My Only Regret (Twisted Fate Book 1) (37 page)

"Yeah, better make it two, traffic was a bitch. Why the hell did you move all the way out here?" David grumbled, stomping into the kitchen because I wasn't moving fast enough.

David Garrison has been my best friend since grade school. He's been such a long-standing part of our family that we are more like brothers than best friends. The whole band is that way really. Stef is like my sister, and then Sam Cooper is our drummer, and that guy could win anybody over with his goofy grin and happy heart. Don't let him fool you though, he may be smiling on the outside but if you piss him off you better have fast legs because he'll knock you on your ass faster than you can blink an eye. He'll also be the first to extend his arm and help you back up. He's just an all-around great guy. Mom always says that she gave birth to two boys but God blessed her with five children. Everyone loves my parents, they are amazing people. Their home is always open to our friends, and there's always a place at the dinner table when they want to drop by. Mom always keeps the guy’s favorite snacks on hand, just in case.
 

When we were kids, all the guys wanted to hang out at our house because our parents were so cool, nothing seemed to faze them. When Dad caught us smoking pot behind the garage, he didn't freak out, he just reached over and took it from my hand and took a toke of his own and replied, "Good shit." One day, when I was seventeen and I thought my parents were gone for the afternoon, I'd brought Sheila Turner back to my room for a little oral gratification and she was going to town. I mean, that girl had a set of lips on her that had all the guys lining up, and she wasn't afraid to use them. I should know, I had benefitted greatly from her generosity. Anyway, Mom walked right in my room without knocking and caught Sheila finishing me off and all she said as she turned from the door was a crisp, "I just washed those sheets, don't spill a drop unless you want to stick around and do laundry."

Yeah, my parents rock.

"Stef says we're playing Theo's next week, that should be a good time. It's been awhile since we've been on that stage, kind of brings it all full-circle." David stated, knocking back half a bottle of beer in one swig. I studied him for a moment, taking in his gruff appearance. The guy had dark brown hair, but he kept it shaved off. With dark eyes hooded by heavy eyebrows, and bulging muscles, he could have easily passed as a body double for the actor, Vin Diesel.
 

"Yeah, Theo called and said that Waterboard bailed on him so he was scrambling at the last minute to find a local band that would pull in a crowd. I didn't even bother checking with you guys, I just told Stef to make the commitment. I figured it was cool, we love the crowd at Theo's. It's been too damn long since we've played there."

"So, you been bringing any hot babes back here to this fine pad?" He gestured his hand over the sparse surroundings as a smirk filled his face.

"No I haven't, smartass." I mumbled, hating to admit that I had been going through somewhat of a dry spell since leaving my brother's classy neighborhood. "But I needed to slow down anyhow. I haven't been sleeping well." It was only a slight exaggeration.

"Yeah, I don't usually get a lot of sleep when I've got a hot chick lying naked next to me either." He guffawed, taking the last pull on his beer and reaching for another. "So, where are we headed tonight?"

"Thought we'd pop over and play a few games of pool. Sound cool?" I walked over and grabbed my boots before sitting back down to slip into them.

“Works for me. Tyler and Sam meeting us at The Rack?" He asked, referring the our favorite pool hall located in the heart of the downtown district. We grew up hanging out there, waiting patiently for a chance to play pool like the grown ups. Now that we were older, we were the ones making the younger guys wait. Funny how times change like that.
 

