Page 9 of This Time Around

When I woke up, I was crushed. I couldn’t remember the name of the guy Andy called out in my dream, but I knew it wasn’t mine. It was then that I became truly convinced that Andy and I were through. I was determined to put our past behind us and move on without him, no matter what it took.

How much longer does Milo plan to punish me?Thwack thwack thwack.I knew he’d be a tough nut to crack, but seriously?Bam.Two-fucking-years?Thwack thwack thwack. Bam!Why couldn’t I just give up and find someone new? He wasn’t the only single guy around.Thwack thwack thwack.Why did just the thought of fucking someone else make me feel guilty? Hadn’t Milo proven he didn’t want me?Thwack thwack thwack.Not even my hammer pounding against lumber drowned out the wild beating of my heart in my ears.

Milo. I needed to do something about, with, or to him so we could get past this stalemate we found ourselves in since I returned home. Two.Thwack.Fucking.Thwack.Years.Bam!I drove the last nail into the stud and dropped the hammer through the loop of my toolbelt.

After our angry, alley sex, I tried showing him that I wanted the opportunity to get to know him all over again, but he continued to shun my every attempt.

Luckily for me, I had a skillset that he and Maegan needed when they bought the rest of the building they had leased for a few years. They wanted to knock down a wall and expand their space to include a bookstore. Maegan also wanted to add a door between the coffee shop and the space on the opposite side so she could open an antique store. There was a fourth space that they wanted to renovate and rent to their cute friend Memphis. I could tell I was the last person Milo wanted to work with, but he sucked it up. After several months of hard work, The Brew became Books and Brew, Curious Things was launched, and Memphis had the perfect setup for Vinyl and Villains, his record and comic book store.

Milo and I had remained civil, but never warmed up beyond the initial coolness of his greeting the first time he laid eyes on me. That is until he thought I might be interested in someone else. I would feel the heat of his gaze on me from across the room but could never catch him in the act when I turned my head in his direction. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him. What the fuck was I going to do about it? Milo clearly had no intention of even meeting me halfway. Did I give up too easily? Two years of craving him and wanting to feel his soft lips against mine. Twenty-four months of not hearing his greedy whimpers telling me he wanted me to fuck him harder. He drove me stark raving mad!

I thought I lost my chance to make inroads with Milo when the renovation projects ended, but Maegan and Milo surprised me with a new project proposal. They wanted to restore the second story above the shops to the apartments they used to be decades ago. Lucky for them, the space was still walled off into four decently-sized apartments, and they were still in reasonably good shape. There were no signs of water damage or anything that could negatively impact the integrity of the apartments or their wallets. It was more labor intensive than anything else, but I had the time and the will to pull it off.

Maegan, unlike Faith, seemed eager to throw her brother in my direction as often as she could. “Milo can pick the flooring,” she had said. “He’s better at that stuff than I am. I tend to design a space for me where he’ll keep things neutral.”

Milo was supposed to come up and pick a stain from the samples I brought. We discovered magnificent hardwood floors beneath the ratty, outdated carpet. Maegan and Milo saved a lot of money when I discovered that all the floors needed was a good sanding and fresh stain. Typical of Milo, he seemed to like dragging his feet to make me wait, but I had plenty of other things to do in the other three apartments that weren’t as far along as the first one. Still, I ran my hands through my damp hair in annoyance.Damn Milo!Why couldn’t I just move on from him? Why the fuck did I have to care if he wanted me or not? There were some hot, eligible bachelors in Blissville and the surrounding area, so why did I keep holding out hope? That realtor was sexy as fuck, and that new doctor looked extra bendy. Why couldn’t I obsess over someone I stood a chance of having?

“I see you’re still listening to the same crappy music,” Milo said loud enough for me to hear over the radio. The screaming guitars hadn’t drowned out my racing pulse either.

I jerked in surprise then crossed to the radio. Silence washed over the room when I shut it off. Could Milo hear my heart hammering in my chest from across the room? “What’s wrong with Guns N’ Roses?” I asked him.

Milo rolled his eyes for an answer. It was another reason I shouldn’t give a damn about what he thought. Anyone with as poor taste in music as him shouldn’t keep me up at night. I will never know what possessed me to do it, but I struck a Britney pose and started singing “Oops, I Did It Again” in a voice I thought sounded pouty and baby soft.

This time, Milo’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in shock. That lasted for all of two seconds before he doubled over laughing at me. Even more shocking than me busting out my Britney moves and singing was me crossing the room and kissing the smile off Milo’s lips when he stopped laughing.

Milo’s mouth was stiff against mine, and his body unyielding at first. Then he let out a long sigh, parted his lips, and melted against me. The kiss we shared wasn’t soft and sweet, it was long, hard, and angry. Our tongues met and dueled for dominance, my hands gripped his hair tight so that he couldn’t get away, and his fingers dug into the muscles of my lower back. Blood rushed to my dick, and I felt the answering need in him. Milo’s cock wasn’t the only thing that suddenly stiffened against me though.

He broke our kiss and took two big steps away from me. Milo covered his mouth in shock, blinking rapidly.

I took a step toward him. “Milo, I—” I stopped talking when Milo took another step back.

Then he lowered his hand and stared at me in disbelief. “Why’d you do that?” he asked accusingly.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You just walk across the room and kiss someone without knowing why? Is this a regular occurrence with you?”

“It was a kiss, Milo.”

“It felt like more than a kiss, Andy. If we were… If you and I were…” He just shook his head, unable to put his thoughts into words.

“If we were dating? If you and I were a couple?” I suggested.

Milo shook his head, but what else could he possibly have said there? “I don’t know what I was about to say, but I know what I want to say now. Andy, our ship has sailed. We had our chance when we were younger, and it didn’t work out. I see no reason—”

“Bullshit,” I snapped out angrily. “Your eyes and body are telling me something completely different.”

“I think I heard a serial rapist use that line last night on the ID channel,” Milo shot back.

I jerked like he slapped me.Serial rapist?That’s where I ranked with him. Milo’s blue eyes widened from shock and regret over his word choices, but it was too late. The damage was already done. “Don’t worry, Milo. It won’t happen again.”

“Good.”

“Great. You want to pick out the stain for the hardwood floors or not?”

“I think I’ll leave it up to you,” Milo answered softly. “You’ve made great decisions up to this point.”

“Oh, I can think of a recent one I’d really like to take back right about now.”