Page 46 of The Guy in the Alley

I burrowed into my coat as much as I could, and I zipped up to keep half my face hidden within. Then I closed my eyes and immediately pictured Trace. If I concentrated, I could pluck sensations from one of my last memories of him. The heat of his body pressed against mine, the scent of his body wash…

His big pullout couch had been ridiculously comfortable, and I’d loved being buried under the covers with him.

I remembered how his lips had brushed over my jaw, tickled my neck, and ghosted along my ear.

“You promised to deep-throat me.”

I smirked and palmed his perfect ass.

I had promised that, hadn’t I?

He sat down on my spent cock, teasing me, and kissed my neck. “If you need convincing, I don’t have a gag reflex.”

Christ, this boy.

I didn’t need convincing, but I did need recovery time. So…

I chuckled under my breath, knowing exactly what to say to bide my time. “Of course you don’t. You’ve been desensitized as a Cubs fan.”

He shot right up, surprise written all over him, before he scowled down at me. “What. The. Fuck.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

I shuddered as a harsh wind tore down the alley, and I swallowed hard and shook the images. I was a fucking dumbass for indulging in an illusion.

Clenching my jaw, I pulled forth images of Alvin instead—but what good did that do? No matter who I thought of, this putrid self-hatred took over and told me I’d never be good enough for them. I couldn’t take care of myself, much less anyone else. Not even my own son. My flesh and blood.

Goddammit.

Unshed tears burned behind my eyelids, and I fell down a familiar void, where I tried to summon the guts to fucking kill myself already. But that lasted all of a second, because every dollar mattered. I had to keep fighting to make Alvin’s life a little bit easier.

I’m sorry, son. I’m so goddamn sorry.

I sniffled and screwed my eyes shut harder—but then I heard a noise, and all the alarms sounded in my head. I shot my stare toward the mouth of the alley, relief settling as quickly as I turned wary. It was just a dog. But they came with their own set of problems. They didn’t pull a knife on you or anything; they just had sharp teeth and weren’t afraid to use them if they were hungry. Hopefully, it wasn’t a stray.

* * *

“Good night, boss!”

“Fuck off!” I grinned and shook my head. That boss name was catching on, and I hated it. But they all thought it was fun, so…whatever.

I flicked off the lights once Julie was out the door, and I grabbed my food container on my way out. Alarm activated, the place smelling like no rats would like it here—it’d been a good day. I released a breath and headed up the stairs, and I started working on how I could repay Adam.

Because fucking hell, he’d brought me back from the dead today.

The Clover was officially on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. The sneak had done everything behind my back, safely back in his California haven, including updating the website. Oh, and he was developing an app for us.

I dug out my keys and side-eyed the foldable bed, but I refused to let myself go down that road again. No more pity parties. No more rage rants. The motherfucker was out of my life, and he better stay gone.

CHAPTER SIX

Trace Kalecki

Holy fuck, was I nervous. My hands had turned into running faucets, they were sweating so much, and there was no such thing as a resting pulse today.

I’d had my first marketing idea ever last month, and Adam had decided we should go with it. So we were, and it was wreaking havoc on my stomach. What the fuck did I know about marketing? But I’d just figured…we needed more tourists to come in, and they were all gathered up on the Riverwalk to watch the river turning green and then the parade. So I’d called up a buddy who worked for his old man’s riverboat cruise business, and they’d jumped at the chance to collaborate. We provided the draw, the challenge, and they got more customers who they brought our way.

Adam believed it was the start of a new tradition. The Clover Run. If you could make the run from the dock on Wells to here in five minutes, you got a free beer. If you completed it in three minutes? Congrats, you won a shot with your free beer.

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