Maybe This Time (25 page)

“Summer, can
we talk, please?” he begs. His voice contains something I haven’t
heard in it before, and I frown wondering what it might be.
Remorse? Guilt? No, it’s
fear
.

“I’m tired,
Reid, I just want to sleep. I’m sure your new girlfriend would love
to see you, though,” I call out, making a grunting noise at my own
comment. I hear a tap against the door, and then a sliding noise. I
wait ten minutes, and I know he’s still there, so I can’t even
sleep.

“Reid, what
are you doing?” I ask.

“I’m gonna sit
here and wait for you to talk to me,” he says. Stubborn man.

“Go home,
Reid.”

“No.”

“I don’t want
you,” I say, frustrated.

“Yeah, well, I
want you enough for the both of us,” he replies calmly.

“I hate you,”
I tell him.

“No, you
don’t, you only wish you did because I’m an asshole.” He's an
asshole, alright.

“If you love
me, you'll just leave me alone.”

Silence. Then,
“That’s bullshit. I do love you, more than anything, and that’s why
I’m not gonna give up.”

“If this is
how you love someone, by leaving them and cheating on them, then I
want no part of your love,” I yell, my voice cracking.

I hear him
curse. “Please open the door,” he rasps. I groan and get up,
unlocking the door. Seeing him sitting down on the floor doesn’t
make me feel good at all.

“Get up,
Reid.” I say before turning and heading back to bed. He stands up
and comes into my room, closing the door behind him. I watch as he
sits down on the bed, and his hand reaches up to touch my face.

“I was worried
about you,” he says quietly.

“Why? It’s not
like I left for a month with no word,” I snap at him.

He breaks eye
contact, looking down at his feet. “I was hurting.”

“Yeah, well,
so was I.”

“I reacted
badly, beauty, I’m fucking sorry, okay,” he says, turning his head
back to look at me. He looks sorry, his eyes are sincere, but does
it really matter?

“You came to a
bar, where you know I work, and had a woman on your lap, making out
with her with roaming hands. If I did that to a guy in front of
you, how would you feel?” I ask.

His jaw
clenches and his eyes harden. “I would seriously hurt whoever the
bastard was.”

“Yeah, well, I
don’t do shit like that to you, Reid.”

“I was drunk,
I’d just seen Mia and she told me things…” he trails off. I can
only imagine what Mia had told him. “My head was messed up.”

“And I get
that. But things don’t always go how we want them, are you gonna
react like this every time a problem arouses?”

“Baby, finding
out my baby brother was sleeping with my ex-girlfriend and River is
his, not mine, isn’t just a problem. It’s more than that,” he
growls, letting his emotions take over.

“You’re
right,” I admit. “I guess I’m just scared now.”

“I’ll do
everything I can to prove to you I’m right for you. No one will
ever love you like I do, baby, because it’s just not possible. I
wanted to do some huge romantic gesture for you, to say sorry, but
I’m really not a candles and rose petals kind of guy,” he cringes
as he says the last few words. “But you know that about me, and you
love me anyway. So I was hoping,” he swallows heavily. “I was
hoping, you would give me another chance. I won’t lose you, Summer.
I can’t.”

He takes my
hand into his, and threads our fingers together.

His large hand
enveloping my small.

“I kissed that
girl in the bar. I didn’t even know who she was. And then when I
woke up in the morning, she was next to me in the bed,” he says. I
gasp and pull my hand out of his.

“You f-”

“Let me
finish, baby. We were both fully dressed and I spoke to her,
nothing happened. I promise. She said we came home and passed out
because I was drunk. The only thing we did was what you saw in the
bar, and I know that that’s bad enough, because it would absolutely
kill me so see you be like that with someone else, but it didn’t go
any further than that,” he says.

I curse. “I
don’t know if I can trust you anymore.”

“Give me a
chance to prove myself. I know I’ll have to work for it, and I’m
willing to do anything I can,” he pleads softly.

“What about
River?” I ask, biting my bottom lip.

He looks at me
strangely. “I love River. He’s my nephew, and I’m still gonna be in
his life. I’m gonna take care of him.”

“Good,” I
whisper.

