Rebound, Page 5

  For once, I believed in fate.

  7

  Five Years Later

  “What’s wrong?” Fiona asked after she set her purse down on the kitchen counter.

  I’d been sitting at the table, staring out the window for an hour in total disbelief. Never in a million years did I think I’d be debating going back to Florida. “Nothing, baby. Come here and give me a kiss.” I held out an arm, waiting for her to come to me.

  She walked slowly, staring at me cautiously with every step. “I can tell something is off. Just tell me. Did I do something wrong, love?”

  I smiled, slowly shaking my head as I curled her into my side. “Fiona,” I said, brushing my nose against the tiny patch of skin on her arm, “I can never be mad at you.”

  She ran her fingers through my hair, slowly raking her fingernails against my scalp. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Sam.”

  I pulled her closer, wrapping both of my arms around her waist and resting my head against her stomach as she stood between my legs. “Thomas called.”

  “Oh.” Her body stiffened slightly in my arms and her hand stilled. “What did he want?”

  Mindlessly, I stroked the smooth skin of her back after I slid my hands underneath her shirt. “He offered me a job.”

  “And?”

  “And, what?”

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing, Fi. I told him I couldn’t, and he told me to think it over and get back to him.” I nuzzled her stomach, inhaling her scent and letting it soothe me. Fiona had become my place of calm in the last year. When life seemed to be going haywire, only she could bring me back to center and wash away any panic I felt.

  Slowly, her hand began to work through my hair in long, broad strokes. “Do you miss it?”

  I looked up at her in confusion. “Miss what?”

  “The guys. I know you were close to them.”

  Even though it was hard to admit, I did miss them. Often they were tools, but it was almost like being the little brother. I had grown used to them harassing me. Getting a call from Thomas was like an invitation back into the family. No matter what shit went down between us or with his sister, he still wanted me around. “I miss them sometimes, yeah.”

  “Do you want to say yes?”

  I didn’t know how to answer the question. Would she think that all I wanted was to be near Izzy again? Fiona knew my history, the love I’d had for Izzy Gallo, and how that led me to her. But hopefully over the last year I had showed her how much I loved only her. “A small part of me does.”

  She smiled and moved to sit in my lap. She wrapped her arm around my neck and began to stroke my shoulder. “If you want to go back, I’ll go with you.”

  My eyebrows shot up and I was completely caught off guard by her words. “You would?”

  She nodded quickly. “As long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we are.”

  “Fiona, you can’t mean that.” I held her face in my hand and stared into her eyes, studying her. “I know how much you love New Orleans.”

  “I do, but I want you to be happy too.”

  “I am happy here.” It wasn’t a lie. I was happy in New Orleans—more because I was with Fiona than at my surroundings. But living in New Orleans and visiting as a tourist were two very different things.

  “Listen,” she said softly, pushing her face into the palm of my hand. “I don’t have any family here besides you. But you, you have a family in Florida that you’ve left behind.”

  “I could never ask you to leave your job.”

  Her small fingers brushed against my five-o’clock shadow. “You didn’t ask; I’m offering.”

  My thumb stroked her cheek, touching the edge of her mouth. “It’s a big step, and I like our life.”

  “We can make a life anywhere, Sam.”

  I leaned in, placed my lips on hers, and kissed her gently. “As long as you’re with me, I’m a happy man,” I said against her mouth.

  “I think we should do it.”

  I pulled back and held her face in my hands. “You do?”

  She nodded. Her smile touched the tips of my thumbs. “Yes.” She turned, straddling me fully and pushing her lips against mine.

  I breathed her in, wrapping my arms around her and holding her tightly. This was the thing I loved about Fiona. She never had demands of me, nor did I of her. Things were just easy with us.

  If she was willing to go with me back to Florida, I was more than ready to go home. My family had missed me, and with my parents growing older each day, I felt like I should be there for them.

  It was time to go back to my life and stop running away from the past.

  8

  Problems…

  “We have to get some shit straight.” James didn’t hide his anger toward me.

  I didn’t think he’d welcome me with open arms, but after all this time, I didn’t expect the hostility. “Shoot.” I figured I’d let him blow off some steam and spew his macho bullshit while I paced around the living room.

  Fiona and I had spent the last week packing up our small New Orleans apartment. We had another week before she could leave the city after putting in her two weeks at the hospital. But being a nurse, a week equaled only three more days of work before we headed toward the Sunshine State.

  “I want you to stay away from Izzy.”

  “Why?” I asked, pausing from the pattern I had started to wear into the hardwood floor.

  “Cause you’ve done enough damage. We’re in a good place and—”

  “Hold it right there, James,” I said, interrupting him and figuring it was the perfect time to set his ass straight. “Izzy and I have been friends for most of our lives. No matter what happened in the past, we’ll always be friends. I’m at a really good place in my life. I’m in love with an amazing woman, and I’d never do anything to jeopardize my relationship with her.”

  “Good,” he mumbled.

