Page 45 of Gunner

13

BEN

Tonight Gunner had a wild idea that we should run away together. Forget about his club and my job. For a few minutes I thought how great that would be. Then Ben called, bringing me back to reality.

Idon’t know if I should hate you or feel sorry for you.

Gunner’s words lingered long after he had gone, distracting me from the busyness of the bar where I’d gone for dinner. I needed to clear my head. Gunner’s words had left me conflicted. In one sentence, he sounded like he cared, and in another, he wanted to kill me.

How was I supposed to react? And to make matters worse, he’d walked out of the motel room instead of standing his ground and arguing like he used to. I’d waited for him to return, but when the clock struck eight and my stomach had growled one time too many, I’d accepted he’d returned to Smoky Vale.

Good riddance.

But why didn’t it feel like a good thing? With Gunner gone, I had no one to talk to. We fought. He was despicable anddidn’t care about hygiene, but he was still someone that filled the empty moments. It’d been refreshing rather than having the same conversations in my head.

Arguing with him worked out my tension and aggression. And the sex… I squirmed, my ass still sore from earlier. If he were anyone else other than Gunner, I’d make it my mission to climb that man’s cock every chance I got.

But we couldn’t change who he was or who I was.

I let out a heavy sigh and wiped my mouth with a napkin. As if she’d been watching my table, the server appeared and whisked the plate of half-eaten burger and fries away. I’d been hungry until I remembered how Gunner devoured my burger back in my office.

God, but he was obnoxious.

I downed my beer and stared at the empty mug. I had no other reason to stay in Riverton, so the best course of action was to return home. At least Zeus would be happy to see me.

I took out my phone and rang Asher. A couple of seconds later, he accepted the video call, smiling widely.

“Hey, Ben, is everything all right?” he asked.

“Everything is fine. Don’t worry. I should be back home tomorrow.”

“That’s good. Zeus misses you. Let me show you.” Asher hurried to the living room, where Zeus lay on the extra bed I’d bought him, since he spent so much time at Asher’s.

“Hey, boy,” I said.

The dog’s ears twitched.

“It’s me, Zeus. How are you?”

Asher sat down on the floor with his phone extended. Zeus whined and pawed for the device. When he howled, the sound tore at my heart. This was the longest I’d ever left him with someone.

“I think we’re torturing poor Zeus,” Asher said.

“True, so I’ll hang up now. I should be back in town by noon.”

“Take your time. We miss you, but we’ll live, and Zeus is a good boy.”

Not knowing how to respond, I ended the call. I didn’t want to offend him and lose Zeus’s caregiver when I wasn’t around, but neither did I want to string him along.

“Boyfriend?”

My heart leaped as Gunner dropped into the booth opposite me. He hadn’t left after all. But how did he find me?

“I was talking to my dog’s sitter. If I had a boyfriend, I wouldn’t have slept with you.”

He snorted. “Men cheat. It’s what we do.”

“Speak for yourself. I sure as hell wouldn’t. Neither would my previous partner.”

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