3. Brayden

Chapter 3

Brayden

I didn’t mean to do it. Honestly, after the first night, I swore to delete his number and never call again. But then I did it again the next day. And then the next.

What was wrong with me?

I was obsessed. That’s what was wrong with me.

For several years after I graduated, I thought about Ethan Rosemont and imagined being with him. Laughing with him, going out to dinner, working in his shop, and giving him all of me. I had produced gallons of come from thoughts of that man.

At least until my first real boyfriend came into the picture and I was distracted by a real man instead of the one in my memories. Eventually, Mr. Rosemont faded into the back recesses of my mind.

But he was never fully gone. And now, he was back.

Back when I woke up with a hard-on. Back whenever I heard the rumble of a muscle car. Back when a new customer with a similar build walked into the shop. Just…back.

By the time each night rolled around, I couldn’t help myself. I had to hear his voice for real.

As many times as I told myself I was bothering him and needed to stop harassing the poor man, I gave in and ended up pressing *67 on my phone to block my number before I called him.

If it was just silence and me basically prank-calling him, I might’ve stopped after the first day or two. But then he started talking to me. Even though I sat silent on the line, barely breathing into the microphone not to give away any hints about who I might be, it was like he knew it was me.

Either that or randos called and breathed into his phone on a regular basis.

No, he had to know it was me. And if not me specifically, somebody like me. Someone who just wanted to be his friend. Who just wanted to hear his voice before bedtime.

It was close to nine thirty, right around my bedtime, when I gave in and dialed his number. I had so many things to say, but whenever he answered, my mind just stopped working and no words could come out.

“Hello?” His deep voice went straight through me, hitting differently each time. After more than a week, I still felt every word—right down to my balls.

I opened my mouth to say something back, but nothing came out. Nothing ever did.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to say anything, but I’m glad you called.” I heard his breathing for a few moments before he sighed. “I finished a project today. The client was really happy with it, and it was something I’d spent a lot of time working on, so I guess I had a pretty good day. Hope you did too.”

What kind of project? Who was his client? There were so many things I wanted to ask, but I just couldn’t do it.

“Well, I hope you have a good night and…maybe I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” He held the line for several long moments before I finally gave him an out and I hung up first.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow I would say hello and apologize for harassing him and explain that… Well, I had no idea what I would say after that. But at least I could say hi.

The next day was Friday, so I made plans with Max and Augie to go to happy hour after work. Daddy James had to work late, so he was picking up Max after we had dinner. Max wasn’t allowed to drink too much with us anymore when his Daddy wasn’t around to supervise.

Not after the incident .

The incident was just a month ago, but it sometimes felt like years in the past, and sometimes it felt like just yesterday. Just a regular night when I went out with Max, Dylan, and Augie for drinks, and we got drugged. Most of us were just sick and scared, but Augie actually got hurt.

He was doing better now, but it was a scary way to learn a lesson in being safe and smart. Daddy James was good at reminding Max to always be safe, and the rest of us just tagged along with his advice. So, we’d all be smart about how much we drank, and Daddy James would decide if we were fine to get ourselves home after dinner or if he needed to drive us.

I was careful to start with a mojito because those never got me drunk. And then we ordered pretzel bites and wings right around the time I felt a little bit of warmth in my limbs. A good kind of warmth that made me relax into the booth, with Augie sitting close beside me. “So, how are things with Roy?”

“Roy?” It took me a second to even realize who he was talking about. Not because I had forgotten about my friend Roy but because Ethan took up one thousand percent of my mind. “Oh, good. Fine. I mean, we’re just friends. We had lunch a few weeks ago, but I’ve been a little distracted for the past week or so.”

“Yeah, by Eeee-thaaannnn.” Max threw me under the bus and then took a gulp of his pear cider. “His Daddy customer.”

Augie pulled the wing out of his mouth just before he chomped on it and then pointed it at me. “You have a Daddy customer named Ethan? Why haven’t I heard about him yet?”

“He’s not my Daddy. He’s not even my customer anymore. He’s a teacher from high school who came in last week and that’s it.” I rolled my eyes and kicked Max under the table.

“Ow!” He pouted, but I knew he was just faking it. “You can’t kick me when you’re the one stalking the guy.”

“It’s not stalking, per se. It’s more like…pre-talking.”

Augie cocked his eyebrow. “What is pre-talking?”

I shrugged and picked up a pretzel. “I’ve wanted to talk to him, but I haven’t had the nerve.” I blew out a heavy breath through puffed cheeks. “So, I might have called him and hung up…a few times.”

“Like fifty times.” Max scoffed and then swung his legs away so I couldn’t reach him.

“Like…seven times. Or nine. I’m not sure.” I popped the pretzel in my mouth and spoke around it. “Point is, I’m gonna talk to him soon. Maybe tonight.”

“Maybe?” Augie and Max both said at the same time.

Ugh, annoying. “Fine! I will. I’ll say something tonight.”

“Good!” Max finished the last of his cider and then pushed the bottle away. “He’ll probably call the cops if you keep calling and just heavy breathing like a pervert.”

I wanted to be insulted, but Max was right…and kinda funny. “Well, he talks to me now. Asks me questions and tells me about his day. I mean, I don’t respond, but at least he’s not mad. At least, I don’t think he is.”

Augie nodded as he finished the food in his mouth. “That sounds promising. And since you’re gonna talk to him today, you’ll know for sure if he’s interested or not.”

“I don’t think he is. I’m pretty sure he knew I had a crush on him when I was in school, and he never did anything.”

Max spit out his water, splashing Augie as he almost choked. “Dude, you were a kid. He would have gone to jail if he did anything. You’re an adult now. At least drop a hint.”

They were both right. “I totally am.”

With just the one mojito in me and two Sprites, Daddy James gave me the thumbs-up to get myself home. I did and texted as soon as I got inside my apartment. But then…I got bored. It was still early and maybe too early to call Ethan for the talk that was definitely gonna happen…so I went for a walk. I lived just half a block from the main street, so before I knew it, I was in a different bar.

Drinking a different mojito.

My initial plan was just to have one more drink to kill some time and maybe re-catch my buzz before I made my nightly call. But then the music started playing and the cover band was playing all my favorite songs. Sitting at the bar became a lot more comfortable, and the music reminded me of school dances. The prom. Mr. Rosemont, the woodshop teacher I drooled over.

I sucked the last few drops of my watery drink through the straw and then leaned back and waved to the bartender. “One more, please.”

The guy who had been serving me grinned as he grabbed my empty glass to refill it. “You sure, doll? You’ve had a few. Maybe a water first?”

“Nah.” I shook my head, and it spun for a second. Oops. Maybe a water after this last mojito. “One more and then I’ll head out. I have an important phone call to make.”

“Oh yeah?” He mixed my drink and then slid it across the bar and rested it on a napkin. “What kind of important call do you make on a Friday night?”

“The kind you’re thinking of.” I sighed and then took another sip. “The kind that needs some drinking courage.”

“Drinking courage?” He chuckled as he opened two bottles and placed them on a tray for the waiter who was patiently standing beside me. “I’ve seen a lot of that in my day, and it doesn’t always go the way you think.”

“I know how it’s gonna go, and it's probably terrible. But I promised to do it tonight. So…” I took another drink and looked at him. “Get that water ready cuz I’m almost done with this.”

He raised an eyebrow, but I sucked it all up, finishing the drink and then hitting the call button to get it right out of the way.