  “So whatever issue you have, or whatever you think will happen when I come back, put it out of your mind. I’d never do anything to get between you and Izzy. I realized a long time ago that she never loved me. In all honesty, when I met Fiona, I realized that I’d never really loved Izzy the way I should. She wasn’t my forever. Fiona is the person I was meant to be with.”

  “Fine.”

  “What the fuck are you so worried about, man?”

  “I’m not. I just don’t think I’ve ever forgiven you for putting her life in danger.”

  I sighed and started pacing again. “I know I fucked up. I was an idiot for bringing her around the club, but if it weren’t for my fuckup, you probably wouldn’t be married to her right now.”

  I’d thought about it a million times since the day I realized Izzy was in love with him. I put them together. My idiotic move of bringing her to Bike Week placed her right in James’s hands. I didn’t regret a moment, though. Without those events, I wouldn’t have Fiona in my life.

  I know, in James’s book, he “won” Izzy. But there was never a competition. She wasn’t a prize I was meant to win. “Whatever issue you think we have, you need to get the fuck over it.”

  “You have to put yourself in my shoes, Sam.”

  “I have. I can’t change what’s happened in the past, James. What’s done is done. I want to move forward. I have the love of a good woman, and all I want to do is come home and be part of a team again. If you don’t want me there, tell me now and I’ll make other plans.”

  “No.” He breathed hard into the phone. “We need you.”

  I laughed. “That was hard to say, wasn’t it?”

  “Don’t be a chump.”

  “I can see you’re still a cocky bastard.”

  “Just get your ass settled and stop in the office when you get to town.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “I’ll let Thomas know.”

  I wasn’t about to tell him I’d already spoken to Thomas. James and I would always have a tense relationship, and I was trying not
to rock the boat. Eventually, we would have to work our shit out and put it to bed forever. I wasn’t about to let him hold shit over my head for my entire life.

  “Thanks, man. I gotta run.”

  “I have to go feed the kids.”

  “See ya soon,” I said right before he disconnected the call.

  The thought of Izzy as a mom had my head reeling. She was probably supermom and ultraprotective. I’m sure having twins changed her. It had to, after all. The funniest part of it was that God graced her with boys.

  Before I could set my phone down, Fiona texted me.

  Fiona: Meet me on Bourbon after work.

  Although we lived within walking distance, we rarely spent time among the tourists. So her request was out of the ordinary, but I’d meet her anywhere she asked.

  Me: I’ll be there at 9. Where?

  Fiona: Where we first met.

  The thought of going back to where we began brought a smile to my face. When I thought I’d hit my lowest point, Fiona entered my life and changed everything.

  I texted Thomas, letting him know I’d be in the office in a week. The wheels of change were moving, and Fiona and I were about to start a whole new life. But first, I wanted to relive our first night together.

  * * *

  I sat on the same barstool I had last year and waited for Fiona. The bar was crowded, but it was every night, I’m sure. It was a hangout not only for tourists, but it was also a great place to listen to local musicians. Tonight was no exception.

  “Is this seat taken?” Fiona asked from behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder at her and smiled. “I’m saving it for my woman.”

  She touched her bottom lip with her index finger, and her cheeks turned pink before she smiled. “She must be very lucky.”

  I shook my head, slowly turning in my seat. “I’m the lucky one,” I said, pulling her between my legs and snaking my hand around her waist as I studied her face. “I never knew what love was until she sat next to me.”

  She rested her hand on my shoulder, slowly stroking my neck with her thumb. “She sounds amazing.”

  “She’s everything.”

  Fiona leaned forward and kissed me. “If you’re a good boy, maybe you’ll get lucky tonight.”

  I smirked against her lips. “I plan on it.”

  She backed away and gawked at me. “You do?”

  “I plan to get her tipsy, fuck her here, and then head to my favorite fortune-teller.”

  “Oh, you don’t believe in that nonsense, do you?”

  “Let me buy you a drink and explain why I believe every word.” I patted the stool next to me before she took a seat.

  After a few drinks, I couldn’t help but look around the bar, filled with nostalgia. This was where Fi and I began. The very spot where I started to live again. “Aren’t you going to miss this?” I asked, using my Hand Grenade to motion toward the reflection of the crowd in the mirror behind the bar.

  “Nah.” She shook her head. “We can always visit when we miss it.”

  “So many great memories, babe.”

  “I wouldn’t change a thing. You know?”

  “Yeah.” I knew what she meant. We’d talked about it before. All the bad shit we went through in our lives brought us to each other. If one thing had gone differently, we wouldn’t be together.

  “So how about that fuck?” she asked, brushing her fingertips against my neck where they had rested for the last ten minutes.

  I leaned forward, watching her eyes try to focus on me when I moved. One Hand Grenade was her usual limit, but tonight she was halfway through her second. “You want it, Fiona?”

  “Yes.” Her voice was breathy and filled with need.

  Reaching between her legs, I slowly ran my hands up her inner thighs, resting them near her panty line. The sundress she was wearing would make fucking her in the bathroom a breeze. Our backs were to the crowd, and the bar in front of us would give us privacy for what I’d planned. “Finish your drink.”