“I don’t
expect you to forgive me right now, but at least let me know you'll
give me a chance to make it up to you,” he says, placing his hand
gently on the side of my face. I don’t answer, but move aside for
him to hop into the bed. I can’t make any promises, so I won’t. His
eyebrows go up and I know he was sure I was gonna kick his ass out.
He smiles sweetly, and hops into the bed. With an arm around my
waist he pulls me in close to his body. I know we could both use
the rest, because we both look like crap right now.

“I’m so in
love with you, Summer. I don’t think that will ever change,” he
says into my hair.

My eyes close
as I fall into deep sleep.

I wake up
groggily, feeling like I didn’t sleep at all. Sitting up in the
bed, I rub my eyes, and then stretch lazily.

“Morning,” I
say, when I see Reid sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the
wall. He’s taken his shirt off, and is wearing nothing but his
jeans. The muscles on his back flex as he stands up, but he still
doesn’t face me.

“What’s
wrong?” I ask. I grab my phone and check the time. Holy shit, I’ve
been asleep for five hours. He finally turns to face me. He looks
stricken, and a little pissed off.

“What is it,
Reid?” I demand.

“Your phone
rang and I answered it,” he grinds out.

“Okay? And?” I
ask, shaking my head in confusion.

“It was Quinn.
Asking if you got home okay,” he says. I pretend I don’t see his
clenched fists or set jaw.

“Really, well,
that was nice of him,” I say, getting out of bed.

“That’s all
you’re gonna say?”

“Yeah, pretty
much.”

“You went and
spent the night with your ex?” he asks, and the flash of pain on
his face is my undoing.

“Could you
blame me if I did?” I ask quietly.

“No, I guess
not. But it still hurts,” he admits, exhaling deeply.

“Yes, I saw
him. Nothing happened. We just hung out,” I say.

“Thank fuck,”
he mutters, taking me into his arms, almost squashing me. “The
thought of someone else touching you. Fucking hell, beauty, you
drive me crazy.”

“The feeling
is entirely mutual, trust me,” I say dryly.

“Good to
know,” he says, a faint smile making an appearance.

“You going
home now?” I ask.

“Yeah, you
wanna come with me? Ryan’s been calling non-stop,” he says,
sounding a little unsure.

“Using your
brother as a weapon, huh?” I tease.

“I’ll use
anything and everything I can to get what I want, you know that,”
he says, smirking.

“And I’m what
you want?”

“Always.”

“Okay, let me
have a shower first,” I say.

“Okay?” he
repeats.

“Yeah, okay,”
I say, offering him a small grin.

I start to
walk down the hall, and turn back to find him leaning against the
wall, smiling.

A woman walks
out of Ryan’s room, a smile on her pouty lips. Ryan walks out
behind her, his face lighting up when he sees me.

“You’re
back.”

“I am.”

“Good,” he
says, leaning in to kiss me.

“Who knows
where those lips have been, Ryan Knox,” I say, making a face.

Ryan and Reid
laugh, while the woman makes a stealthy exit. “Glad you two sorted
your shit out, babe.”

“Well, we’re
working on it,” I say, smiling up at the both of them.

“Good, give
him hell,” he says, smirking. Reid slaps him on the back of the
head. “I gotta get to the bar. You coming in tonight, Summer?”

“Yeah, I’ll
come in for a few drinks,” I say.

“Perfect.” He
grabs a green apple from the fruit bowl and taking a huge bite out
of it, then points it at me. “I’ll see you later, then.”

Ryan leaves,
and I look at Reid who is already watching me. “What are you
staring at?” I ask playfully.

“You. We’ve
never had make up sex before,” he says, sinking his teeth into his
bottom lip. His gaze roams my body, my tight black top and short
denim skirt.

“Is that
right?” I ask.

“Yeah, and
baby, I really want under that skirt,” he says in a low, husky
tone. He stares at my thighs and licks his lips. I start walking
backwards, backing away to the bedroom. Stalking me like prey, Reid
grins. “You wanna play, do you, beauty?”

Without
answering, I run to his room, laughing when he catches me around my
waist and lifts me in the air.

“Missed you so
much,” he says in between kisses. “So fucking much.”

“Missed you,
too.”

“Nothing
compares to this, to you,” he growls, kissing me deeply.

“Show me how
much you missed me,” I demand, lifting my hips up so he can pull
off my skirt.

