Page 54 of Absolutely Pucked
Which was why I refused to bring it up.
And also why I cupped his chin and kissed him until he went boneless against me.
“I will be here with bells on.”
“Literal bells?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes. “No.”
“That could have been fun, but…fine.” He surged in for one last kiss, then took a breath. “You’d better go into the room. Boden always comes in to pet Nuggs, and if he sees you…”
He didn’t need to finish that thought. Being his little secret wasn’t as erotic or as fun as I expected it to be. Slinking off to the guest room and locking the door, I felt ashamed. Mostly because of what he’d have to face if any of his friends knew the truth.
For his own good, I probably should leave while he wasn’t around to convince me to stay. The sooner I did that, the easier it would be to move on. But I was the one thing Tucker always accused me of being: a selfish bastard.
Pressing my ear to the door, I could make out the sound of muffled voices. They got a little clearer after a bit. I recognized Boden’s gait now. Sometimes he used a wheelchair, but with his crutches, the way he walked had a distinct sound.
Then I heard Ford laugh. It was different than the way he laughed with me. It was freer. The laugh of a man who had tons of history and love and affectionfrom these people. A man without trust issues because he knew the little family he’d created was going to be there for him, no matter what he did.
They’d forgive him anything.
Well…almost anything.
I was pretty sure I was a cardinal sin.
It didn’t take long before he was gone, and when the door shut for the final time, my heart sank to my feet. I was alone. I had Ford’s car, which he’d taken the hand controls out of and told me to use since he wouldn’t be around to give me a ride, but I wasn’t going to risk it. No matter how often he said Tucker didn’t shop at our work, I didn’t have faith that he wouldn’t show up out of nowhere.
Or drive by and see Ford’s car and panic that someone had stolen it.
I had the afternoon off though, so I planned to use it by rotting on the couch and pining for him while he was gone. Nugget cuddles would help, of course, but I already missed him. I was already used to his presence, and it was going to ruin me when I had to give it up.
I had never felt so…alive. So safe. With Delia, it felt like walking into a minefield every time I stepped through the front door. I spent most of my time at the office doing paperwork and case research just to avoid the inevitable fight that waited for me when I got in because she was so damn unsatisfied with everything.
And I spent the rest of the evening avoiding calls from my mom because Delia loved nothing more than to sic her on me.
Grabbing my phone, I snagged the fuzzy throw and made my way to the couch. I was working the lateshift, so I wouldn’t need to catch the bus until the evening. Nugget didn’t take long to make herself comfortable on my chest, so I took a couple of selfies to send to Ford later, then settled on an audiobook, closed my eyes, and let myself get lost in the dulcet tones of the narrator.
Taking the bus reminded me of high school. My parents had been adamant that Tucker and I not drive until we were eighteen, so while all of our friends were getting their licenses and driving their parents’ spare cars, we were mastering public transit.
It had been a long while, of course, and I never missed my car more than I did when I was stuck next to some person who decided to have a whole conversation about office gossip on speakerphone. But it wasn’t the worst.
The evening route was better than the morning rush. I found a spot in the very back and even had room to kick my feet up. The supermarket was a half an hour away from the stop near Ford’s apartment, so I had time to people watch and stare at the scenery going by.
It was getting deep into spring, which was nice. I was more excited to see autumn when the leaves were changing color, but I liked this too. Trees were flowering, and in spite of the way it made my sinuses feel like they were trying to explode from the center of my forehead, I appreciated what I didn’t have back west.
I didn’t notice people getting on the bus at the second stop until something hit my shoe, and I grunted.
“Oh shit. Sorry.”
My gaze darted up, and I saw a man with wide eyes holding a white cane. He was not looking at me, which made it very obvious he couldn’t see. He was very good-looking—dark hair in floppy curls, a slight five-o’clock shadow, dressed in a T-shirt with the Polo horse logo and a pair of jeans that made his ass look top-notch.
Of course, it was all aesthetic to me now that I had Ford, but I had no reason not to be polite.
“No problem. Did you want to sit here?”
“Tucker? What the fuck?”
Oh God, I needed to learn to disguise my voice better. I cleared my throat. “Uh, I’m not Tucker. Sorry.”
