Read Online We Shouldn't and Yet... by Stephanie Witter - Free Book Online

least.
     
    ***
     
    JENSEN
     
    I walk in Q’s bar and immediately, before my eyes get accustomed to the dimmer lighting in here, I see Aideen. She’s at the bar, eating and sipping a beer while peeking at her phone every few bites. Instantly, my cock hardens and I get mad. A few minutes earlier, I received a text from Cassie, a graphic and dirty text, and my cock behaved. There hadn’t been a slightest twitch in my pants, but now watching this young woman eating a burger and fries with her fingers and I’m rock hard. Maybe I should go back to seeing a counselor at the vet center. There’s something wrong with me. I mean, something more wrong than I already know.
    “Hey, fucker, are you going to stand there all afternoon?’’ Q’s voice booms in the relatively quiet bar.
    “Shut up.’’ I walk to the bar, conscious of Aideen’s eyes now on me. I take the stool next to hers and give her a nod. “Give me a burger. I’m starved.’’
    “Long morning?’’
    I nod and absentmindedly touch my cheek bone. I cringe when it’s obvious that there’s going to be a bruise. The skin is tender with the lightest touch. “Some idiot punk tried to steal a video game.’’
    “You work in security?’’ Aideen asks softly, her eyes on my cheek bone, a soft frown on her pretty face. She looks too darn cute for her own good.
    I swallow thickly as Q puts a tall glass of homemade lemonade—his wife isn’t the best cook which explains why she doesn’t work with him, but she makes a mean lemonade—and I take an endless sip. “Yes, at the mall. I also give a few self-defense classes at the fitness center close to the library.’’
    “That’s great.’’
    “What, you thought I was just a drunk who doesn’t know what to do with himself?’’ My voice sounds snappier than intended, but I can’t help the annoyance I feel whenever someone is surprised that I’m not just some lowlife. And coming from her, it stings even more.
    “No, I expected you to work with bikes since you seem to have some deep rooted affection for yours.’’ She polishes off her plate with a vengeance before she offers a smile to Q and grabs her purse, looking for her wallet or something and ignoring me completely.
    “Told you,’’ he stops her, holding a hand up. “It’s on the house.’’ He winks at her and she smiles back, her shoulders relaxing as she jumps down from her stool.
    We both watch her walk away for a second until I feel a punch in my good shoulder. I glare at my oldest friend, ready to lash out.
    “Fucker, you could have been nicer to her.’’
    “You have a wife, remember?’’ I show him my bare ring finger.
    “I’m not hitting on her, J.’’ Q glances around us and leans closer to me. “Why do you care if I was?’’
    “Maybe because I like your wife and I don’t want to see her hurt.’’ I narrow my eyes on him, daring him to hint at what we both know is the truth. I’m fucking jealous.
    “Bull.’’
    I clench my jaw, fish a few bills and slam them on top of the bar next to the lemonade I’ve barely touched. “Fuck off, Q.’’
    I stand up and run out. I won’t admit it, but I want to catch her before she leaves. I’m sure I need to apologize or something, but most of all, I want to talk to her. Make small talk, have an opportunity to look in her eyes, to do something. Anything .
    She’s already in her car. I jog and knock on her window before her car comes to life. She startles and her eyes widen when she sees it’s me. She opens her window, her frown back and her mouth pursed.
    “If you have something to say, hurry. I want to grab my stuff and be out of your hair before tonight. That way, you won’t be subjected to my judgmental temperament.’’
    I close my hands into fists. My heart lurches in my chest and my blood suddenly runs cold. Even the heat of a typical summer day doesn’t warm me. Fuck me . “What do you mean? You’ve got a place?’’
    “I do.’’
    I force my fingers to