The Broken (7 page)

I look to Sammy
then back to Jasper. “Hmm, I’m not getting in the middle of you
two.”

Jasper bursts
into laughter, and I squint my eyes at him. “That’s a shame. We
could really show you a good time if you were between us.”

I glare at him
and Sammy jabs him in the shoulder. “Knock it off, didn’t you get
your fill this morning?”

My stomach
flips at that statement. Oh my god, Chelsea. They had a threesome.
“That chick is crazy loud.” Jasper puts a finger in his ear and
wiggles. “I might need ear plugs if I go there again.”

Sammy chuckles.
“Can’t be that bad if you’re already considering going back there
again.”

“That chick is
easy, Sam. Like
really
easy. She didn’t even know me and she
dropped those panties. I may call her if I don’t find any fresh
pussy while I’m here.”

Sammy puts his
finger under my chin to close my open mouth.

“Are you
serious, Jasper?”

He looks at me,
oblivious. “About what, babe?”

I flinch at his
complete ignorance about the way he just spoke. I look up at Sammy
who’s watching me. “Is this what you’re like too, Sammy? Did you
leave us to live a life of
fresh pussy
?”

His eyes narrow
and Jasper laughs. “Wow, hearing her say pussy turns me on. Is that
wrong?” We both glare at him. “Shit, chill you two, I was joking.
River, I’m sorry for being crass.” He holds his hands up and gives
me doe eyes.

“Well, look
what the cat dragged in.” A loud shout comes from behind us, and we
all turn to see Stevie, his heavy boots carrying him down the hall
towards us.

“Stevie! You
still alive and kicking, then?” Sammy laughs, putting his hand out
as Stevie gets close enough to grasp it. He pulls him into his
chest and pats his back.

“How are you,
son? Been a long time! You get the fancy college degree or what?”
he asks in his deep, gravelly tone.

“Yeah, a
business degree like I planned.”

“So, have you
come to relieve Twinkle Toes of her duties so she can wow the
dancing world?” He grins and my heart misses a beat.

I watch as
Sammy drops his eyes and shakes his head. “Plans change, Stevie.”
Stevie clicks his tongue. “Always thought you’d get married, you
two. You were smitten with each other.”

My eyes bulge
and so do Sammy’s.

Stevie laughs.
“Don’t look at me like that. I may be old but I’m not blind. You
two were joined at the hip.”

I cough to
cover up the embarrassing meltdown I’m about to have. I feel the
burning of tears in my eyes because Stevie is hitting too close to
home. The thought of what might have been is agonizing.

“We were
friends. She’s with Danny now.” Sammy laughs, but it sounds as
awkward as I feel.

Stevie’s face
darkens. He hasn’t liked Danny ever since Danny lost control of his
temper at one of the mechanics for calling me gorgeous.

“Yeah, well
maybe she shouldn’t be,” Stevie grumbles.

“So,
lunch?”

Jasper cuts
into the tense atmosphere and I could kiss him - after I bleach
Chelsea off him, of course.

“Yes, let’s.” I
smile.

“Did you put
the parts order in, darling?” Stevie asks, as I push the glass door
open and exit the building.

“Yes,” I call
over my shoulder before following Sammy and Jasper to the diner
across the street.

We settle into
a booth and Maggie, the waitress, comes over to give us menus.
“Hey, sweetheart. Can I get you drinks?” She smiles, her red hair
hanging loosely from her messy bun.

“Coffees all
round, please,” Sammy says.

I pick up my
menu, knowing what I want but needing a distraction from Sammy’s
intense gaze.

“Burgers still
good here, Twink?”

I lower my menu
and nod.

“Here you go,
do you know what you want to eat?” Maggie asks, placing cups in
front of us and pouring the coffee. I notice Jasper’s eyes glued
shamelessly to my cleavage, and when Sammy follows his gaze, he
tugs on his earlobe pulling his attention to him.

“They’re not on
the menu, Jasper! What’s wrong with you? Can you not be around
women without being a pervert?”

I bite my lip
to stop the giggle that wants to escape watching Jasper rub his ear
and pouting like a child being scolded by a parent.

“I’m sorry.
They’re just there, staring at me.”

I glower.
“Well, they’re not going to speak to you, Jasper, so keep your eyes
up top.”

“Oh, they’re
speaking to me alright!” He smirks, earning him a slap from Sammy
and an exhausted sigh from Maggie.

“Do you want to
order?” Maggie asks, tapping her pen against the pad she’s
holding.

“Burgers all
round please, hold the fries on one of those.”

My eyes find
Sammy’s; he’s remembered I don’t like fries with my burgers. Too
many carbs makes me too lethargic to dance.

“So, Chelsea.
Didn’t take her long to get back on the scene.”

Sammy’s grin
and the sparkle in his eyes tell me he knows I’m fishing. “I bumped
into her at the store. She wanted to come over to catch up.”

I grasp my
coffee cup to stop myself from pounding the table. I gulp my drink,
wincing from the burning sensation it leaves on my tongue.

“Hot,” Sammy
says, with a smirk.

“Hot? She’s a
slut, Sammy. Everyone’s playing in that playground.”

He chuckles.
“You sound a little bitter there, Twink. I was actually referring
to the coffee.”

My cheeks
flush, heat building all over my body. They both laugh at my
embarrassment.

“You don’t need
to be bitter. There’s plenty of me to share.” Jasper grins,
pointing down to his groin.

