Page 89 of Making It Up

Those questions spin through my mind as I shift so Mia can be as comfortable as possible snuggled up against me.

With her warm weight against me, the scent of her hair drifting up and surrounding me, the curve of her ass under my palm, I realize that yeah, I can do that. I don’t really want it, but I can do it.

At least, I can try.

When she falls asleep, I pull a soft fleece blanket up over both of us, shut the movie off, and happily fall asleep with her.

I wake up early the next morning with a raging erection pressing against Mia’s sweet ass, but I ignore it. Mostly. I slip into the house to make breakfast burritos that we eat in the truck bed before I take her back to her car, kiss her goodbye, and tell her I can’t wait to see her again.

Which is true.

That truth, and the sweet smile she gives me along with the, “I had an amazing time last night,” is what has me pulling my phone out of my pocket before her car is even out of sight.

“I need some advice,” I tell Charlie when he answers.

“Just me or Jack too?”

“The more the merrier. Actually, probably really good to bring the guy who actually had a successful relationship with a woman.”

“Oh, have you already messed up?”

“Is falling in love with her already messing up?”

Charlie pauses as if surprised and then chuckles. “Maybe.”

I sigh. “You see why I need some help?”

“I can be there in thirty minutes. But I need to see what Jack’s up to.”

“I’ve got breakfast burritos,” I tell him.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

I drive back up to my house and walk into my backyard. I should definitely pull all of this down and put it away before my brothers see it.

Then again, maybe I need to let them see this, so they know exactly what we’re dealing with here.

CHAPTER 17

DAVID

“Yeah, you’re in love,” Jack says two hours later, after we’ve eaten more breakfast, and they’ve heard about my night with Mia.

Not all of the details, of course. We are way too old to be kissing and telling, but the twinkle lights and pillows in the truck bed give them all the information they need. Along with my “dopey in-love grin”. Or so I’m told.

I sigh and don’t even try to argue. “So what do I do? She’s Scott Hansen’s daughter. That means I’m going to have to hang out with him.”

“Okay, you don’t like the guy,” Jack says. “But I don’t get why. I guess I’ve always just known it was a fact and never really thought about it. But I’ve run into him several times since I've been back. He seems like a great guy. Everyone likes him. What’s your problem with him?”

Two or three weeks ago I would have replied defensively that he’s just a jackass and he’s always been a dick or something, but now I take a breath and blow it out. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot,” I say. “In fact, something happened yesterday that really got me thinking it over.”

I tell them about stopping the kids four-wheeling and how Scott showed up.

“Do you guys remember when he caught us on the four-wheelers and chewed our asses?” I ask.

They both nod. “We had to do a ton of chores after that,” Charlie says. He gives me a look. “But I remember you getting out of a lot of them.”

I’m mildly surprised. “You remember that?”