there, but Jonathan was around as much as Hudson was and sometimes a little more friendly.

“You meeting someone tonight?” Jonathan asked, catching me looking around.

“I am. Have you seen a woman in here alone?”

Jonathan nodded and pointed to a booth toward the back. I could see her hand as she reached for the glass on the table. The glass disappeared for a few seconds before she set it down again.

“Thanks. I’m going to see if she’s who I’m looking for.”

“Good luck,” Jonathan said, walking to take another order as I slid off my stool.

I walked toward the woman, trying to figure out what to say. God, I hated dating. It was exhausting and, at times, humiliating.

I approached the woman from a distance so she would see me coming, but as soon as I saw her, I stopped. “Joelle?”

She turned, clearly surprised to hear her name. “Andre, right? The landscaper. Oh, shit. You’re GrassIsGreener, aren’t you?”

I chuckled. “Well, not the reaction I was hoping for, but yeah. That makes you FinallyFree?”

She nodded, her cheeks turning pink as I gestured to the opposite side of the booth. She extended her hand to invite me to sit.

“Sorry I’m a disappointment for you,” I said, trying to smile but feeling a little hurt.

“No, no. It’s not that. Shit, it’s definitely not you.”

“Okay?” I chuckled, confused by the appreciation in her tone. “What am I missing?”

“I know like three people here. Three men. And you’re one of them. I assumed whoever I met on that app would be someone I didn’t know.”

“Ah, so you were either hoping for anonymous or just a new face.”

“I’m not opposed to your face,” she said, her cheeks getting redder with her admission.

I smiled. “I’m not opposed to your face, either.”

“You’re not?” she blurted.

A laugh popped out. “Not even a little. Or anything else about you.”

Her nose wrinkled. “But I’m not nearly as beautiful as half the women here. And the other half are unavailable.”

“Well, first, you’re wrong about that. You’re more beautiful than every woman here. And the half that are unavailable definitely don’t count, so I’ll agree on that one.”

She chuckled. “You’re a flirt.”

I nodded and leaned back. “Life’s too short to hold back. Don’t you agree?”

She tilted her head. “I never really thought about it, I guess.”

“About life? Or about holding back?”

“Both? Either. I don’t know. I’ve always just done what I was told. I never had a chance to question things.”

“If you could do anything right now, what would you do?”

“Yell ~fuck~ really loud.”

Another laugh popped out of me. “Do it.”

“What? No. I can’t do that. People will look at me.”

“So?”

She glanced around the room, her cheeks turning pink again when she did. She shook her head. “I’ll feel silly.”

“FUCK!!!” I shouted as loud as I could.

A few people turned, laughing before they went back to their evening. A few others repeated the word. One guy came over and high-fived me.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Joelle whispered, her hand over her mouth.

I shrugged and sipped my beer. “No one cared. You should try it. It’s pretty freeing to do whatever you want.”

She looked around, then tilted her head back and shouted, “FUCK!”

More cheers rose from the crowd, and a few answering fucks echoed back.

Joelle laughed, the look of delight on her face enough to make me want to do more to make her smile.

“What’s next?”

She sipped her drink, something suspiciously nonalcoholic looking, and chewed her lip. “I want alcohol.”

“You’re in the right place for that.” A server was passing, and I flagged her down. “She wants to order a drink.”

The server looked at Joelle with a smile. “What can I get for you?”

“Um, what do you recommend?”

“Sweet or strong?”

“Can it be both?”

The server grinned. “I’ll be right back.”

“What did I just order?” Joelle asked.

I shrugged. “We’ll find out in a minute.”

“That was probably a bad idea. I don’t drink much.”

“You don’t have to finish it if it’s too strong.” I saw the server approaching with Joelle’s drink and dug out my wallet. I handed her my card to pay for the drink before Joelle could do the same.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Joelle protested.

“I feel like I talked you into it. It’s only fair I pay.”

“Are you going to expect something for it? Because if you are, then I don’t want you to pay for my drink.”

I nodded, keeping my face straight as I stared at her. “I am going to expect something. I’m going to expect you to try it.”

“What else?”

I exhaled a laugh. “Nothing, Joelle. I promise. Besides, we already fucked. What else could I expect from you?”

She burst out laughing, catching my joke.

I laughed with her, beyond thrilled she understood my stupid humor.

“You’re going to be trouble for me.”

“Me? Never. Try your drink.”

She lifted her glass. “Do you know what it is?”

I shook my head. “Not a clue. I’m usually a beer drinker. I don’t think that color of pink is natural, though.”

“Definitely not natural.” She brought the glass to her mouth and licked the edge before she sealed her lips around it and took a sip.

Fuck. I had to adjust myself from one peek at her tongue.

She smiled as she set the glass down. “That’s dangerous.”

“I’m guessing that means it’s good.”

“It’s really good. And it either has no alcohol in it or it’s so artfully created that it’s going to have me on my ass before I can finish it.”