Maggie returns,
placing our food down in front of us, and everyone digs in. Apart
from groans of pleasure coming from Jasper, we eat in silence.
Sammy pays the bill. He and Jasper walk me back to the garage.

“Come over for
dinner tonight, Twink?”

I look between
him and Jasper. “Is this your way of asking me to cook for you
again?”

Sammy bit down
on his lip and I swear I sway a little, my body losing the ability
to stand. God, he’s so gorgeous. My eyes fix on his plump, juicy
lips; my tongue darts out to moisten my own.

His hand
reaches out to stroke my cheek.

“Fuck, Twink
you can’t look at me like that.”

His breathless
voice fans across my face, my eyes flick up into his, and there it
is. Glossed over eyes full of lust, clear blues dancing with need.
My lungs stop functioning; I feel lightheaded staring into his blue
eyes.

“Breathe for
me, Twink,” he whispers against my lips.

Jasper’s cough
breaks me from the spell that completely rendered me incapable of
breathing. Sammy’s hands leave me, and I mourn the loss with a
sigh. He takes a couple of steps back.

“Okay, I’ll
cook,” I manage to say before turning on my heel and hurrying
inside. Linkin Park’s ‘
Crawling
’ alerts me to Danny calling
my cell. I race into the office, noticing the clock reads 2:35
p.m.

“Hey.”

“I told you I
was calling at two.”

“I know, sorry.
I went for lunch and left my phone.”

His heavy
breathing blasts into my ear.

“I was worried.
I miss you. I hate being away, but I need to stay here a few more
days.”

The thrill of
those words puts a huge smile on my face.

“Did you hear
me, beautiful?”

“Yes.”

“You’re quiet.
I’m sorry, I hate being away. You know I wouldn’t stay away if it
wasn’t important.”

“It’s fine,
Danny.”

“Okay, well, I
have a meeting I have to go to so I’ll call you tonight my
beautiful girl, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Tell me you
love me, River. I need to hear you say it.”

I swallow the
saliva filling my mouth and clench my fists, my nails leaving moon
shape dents in my palm.

“I love you,
Danny.”

I feel the
smile in his reply. “God, I love you too. Bye, beautiful.”

“Bye.”

A tear escapes
my eye. I don’t love him and pretending I do was easy before
because I was numb. Now it feels excruciating to even say the
words. The person I’ve always loved has come back, pushing the
broken pieces back together, awakening my soul, making me feel
again.

I
saw the need in River’s eyes. It mirrored my own,
and confused me to hell. She wanted me, I knew she did, but it
wasn’t just lust I saw in her green orbs. It fucking cripples me
because I don’t understand why she isn’t with me. Maybe it’s just
built-up attraction, lust we need to sweat out.

“Dude, I
thought you two were going to go at it in the forecourt
earlier.”

I frown over at
Jasper, and he shrugs. “Seriously dude, you both need to work each
other out. That much is clear.”

I ponder his
theory and snort. I could never work her out with sex, that girl
was so much more than just her sex appeal.

“Oh God, your
mom’s back, and not alone.”

I look over to
the beat-up pickup truck and groan at my mother, pinned against it
by some grey-haired old douchebag.

I pull over and
jump out, pointing my finger in her direction. “Do you have to do
that shit in the street?” I ask, glaring at the old dude.

He looks me up
and down. “Who the hell are you?”

I fix him with
a death glare. “I’m her fucking son.”

He flinches
from the hostility steaming from me. He looks down at my mother.
“How old are you?”

I can’t help
the laugh that rips from my throat. The grey-haired old creep is
put off by her having a grown up son?

“I was young
when I had him,” Mom spits, pushing him away so she can storm up
the lawn to the house.

He looks
flustered. “I’ll call you,” he shouts after her, and hurries to his
truck. I watch him until his taillights fade from sight.

“Dude, your mom
is Chelsea twenty years from now.” He chuckles and I turn my glare
on him before following her into the house.

“Mom, Jase will
be home at five,” I tell her as she rummages through the fridge,
helping herself to my beer.

“I’m out
tonight, Sammy. I only came back to grab some money. You can watch
him.”

I slam the
fridge closed, snatching the bottle from her hand. “Well you can at
least spend a little time with him before you go out.”

She rolls her
eyes. “Whatever, Sammy. I’m leaving now. I’ll spend time with him
when I get back.” She barges my arm as she walks past.

“Fuck. That,
right there, is why I never want a woman.”

“You’re not
wrong,” Jasper agrees, swiping the beer from my hand. “Let’s play
X-Box before your bro gets back and kicks my ass all night.”

I follow him
into the living room. “I was going to go over some of the
information for next week.” I grab the laptop from the coffee
table.

“Come on, man.
Let’s enjoy this week before we get swamped with the workload of
starting a business.”

I tap the keys
restlessly. “Do you think I should tell Blay our plans?”

Jasper’s eyes
search mine. “This was a dream of both of yours. Maybe with his dad
out of the picture you could approach him with a proposal.”

That was the
plan all along, to buy his dad out and run the business with Blay,
but now there’s flags going up everywhere. Blay’s drugs abuse, the
fact his dad still owns everything in name, working with Twink, but
not being with her.

“Listen, man,
I’m with you whatever you want to do but you will need to talk to
them. This is a rival business you plan to set up, Sam.

T
he rest of the day drags after getting back from
lunch. I try to occupy myself with filing but my head just isn’t
here today. I log out of the computer and lock the office up. As I
cross the forecourt towards the garage I see Blaydon under a car.
Everyone else has already left.