“It’ll be a miracle if he makes it to Christmas.”
The reality settled over my shoulders like a fallen crossbeam. It was like I suddenly had severe structural damage inside me, and nothing was holding me up anymore. Still feeling out of it, I meandered over to the bar, poured myself a glass of water, and downed it. The water did nothing to quench my thirst, so I tried a shot of whiskey. It burned going down but didn’t make the situation any more bearable.
My family’s texts started up again.
Mom: We’ll eat at 5:00 and then start fireworks when the sun goes down. You’ll be here, right?
Miguel: You planning on coming back to work? I’m sick of picking up the slack for your lazy ass. Mom said you dropped off Tio a while ago and you should be here by now. Where the fuck are you?
Abril: I need to get 50 hours of practice in before I can take my driving test. Can you take me out before fireworks?
Dad: There’s still plenty of daylight. We could really use a hand at the site.
Rosalie: What’s wrong with Uncle Jaime? He’s acting weird, and Mom won’t tell me anything.
I couldn’t handle it. I raised my phone in the air, intending to smash it into the bar, but stopped less than an inch away. A new bike would cost a pretty penny. I couldn’t afford to replace my cell, too. I needed to get out of the fire station before I did something even stupider than fucking up my ride, but I was too sweaty to leave like this. I headed upstairs and hopped in the shower, changed, and then jogged the handful of blocks to Jessica’s apartment.
The fresh air was good for me and managed to drain away the lingering effects of my goddamn temper tantrum. I still couldn’t believe I’d destroyed my bike. Mental and physical exhaustion hit me as I knocked on the door, and I briefly considered curling up on her doorstep and falling asleep. But thankfully, Jessica was home. Her voice was music to my ears as she told me to wait. Moments later, the door opened, and just the sight of her lifted the hell out of my spirit.
Her hair was up in a messy bun with loose strands framing her face. She wore terry cloth shorts, a loose T-shirt, and her glasses, and I’d never seen a more gorgeous sight in my life. My mind and heart were churning with torment, but she looked like peace and salvation. Taking a moment to drink her in, I said, “Hey.”
She looked rattled and confused as she looked me over as well. “Hey.”
Not exactly the warm reception I was hoping for. “Can I come in?”
She stared at me like I had three eyeballs. Like I was a goddamn enigma she had to figure out.
“Jess?”
“I’m thinking.”
“About what?”
“There’s something I need to know, first. Why didn’t you text me back?” Hurt flashed in her eyes. “I know we agreed it was a one-night stand, but why didn’t you even let me know you were okay?”
Stunned, I stared at her. “You texted me?”
“Yes. The next morning. You never showed, and I was worried something had happened to you.”
Worried, not pissed. That was a good sign. “You did?” Tugging out my phone, I angled it toward her and scrolled through the seemingly endless wall of messages, several of which were new. “This is the shit I’m dealing with, here. My phone died the night Uncle Jaime went into the hospital and it took a while before I had time to go buy a charger. I’m still trying to wade through all the bullshit and my family has way too much going on right now. I feel like I’m fuckin’ drowning in communication. Which of these numbers is you?”
Her eyes softened. “Come in, Spade.” She stepped back, and I followed her, closing and locking the door behind me. Instead of taking my cell and trying to find her message, she retrieved her own cell and punched a few keys. My phone beeped with an incoming message. “That’s my number.”
She’d sent me a smiley face to pull her previous message to the top of the list. I saved the number under her name and pocketed my phone. “I’m sorry I missed your text. I’ve been trying to put out fires and figure shit out. I had to pack up my uncle and move him up here, and it was… rougher than I expected it to be.”
“Don’t even worry about it; I’m just glad you weren’t ghosting me. How is your uncle?”
“He’s…” God, I did not want to answer that question. Time to change the subject. “Jess, I wouldn’t ghost you.” I stepped closer to her, breathing in her unique peach scent. The dark fog I’d been carrying around with me started to lift, allowing a few rays of sunlight to shine through. “I thought about you the whole time I was gone.” That probably made me sound like a whipped little pussy, but I didn’t care. Just being near her was making me feel better, and I didn’t need to front or pretend like I was some badass who didn’t give a fuck. She needed to know she was important to me.
Hey eyebrows rose in question. “You did?”
She looked so damn uncertain. It killed me to know she doubted her appeal. Couldn’t she see what she did to me? The reality of my uncle’s condition had swept my legs out from under me, and she was the goddamn crutch that could keep me from falling on my face. I’d already laid out my cards for her, so I might as well go for broke.
“Yes.” I closed the distance between us and snaked my hand around to hold her lower back. “As soon as I dropped off the U-Haul, I went to the fire station to look for you. I don’t think you understand, babe. I’ve had a shitty past week and a half. The only thing that’s gotten me through is the thought of coming home to you.”
Her eyes widened. “But you barely know me.”
I chuckled and tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear before tracing her jawline with my fingertips. Touching her felt so good it woke my cock right up. Exhaustion didn’t have shit on my attraction to her. My other hand landed on her waist and I pulled her closer to me, letting her feel how hard she made me. Her soft curves molded to my body like a puzzle piece snapping into place. It didn’t matter that we’d only shared a few hours and hadn’t spoken or seen each other since, she filled the hole inside me, made everything seem less hopeless and depressing.