“Oh, I’ll show
you,” he growls, tearing my panties off. Well, that’s a first.
Pulling his shirt off, he tosses it on the floor. I stare at him
hungrily, my eyes devouring his chiselled body.

“You keep
staring at me like that, you better be in the mood for rough,” he
says huskily, nibbling on his lip. I tilt my head, flashing him a
come hither smile, and watch as he leans on the bed, cupping my
face with his hands.

“You want
this?” he asks, kissing my lips. While his lips consume mine, his
fingers roam. My hips buck when he starts caressing me in the
perfect spot.

“You know I
do,” I respond breathily. He pulls down his pants and slides into
me slowly, savouring the pleasure. When he’s fully inside me, he
thrusts a few times, then rolls onto his back so I’m straddling
him.

“Fuck me,” he
growls, and I comply eagerly. Lifting my hips, I slide up and down.
I lift my head back and lean my arms on his thighs, using them as
an anchor. He curses as I start to move faster, grinding down on
him in a sensual rhythm. His fingers dig into my hips, urging me
faster. We finish together, our eyes locked together as each wave
of pleasure hits.

It turns out
although I hate fighting with Reid, I really love the make-up
sex.

“Thanks for
telling him the truth, Jade, cos there’s no way in hell I could
have,” I tell her, running my finger through the frost on the
outside of the glass.

She looks down
into her own drink. “It was hard. It was fucked up. But I had to do
it, it was eating me alive,” she admits.

I nod, because
I felt the same way. “So, you and Silas, huh?”

She grunts.
“Something like that.” Sounds like there’s more to that story.

I lift my
drink up at Tag, signalling that I need a refill. He grins and
starts to pour me another.

“So, you and
Reid, even after his performance the other night,” she says,
lifting a blonde, finely arched brow.

“Something
like that,” I repeat her words. “We still have a lot to work out.”
And we do. We need to rebuild the trust in our relationship. But
he's up to the task, and so am I.

“Reid still
going to fight Silas?” she asks. Good question.

“Not if I have
anything to do with it,” I answer. She’s about to reply when we see
a woman walk into the bar.

She is
possibly the hottest woman I have ever seen in my life. Curly
chocolate brown hair, green eyes and olive skin, she looks like she
might have a mixed heritage. Her body is shapely and feminine, with
a tiny waist and gently flared hips. She's a knock out.

I watch as she
storms up to Ryan, anger evident in her tight expression and quick
paced steps. Ryan scowls when he sees her, and walks around the
bar, pulling her into a corner. They have a hushed argument, where
I assume Ryan says something stupid, because she slaps him across
the face before she walks out. Ryan stands there, looking stunned
and angry, rubbing his cheek.

“Who was
that?” I ask, wide eyed.

Jade looks as
stunned as I do. “I don’t know, but I hope she comes back.”

Reid and Tag
are laughing their asses off at Ryan. Ryan walks into the office
and slams the door. Interesting. I’ve never seen a girl get him
riled up before, or make him show any emotion. He’s nothing but
charming in their presence, at all times.

Reid walks
over and sits down next to me.

“Ryan needs to
wife that woman.”

He gives me a
funny look, taken aback. “Why do you say that?” His tone is
curious.

“Did you see
her? She’s fucking hot!”

Reid laughs.
“Not as hot as you, baby, trust me.”

It’s true.
Love is blind.

“You wanna get
out of here?” he asks, holding his hand out to me.

“Yeah, I
do.”

“Good, I have
plans for you tonight,” he says, his eyes twinkling.

“Just for
tonight?”

“For every
night, baby.”

I like the
sound of that.

“River, the
movie’s started!” I call out. River runs into the lounge room,
holding his new toy Reid bought him.

“What movie
are we watching Aunty Summer?” he asks in his cute little
voice.

“Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles,” I say, handing him some popcorn.

“Again?” he
asks, frowning.

I laugh. “We
can change it if you like.”

Reid walks in
and smiles at the two of us sitting there.

“Uncle Reid!”
River calls out. He loves Reid.

The last few
years have been amazing. Reid and I worked hard on our
relationship, and we're stronger than ever. He never did fight
Silas, or anyone else ever again. He still trains to keep fit,
though, and there’s no way I’m gonna complain about that.