An Act of Redemption (12 page)

“Sorry,” she apologizes quietly, but I wave away her concern.

“Awight, what can we get for y’all?” Hope says, pulling a little notepad out of the front of her apron and a pen from behind her ear. “Would you like to hear our special of the day?”

“I would love to,” Anna responds, biting back a laugh.

“The special is True Wove Pie. You want some of that? It might make ya fall in wove,” she says with a giggle.

Anna’s smile dims. “I’ll just have some warm apple pie with ice cream please,” She requests her order quietly.

Hope scribbles on her note pad with a bunch of squiggles then looks over at me. “Uh, I’ll have the same.” I don’t know what else there is and I don’t want to drag out the awkward moment that everyone can feel but Hope.

“Okay, comin’ wight up.”

We’re left alone while they go collect our order. Anna looks down and fiddles with her hands nervously. I can tell she has something on her mind but doesn’t know how to start. I hate seeing her like this around me, and finally, I can’t take the strain any longer. Reaching over, I cover her twining hands with my own and notice how cold they feel. “It’s me, Anna, whatever you have to say you can say it.”

She stops fidgeting and looks up at me, her gaze vulnerable and it tears me up. It also makes me fucking nervous for whatever she has to say.

“I just want to say I’m sorry.”

My brows furrow in confusion, not expecting her to say that. “Sorry for what?”

“For how I spoke to you the other night, or rather for every time that we’ve run into each other. Obviously, I’m still hurt about the past but I don’t want to be any more. I just want to forget about it all. If we run into each other I don’t want it to be a fight or uncomfortable, especially for the people around us. I understand the guys are helping you do whatever it is that you’re doing and that’s okay.” She lets out a breath and shrugs. “I just wanted to say that and clear the air.”

I watch her silently, trying to absorb everything she just said. “I understand what you’re saying but there’s just one problem.”

“What’s that?” she asks hesitantly.

“I’ll never forget a second of our time together, and I don’t want to.”

Her lips part on a subtle gasp, her eyes remaining locked with mine. The air suddenly fills with a different tension than it was five minutes ago. It’s the kind that always surrounded Anna and me, no matter how long we were together.

“Here is your pie and ice cweam.” Hope’s voice penetrates our moment and Anna quickly slides her hands out from under mine.

“Can we get y’all anythin’ else?” Grace asks.

We both shake our heads and they leave us once again. Things are quiet while we eat, and I figure now is probably a good time to bring up the one thing that I’m dreading to address but needs to be done. “I went and saw my sister and mom the other day.”

Her head snaps up in surprise. “Oh?”

I hold her stare. “I wasn’t expecting to see them like that. I expected shit to be the same, if not worse.”

Her eyes fall to her plate again. “Jaxson wanted to help,” she whispers.

“Yeah, because of you.” She continues to watch her food. “You didn’t have to do that, Anna. I never expected you to shoulder any of my responsibility.”

She shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. Your sister was hurting and I knew your mom was in no shape to help her through it.”

“I disagree, it’s a very big deal. I hate knowing that you dealt with that shit, but thank you, I appreciate you helping. More for my sister’s sake than my mom’s, because you’re right, she wouldn’t have been there for Janey the way she should have been.”

She glances back up at me. “She’s different now.”

“So I hear.”

“You don’t believe it?”

I shrug. “I don’t know what to think right now and I don’t want to talk about it either.”

My tone doesn’t deter her but she respects my answer. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.” I brace myself for what she’s about to ask.

“Do you have to go back?” My eyes narrow in confusion so she elaborates. “After you’re done doing whatever it is that you’re doing here. Do…do you have to go back to prison?” She looks petrified for my answer.

“No, I’m out for good.”

She visibly relaxes and nods. “That’s good.”

Yeah, it’s good, but out here won’t be the same as before. I have a lot of trials ahead of me once this is done, like a job. Who the hell is going to hire an ex-convict? What Sarge said earlier replays in my head, but I push it aside for another time, I have enough shit on my plate right now.

We finish the rest of our pie in silence. As we get ready to leave Anna grabs her purse to pay.

“Put it away, Anna.” My tone is harsher than I intend for it to be and she stiffens at the order.

“I invited you, Logan, remember? I can pay for it or at the very least pay for myself.” When I continue to glare at her she rolls her eyes and puts her wallet away with a huff. “I see you’re still stubborn,” she mumbles under her breath.

Her irritation makes me smirk. In the end it doesn’t matter because when I go to pay Grace refuses my money. So instead I leave a generous tip and make sure to give it to Hope, which she excitedly stashes in the front of her apron. Grace hands Anna a to-go box filled with enough food to feed an army to take back with us, including a separate one for Bandit. It seems she has taken a liking to Sarge, too.

After we say goodbye we make our way back to the gym. I try to walk slow, not wanting our time to come to an end, because I don’t know when I’ll get to see her again.

“So, I saw that you know Sara Claiborne,” she says, breaking the silence.

“Who?” I ask, confused.

“The girl who was trying to go home with you.”

Oh, so Sara is her name. Fuck, I was way off with Lauren.

Anna scoffs. “Don’t tell me you’ve slept with her and don’t even know her name?”

I glance over to see her staring straight ahead, trying to act unaffected, but I know better. “Jealous, Anna?” I get a sick satisfaction at the thought.

“Yeah right, I don’t think so.”

Her sass has my cock turning rock hard. Just as we make it outside the gym I grab her elbow to swing her around, and back her up against her car. She sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes flaring as I brace my hands on either side of her head, caging her in.

