Just Want Somebody to Love. Keri Ford
didn’t even include her input. Or rather, her instance, like that time she climbed on top of him and rode him for all he was worth.
Sweat damped his back and his dick was hard again. “I have to get.”
She smiled with a glance to his button, then back to his eyes. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.”
The cool darkness of the night surrounded him and eased the heat rising in his spine. He made it a step and the porch light flickered on. His smile broadened as he climbed in his car. Her scent filled the interior and washed away the leather. The eagerness of her tone rushed back to him. He wasn’t a crying man, but he was close to weeping.
He hurried out the drive and back to the bar or he feared spending the night in his car. Returning to her house wouldn’t be the best idea. If it was hell to leave now, first thing in the morning would no doubt be worse when he could make breakfast in bed happen.
He pulled into the lot and some lights were dim through the front doors. Relief lifted off his shoulders. He parked around the backside and let himself in. Not too late. A low glow shone from the stairs. He weaved through the narrow halls and found his brother over a sink washing dishes.
“Hey, you’re still awake.”
Brandon nodded. “For another hour or so. I like to get the place cleaned at night.”
“Getting the spilled beer before it starts to smell?” Looked like old neat freak habits didn’t die. Where Justin was ready for adventure and excitement, Brandon was concerned with mud on their boots when they got home. Justin tended to forget he even had on boots after whatever they’d done that night still raced through his head.
Like tonight with the time he’d spent with Whitney. With her back arching, pants passing her reddened lips, and her wild hair going everywhere. Such wild, wild hair that bounced over her naked shoulders with each hard thrust.
Damn it, his dick just settled.
“Yep.” Brandon kept focused on his glasses and never bothered to look up or even realize Justin’s mind had left the building.
Brandon’s vague acknowledgement could mean a number of things, with the top two being either Brandon was tired, or two, Justin had done something wrong. He leaned hard on the latter with a dose of the former, but what Justin could have done, he didn’t have a clue. Being as though Brandon had told him over and over he had the bar alone, and that he didn’t have to wait on customers, Justin knew it couldn’t have been because he’d left in the middle of the shift.
Stayed out too late? Maybe, but it wasn’t like Brandon had been happy when he knocked on the door in the first place. The surprise on his brother’s face had lasted two seconds before asking what the hell was he doing there. Not quite the reunion he’d hoped for, so he couldn’t imagine Brandon giving a shit how late he stayed out.
Figuring out Brandon was an impossible task, since the man left his wife and came here. For all Justin knew, Brandon really needed to get laid. So long as he was married, he wasn’t seeing any other women. Since he was separated from his wife for some six years now, but not yet divorced, Justin was going with cranky and would resist taking his brother’s attitude personally.
If Justin was going without sex for that long, he’d have probably killed a couple people.
Maybe the news about them expanding would be what Brandon needed to drag him out of this small town hellhole and get him back to work. Brandon had been alive and ready to tackle life. Even when he’d met Dixie, he’d been a force. Next thing Justin knew, Brandon dropped everything and left him high and dry.
With this news sitting on his chest and about to burst, Justin doubted he could wait until morning. Brandon was awake. In a few minutes, he would be done working. Maybe he could talk him into a drink so they’d be ready to celebrate as soon as the news came out.
Just as soon as this place was cleaned, then he could get his brother’s full attention. “Have you wiped the tables yet?”
“Nope.” He still focused on the dishes.
Justin sighed and wet a rag in the hot dishwater. “I’ll get it done to wrap this up. I’d like to talk after we’re done.”
“All right.”
Silence extended as Justin went over the closer tables. “You’re not curious to know what about?”
“I thought you wanted to talk after we were done, not now.”
He sighed. Brandon didn’t used to be this, hell, much of a hardass? That didn’t seem the right word. A jerk? Stubborn for unknown reasons? Justin would give anything to know why their marriage had fallen apart. If he knew why it broke, maybe he could fix it. Or at least fix what broke his brother. So far, nothing from Brandon. Justin’s attempts to reach out to Brandon’s wife netted him nothing but a friendly “it’s good to hear from you again” bullshit. “I do. Just thought you’d be curious and try to pry information out of me. It’s not every day I drop by and see you.”
“I noticed.”
Justin bit back the response that he’d been a little busy running their business alone, and Brandon hadn’t reached out to see him either. It’s not like Brandon had rolled out any great welcome to encourage more visits. Hell, Whitney had given a better welcome and he didn’t even know her.
He didn’t want a fight to start, not on this day, so he ignored his brother’s tone, as much as that grated. “Looks like you’re doing well here.”
“I am. Lot of people are starting to ask if I’ll put a TV in, so I’m going to see about that over the summer.”
“You get too many more people in here and you’ll have to hire some help.”
His brother paused for a second and washed again. “I like it just me.”
“If you hired someone, then maybe you could come see me sometime.”
“I have no interest in the city. Nothing but trouble there.”
And his only brother. Their business was also there. Rawlings Steakhouse didn’t exist in a backwater town like this.
He wiped over another table and decided what the hell, let’s test the waters. “You met Dixie in a city. That couldn’t have been all trouble, since you married her.”
The water came on and ended that conversation. At least his brother didn’t walk away at the mention of her. Progress? It probably shouldn’t be counted. Justin went over the last of the table tops as Brandon set the final dish in the rack.
Justin tossed his rag in the sink. “We done?”
“I need to dry them or they’ll spot.”
Justin glanced around and found a stack of folded towels under the counter. “I’ll dry and you put away.”
Brandon yawned and nodded. “All right.”
Justin got started and passed several glasses off. “Feels like old times.”
“Old, old times.”
He couldn’t say if he missed working behind a bar or not. It was different now, since it seemed more like playtime compared to before when it was the only way to pay the bills. Maybe that’s why Brandon was doing this. Familiar work he didn’t have to do. Like a hobby. Hell of an exhausting hobby, though.
They did the last dish and Brandon fixed a glass of water. “Is this going to take long?”
“Not too long.” Ignoring his brother’s cranky attitude would get them there faster. With any luck, exhaustion contributed to a lot of his short words. Since he already had a glass of water in his hands and was pushing for bed, Justin didn’t mention the idea for drinks. They could toast later. “Let me get something.”
Brandon nodded and shut off the lights to the bar. “I’ll be in the