I lifted my beer bottle to clink against her glass. “Here’s to not holding back.”

She chuckled and tapped her glass to mine. She took another sip, then set it down. “So, what would you do if you could do anything right now?”

“Kiss you,” I told her without hesitation.

“Why me?”

“Because you’re gorgeous. And I’ve been wondering what you taste like for days.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“You’ve never kissed someone you don’t know well?”

She shook her head.

“Okay, I have to ask, but you’re not a virgin, are you?”

“No, I’m not a virgin.”

“How old are you?”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to ask women that question.”

“Only women who get offended easily. I don’t think that’s you.”

She wrestled her lips to fight her smile. “I’m twenty-eight.”

“Oh, Jesus,” I breathed, leaning back. “You’re a baby.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-seven.”

“You’re an old man,” she teased, taking another sip. Her cheeks were pink and not going back to her skin color. The drink definitely had a kick she would feel when she stood up.

“Compared to you, yeah.”

“I’ve always liked older men.”

“Yeah?” I asked.

She nodded.

“How’s your drink?” I asked as she sucked the last of it through her straw.

“It’s empty,” she said with a pout. “But I shouldn’t get another one. I can already feel it. Now that I’m thinking about it.”

I chuckled. “What’s next on the list of things you would do?”

“I think I would kiss you back.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, but you’re having second thoughts.”

“Only because you drank that really fast, and I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”

She pressed her lips together and looked at me. “Why would you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Stop me from doing something I might regret?”

I shrugged. “Regrets go hand-in-hand with holding back. If you regret something, it means you either did something you didn’t really want to do or you didn’t do something you wanted to do. Either way, it’s not worth it.”

“What if I really want to kiss you?”

“Then you’ll really want to kiss me when you’re sober.”

“And you’ll let me?”

“Trust me, Joelle, I will not say no to a kiss from a beautiful woman.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Any beautiful woman?”

I shook my head. “No. Just you.”

A smile spread slowly over her face, lifting her lips before lighting up her eyes. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth and looked up at me from beneath endlessly long lashes.

“No one’s ever told me I’m beautiful before.”

“Have you only ever known blind people?”

She threw her head back and laughed.

I watched the column of her neck move with her delight. It was creamy and tempting. I wanted to lick her right there, where her hair curled around her throat and her collarbones disappeared under her shirt.

She chuckled and met my gaze again. “What are you thinking?”

“It’s fucking torture waiting for you to sober up.”

She sucked in a breath, her eyes widening. “Then maybe we should order some food. Soak up the alcohol.”

I raised my hand to flag down the server. She took our order and said she’d put it on my card before going to tell the kitchen we wanted food.

“How’s Molly?” Joelle asked.

I snorted. “She’s good. She’ll probably pout when I get home. She doesn’t appreciate it when I go out at night.”

“Do you do that a lot? Go out?”

“Are you asking if I’m seeing anyone? Because if you are, your profile was pretty clear you’re not okay with cheating. For the record, neither am I. I only date one woman at a time.”

“Did you just end a relationship?”

I shook my head. “No. My buddy did. It’s been a few months, but they were together for years. He was pretty bad off for a while.”

“He’s better now?”

“Yeah, I think so. But I was hanging around his place a lot when they split. Just so he wasn’t alone all the time. It can be tough to be alone with your thoughts when they go in a direction you don’t want them to go.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience. Did you have a bad breakup?”

“Not like him. All my breakups have been mutual.”

“Mutual?”

I shrugged. “One of us would say something first, of course, but the other one always agreed.”

“Have you ever had your heart broken?”

“Broken?” I leaned back, my chest squeezing. “Nah. Bruised maybe. Love is something we hold back too often. It should be shared, enjoyed.”

“You’ve been in love more than once?” she asked, her brows shooting up.

“Yep. Many more times. What about you? How many times have you been in love?” I went for casual confidence, hoping I achieved the desired result. I was not looking to share my entire dating history.

“None. Never. None. I don’t even know what love means to me.”

“Never?”

She shook her head. “No. I… I have never said the words to anyone in my entire life.”

“Ever? What about your parents? Family? The first person you slept with? Anyone?”

“No. Never. And no one’s ever said it to me.”

“Well, damn, then I know what you need to do next. You need to fall in love. Even if it’s just with that drink you sucked down like it was the only thing keeping you alive.”

She laughed, as I hoped she would. “Maybe it was.”

I laughed with her, wondering what her story was. “Then I’m happy to be the one to witness you falling in love for the first time. That drink deserved it for saving your life.”

She burst out laughing again, and the seriousness of our conversation slipped away.

How could no one have ever said they loved her? I was halfway in love with her, and we’d only had a few conversations.

Joelle was a mystery to me. One I wasn’t ready to give up on. Especially if she was serious about kissing me when she was sober.

Bring it on.