Checking my watch again, I closed in on the local coffee shop and reached for the door. The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air as I held the door for several people to enter before me, but once inside, I stopped and looked around for him.
With my hands in my pockets and my heart beating like a damn teenager with their first crush, I scanned the shop until I found him standing by the register. I smiled to myself as I memorized the man I hadn’t seen in way too long.
Brent’s dark hair was a little longer than the last time I’d seen him, as was the beard he wore over his chiseled jaw. He was dressed in a gray t-shirt with the sleeves cut out to reveal hisincredible shoulders and arms. The shirt clung to his torso and showed every single muscle in his upper body. His black sweats fit him perfectly and showed off that bubble butt that was mine.
A barely audible growl rose from my chest and startled me. I don’t know how long I’d been standing there staring at him when I noticed the barista turn and look at me. The kid’s eyes went wide, drawing Brent’s attention my way.
He raised to his full height and drew his shoulders back. I couldn’t read his expression as we stood there looking at each other like two cowboys from an old western movie ready to duel. I wasn’t sure which one of us would draw first, but evidently, it was me.
I relaxed my expression and took the steps to close the distance that separated us. Brent never took his eyes off me as he walked toward me, like two magnets drawn together. Memories of our night flooded me, making me want to reach out to him. But I didn’t. I stopped right in front of him, leaving only a foot or so between us.
The glint in his eye as he took in my face and my longer hair made me think he might remember our night, too. He’d asked me to come, so I was going to make our reunion memorable. Like a goddamn romance movie when two long-lost lovers finally reunite.
And I couldn’t help myself. My hands found his upper body while one slipped under the hem of his shirt, greeting me with warm skin and the scent of fresh man's sweat.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
His eyes narrowed and for some damn reason, I thought that was the right time to pull him in for a kiss. Smooth move, Ex-Lax.
The moment his lips met mine, all the world fell completely away. The familiar taste of him sent a fire up my spine. His palms found my chest, and I fully expected him to push meaway. But he didn’t. He balled my shirt in his hands and pulled me closer to deepen our kiss.
We couldn’t get close enough.
“Holy… fucking… shit,” I heard someone say from behind me, breaking me out of our kiss.
Brent pulled back and looked me in the eye. His lips were swollen, just like after he sucked me off, and I had a hard time looking away.
“That’s a hell of a greeting. And don’t call me that. Call me Brent.”
The familiar retort had me smiling at him. “I’ve missed you. Don't you greet all your friends that way?”
“Not usually. Dare doesn’t like it when I kiss him.”
“I bet," I laughed. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”
He pushed back a couple of inches, just enough to adjust himself in his sweats. Studying me for a single moment, his brows furrowed. “What are you doing here?”
I wiped away our kiss from my lips as blood made its way back to my brain. “I came to see you. Austin texted that you wanted to meet for coffee. He said you didn’t have your phone on you, so you asked him to text me instead. So here I am.”
Brent took a step back, held up his phone, then propped his hands on his sexy as fuck hips. I knew there was a prominent V under that fabric that I wanted to trace with my tongue.
But now I wasn’t so sure he wanted that as he slowly closed his eyes and tilted his face down toward the floor. He huffed out a breath. “That asshole. I didn’t ask him to text you, John.”
My brow furrowed, and I took a step back, suddenly embarrassed by my actions. I glanced around the room, noticing only half the people in here were staring like they couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
A self-deprecating chuckle escaped from me as I breathed out, rubbing the back of my neck. Grabbing his hand, I pulledhim away from the middle of the floor toward a table in the corner. I sat down and motioned for him to do the same. When he was seated, we looked at one another again.
“I should probably say I’m sorry, but I’m not.”
He huffed out a small chuckle and ran his fingertips over his still kiss-swollen lips. “That was one hell of a hello, Commander.”
“Yeah well,” I said, relaxing momentarily, “We both know you bring out that uncontrollable side of me.”
Brent smiled. “I guess you do the same to me if Vegas is proof of anything.”
I stiffened in my seat, just enough for him to notice. “About Vegas,” I began. “We need to talk.”
Brent leaned back and smirked.
