Page 86 of Better Daddy
I wince. Fuck. I hate that he’s annoyed. And I hate even more that, though he’d never admit it, it’s because he’s alone, while Cal and I are with our girls. He feels like the odd man out because he’s missing his other half.
But I don’t have a clue how to fix that for him. And right now, I’m still focused on ensuring that I won’t lose the love of my life. With any luck, in the near future, Sloane and I can find a way to help him.
“Come on, sweetheart,” I whisper into her ear.
Brian’s attitude aside, tonight is going to be perfect.
Chapter 30
Sloane
The cold February air steals my breath from my lungs. Shit, it’s colder in Jersey than the city, I swear.
Sully wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. “Will be a quick walk.”
It is, as it’s only across the street, but if it meant we could stay like this, then I’d consider pulling him down the block and taking the long way.
Yup, I have a full-fledged crush on my husband. With each day that passes, I crave these little moments with him more. We’ve yet to talk to T.J. about our relationship because we’re both concerned about getting his hopes up, so inside the apartment, we mostly keep our hands to ourselves.
But now that Lo, Cal and Brian know, we don’t have to censor ourselves constantly, and that knowledge makes it hard to contain my excitement.
From the look of things, the bar is busy tonight. Cars line both sides of the street, and even from outside, I can hear the din of chatter and music. When Sully pulls the heavy oak door open for me, I’m assaulted by the smell of stale beer, whiskey, and fried food.
It’s glorious. There’s nothing I love more than a dive bar, and theGrasshopper is one of the best I’ve found. It reminds me of the one across from Sully and Brian’s apartment in law school. The place where I first discovered my love of karaoke.
My mother has always been the kind of woman who would rather die than set foot in a place where her heels would literally stick to the floor. Despite that, or maybe because of that, I fell in love with the atmosphere instantly.
The first time we discovered karaoke night at that bar, we were celebrating Sully’s recent success on an exam.
At the time, Sully and I were just friends, though I had a massive crush on him. So did every girl in our class, yet he never gave any of them the time of day. I would have done anything to get that boy to see me as more than a friend, so I used his love for rock music—a shared affinity—to make my big move.
Up until that night, I’d felt like the third wheel. The guys were best friends, and I figured that, like most people, they invited me into their friend group because of who my mother was. Everyone talked about wanting to work for a judge during the summer because it looked good on applications. So the vast majority of our classmates thought it beneficial to be friendly with me.
Because of that I wasn’t unpopular, but none of my friendships at that point felt genuine.
Sully and Brian never asked about my mother. They never talked about summer internships either. Sully was a bit of a slacker, skating by on his charm and putting in the bare minimum. Brian was a good influence on him. Honestly though, it was our study sessions that pushed Sully to do so well on that exam. He broke the class curve and was high on it.
While he ordered drinks for us, I excused myself, telling him I needed to use the restroom. Then, while his back was turned, I went up to the karaoke guy, requested a song and rushed off the the bathroom to apply the reddest of lipsticks and fix my hair. When I returned, Sully stood at the bar, our drinks in hand, and I put my planinto action. I’ll never forget the way his face lit up when the emcee called my name.
Despite my nerves, I sashayed up there, hips swaying, and took the mic. I sang my heart out, getting almost every word wrong. It was terrible. So terrible that everyone in the bar was clapping and laughing at my horrible rendition of “Pour Some Sugar On Me.”
But Sully’s reaction made it all worth it. He watched me with a hunger that lit up my nerve endings. It’s the same way he looks at me now, though tonight there’s a slight smirk touching his lips, like he’s remembering that night too.
By the time I replaced the mic all those years ago, Sully was stalking toward me, and when we were face to face, he pulled me into his chest.
“That was awful,” he murmured, a huge smile on his face. “Bloody fucking awful.”
“Hey.” I reeled back, smacking him.
He only pulled me in tighter, his focus dropping to my mouth. “And the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Electricity pulsed between us as we stared at one another. One that couldn’t be ignored. So when he leaned forward and murmured, “I’d like to kiss you,” I made the move first, pressing my mouth to his.
Instantly, we were consumed, the chemistry between us igniting like fireworks. We weren’t soft with one another; we were hungry. I devoured him, all remnants of the shy, reserved daughter my mother had raised completely gone.
And then I fucked him in the barroom closet.
Maybe it wasn’t the most romantic of encounters, but the memory still makes my heart race to this day.