  “Sam,” she complained, pressing her legs together and trapping my hand.

  “If you can finish your drink without moaning, I’ll take you to the bathroom and fuck you senseless.”

  She pursed her lips, eyes sparkling, and swayed a little on her seat. “I can do that,” she said, seeming a bit cocky.

  Fiona quiet during sex never happened. Fiona quiet while I finger fucked her wouldn’t be possible, but I was more than happy to see how it went. “Drink up, beautiful.”

  When she brought the cup to her lips, I slipped my fingers inside her barely there lace panties. She started to choke before she could get down her sip of Hand Grenade. “You’re playing dirty,” she rasped out.

  I moved her panties to the side, holding them with my pinkie finger while I continued to stroke her pussy. “I am.” She squirmed on the stool, and I could see her struggling not to make noise. “Keep moving and we’ll get caught, Fi.”

  “Fuck,” she muttered around the rim of her green plastic cup. “This is hard.”

  “I’m hard, baby, and the longer you take to finish the drink, the longer I have to wait to fuck you.” My girl was wet and ready. Slowly, I inched a finger into her greedy pussy and gave her a taste of what she wanted. My thumb toyed with her clit, but not enough to bring her to climax. Just enough to have her ready to rip my clothes off in the middle of the bar.

  Before I could add a second finger, she slammed back her drink, set the cup down, and turned to me. “Now!” she demanded, clearly audible over the loud music.

  Her eyes burned for me. Even though I loved teasing her, I needed her more than I wanted to keep playing this game. The first night I met her, I wanted to fuck her. I would’ve done it here if given the chance. If we had, though, we wouldn’t be here right now.

  Without hesitating, I removed my hand from under her dress, stood, grabbed her hand, and headed to the courtyard. Through the small doors at the back of the Funky Pirate was the most amazing starlit patio leading to the bathrooms. She followed behind, holding on to my hand and walking on wobbly legs, wanting this as much as I did.

  “What if we get caught?”

  “Fi,” I laughed, turning to face her in the middle of the flower-lined courtyard, “live a little.”

  She nodded and bit her lip before looking over her shoulder. “Hurry,” she said when she faced me.

  I dragged her toward the bathroom while she still had a buzz and before my balls exploded. “I can do quick, but later I’m taking my time.”

  Once inside the cramped space, I locked the door before quickly undoing my fly. I’d like to say it was pretty and sexy, but this was sheer need and nothing more.

  Fiona watched, filled with giggles and smiles until I turned her around and bent her over the sink. Moving her panties to the side, I rammed my cock inside her, unwilling to wait another minute.

  She cried out, the usual loudness I’d grown to love, and gripped the edge of the sink as I pounded into her. Over and over again, I sank my cock into her. Holding her hips for traction, I battered her ass with my body, shoving her into the sink and allowing my dick to go as far as possible.

  When her body began to shake and she was close, I swiveled my hips and hit her G-spot with my cock. Moments later, she started to mumble gibberish as if she were possessed and speaking in tongues. When her pussy began to milk my cock, I couldn’t hold out any longer and let the orgasm I’d been trying to stave off break free.

  In the frenzy, and with enough alcohol in our bloodstreams to inebriate a small family, we fucked and came in under five minutes. It may have been a new record for me, but the way Fiona looked, the amount of love I had for her, and knowing this was where we started had me sprinting toward the finish line at breakneck speed.

  * * *

  By the time we got to the square, it was well after midnight. I wanted to visit with the old woman who told me my future was right in front of me over a year ago, but she was gone.

  “Where is she?” I
asked, turning around in circles and feeling a sadness I hadn’t expected.

  “She’s not here.” Fiona squeezed my hand.

  “Damn.” I wanted to end our time here the same way it began, but it wasn’t going to happen. Most things never do end up the way we plan.

  She snaked her arm around my neck and rested her head on my chest. “It’s okay, Sam. She said everything you needed to hear last time.”

  I buried my face in her hair and smiled. “I know. I just wanted to hear her say that everything was going to work out.”

  She peered up at me, touching my cheek with her hand. “Are you worried it won’t?”

  I sighed. “There’s a lot that could go wrong.”

  She stood on her tiptoes and gave me a soft kiss. “Nothing will go wrong, Sam.”

  I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly as I looked across the square. “I hope so, Fiona.”

  Out of nowhere, the old fortune-teller walked behind us and caught my eye. She stopped walking and, before I could speak, she said, “You future is not here.”

  Fiona released me and turned around, just as much in shock as I was that she had shown up. “Thank you,” Fiona said and tipped her head at the old woman.

  She smiled and walked away before I replied. Her words caught me off guard. Days before we were about to leave New Orleans the words rang true. Our future wasn’t here.

  Even though I wanted to believe everything would turn out okay, moving to Florida and being near the Gallos might stir up so many feelings and past hurts that problems would be inevitable.

  One thing I knew for sure. No matter what, with Fiona at my side, I could get through anything. Even James’s shitty attitude and seeing the girl I thought I’d loved again.