Page 12 of Take Me Slowly: part 2
I rubbed my temples slowly. I wasn't sure where I'd even start to get answers to all of my questions. Of those, I had a ton. They seemed to reproduce by the moment. If one was answered, two or three more popped up.
Including one in particular. Did I really want to know the truth? What good would it do now?
It would clear Josiah's name for one, but would he care? If it was me, I would, but he seemed to enjoy playing the anti-hero. He might find some other reason for people to dislike and reject him.
The bell over the door tingled as someone stepped inside.
I looked up and my mouth dropped open.
"Brooks?"
6
BROOKS
I stared backat my stepsister, who sat with her lips apart, blue eyes on me. Her face haunted my dreams for too fucking long. The amount of times I thought about her, with my fist around my cock, hating myself afterward… Of all the women I ever met, why did she keep clinging to my attention like she belonged there? The fact I was here at all, in the same town as her…
"Leah," I said coldly. "What a surprise."
She rose from her chair like a cat, all smooth and feline. With a hint of the stiffness she tried to hide from everyone. She couldn't hide it from me. I knew her too well. Knew when she was uncomfortable. The way the side of her mouth pulled back slightly was her tell, every time. Stubborn bitch.
"What are you doing here?" She walked toward me like she couldn't believe I was standing in front of her.
"I thought I'd get a coffee." I stepped past her and gave the server a wave.
"That wasn't what I meant," she said to my back. "Why are you in Aurora Hollow?"
"One coffee and a sandwich," I said to the server. "Thanks."
"Brooks." Leah placed a hand on my shoulder. "If you've come to?—"
Was she trying to threaten me?
I turned around, letting her hand fall away from me. "It's a free country. I can be here if I want." I would have loved to see her flinch, but that wasn't her style. Leah Kent never backed down, not from me. No matter how hard I pushed.
"And yet, it's a hell of a coincidence," she said sarcastically. "You happen to turn up in the same town I'm living in."
I rolled my eyes. "There's no such thing as coincidence." She knew that as well as I did.
"Which brings me back to why you're here.” She raised her chin, daring to provoke me. One of these days she would, and I wouldn't be responsible for what I'd do to her. Once I started, I wouldn't be able to stop.
"Because I wanted to," I said. "This town is interesting." I took my coffee and sandwich from the server, slipped her some money and turned to walk out.
"Broo—" Her annoyed voice cut off as the door closed behind me. The tinkle of the bell told me she opened it again to follow me out. "What the hell?"
I continued to ignore her, instead walking to the edge of town, where I found a quiet spot with a thick trunk to sit against while I tried to eat my sandwich. Like always, she was a dog with a bone, following me, as if she didn't dare let me out of her sight.
"You're such a prick." She sat down beside me.
"You already knew that about me." I bit into my sandwich, washing it down with a cup of coffee. "This coffee is terrible."
"Then I guess you better go back to the city, where you can get better coffee," she said snidely.
I pretended to consider that for a few moments, the cup pressed against my lower lip.
"I like it here," I said finally. "I think I'll stick around for a while." I took another bite. At least the sandwich was edible. Mostly.
"Why?" she asked insistently. "You don't even like getting dirt on your shoes. Why would you want to stick around a place like this?"