“Good. You should never be jealous of anyone because there’s no one on this earth who could ever compare to you.” Her expression softens and time seems to stand still as we stare at one another. Before I can stop myself I lean in close and drag my nose along the side of her soft cheek, bringing my mouth to her ear. “And no, I haven’t slept with her, there’s only one pussy I want, Anna, and I think we both know whose that is.”

Her chest heaves beneath mine as her breathing becomes short and uneven. I’m an asshole and I know it. I have no right to make her feel this, but I fucking crave it. I need to know she still feels this as much as me.

“Logan.” My dick jerks at the breathless sound of my name falling past her lips, but by the tremble in it, it’s hard to tell if it’s a protest or welcome. I’m hoping for the latter.

I lean back to look down at her, needing the reassurance, when a prickle of unease runs through me. It’s a feeling I’ve grown accustomed to and one I always trust. Taking in my surroundings, my attention is immediately drawn to a black SUV that’s parked across the street. The person in the driver’s seat is staring directly at me. I squint to get a closer look at the guy but he’s wearing a hat that shields the top half of his face, raising my suspicion.

“Logan, what is it?” Anna’s voice snaps me into motion, making me realize that she’s out in the open to whoever is watching.

Shaking my head I step back from her. “Nothing, come on, let’s go inside.”

She’s confused by my sudden distance, and I don’t blame her, but I also don’t give her time to ask questions. My hand finds her lower back to guide her inside but she ends up walking in on her own. Just before I follow her in, I turn back around to see the asshole pulling out and speeding away. I get a closer look at him but I still don’t recognize him, though I have a damn good feeling who it could be.

Walking back inside I see everyone surrounding Anna, fighting over the food she’s carrying. She glances back at me, her eyes filled with hurt and frustration. It makes me feel like shit. I know I should explain, but I don’t want to say anything until I know what the fuck is going on.

“Everything okay?”

At the sound of Jaxson’s voice, I tear my gaze from Anna to look at him. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I can tell he doesn’t believe me but lets it go. “See you tomorrow, bright and early.”

With a nod, I go collect my bag then glance at Anna one last time to see her kneeled down with her back turned to me, petting Bandit. I reluctantly walk out without saying goodbye.

As soon as I get to my bike I call Lewis. He answers on the first ring. “Hey, bro, what’s up?”

“Any chance you got a picture of Ricketts you can send to me?”

He’s silent a moment, my question catching him off guard. “No, but I’m sure I can get you one.”

“Do that, then send it via text as soon as you have it.”

“Uh, okay.”

“Thanks.” I hang up, not giving him a chance to ask questions. As I head back to my apartment I keep an eye on my surroundings. By the time I walk through the door I have a text waiting for me. Opening it, I see the picture. Even though I didn’t get a close look at the guy in the SUV it was close enough, because I have no doubt that the guy who was watching me—watching us—was none other than Johnny Ricketts.

Motherfucker!

Logan

P
arking across the street, I take my helmet off and stare out at the deserted campus. After finding out that Ricketts was watching me I needed to clear my head. I decided to go for a ride and this is where I ended up. No big surprise, since I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Anna since our run-in earlier today. From how her body felt close to mine, and the way her pretty warm eyes burned with the same need that’s been pounding through me. Jesus, I’m still wound so goddamn tight from it that not even jacking off eased any of this tension.

Now I’m here torturing myself even more, and for what? It’s late, dark and there’s not a soul in sight. I’m sure she’s probably sleeping, which has me wondering what she’s wearing. Does she still sleep in a tank top and panties? My semi-erect cock goes painfully hard at the thought. In the last four years I’ve often wondered how much she’s changed. Appearance-wise she still looks the same, just a little more grown, more…beautiful, which I didn’t think was possible. But what about everything else? Everything that makes her Anna. Is her favorite food still Italian? Does she still love to read? Does she still cover her mouth when she giggles, or hum her favorite tune while lost in thought? Fuck, I miss knowing her. Being here right now is only making this ache in my chest worse.

Shaking my head, I’m just about to start up my bike when the familiar sound of her laughter hits me. I tense and look around, trying to see where it came from. I start thinking I’m losing it but then spot her walking across campus, much too close to some preppy geek in a sweater vest. It’s hard to see what the guy is doing to her to make her laugh, but whatever it is I don’t fucking like it.

Not one bit.

“Oh my god, seriously, stop. I hate being tickled.”

Tickled? He’s fuckin’ tickling her?

He keeps at it, making her squirm, her hands full of textbooks that are crushed against her chest. A low possessive rage builds inside of me. They stop at the entrance of her dorm to say goodbye. Geek boy moves in closer and he does something that causes her to drop her books. When she bends over to pick them up the motherfucker checks out her ass.

My motherfuckin’ ass.

And the asshole just sealed his fate.

*

Anna

I bend down to grab my books, trying to do it as modestly as possible in my sundress. I’m a little annoyed that Toby isn’t the one picking them up since he knocked them out of my hands. I don’t know what his deal is tonight; he’s never been like this before. We’ve always had a platonic friendship but tonight he took it to another level. I’ve been trying to be nice and subtly move away from his advances but he’s not getting the hint, which is why I ended our study session early. I guess Charity is right about him having stronger feelings for me than I do for him, which makes me feel bad. He’s a really nice guy, but he’s not my type.

An image of
my type
suddenly floats through my mind but I quickly push it away.

When I stand back up Toby is much too close, invading my personal space once again. “So when do you want to finish studying? How about tomorrow morning for coffee?”

“Sorry, I can’t tomorrow,” I lie. After tonight there will be no more study sessions for us.

“Come on, Anna, don’t make me tickle you again,” he says, with a teasing glint in his eye.

I try to block most of my body with my textbooks. “No, really, Toby, I want you to stop.”