I remember going there and watching this pool ace rack 'em up and drop 'em down. Big Mike was his name. No one could beat him. I must have gone there a hundred times just to study his mad skills. He was always quiet, but polite enough to fellow players and the waitresses. At first he seemed wary that I was always hanging around, but after awhile he would give me a nod of acknowledgement before taking everyone's money. Eventually that nod turned into him greeting me by name. One night after a big win he followed me out the door and started talking to me. Turned out he had a little brother about my age and he hadn't seen him in a long time. He'd joined the military after high school and once his service was up he never returned home. Seeing me damned near every day had made him realize just how much he'd missed his brother and they had finally reconnected the night before over the phone. He had made plans to return home the following week and wanted to take me out for a burger just to thank me. I was fourteen at the time and being able to spend that kind of time with someone his age was pretty cool. I still remember that being the best damn burger I've ever eaten. The following week I had walked in on my Dad as he was reading the paper and I saw that the headline read that a local veteran had been killed while visiting his hometown. Apparently, he had been trying to protect his younger brother from a group of drug dealers. A fight had taken place and one of them had followed them home and shot him in the back as he went in the house. Poor guy never knew what hit him. Still to this day I think of him when I walk through the doors at The Rack. Pete, the owner, kept a picture of Mike hanging over his favorite table and I always made a point of touching it before starting a game.

"Yep," I replied, looking at my phone to check the time and noting that I'd missed a text from Amber letting me know that she was in town and wanted to catch up. My thumb hovered over the text, debating whether or not to respond.

"So, we out of here or what?" He asked, impatiently, pulling me out of my own head.

"Yeah." I answered, opting to delete it without responding. "Let's do this." I grabbed my keys and slammed the door, stuffing my phone back into my front pocket and praying like hell I would forget I'd even read that damned text.

Two hours later we were knee-deep in booze and David was down a hundred bucks. The guy really ought to learn to stop playing for money, he loses every fucking time. I feel no remorse about taking his money, I learned from the best. I sat back on a stool that rested a few feet from the table we'd been occupying since we set foot in the room and propped my feet up on the edge of the table. David and Tyler were half-way through their game and Sam and I were taking a break, watching the action around us. The place was crowded tonight, mostly college guys hanging out and killing time before their next frat party. There were a few chicks, there always were, and most of us knew them by name, but not because we'd been with them. These chicks were different, they preferred to hang around and flirt with all the guys. Tonight there were a few new faces and I'd noticed Sam checking out one in particular.

I leaned in for a better view and threw him a casual glance over my shoulder. "She's hot." He gave a chin tip in response, never taking his eyes of the prize. "You should go talk to her."

"Yeah, and say what?" He gave me a look of pure helplessness. "I'm not smooth like you, or classy like David. I'm just a goofball."

"Hey, what about me?" Tyler called out before taking his next shot.
 

"You're married, that's different." Sam's face scrunched up like he couldn't even begin to conceive the concept of marriage.

"Hey, don't knock marriage, asswipe." Tyler sank a solid and leaned against the table.

"I'm not knocking it. It's just that you've already got the girl, you don't have to impress her anymore." Sam shrugged.

"So what, you think I can just go home every night and be lazy? You think just because she wears my ring I don't have to put in any effort. Fuck, man, you make it sound as if we're old and lame. I'll have you know I still have to work for it. Just because your married doesn't mean they put out every night. It's not a given, you know, you still have to romance the shit out of them, maybe more so after you're married."

"Fuck, remind me not to get married." David muttered under his breath. He took his shot and ended up knocking in one of Tyler's solids, thus losing another round.

"Someone should remind you that you don't know how to play fucking pool." I laughed, throwing my arm around his shoulder and rubbing his bald head.

"Fuck you," he groaned, throwing money down on the table to help cover the beer tab.

"No thanks, I'm saving myself for someone special." I winked at him.

"Yeah, what's up with that anyhow? You and celibacy don't really go together. What gives?" Tyler inquired, his eyes never leaving mine. I'd wondered how long it would take before they all started giving me a hard time. Fuck, they acted like I'd been having regular intercourse every day of my life since I'd first gotten lucky. Hardly, I've had many months were I didn't hook-up with anyone. No big deal, it was nice to take a break every now and then. Besides, I kept reminding myself how great that next time was going to feel after going so long without burying myself deep inside a beautiful woman.

"Just taking a much needed break, that's all." I replied, vaguely.

"I'm starting to worry about you little brother. I'm thinking maybe I should have let you take that mattress after all." He laughed, stepping back to dodge the kick of my steel-toed boot.

