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CHAPTER 3

TANNER

T hings weren’t adding up. Some random guy I’d never seen before—one that talked in the strange speech pattern that only Mark used—had come in, bought half the snacks in the store . . . gotten into some kind of altercation in the parking lot, leaving Mark covered in slushie and the man’s snacks all over the ground, and then disappeared?

This was one of the few times I wished the owner of the store had actually sprung for real security cameras and not dummies that were meant to scare off anyone looking to hold up the place. Mark was standing there, shirtless by the way, cleaning himself off with a towel I’d found in the back, grinning innocently at me and batting those thick eyelashes in my direction, which I was like 87% sure he knew drove me wild. It was a distraction and it was fucking working because as slight as Mark was, he was fucking ripped. That perfect tan skin stretched over his flat stomach. His tiny nipples hardened as he cleaned green slush off his chest. Tribal tattoos covered both his arms, over his shoulders, and onto his gorgeous fucking collarbone that I wanted to lick every inch of.

The little shit knew what he was doing. I couldn’t even form a coherent thought, let alone get answers about what had happened in the lot. He’d claimed he didn’t know the guy. He’d just thrown the drink and ran. But, Mark was lying. I didn’t know why I was so sure of it, but I was. Add it to the list of mysteries surrounding this man.

I rummaged through the old backpack I always brought with me and found a worn T-shirt that said Wolverines Football. Looking at it brought a pang of longing from my one semester I’d gotten to play college football. I didn’t regret coming home. That was my family. I’d do anything for them. But it didn’t stop me from missing what could’ve been.

I shoved that bullshit all the way down and turned around to face Mark, who was watching me with a serious expression, like he could somehow tell my mood had changed. I forced a smile and handed him the shirt.

“Here. This might be big on you, but you can’t walk around the store looking like that.” I waved my hand and very clearly checked him out so he would understand I wasn’t insulting him.

He took the shirt, his nostrils flaring a bit and his pupils dilating. I swallowed. What the fuck was that?

“Is this yours?” he asked, his voice low and deep and sultry.

“Uh, um. Yeah. I always keep extra clothes with me because I never know when I’ll end up getting something on me in this place.”

He smiled so brightly, I nearly melted to the fucking floor before he put it on. I swore he paused as it covered his face, and his rib cage expanded like he was breathing it in. It probably smelled stale from being in my bag for so long, but it didn’t stop my reaction. He was sniffing my shirt. Trying to get my scent.

Yes, it was weird. I already knew I was purposely ignoring the one million red flags surrounding Mark. It was my toxic trait. I always went for the morally gray ones in anime and movies. Hell, sometimes even the morally black ones. Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen ? Fuck, the things I’d let that asshole do to me.

I was getting off track, and Mark was completely clothed.

“Are you okay, Tanner?” I loved the way he said my name. Like it was the most important thing he would ever say.

I hoped he couldn’t see how that made me blush. “I’m fine.” I cleared my throat. Fuck, why did this man affect me so much? “C’mon. Let’s see if the food is still warm. I’m starving and gotta take my mom to an appointment in the city today, so I won’t have time to eat dinner till late.”

That was why I'd been distracted and hadn’t seen whatever had happened in the parking lot. My mom’s sister, my Aunt Judy, was supposed to take her so I could actually make Jake’s baseball game and then get my sisters to bed at a decent hour. But like usual, she’d bailed. I shouldn’t be surprised. She always made grand plans, like how she’d move in to help Mom when I’d gone to college, but they always fell through. So now I had to leave work early, which my boss fucking hated, drive the hour and half to the appointment with Mom, and miss Jake’s first home game of the season. He’d once again have no one there to watch, and I hated how badly I was disappointing him. Maybe I could get the girls’ babysitter to bring them there? It wouldn’t be the same, but still. I knew what it was like to have no one in the stands rooting for you, and it fucking gutted me I was doing the same to Jake. Fucking Aunt Judy.

Mark was frowning at me. “Tanner?” he asked, his voice laced with concern.

I shrugged. It wasn’t his problem. “I’m good. C’mon, let’s eat.”

I could tell Mark didn’t want to drop it, but luckily for him, he did. Because I would have no problem throwing every single half-truth he’d given me—starting with the slushie incident—in his face.

It didn’t come to that. We settled behind the counter and ate while I texted with my boss and then with the part-time cashier, begging him to cover for me today. Thankfully, the guy was always looking for money and agreed. And my boss, while grumbling the whole time about responsibilities, relented too. I’d known he would. He needed me. No one else was willing to work as many hours as I would for the crap pay. I’d have to do a lot more than leave early one day to get him to fire me.

Even though the tacos were soggy and a little cold, they were still fucking fire. And the guac and queso? Amazing as fucking always. I loved that little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. For a little while, I forgot about everything else. The long drive, Jake’s disappointed look when I didn’t show, how flaky Aunt Judy was. All I thought about was Mark’s orgasm expression as he ate and how he tried to discreetly fill my plate with more food when I wasn’t looking, but I always noticed. He seemed to have a thing about feeding me vegetables, and I grinned when I had an extra serving of Mexican corn cake on my greasy paper plate.

My heart fluttered as I smiled at him. How could a man be a walking red flag but so sweet at the same time? And why the fuck was I falling for him?

Mark left shortly after we finished our lunch, said he had a work thing. I wondered if it had anything to do with the guy who’d thrown a slushie at him. I didn’t ask. Just like I never asked for details about his job. My little fantasy where all this was normal worked better not knowing stuff, as much as I wanted them. He asked me if I was okay 3,254 times, but eventually Mark walked away, and I deflated, all but collapsing onto the counter. Mike, the part-timer, would be here any minute. I had to make sure everything was ready for him. I needed to suck it up and text Jake and tell him I was missing his game . . . again.

Suddenly, it all felt like too much. All I wanted to do was call Mark back and sit in our little bubble in the store and act like the world wasn’t falling apart around me, that I wasn’t fucking suffocating in this place. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. I had responsibilities. A family. Bills to pay. It was time to focus on that.