Page 6

Ryan

Erin’s mouth is soft against mine and when she eventually pulls back, she grins up at me. She is beautiful, really beautiful. I remember it was the first thing I noticed about her when we met six months ago in this very pub. Memories of that night are still fresh and I can’t resist adding.

“Wanna hit the ladies’ room, for old time’s sake?”

Now she’s giggling like a teenager and the possessive caveman side of me loves the light blush that’s creeping up her cheeks. I pull her closer, pressing a hard kiss to her mouth this time as I wonder how I can get us back there without anyone noticing.

“Christ, you two are as bad as they are,”

a deep voice says and when I pull back from Erin, I see Beck’s dad laughing at us. I glance over and see Beck, who’s got Kelsey sitting on his lap, doing pretty much the same thing. When he finally looks up, he laughs and I can’t stop the grin either.

This kind of set up, Beck and me with two hot girls was once a very familiar scenario, back in Boston, heading to Finnigan’s after work, where we’d pick up a couple of random girls. Back then it was easy and fun and never going to be anything serious. Neither of us was looking for something long-term with the women we fucked; it was just a way of blowing off steam. Getting laid so we could release the tension of a job that regularly brought us into contact with the city’s worst kind of people.

But now, here in Rockport, it all feels so different. I know Beck is totally head over heels with his girl. The fact that he left his job in Boston and moved back here to be with Kelsey is proof of that. And as much as I love my job, I’m beginning to see the appeal of kick-starting that dream I have of life in a small town with the woman I love.

Christ, did I just admit I love her?

I glance at Erin and see she’s smiling, teasing Beck’s dad about needing to find him a woman. She’s so animated and alive, her eyes sparkling as she starts to make him blush now. Just watching her makes my heart pound in my chest with want.

I knew when I first met her that there was something special about her. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful or that she had the balls to stand up to me, to push back when I deliberately tried to get a rise out of her. It was all the other things that went with her too. Her loyalty and love for her friends was amazing, as was her love for this town and all of the people in it. She might bitch about all the parents that corner her in the supermarket for a random parent-teacher conference, but I know she loves her job and would do anything for the kids she teaches. I know she’d make a fantastic mom, too.

Jesus christ, Ryan, I think to myself. I need to get a grip before I have her knocked up and wearing a ring. As much as that idea appeals to me, I promised her we’d take things slow, just see what happens. I get the feeling this is something that Erin needs, that with the things from her past that I know she’s not telling me, if I was to rush this or push harder, she’d run for the hills. She’s so guarded, only occasionally letting me see the vulnerable woman she can sometimes be like she did last night. And as much as I might want to know everything, the signs are all there telling me that I need to take this slow. And I will, because right now, I think I’d do just about anything for this girl.

“What are you thinking about?”

Erin whispers, her lips at my ear.

I grin as I pull her close, kissing her cheek before putting my mouth to her ear.

“I’m thinking about what happens when we get home tonight,”

I whisper, my lips brushing over her ear and making her shiver.

“About how I’m going to lay you out in front of that fireplace you have and take some of that left-over chocolate frosting I made and find a way to enjoy the two of you together.”

Erin presses against me as she lets out a soft moan. Her chest is pushed hard against mine and even though she’s wearing a thick sweater, I can feel her nipples, hard and tight, as they press against me.

“I think I’ll start by spreading it all over your skin,”

I say.

“All over your amazing tits, your thighs, your ass and your already sweet little pussy,”

I whisper, smiling as I feel her start to pant against me. “Then,”

I tease, my arm around her waist squeezing tighter.

“Then, I’m going to slowly lick it all off you.”

“Ryan,”

she groans, and I can see her eyes are half closed as though she’s drunk.

“What, baby?”

I ask, feigning innocence.

“You’re fucking killing me here.”

I laugh, kissing her before saying.

“Death by sex, what a way to go.”

Erin groans again and grabs my hand as she pulls me off the stool and toward the ladies’ room at the back of the pub.

“Where are you taking me, Red?”

I ask, grinning like an idiot as I follow her.

She shoots me a wickedly seductive look over her shoulder that nearly has me coming in my pants.

“The ladies’ room,”

she says, her eyes shining.

“You owe me big time for that little tease.”

I laugh as she pulls me inside and locks the door behind us.

“Anything you say, Red. Anything you say.”

When we finally emerge, Beck is all but laughing his ass off at us. Erin shoots him a wink as she smacks me on the ass and walks off to chat to Kelsey.

“Shit man, I’m gonna have to disinfect that bathroom with all the filthy shit you two do in there.”

I grin as I take a seat, accepting the beer he hands me.

“Don’t tell me you and Kelsey haven’t messed this place up after hours.”

“Whatever,”

Beck says, shrugging, even though the grin on his face tells me that’s exactly what they’ve done.

“So how’s work going?”

he asks, changing the subject.

Now it’s me shrugging. “I dunno,”

I admit.

“I really don’t know how you put up with all the bureaucratic bullshit, Beck. It’s killing me.”

Beck laughs as he takes another sip of beer.

“Welcome to senior management, my friend.”

“Yeah,”

I acknowledge.

“I mean don’t get me wrong, the extra pay and responsibility is great. But I didn’t become a cop to sit behind a desk or kiss someone’s ass in a pointless meeting or argue with HR about needing money for something they can barely pronounce, let alone know what to do with.”

I exhale hard, suddenly relieved at being able to get this stuff off my chest. I always knew it was going to be an adjustment, but somehow I didn’t think it would be this draining.

“Not to mention I’m not there, so of course it’s boring as batshit,”

Beck adds.

“Yeah, it is actually,”

I admit.

“I mean I get why you left and I’d never want you to give this up, but seriously, it’s no fun without you there.”

And it isn’t. It was hard enough losing my drinking buddy and friend, but losing my partner was hard too. Beck and I had worked together for as long as I could remember and it had always just worked. We knew how to read each other and knew exactly what a situation called for, without ever having to discuss it.

Beck smiles a little, a strange look on his face as he says.

“Maybe it’s time you made a change too.”

I turn to look at him, but he’s watching Kelsey, who’s talking to Erin, both of them laughing as they gesture wildly about something neither of us will ever understand. I’m about to say something about him being right, that as much as I haven’t wanted to admit it, it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. But then the girls catch us watching them, both of them smiling widely as they walk over and the moment is lost.