There’s a soft knock on the door, a welcome reprieve from crunching numbers and filling out paperwork. “Come in.” I’m still working on filling out these forms when I hear a throat clear.
When I look up, I’m staring directly at Max and Bri’s parents, Colleen and Liam Montgomery. Colleen is a petite woman who could pass for Bri’s twin. She has the same long, chestnut hair, but unlike Bri’s, hers is pin straight. Her honey-like eyes have a softness to them that mirrors Max. Don’t let her size fool you, though. The woman can pack a mean verbal punch when necessary.
I remember when Max and I were playing catch in their yard and accidentally broke a window. She burst through the front door real quick to give us a piece of her mind. Despite the fiery attitude, Colleen’s face is etched with deep laugh lines and crow's feet from all the smiling and laughing she’s done throughout the years. She also gives the best hugs.
As for their father, Liam, he has the same toffee-colored brown hair that has the same texture as Bri’s. Liam and Max are similar: charming, funny, and always down for a good time. That has to be the secret to having zero grays. Well, that, or he goes to dye his hair whenever he spots one. Personally, I think it’s the latter, but I’d never burst his bubble. He’s roughly ten years older than Colleen, but he doesn’t look a day over fifty. Liam’s face is set into a permanent scowl, but that man turns into a complete puddle for those he cares for. When my brother was struggling, I found myself having many deep conversations with Max’s father. He was actually the one who suggested therapy in the first place.
I walk around the desk just as Colleen is opening her arms for me. “Colleen. It’s good to see you. Give any thought to leaving this old man and marrying me instead?” I wink at a running joke that started when Max and I first became friends in the seventh grade.
“Oh, Asher, you absolute charmer. But I’m afraid I’m happily married to this goon.” She presses a kiss to my cheek while laughing. I turn to Liam, and for once, I can’t get a read on him.
“Hi, Liam, it’s good to—”
“What are your intentions with my daughter?” he interrupts. His wife smacks him on the arm while giving him a warning look.
“Liam—” she starts, but I put my hand up to stop her.
“No, it’s okay. I’d be asking the same question if it was my kid,” I reassure Colleen before turning to Liam. “I’m in love with her, sir. Have been since I was seventeen.”
“Have you told her?”
“Not yet. She’s still healing and I’m content with helping her grow. My love for her isn't going anywhere. In fact, I fall more in love with her every day. Her light, her laugh, her heart. She’s it for me, and I hope that she sees it someday. If not, that doesn't change a damn thing. I’ll be just her friend for the rest of our lives if that means I get to be near her.”
Liam purses his lips, assessing my answer before he pulls me into a giant bear hug. “That’s the answer I was hoping for. Take care of our girl. She may be strong, but she’s way too hard on herself sometimes.”
“I will.”
“Good. We’ll get out of your hair and leave you to whatever it is you were doing. We’ll see you tomorrow at six.”
“Stay awhile. Drinks are on me tonight, just let Gage know.”
“Don’t mind if we do. Thanks, Asher. Colleen is right. You are one of the good ones.” They leave the way they came, and as I look down at my paperwork, I have zero desire to do any of it. I want a certain sassy brunette, and I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate until I’m with her.
It’s two hours until closing, and Gage and I have been running back and forth most of the night. The Montgomerys have since left, but I hardly had a chance to talk to them. People are demanding drinks left and right, and I’m exhausted.
I feel her before I see her. Our eyes lock onto each other immediately, and I couldn’t be happier.
“Are we due for another porno tonight?” Gage smirks at me, just barely escaping the towel I throw in his direction.
“Fuck off.”
“Hey, I get it. She’s hot. I’ll hold down the fort, you go hang out with your girl.”
I walk around the bar and reach for her hand, pulling her into the office and locking the door. The second I turn around, her lips are on mine. Tongues are gliding, the sounds of our moans mixing together.
She’s the first to break the kiss, and then she says something I didn’t know I needed to hear. “I’ve missed you.” Granted, we just saw each other the other day, but a day without Bri feels like a week.
“I’ve missed you too, baby. I’ve missed your face, your voice, your laugh. I’ve missed that sweet pussy of yours.” I nuzzle her neck, my beard tickling her sensitive spot as she shrieks.
“Speaking of. There’s something I’ve been wanting to try that I’ve been too scared to do. You have every right to say—”
“Yes,” I growl, cutting her off. “Whatever it is, I say fuck yeah.”
“But you don’t know what I’m asking for.”
“Don’t care. If it involves any part of you naked, then I’m in. What do you wanna try?”
“I want to ride your face.”
