Page 1 of This Time Around

Coming home isn’t always easy, especially after being gone for twelve years. Times change, and so do people and their attitudes. Sometimes that’s good, and sometimes it’s not. Growing up in a small town has its highs and lows, but that can be said for all communities. I’d been blessed to live in both small towns and big cities and saw the advantages and disadvantages of both. Neither one was right or wrong; just different. A person had to decide what works for them and not worry about what everyone else thinks.

I left Blissville with big dreams and an even bigger ego. As the first kid from my high school to receive a full ride scholarship to play college baseball, or any sport for that matter, I was certain it would lead to incredible opportunities. In my high school, I was the big fish in the little pond. I was destined for greatness, just ask anyone in town.

When I arrived at my college in Louisville, Kentucky, I became a little fish in a giant pond. The other fish were faster and stronger than I was. I had to make big sacrifices if I wanted playing time on the field, and it came with a price I hadn’t been prepared to pay. I had to give up the one thing that was true in my life: Milo Miracle.

I’d heard from my sister, Faith, who’s also Milo’s best friend, that he and his twin sister, Maegan, had opened a coffee shop in our hometown called The Brew. She’d told me it had fast become one of Blissville’s favorite places to hang out, which I saw firsthand after I worked up the courage to stop in when I drove into town mid-morning on a Monday. I figured that Faith would’ve warned Milo that I was moving back home, but his wide-eyed expression when he saw me said otherwise.

I’d even go so far to say that Milo was furious. His eyes slowly roamed over my body where I stood in the rear of the coffee shop. When Milo’s eyes met mine again, the only emotion I saw was cool indifference. He didn’t stomp off angrily like he would have when we dated in high school, but I could feel his desire to do so from across the room. I was glad that some things hadn’t changed, even if I had to look harder to realize that he hid his passionate nature behind an aloof mask.

Milo’s spirit was one of his most attractive qualities, and I would hate to think that time or circumstances had doused his bright flame. Milo buried his emotions and focused on taking care of his customers. I noticed that became harder for him to do the closer I got to the front of the line.

“Long time no see,” I said lamely when I stood in front of him.

I saw Milo’s jaw clench, but he remained calm. “What would you like today?”

“To talk to you after your shift is over,” I said softly. The young, self-confident version of myself that Milo knew would’ve asked for his phone number or said I wanted to take him to dinner. I lost that swagger years ago when I struck out swinging at the three-two curveball life threw at me. I wanted to see how far I could push Milo. I wanted him to unleash everything he felt so we could get it out in the open and deal with it, but I wouldn’t win his forgiveness by embarrassing him in front of his customers.

Milo’s only reaction was to blink as he waited for my order.

“Welcome home, Andy,” Maegan said, greeting me with a friendly smile. “For good, I hope.”

“That’s the plan.” Did Milo soften slightly when he heard my intentions, or was that wishful thinking on my part? Did it even matter? Twelve years was a long time apart, and what did I know about the man he’d become? I certainly wasn’t the same person he used to know. I sure as hell wanted to relearn everything about him though because twelve years did nothing to diminish the way my heart and body reacted to the sight of him.

“Your coffee selection?” Milo asked, irritation creeping into his voice. He nodded to the line behind me, letting me know I was holding things up.

“Uh, yeah. I’ll take the chai latte.”

Milo raised one perfectly groomed brow. I liked that I surprised him with my drink choice. “Size?”

“Big,” I replied, unable to stop myself. “Very big.” So maybe I hadn’t lost all my swagger, or maybe it was the guy looking at me that made me feel bolder.

Milo’s face turned as red as a beet. It seemed he remembered things about me too. “We have a size queen in our midst,” he whispered sassily. “Coming right up.”

“Don’t spit in it,” I jokingly said after he turned his back to me.

Milo pivoted slowly, regarding me through narrowed, midnight-blue eyes. “A person would have to feel really strongly about another to evoke such a reaction. I assure you, that isn’t the case here. One ‘very big’ chai latte coming right up.” Yeah, he used adorable air quotes and rolled his eyes.

I could see that Milo wasn’t going to make my homecoming an easy one, but I wasn’t deterred. Instead, I wanted to find ways to rile him up until he lost that cool veneer.

The minutehewalked into The Brew, I felt a crackle in the air that meant someone special had just entered my life. I glanced up from taking my customer’s order in search of the man sent to cure all that ailed me and locked on to familiar light-blue eyes that I had adored for as long as I could remember.

Just great. Andy Fucking Mason is back in town.I shouldn’t have cared, but I did. It wasn’t like he had never returned home after graduating high school, he just seemed to do it in stealth mode to avoid running into me. It seemed that his days of hiding were over.

Ha! Apparently,specialwas synonymous with a swift kick in the balls, because the man whoreenteredmy life wasn’t there tocureme; he was there to torture me with his sexy presence and remind me of every moment that I had missed him.Fucking asshole.He had some nerve to smile like he was happy to see me. Note to self: kill Faith Mason for not warning a bitch that her sexier-than-sin brother was back in town to wreak havoc and turn my world upside down.

I got angrier and angrier with every erratic beat of my heart, but I wouldn’t run away from the very public confrontation Andy wanted to have with me. I worked hard to keep my face a mask of pleasantness as my brain spun with so many things I wanted to say, and my body betrayed me with a dick that got happier and harder the closer Andy got to the front of the line. Luckily, the apron I wore hid the way my body reacted to him. I wanted to slug him, demand answers, and ride his cock all at the same time. I’d never hit another person in my life, so that part was out of the question. The other two? Well, they were still viable options.

Then Andy stood in front of me, and all my emotions fled, except anger. How dare he smile and look at me like I was a pastry he could devour with a cup of coffee? Twelve damn years and not a single phone call, text, or email. I could tell he wanted a happy reunion, but I wasn’t going to give it to him.

The confrontation that followed was filled with my pissy attitude and Andy’s attempt at humor with his laid-back charm. I wasn’t interested in a reconciliation until he apologized for being an asshole for twelve years.

I wanted to call Faith and demand an explanation as to why she didn’t give me a warning, but I knew the answer. Faith had decided she was Switzerland, neutral and peace-loving, when it came to Andy and me. She loved us both and refused to choose sides or give either of us up. I was grateful for that because I couldn’t imagine a world without Faith in it, and I’d never ask her to turn her back on her big brother, no matter how dickhead-ish he was. So, I just let the urge to call her pass and found ways to keep my mind occupied while I internally dealt with the new development.

I held on to that anger long after he left, and it kept me moving for the rest of the day. I stayed after hours to deep clean the shop after everyone else left, hoping to work off some of my frustrations. Maegan and a few others offered to stay and help, but I declined. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts and rage. By the time I finished, it was pitch black outside, and all the other businesses on the block were closed. I’d finally reached the exhausted, numb state I had craved by the time I stepped into the alley behind the shop where I’d parked my car that morning. The cool spring air kissed my heated skin and revitalized my spirit.

“Milo.”Hisvoice came out of the darkness and scared me so bad I nearly pissed down my leg.

I gasped and spun around, heart in my throat and anger raging through my blood. “Damn you, Andy!”