Page 9 of Another Chance
How many Theo Savages would there be, anyway? Neither name was perhaps the most common one in the world, but neither was it completely unheard of. But the very first hit he got was his former best friend, with Google images spitting out pictures of Theo, Theo laughing, Theo looking thoughtful, Theo smiling, Theo sitting by a computer in an expensive looking home office setup. Pictures of book covers.
Horror, it looked like. And all of them New York Times bestsellers. How the hell had Eric missed that for all of these years? If he’d so much as glanced at a bookshelf at any time in the last five years, he probably would have seen at least one of these books. It seemed like his Theo had done all right for himself, after all.
There were honest to God tears blurring his eyes, he realized irritably, as he flicked through the information available. How creepy was it that he would stalk his old friend like this? How creepy was it that he would want to, and that he was able to? Almost angrily, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, then almost threw the phone down angrily onto his worn leather couch.
Less than a second later, he had it in his hands again, and he opened his Facebook. Once more, he typed Theo’s name into the search bar, but all he could find was an author profile, not to mention several fan groups. Theo had fans. Theo was famous enough that he had fans, and as far as Eric could tell, no personal Facebook.
Groaning softly, he looked down at the phone. What was it? Was he masochistic or something, to look down at these pictures of a man he could never touch? A man who had tormented him enough when they were both little more than kids?
There was a man with his arm around Theo. A man with wild blond hair that fell in curls to his shoulders, like the mane of a lion, and a sensual, wide, thin-lipped mouth. A man with laughing blue eyes and a tight, slender little body.
As Eric looked, it seemed like all he could see was pictures of that man with Theo. So what? Theo had a new best friend, was that it? But there was something strange about the way that the blond man’s body inclined toward Theo. Somethingintimate.
Swearing softly but viciously to himself, Eric threw down his phone in his dark living room. He hadn’t even bothered turning the light on because the shadows suited his current mood. The chime of his phone was like an invitation from the world of light, the world of something like sanity, pulling him back to some sort of reality where he didn’t, where he wasn’t still stupid enough to, pine over his long lost friend.
Hey, man, Faith is looking for you.
It was from Carlos, of course, and Eric couldn’t help but smirk a little bit. Yeah, his friend really was trying to set him up, and Eric shook his head. How miserable had he been, really, that even his construction worker friends had noticed? And not only noticed but at least Carlos had decided to do something about it?
Things must be pretty grim if that was happening.
All of a sudden, he was certain that he hadn’t made the right choice in coming home instead of hitting the bar. If he had gone to the bar, he wouldn’t have seen Theo arriving. And if he had seen Theo at all, it would have been through the comforting, plush, thick cushion of alcohol, which would have made it not quite as intense.
His fingers moved, tapping out a reply, even as he rose to his feet and flicked the power button for his TV.
Tell her not to get her panties in a twist. I’m coming.
A pretty waitress, and lots and lots of beer, that was exactly the prescription that Dr. Eric Parker was going to write for himself, and maybe his medical degree was self-granted, but he still thought that it was the best possible way for him to go. The only way for him to get his mind off of the impossible, to stop brooding and to make the choice to move the hell on with his life.
In seconds, he was in his truck again, heading back for the bar, for other people, for sanity. For the strength to not go see Theo, no matter how much it was bound to hurt him if he did.
Faith’s body was small, but curvy and soft, against him, and the music pounding around him was enough to keep the beat. His hand rested on the small of her back, right over the swell of her ass, and even the fact that they were playing country shit didn’t bother him all that much.
Not through the haze of the beers he’d drunk, or the shots he’d taken, or the sound of his friends cheering him on as he danced with the beautiful barmaid. Hell, nothing could bring him down. This was where he belonged, having fun, not moping around in his living room.
Faith grinned up at him, her dark eyes flashing. She was so tiny, and yet so full of life, and he couldn’t help but admire the way she looked, the way she smiled, how clearly confident in herself she was.
Only thing was, he had maybe hoped to do more than just admire her. It wasn’t even that he got the sense that she would be unwilling. She had been sending out all sorts of signals, and if he suggested that she come home with him, he had the sense she would go.
So what was stopping him? He had his chance. He had this opportunity to prove to himself, if to no one else, that he was over Theo, that he had moved on just as much as it seemed that Theo had. That his life might not be as flashy as Theo’s, but it was every bit as fulfilling.
Why not go for it? Why not lean down and whisper the suggestion into Faith’s ear? Somehow, he doubted that she’d be shocked, not with the way she moved her body against his when they danced.
He just couldn’t do it. It didn’t matter how pretty she was, or how willing she was, or how much fun he was sure that they would have. He couldn’t make himself take that final step. Dancing and drinking were fun, but to his own surprise, it was as far as he wanted to go.
Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised, though. How long had it been since he’d even wanted to go any further? How long had it been since meaningless sex, sex just for fun, had lost its luster?
As they went back toward the table, Eric staggered a bit, and Faith laughed and wrapped her arm around his waist.
“No way I’m letting you drive home alone tonight, cowboy,” Faith said and held her hand out for his keys. “I’ll take you home.”
Eric may be stupid sometimes, and downright reckless most of the time, but he couldn’t even deny that she was right. So he handed her his car keys and let her take him off toward his truck, not that he usually let anyone else drive it. This was not exactly a normal situation, though.
Maybe he’d gone a little bit overboard. And the hell of it was, as he clambered into his own truck, as he rested his head back against the headrest, he realized that none of it had even helped.
He was still thinking about Theo.
