Page 16

Chapter 16

Emmy

I t was the end of another AA meeting and Eoghan helped again instead of socializing. I wished he would try to talk to people more afterwards instead of waiting off to the side until it was time to help me clean up.

Every once in a while, he would talk to a regular. But it always seemed like he held some of the distance and kept things very surface level. It was no wonder he didn't have many friends, he always exuded an aloof, standoffish vibe. While it wasn't intentional, it also made me curious why I was so different and how he could open up to me almost from the start.

I was still acting like his sponsor, and it felt more and more inappropriate.

We'd gone beyond just talking about our struggles to stay sober, to something far more intimate and even a bit more romantic. As much as I wanted to tell him to find his own sponsor, it was part of the process. I just needed him to open up a tiny bit more to everyone else or for an extrovert to adopt him. He needed another Scuba in his life to make him be social.

After the last person left the room, Eoghan stacked the chairs in the corner. He was always so good about helping to do that or to even clean up the waste that people left behind.

As I stacked the last chair, Eoghan had his hands tucked into his sweat pant pockets, which only seemed to highlight his package. Looking at his bulge seemed totally inappropriate at a church hall.

He didn't say anything but with the way he kept licking his bottom lip, it seemed like he was debating something. Not being able to wait any longer, I said, "Just spit it out."

"What makes you think I have something to say?" But the smirk on his face told me he totally had something on his mind. I just hoped it wasn't going to be something that would make me blush. I crossed my arms and stared him down until he continued on. "Fine, I need a favor."

That was unusual, since he was so private.

"Any chance you could check on my house and grab my mail when I'm on the road? Maybe be there when I get home?"

Given how flirty he had been since our first date, I had a feeling that he was trying to kill two birds with one stone.

I stepped close and wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered, "You mean in your bed, right?"

There was a flash of red that hit his face, but the blush only existed for a moment. While the blush vanished, his voice lowered. "That would be an added bonus and something to play for."

I loved how much it turned him on and I wanted to say yes to his request. However we had a major sticking point. He needed to find a sponsor and really should find a new AA group.

"Consider it done for the mail and shopping. But we can’t do anything that seems like dating until you find a new sponsor. Hell, we shouldn’t even be attending the same group if we’re dating. If you take those steps, then we can talk about being something more."

He pulled me tighter into him and nearly squeezed the life out of me. His lips pressed to mine ever so briefly. He must have remembered that we were in a church meeting room, so he stopped the kiss as quickly as it started.

I shouldn’t have liked the kiss as much as I did. It was one of those kisses that held hope and wanton desire. I just hoped that he took my wishes seriously since if that first kiss was that good, I wanted more.

When we broke apart, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small painted key. The fact it was in Legacy colors let me know whose it was even though it didn't have a keychain or label. Not wanting to lose such a precious item, I stuck it into a credit card slot that was on the back of my cellphone.

As I tucked my phone back into my pocket, I said, "This means you need to focus on finding a real sponsor. I can't be coming to your house for a booty call and be your stand in sponsor. You need to find someone asap."

"Fine, fine."

But given his cavalier attitude, I doubted he would search for a sponsor any harder than he had been. He needed to take his recovery seriously. I just had to stand firm on this point.