"Fuck off. I don't need your damn mattress. I'll get lucky when the time is right. Why the hell are you worrying about my sex life, you need to get your sorry ass home and win over your own woman before she breaks out her battery operated boyfriend." I chided him.

"She doesn't need any of that shit, she already calls me her energizer bunny." Tyler retorted, arrogantly, prancing around like a proud peacock.
 

"Oh, fuck me, I don't want that image in my head." David groaned, cuffing Tyler in the back of the head with his hand before taking a seat on the stool next to mine.

We sat back laughing, watching as another group stepped in and took over our table while we drank a few more rounds and shot the shit. At one point, I pulled out my phone to check the time and saw another text from Amber. I never even bothered reading it, I knew what she was offering. I deleted it and prayed that I wouldn't curse myself later when I had a raging hard on and the only option was for me to take care of things myself when she had so graciously offered to take care of it for me.

T
he rest of the weekend pretty much mimicked the pool hall and by the time Monday morning rolled around I needed a good run just to help flush all of the alcohol out of my system. I pounded out the first two miles before ending up at the park. I turned in and passed several joggers as I found my rhythm. When I run I throw in my earbuds and block everything else out. Half the time I don't even pay attention to the people around me. Today, however, I was having a hard time finding that zone and near the end of my ten miles I passed a blonde running towards me. Her form wasn't the greatest, but she wore those tight shorts and jogging bra like a fucking pro. Her long ponytail swayed as she passed and I couldn't help but turn my head in appreciation. She didn't appear to pay me any mind, but I sure as fuck noticed her. I shook my head and chuckled as my body took that opportunity to remind me of what I'd been missing.

Down boy.
I scolded my eager dick, before continuing down the path. I stole one last glance over my shoulder but she was nowhere to be found. She may have been out of sight, but she definitely wouldn't be out of mind. By the time I made it home and hit the shower my dick was still hard, only this time I had a new face to smile about as I took care of business, and trust me, by the time I was finished I was smiling like a fucking Cheshire cat.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Writing a book is a labor of love, an investment of your heart and time, and a sacrifice for many. I would not have survived this journey if I had to go it alone. There are many who have been on this adventure with me and I would like to take a moment to thank them.
 

My husband, Dan - The journey to get this book published has not been easy. A lot of changes have taken place and you have been right there with me, loving and supporting me through it all. You are my rock, my love, and my best friend. I'm grateful that you chose to do life with me. Twenty-five years later and I'm still crazy in love with you.

My children, Taylor and David - Thank you for always believing in me, even when I cried and doubted myself. Thanks for listening when I ramble on and on about my characters, and pretending to be interested even when I'm sure you just want me to shut up. I love you both so much!

My YpsiChicks: Shawn Miracle, Theresa Likert, Tracy Larsen, Lisa Helton, Cathy Griggs, and Jana Creps. Girls, what would I do without you! You have all known me from the beginning, you know my heart, and you know how much of myself I have poured into this story. You watched as the love between Jesse and Rhyann grew from what I had first conceived, to the story it evolved into. I hope it's one that you can all be proud of. Each one of you helped get it to where it is today! From the bottom of my heart I thank you. I love each and every one of you.

My Badass Betas: Lisa Smith Reid, Autumn Bronson, Mandy Sawyer, Rana Robinson, Thai Preyer, Kim Carr, Elisia Goodman, Susan Coffee, Ashley Robinson, Rebecca Nebel, Jamie Reinhardt. Ladies, thank you so much for taking a chance on a new author and giving me awesome feedback each time I sent you more edits. I am grateful for the lessons I have learned along the way and look forward to working with you on the next one!

Sandy - No last name is required because you know who you are, and how much you mean to me. I love you, sissy. You were there for me when I first created Jesse and Rhyann. You read the first sentence, and the last. You were there through the whole title creation, then the title change. From start to finish you have been there through it all, always beside me, always cheering me on. Your love and support mean everything to me. I wouldn't want to do this without you.